Advocacy

Advocacy

Chicago International Charter School's #1 advocacy goal is to empower our parents, teachers, students and community members to ensure their voices are heard.

To join the conversation, we encourage you to join our email list and text "Act" to 35350 for real-time updates and information, "Follow" CICS on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook.

Support Charter Parents United

CICS is energized by the fact that so many of our parents have joined charter families from across the city to form Charter Parents United, a group of parent advocates who want their children to continue to have the option of a high-quality, college preparatory charter public school education.

For more information about Charter Parents United, and to sign the petition, please click here.

Challenge CPS's Continued Funding Inequity

Click here for our comments explaining concerns regarding the "new" CPS funding model. While it may be a new budgeting approach, the inequity is not new - this is a reframing of the same old, same old.

Click here for a detailed analysis that proves there is currently a $3,000 per-pupil funding gap between charter public school students and their district counterparts.

Support House Bill 980

CICS strongly supports HB 980, the equitable funding bill that would close the funding gap for charter school students.  Current state law allows for Illinois school districts to fund charter public schools 25% less than all other public schools, and Chicago Public Schools currently funds our students at that lower rate.

HB 980 would make this critical change: "In no event shall the funding that a charter school is to receive from a school board for a school year be less than 97% (instead of 75%) or more than 100% (instead of 125%) of the school district's per capita student tuition."

Contact your state lawmakers and aldermen and urge their support of HB 980. It is time for charter school students to stop carrying this unfair inequity on their backs.

Key conversation points:

• Parents:Talk about your school and how it has made a difference in your child's life. Use examples to illustrate this - e.g. does your student have special learning needs that are met exceptionally well by your school's teachers? Are you willing to drive 2 hours a day to make sure your child has access to the high-quality education that only your school can provide? What are the positive changes you have seen in your child since he/she started at a CICS campus?
  • Example: "I love my children’s school in your district - CICS Washington Park. I have seen so many positive changes in my three children that attend the school. My first grader is reading at a 4th grade level and my 7th grader just received an award for best debater in his debate club. My children are safe and engaged and I know when they graduate, they will be ready to attend a selective enrollment high school and on track to enroll in a competitive college.”
• Teachers:Share stories of how your school culture helps make you a better teacher, and how the flexibility of charter schools empowers you to take creative approaches to making a difference in your students' lives. Use examples from the classroom to the athletic field.
  • Example: “Working at CICS Prairie in your district is a blessing. As a charter school teacher, I am held accountable for my classroom outcomes. I am empowered to start clubs and pilot curriculum that engages students. I have never had such a challenging and rewarding job before. Growing my students by two grades over the course of just one year is something I pride myself on!”
• Staff:How would extra funding make a difference at your school? Be specific - could you hire a teacher's aide to help improve differentiated instruction? Update your learning resources? Offer a more competitive salary to retain your best and brightest educators?
  • Example: “I oversee the upper grade teachers at CICS Irving Park, the highest-performing charter school in Chicago. These are some of the most passionate teachers you will ever meet – and I need to be able to pay them a competitive wage so we can continue to see our outcomes soar. Please make sure our school, and all charter schools in Illinois, receive equal per-pupil funding – because public school dollars should follow public school students.”
• Supporters: Speak about your involvement with CICS or a CICS campus. What do you like about working with our schools? If you are a program provider or vendor, how many jobs have you created in Chicago communities thanks to your partnership with CICS? How is the educational environment at a CICS campus different?

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