Dear Families,
Today, I’m writing to you as a mother of a black boy who is worried for him, and the millions of other black boys in our country. I worry that when he leaves our home to ride bikes with his friends, he will come back to me as a headline, a hashtag, a rallying cry—an Ahmaud, a Breonna, a George.
My mother raised me to never bring up a problem without a solution, but today, I can only share with you my hurt and sorrow for our community. Tomorrow and in the days and weeks to come, we will have to have some real and difficult conversations about the worth of a person—not only in death but also in life.
We must acknowledge that far too many of us have come to accept fear and pain as part of normal life. Fear should not be the first thing we feel in the morning and the last thing we feel at night but it is for many in the African American community. If we are going to progress as a society, this moment must lead us to confront racism — in all of its forms — on a daily basis.
Racism is all around us, but for too long, our nation has locked it away in the Civil Rights chapter of our history books. We taught and talked in terms of segregation, bus seating, and Bull Connor, while not giving enough attention and voice to what’s happening today. I’m challenging our community—parents, teachers, students—to call racist behavior out when we see it. We’ve tolerated intolerance for far too long, and the time has come for us to act.
This work is not easy but that cannot be an excuse to delay progress. Black lives matter, and it’s past due for us to prove it with action. Families of all backgrounds have a role to play, and it starts by speaking honestly with our children and our own respective communities. These will be undoubtedly difficult conversations and we will be sharing resources beginning Monday to help you begin these conversations.
We are here for you today, and we will be here for you tomorrow. Together we have a responsibility to ensure each day is safer, fairer and more just than the last.
Janice K. Jackson, EdD Mother of CPS students
Updates for the Days Ahead The safety of all our students and staff is top of mind, and the district will be monitoring the situation in the days ahead to determine if any modifications to planned activities are necessary. Please see below for updates on significant activities and resources. Family Support: If your family is in need of assistance during this challenging time, please contact the CPS Command Center, which can help connect you to vital support services. The Command Center can be reached at 773-553-KIDS (5437) or familyservices@cps.edu. Grab-and-go Meal Sites: CPS will continue to provide free grab-and-go meals for all students. For the current list of active meal sites, please visit cps.edu/mealsites. Scheduled Item Retrieval: Earlier this month, we provided schools with guidance on how to distribute personal items that were left in schools at the end of in-person instruction. Schools will continue with item retrieval as scheduled and notify families of any changes. End-of-Year Activities: Schools throughout the city have scheduled a variety of socially distanced end-of-year-activities, and CPS will continue to monitor the situation to determine if any changes to school plans are necessary. Please look out for updates from your school in the days ahead. Smyth will Host Virtual Parent Meetings via Zoom on Friday, May 29:
1. PreK-2nd Meeting @ 10am Meeting ID: 826 3074 2396 Passwd: 3PPfwr 2. 3rd-5th Meeting @ 10:30am Meeting ID: 833 1192 2009 Passwd: 3PPfwr 3. 6th-8th Meeting @ 11am Meeting ID: 849 0593 8646 Passwd: 7t3Mzu 4. 8th Only Meeting @ 11:30 Meeting ID: 894 4752 8459 Password: 5SLJp3 Note: The Zoom app downloads automatically; No account required. 8th Grade "Profiling the Class of 2020" Survey about your experiences at Smyth and future endeavors. Survey is available until Sat., May 30 @ 5pm. Dear Colleagues, Families, and Supporters, This week, we celebrated both Teacher Appreciation Week and National Nurses Week. In these unprecedented circumstances, these professionals are doing an outstanding job of meeting their students’ needs, from supporting their health and safety to providing the academic foundation they will need for success in college, career, and community. We thank all of our teachers and nurses for their unwavering dedication and hope each felt valued and supported by their Chicago Public Schools (CPS) family this week. With Mother’s Day on Sunday, we also want to acknowledge the incredible moms who are part of our CPS community. Parents are always our most critical partners, but their role in education has taken on a whole new significance during this time of remote learning. Our teachers are doing everything they can to provide their students and their children a positive experience learning at home. We thank all of the mothers who are helping oversee their children’s education, often while balancing the demands of their own careers. You are all heroes, and we wish you a joyful and relaxing Mother’s Day. As we approach the end of the school year, we are planning our process for ensuring students and staff can safely bring home their belongings from our schools. Additionally, in alignment with guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), we are planning to hold summer school virtually. Please be on the lookout for additional guidance on these plans in the coming weeks. We know that our parents, students, partners, and staff are all wondering the same thing right now––what will school look like for CPS in the fall? At this point, there are many options on the table, and due to the evolving nature of the public health emergency, no decisions have been made yet for the fall. While we hope that schools will open on time and at full capacity, we are establishing a variety of contingency plans to ensure families are supported and student learning can continue in the fall. Earlier this week, ISBE officials acknowledged a range of potential scenarios—including having students attend school on alternate days to continue remote learning—and we are working to ensure we are prepared for whatever course of action our local and state leaders and health officials determine is safe and responsive to the needs of our students, staff, and families. CPS is planning for a robust 2020–21 school year that will provide your child with the quality education they deserve. With continued support from our educators, families, and partners, we have total confidence that we will finish this school year strong and begin our next one as a district on the rise. We thank you for your patience and cooperation during this unprecedented time and promise to communicate with you regularly as plans take shape for the fall. Please stay healthy and safe until we can all reunite as one CPS family. Sincerely,
April 30, 2020
Dear CPS Families,
On April 17, Governor Pritzker announced that in-person instruction would be suspended for all Illinois schools through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. This was difficult news to hear, but we support the Governor’s decision to protect the health and safety of all Illinoisans.
While in-person instruction has ended for the year, remote learning is in full swing, and our teachers are doing their best to provide your children with the same high-quality instruction they had in the classroom. Today, we are writing to update you on how your child will be graded in the fourth quarter, as well as the recommendations we will be making to the Board of Education regarding graduation and promotion to the next grade level. We hope this information will help you keep your child engaged through the final two months of school while providing flexibility during this challenging time.
Grading and Promotion for Elementary Students We recognize the challenges our students and families are facing due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, and we are recommending the Board of Education approve a modification to the promotion policy that will advance all elementary students to the next grade level in the fall. While student work will be graded to allow them to improve or maintain their third quarter grades, no student will receive a fourth quarter grade that falls below their third quarter grade. To ensure students are rewarded for their hard work while also providing flexibility, students will receive either a letter grade, Pass, or Incomplete based on the following criteria:
For a full overview of our grading, promotion, and graduation requirements, please view our detailed grading guidance for parents. Engaging Students and Families and Ensuring a Strong Finish to the Year Keeping students engaged and instilling a sense of normalcy are critical to their health and wellness and ensures students can continue making academic progress. We’ve developed a protocol to help schools track student engagement through a variety of metrics, including regular teacher check-ins for students who may need additional guidance. However, we ask families to work with their school to create a routine to keep their child engaged. Teachers will continue posting grades at the same frequency as usual. Please utilize the Parent Portal to monitor your child’s progress. Click here for more information on Parent Portal and contact your child’s school with questions.
While this is not the fourth quarter we envisioned for you, the school year is not over. Teachers will continue to teach. Students will continue to learn. The important work of education will not stop.
Finally, to the Class of 2020, we’re deeply sorry that you won’t be able to celebrate your prom and graduation with your friends and family. We remain hopeful that should the governor lift the stay-at-home order and public health officials deem it appropriate to gather in large groups this summer, school communities will find a way to celebrate your achievements.
We appreciate your patience and understanding. We will continue to update you regularly throughout the remainder of the school year.
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