Education
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates on District Leadership, Ongoing Union Negotiations
The first day of classes is in the books for Chicago Public Schools, though getting there has been short of an easy A.
The Chicago Teachers Union is still in the midst of public contract negotiations, and the union said CPS leaders aren’t doing enough about the lack of academic resources. This comes amid concerns over district funding.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates joined “Chicago Tonight” to talk about the year ahead.
How are teachers feeling about the start of the school year?
“The first day of school is always the most exciting day of the school year. It only rivals the last day, of course, but it is the opportunity to express hope and joy and the opportunity of this school year. And so yesterday, I was at (Edgar Allen) Poe Classical School, and they had a soul train line that took the kids inside with cheerleaders. I met grandmothers, great-grandmothers and parents there. It was joyful.”
On Monday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez told WTTW News the district is seeing some of the lowest rates among bilingual and special needs educators. Does CTU membership reflect this?
“Look, what Pedro fails to talk about is how below the standard the district was to begin with. So as he touts the progress in staffing, what he forgets to talk about is how the 2019 collective bargaining agreement provided the actual staffing that he parades around and says we’ve achieved. Yes, we’ve together in partnership, we’ve achieved. So why would you lay those people off? Only half of the teacher assistants that were laid off back in June are back in a job. So yet, (we) need people doing the work in order to engage with the young people to get the results that help the district move forward.”
You wrote in a Chicago Tribune op-ed Monday that there are many similarities between you and Martinez — your background, your experience. Being that he has been allowed to remain on the job by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is also a former CTU member, one would think there would be more accord between the three of you. What kind of leadership would you like to see at CPS that you feel like you’re not seeing?
“Very rarely do people ask that question, ‘What type of leadership?’ Well, the leadership has to be visionary and transformative. We’re working with the school district that has performed at a level of ‘good enough’ for generations. Black children suffered in ‘Willis Wagons.’ Then they have 50 schools closed on them. Right now, our bilingual supports in the city don’t match the need. We have 20,000 unhoused children in this city. So it presents an opportunity to move it forward with visionary and transformative leadership. Pedro is actually missing his opportunity to be legendary. We have a mayor of Chicago as a middle school teacher who talks about his family’s migration to Chicago from Mississippi. Pedro talks about his family’s journey from Mexico to Chicago. So you have these two men who have an opportunity to actually give Chicago students what they deserve.”
CPS and CTU are still in the process of public bargaining. A lot of parents are wondering: Will there be another strike?
“I’m so disappointed that we’re not celebrating the contract right now as a part of the first week of school. I had every hope that we would be in a place right now to either say we’re at the finish line or we’re nearing the finish line. … For the first time ever, we’ve had open bargaining, where we’ve talked about what it would look like to have a sustainable, green-based school district. We’ve had open bargaining about what it would look like for our district to sue JPMorganChase and give back some proceeds from payday loans effectively that they did with the district during the (former Mayor Rahm) Emmanuel years. … We can’t keep tolerating ‘good enough.’ Pedro has an opportunity. You got a mayor who’s saying, ‘Yes, let’s envision this.’ You have a union who’s ready to do whatever to make it work. What’s the holdup?”
In just a few months, Chicago will have elections for a hybrid school board. How is CTU supporting candidates?
“I see a lot of people on doors. This is one of the localest of the localest elections that we are blessed to have in a time period where red states are marginalizing the rights, voting rights, of people, Black people (and) Brown people who need the Chicago public schools to work for them now have an opportunity and some agency to make those selections. That’s a great thing.”
