Chicago City Colleges Take Corporate Turn, While Unions and Students Fight Back

from the In These Times ITT List:




Chicago City Colleges Take Corporate Turn, While Unions and Students Fight Back (2:05 pm)


CHICAGO—As corporate executives continue to be brought in to replace formal educators in the Chicago City College’s (CCC) system and on the CCC’s Board of Trustees, the education transformation promised by the “Reinvention” initiative is continuing to prove itself as a business co-opt of education started under former Mayor Richard Daley, and being escalated under Rahm Emanuel.

Six presidents of Chicago’s City Colleges are being fired and replaced, after the board rewrote their roles and duties, and gave them no time to adjust to the changes before firing them. Board Chancellor Cheryl Hyman says that CCC has created an advisory committee, with the input of staff, faculty and students, that will make decisions about CCC leadership. But community activists, students and teachers unions are pushing back with direct action and possibly legal action, saying they weren’t listened to in the first place.

Members of American Federation of Teachers Locals 1708 and 1600 picketed outside the CCC District Office in downtown Thursday, June 16, calling for the rehiring of the six presidents and an elected Board of Trustees. The unions are also calling for a forensic audit of the money that has been poured into Reinvention as well as all expenditures of the District Office since Hyman’s appointment.

“This is about private corporations owning the education process,” Activist Lel Onyeali said. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.theittlist.com/ittlist/ind/6007/save_city_colleges/

as the head of anything in Chicago, because your probably not going to have a job a year.

just don't wash the baby out with the bathwater.

Some of the schools are very good and have excellent teachers but there is a lot of dead weight that needs to go.