A New Beginning

Today I sat down for a one-on-one meeting with Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle to build the foundations of a relationship that I hope will benefit our schools, our students, and our members for years to come.

After getting familiar with one another's backstories, del Valle pointed out several fascinating commonalities in the events that shaped each of our professional lives, and we used that as a point from which to discuss the priorities of both the Board and CPAA. He pointed out the systems and protocols they're putting in place to steer CPS toward making more democratic decisions with input from stakeholders. That includes the formation of three standing Board committees on Personnel (Talent), Academics, and Preschool.

I reiterated some of the more significant issues our members have shared with me, including staffing, a fair rating system, increased compensation, redundant compliance, and collective bargaining rights, among others. Del Valle pointed out that several of these issues could be the subject of hearings or decisions made by the three new standing committees. He encouraged me to bring them to the attention of those committees once they are up and running.

Del Valle also expressed interest in the results of CPAA's 2019 Issues Survey. If you haven't taken the survey yet, search your email account for "2019 CPAA Issues Survey." You will get many results. The link at the bottom of any of those results will take you to the survey.

Today's talk with President del Valle was the first of five one-on-one meetings I have scheduled with members of the new CPS Board. Again, the purpose of those meetings is to build strong relationships with Board members and create a communication pathway that benefits you, your schools, and students we all serve.

I'll keep you updated as these meetings progress.

Respectfully,

Troy LaRaviere