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Illinois Families for Public Schools Profile picture
Illinois Families for Public Schools
@il_fps
Grassroots, non-profit 501c4 advocacy org representing the interests of Illinois pro-public school families. https://t.co/7zc1jJaByB | info@ilfps.org
Apr 24, 2024 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Reminder that US News rankings of high schools primarily based on *test scores* will inevitably rank schools whose admissions policies primarily use *test scores* highly

There are in fact more meaningful & thoughtful ways to evaluate (and not rank!) students and schools Good place to start: Massachusetts has done some school quality evaluation work via the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment: mciea.org/school-quality…
Apr 17, 2024 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Rep Margaret Croke's HB 303 is an attempt to prevent CPS from shifting to equity-driven budgeting by protecting schools with selective admissions policies. Here's the set of SEHS & HS w/ Academic Centers' Opportunity Index measures: Image of Table with columns school name, total indicator score and opportunity index score. Taft HS - 18 - 1.5 Kenwood HS - 28 - 2.3 Morgan Park HS - 32 - 2.7 Lane Tech HS - 14 - 1.2 Jones HS - 17 - 1.4 Young HS - 20 - 1.7 Brooks HS - 26 - 2.2 Hancock HS - 27 -2.3 Lindblom HS - 28 - 2.3 Westinghouse HS - 34 - 2.8 Payton HS - 16 - 1.3 Northside Prep HS - 17 - 1.4 King HS - 37 - 3.1 South Shore Intl HS - 40 - 3.3 As you can see there's a big range in indicator score and Opp Index score. A high Opp Index means school is less resourced & has higher need student body (among other things). See p. 4 here cpsboe.org/content/action…
Table from p. 4 here https://www.cpsboe.org/content/actions/2023_04/23-0426-PO4.pdf School factors: Percent of students... ● with diverse learner needs ● who are English learners ● experiencing temporary living situations ● eligible for free and reduced lunch ● eligible for but not enrolled in Medicaid ● who identify as Black or Latinx Percent of staff... ● employed one year who are employed with CPS the following year Community Factors ● Average student hardship score based on home address ● Community area life expectancy ● Percent of students living in prioritized South/West communities ...
Apr 16, 2024 • 25 tweets • 3 min read
Hearing on HB 303 Amendment 1 should be starting shortly. It's in Committee Room 118, Video and Audio streams are here: ilga.gov/houseaudvid.as…
Sidenote: hearing notice was posted yesterday: Apr 15, 2024 12:30PM - And HB 5766 content was moved to HB 303 HFA1 with Rep Croke as sponsor sometime yesterday as well.

(We learned about the amendment & hearing late last night...) Image
Apr 16, 2024 • 16 tweets • 4 min read
Content of HB 5766, bill to put moratorium on selective admissions schools in CPS, has been modified (slightly) & introduced as amendment to HB 303. Can file witness slip to OPPOSE for hearing today (& one tomorrow?) Instructions & more info in thread below 🧵 Links for 4/16 witness slip filing

&
4/17 slip


File as OPPOSE to HB 303 HFA1my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Cr…
my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Cr…
Mar 5, 2024 • 19 tweets • 3 min read
Real talk on the transition to a fully elected board: the desirability of a fully elected board in January 2025 vs January 2027 has varied over the course of the past several years! In Jan. 2021, when a fully elected school board was (possibly!) in reach, and the proposal on the table was six years hence, supporters of an elected board thought that was ridiculous.
Feb 10, 2024 • 29 tweets • 11 min read
Trib story this week on vouchers and Catholic school closings also featured Christian school on Chicago's West Side which was in top 5 recipients of voucher $ last year, Chicago Hope Academy. Here's a closer look at Chicago Hope Academy... 🧵 chicagotribune.com/2024/02/08/wit… "At Chicago Hope Academy...more than 1/2 of the students attend through tax credit scholarships. Hope Principal & Pres Ike Muzikowski said the school has committed to keeping each student enrolled, taking it upon themselves to raise the $$ for roughly 130 students on scholarship”
Nov 2, 2023 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
Illinois state Sen Villivalam, Rep Kelly & Olickal support extending Invest in Kids vouchers. We need all hands on deck to hold them to their obligation to fully fund public schools (under the Evidence-Based Funding Formula) & not extend the discriminatory, anti-equity IIK Act.🧵 Around 1,300 voucher students attend private schools in these districts. About 22,000 students attend PUBLIC schools & >13,700 are in UNDERFUNDED schools.
Oct 5, 2023 • 37 tweets • 4 min read
Town hall held by @HRC_Chicago tonight on the National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ People just starting…we’ll try to do some live tweeting!

