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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Local School Councils were established under the
3 Chicago School Reform Act of 1988, as a vehicle for parent,
4 community, teacher, and student empowerment in the Chicago
5 Public Schools (CPS); and
 
6     WHEREAS, Local School Councils are part of the late Mayor
7 Harold Washington's legacy of accessibility and accountability
8 to the public; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Local School Council members are publicly
10 elected, and Local School Councils stand as a national model
11 for local site management and democracy in public education;
12 and
 
13     WHEREAS, Research by Designs for Change on 144 schools that
14 have made consistent improvement over the past 15 years
15 indicates that Local School Councils have been a critical
16 component to school improvement in the City of Chicago; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Research by the Consortium on Chicago School
18 Research summarized that "the vast majority of LSC's are viable
19 governance organizations that responsibly carry out their
20 mandated duties and are active in building school and community
21 partnerships."; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, There is no research that suggests that Local
2 School Councils are not effective vehicles for local school
3 leadership; and
 
4     WHEREAS, There is significant public sentiment that there
5 is insufficient institutional support for Local School Council
6 support and development; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Research by the University of Illinois at Chicago
8 and the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization chronicles the
9 negative impact of central office decisions on the education of
10 low-income children when community wisdom is ignored; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Recommendations from 2 major studies have called
12 for more support for Local School Councils; and
 
13     WHEREAS, There are major initiatives sponsored by
14 community-based and non-CPS organizations that provide models
15 for support and training of Local School Councils; therefore,
16 be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
18 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
19 CONCURRING HEREIN, that we support the empowerment of Local
20 School Councils as effective local, publicly-elected

 

 

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1 decision-making bodies in the City of Chicago and will sponsor
2 subject-matter hearings on the needs of Local School Councils
3 to ensure their continued success.