Because of CPS-wide budget cuts, Whitney Young Magnet High School is laying off teachers. These are people that our students genuinely look up to and are important to the school. This petition covers the firing of our teachers and staff, but these budget cuts also affect our access to classes, supplies, and essential services (lunch, hygienic products, cleanliness, special education staffing, etc.) This is the tip of the iceberg. There are schools losing their librarians, entire programs, and more. Please take action!

Please sign this petition to ensure we keep our teachers at WY.  Even if you don't think a petition will change much it's good to have a paper trail of our community valuing our teachers!  Don't let CPS say we didn't argue, object, or try to do anything to show that we care about our teachers. We have until July 1st to make changes to next year's budget. 

Thank you so much for speaking up! It means a lot.

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RELATED ACTIONS:

FOR EVERYONE:

• The CTU has asked anyone who can to share this out for everyone to send emails to CPS officials to support the budget appeal that Mr. Harris (the WY principal) has filed. Try to schedule your emails for roughly Thurs 6/4 at 3:15 pm if possible, but if you miss the deadline, please still send it! Anything helps! Mr. Harris and our LSC president support this effort and “the squeaky wheel does get attention”.  The hope is that a mass email campaign could lessen the budget impact on WY.  Here is a link to a Google Doc for your budget appeal support email (Tab 1) - but PLEASE feel free to change it and make it your own to help it be even more effective.
• Sign up to speak at Chicago Board of Education meetings about every two weeks. They are on Wednesday June 10th and Thursday June 25th at 10:30 AM at 42 W. Madison Street in Chicago. Because they use a lottery system, we need as many people to sign up as possible in order for us to be able to voice our concerns about these budget cuts. For more information and registration (starting June 8th and June 23rd respectively) see the Chicago Board of Ed website. If you are able to speak, DM me on Instagram or email me at ryqchen09@gmail.com. 
• Contact our school district representative, Michilla Blaise at mblaise@cps.edu and share your thoughts about how much funding Whitney Young gets. The Opportunity Index score is a metric that determines how resources/funding are distributed among schools, and is calculated based on diversity, teacher retention, and how the school was funded before. Whitney Young has lost 3 points, dropping to at 12 out of 55, meaning we will receive less funding. The metric is fundamentally flawed especially for feeder schools like ours, and we must urge representatives like Blaise to reevaluate CPS's neglect.  Email template here (Tab 2), but, of course, you may make it your own to  increase impact.
• Lobby the state directly. Because of federal and state failures, CPS is only funded at 73% of what the state considers to be adequate, which means we are owed about $1.6 billion dollars. Contact the governor and state representatives directly, starting with the Illinois State Government website. I would recommend starting with the Executive Branch, then finding a IL Senator/House Rep to share your thoughts with. Many representatives have tried to claim that the schools are irresponsibly using their money, and therefore feel righteous in punishing/disciplining school boards with less funding. However, there are still students and staff that need the essential services this will cut. We will only be able to make change if we put pressure on our representatives to actually represent us. This is one of the most important actions.  

FOR WHITNEY YOUNG STUDENTS:

• We are building an official record to show decision-makers exactly who they are taking away from us. Use this form to name the specific teachers and staff members who have impacted your education, and share what makes them irreplaceable. Don't let administration say we didn't fight for the people who support us every day. My Teacher Matters.
• Actually go to LSC meetings to listen to admin, student reps, and teacher reps, and inform yourself. There is a section for public comment in these meetings, so you can both learn about the things happening to our school before they hit us and express your viewpoint on it in order for best results. It is difficult for those in power to fight a well-informed civic participant, especially before the problem has already taken effect. Take action early, even after this whole budget cut mess passes.