Image
Image
Image On the panel tonight Alders Manaa-Hoppenworth, Martin, Fuentes and Reps Cassidy and Olickal

Moderator: Zahara Bassett of Life is Work Image
Sep 20, 2023 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
New $30M construction project at voucher school that discriminates against LGBTQ+ &SWDs, Wheaton Academy - paid for in part by our tax $$: dailyherald.com/news/20230919/… "The West Chicago institution is now closing in on that [fundraising] goal, with $25 million raised to date in its 'For Generations to Come' capital campaign."
Jun 11, 2023 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Good to see a longer story on Invest in Kids voucher program (which hasn't happened since 2018 WBEZ story) & inclusion of interview w/ public school parent chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-in… But some impt info about St. Francis de Sales HS specifically is missing from story: According to ISBE data, St Francis de Sales isn't serving any special education students. ISBE doesn't report anything about ELLs in (registered) private schools, but there's no mention on SFDS website of ELL/bilingual services isbe.net/_layouts/Downl…
Jun 6, 2023 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
IL tax dollars are already funding religious private schools through Invest in Kids which employs a middleman to skirt the separation of church & state. Is it a foot in the door to extreme Oklahoma policy providing public funding for a religious charter? Could it happen here? Lest we forget, Vallas (2023 mayoral runoff candidate) had intentions of allowing religious public-funded charters in Chicago.
Jun 3, 2023 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Glad to hear Gov Pritzker hasn’t made a final decision to support Invest in Kids, but we sincerely hope he isn’t actually willing to sign just ANYTHING ILGA sends him on vouchers. Invest in Kids is simply bad public policy bc it harms the public good. thedailyline.com/future-invest-… Back in 2018, when he was running for office, Gov Pritzker was very clear on his opposition to vouchers so we know he understood their flaws at that point: ilfps.org/ilgov2018candi… A voucher program was recen...
May 24, 2023 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
🧵 - IL AG released an investigative report yesterday, five years in the making, - "Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse in IL" …rgyreport.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov This report on IL dioceses covering up—and in some cases continuing to conceal—abuse of almost 2000 children is another, especially appalling, reminder of why public $ shouldn’t be diverted to private institutions w/almost no public transparency, oversight or accountability.
May 23, 2023 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
The Illinois General Assembly went home last Friday without wrapping up Spring Session, and they'll be back at the Capitol tomorrow because there's no budget for Fiscal Year 2024 yet—and no decision on whether the Invest in Kids voucher program will end! Here’s what you can do… Image If your state rep and senator haven't heard from you this week, it's time to pick up the phone again to ask them to let the voucher program sunset.

Find them here: elections.il.gov/ElectionOperat…

Here's what to say when you call: Image
May 18, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Sun-Times/WBEZ story today on closed CPS buildings features Field School, private schl located in former CPS school (Key)—not mentioned is that 40% of students receive Invest in Kids vouchers but Field doesn't serve students w/ moderate-severe disabilities graphics.suntimes.com/education/2023… We've talked about the Field School for months. It's the perfect example of how because private religious schools can discriminate, giving them public $s creates two-tier public ed system. Field is surrounded by CPS schools w/ high numbers of students with disabilities. The Field School, Chicago I...Vouchers fund discriminatio...
May 18, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Latest map from ILGA for Chicago's elected representative school board districts: google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie… from here ilsenateredistricting.com (Here's the previous one that was shared: google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie… )
May 17, 2023 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
Groups and individuals are at the @ISBEnews monthly board meeting this morning to speak out against the creation of a new charter high school on the NW Side. @ISBEnews First up is Betsy Vandercook of @network49rp detailing the issues with Concept schools in Chicago and the utter lack of need for another high school on the NW Side generally
May 16, 2023 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Since 1982 Supreme Court ruling Plyler v Doe, public schools cannot deny students education based on their immigration status. But some private schools recieving public dollars via the Invest in Kids voucher program in Illinois refuse admission to undocumented students. Christ the King Jesuit Coll...Cristo Rey Jesuit High Scho... One of these schools is Christ the King Jesuit College Prep in Chicago. It's part of the Cristo Rey Network, a national group of schools that requires students, starting at age 14, to work five days a month to earn money to offset their tuition costs
May 12, 2023 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Reminder: supporters are making massive push to continue IL voucher program which diverts public $ to private schools that discriminate. This isn't education equity.
Let’s take a look at Holy Cross School in Champaign. lobbying yesterday in Springfield w/ voucher org Empower IL Image Acc to ISBE data: Holy Cross enrolled 217 students last year, 78% white, 13% Black. 0% Hispanic 18% low-income. only 5% were special ed students (# of ELLs unknown) isbe.net/nonpublicprogr…
Apr 17, 2023 • 76 tweets • 18 min read
Tonight's last scheduled hearing for Chicago's elected representative school board is virtual from 6 - 8PM and can be viewed here: ilga.gov/senateaudvid.a… As with previous hearings, you may speak or provide written testimony. To provide testimony, email ChicagoERSBCommittee@senatedem.ilga.gov and also submit a witness slip here. (Click the relevant box if you will give oral or written testimony.) my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Cr…
Apr 13, 2023 • 34 tweets • 16 min read
We're at the fourth of five hearings of a new IL State Senate Committee on the Chicago Elected Representative School Board and will try to live tweet as the spirit moves us & the wifi & battery life allow...ilga.gov/senate/committ… #ERSB You can watch or listen in via this page ilga.gov/senateaudvid.a…