On this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros bring a crew into the studio from the We Care New Teachers/Clinicians Coaching and Mentoring Program, which is a union-led, CTU initiative in partnership with CPS. We Care provides mentoring and support to educators in their first three years to help them navigate the various cha…

On this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Tara Stamps and Jim Staros invite David Stovall, professor of criminology, law, and justice at the University of Illinois-Chicago, into the studio for a discussion of the outlandish things Paul Vallas has said about teaching Black history. This is an informative deep dive into the explicit and not-so-explici…

On this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Tara Stamps and Jim Staros welcome three out-of-town guests to our Chicago studio to discuss the devastation that Paul Vallas wrought in the cities where they live. Shakeda Gaines is an education activist and advocate from Philadelphia, Melissa Francis is a parent union organizer with Step Up for Action in N…

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Tara Stamps dive into Brandon Johnson’s past by interviewing three of Mr. Johnson’s former 7th grade students — Shakyra Williams, Malik Savage, and Dequandre Williams — and his former co-worker Pat Wade. Along with Tara, they were all at Jenner Academy for the Arts when Brandon taught there. Together, the…

On this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Tara Stamps and Jim Staros speak with two active and one retired teacher about Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and his time as CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Nina Hike is currently a chemistry teacher at Westinghouse College Prep, who as a second-year teacher found herself laid off alongside many other…

On this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Tara Stamps and Jim Staros speak with Ald. Jeanette Taylor, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez, and Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa about their vision for a Chicago that works for those who work for a living. Beyond that, these three dynamic elected officials lay out what’s at stake in the February 28 election. The discussion …

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros speak with guests Daniria Dukes and Jen Conant about the CTU’s ongoing contract campaigns with 12 different charter operators. Daniria is a special education apprentice at Daniel Zizumbo Elementary, vice president for PSRPs, and the bargaining representative for her campus. Jen i…

Three educators, three CTU members, three candidates for a Chicago that its residents deserve. In this episode, co-hosts Tara Stamps and Jim Staros speak with mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson, 36th ward candidate Lori Torres, and 50th ward candidate Mueze Bawany about what running for office means to them. Each of these educators have based their …

Teacher evaluations could be a valuable part of helping educators get better at their craft. But that’s not how they work at Mayor Lightfoot’s CPS. Instead, they chiefly reflect whether a given school gets the resources it needs — or not. That’s why a great teacher getting great ratings at a selective enrollment school can suddenly find that their …

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, Tara Stamps sits in for Andrea Parker as co-host alongside Jim Staros to talk with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, who is a professor in the Department of African American Studies at Northwestern University. Prof. Taylor, who frequently writes and speaks about Black politics, racial inequality, and social movements, recentl…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with CTU PAC chair Kimberly Walls-Kirk and State Sen. Robert Peters about the November 8 ballot measure to include workers' rights in the Illinois Constitution. The measure would add the right to collectively bargain over wages, conditions, and workplace safety to the Illino…

In this episode of CTU Speaks! co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with Lauren Bianchi and Chuck Stark, two teachers at Washington High School that CPS sought to terminate this past summer. Their crime? Teaching their students about the city’s plan to move the toxic metal shredding corporation General Iron from wealthy Lincoln Park to the So…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, cohosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with Chris Goff from the American Federation of Teachers about student loan debt. The three of them discuss how student debt has ballooned out of control, and how the AFT sued the federal government over unscrupulous and predatory practices to help borrowers attain some debt …

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and Vice President Jackson Potter about their vision for the CTU in the coming year and beyond. They review some of the accomplishments of prior CTU Presidents Karen Lewis and Jesse Sharkey and then dive into their goals as the new leader…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with two rank-and-file members — Lori Torres and Tammie Vinson — about their experience at the AFT National Convention in Boston. Lori and Tammie discuss their time at the conference, resolutions passed at the national level, and why that matters to CTU members. They also ta…

In this episode, CTU Speaks! co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros welcome Jesse Sharkey onto the show to discuss his recent announcement not to seek re-election as president of the Chicago Teachers Union. They look back at what the CTU looked like when Jesse became vice president under then CTU President Karen Lewis, and they reflect on what the C…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, cohosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with CTU Chief of Staff Jen Johnson about the new safety agreement with CPS. They break down what’s good and what’s not so good about it as well as some of the safety resources on the CTU’s website, including this chart tracking implementation of key aspects of the agreement.…

This episode of CTU Speaks! has co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros speaking with CTU President Jesse Sharkey and CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates about what the new school year might bring for educators, students, and parents in Chicago. The recent surge in COVID cases among young people is creating a wave of anxiety about school openings, n…

This episode of CTU Speaks! has co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros speaking with Tara Stamps, the longtime educator and activist who is now the CTU's Administrative Director of New Teacher Development. Tara is heading up recruitment to the "We Care New Educators and Clinicians Coaching and Mentoring Program,” which connects new educators and cli…

This episode of CTU Speaks! has co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros speaking with Judy Mahoney, a clerk at Byrne Elementary who was in a terrible car accident back in 2017. The accident left Judy in a wheelchair, but as she herself put it, “‘The only thing that remains the same is my ability to work.” This discussion focuses on how Judy has overc…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, Andrea and Jim talk with Kelsey Cavanaugh, an American Sign Language interpreter for CPS, and Christa Valencia, a middle-school teacher of the deaf. They discuss the many hurdles that deaf students confront at CPS — from getting placed in a school in the first place to the inequities they experience once they get the…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, CTU President Jesse Sharkey and CTU organizer Rebecca Martinez join co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros to review the broad sweep of the campaign that finally compelled CPS to agree to a safe reopening framework. One of the most important elements of the agreement is the creation of safety committees in every schoo…

This episode of CTU Speaks! has co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros speaking with Deanna Myron, who has worked at CPS for the last 20 years and as a CPS clerk for the last 10, as well as CTU Recording Secretary(and PSRP for Life) Christel Williams-Hayes. They talk about the arbitration victory allowing clerks and tech coordinators to work from ho…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros look back at the 2019 strike — all that we won and all that we have yet to realize. The strike holds some important lessons for the current fight against CPS and its push to return to school buildings despite spiking cases of COVID-19 and the lack of adequate safeguards for stude…

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros have an in-depth discussion with Illinois State Senator Robert Martwick and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson about the many reasons to vote yes on the Fair Tax on November 3. They outline how the Fair Tax would benefit the state as a whole while 97 percent of state residents would see a…

This episode is a little different. Co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros forgo a guest interview so they can dish essential facts about the Fair Tax, which will be on the Illinois ballot this November. They dispel many of the myths and outright lies that opponents of the Fair Tax — like billionaires Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin — are blasting into…

Co-hosts Jim Staros and Andrea Parker talk to author, activist and Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin. In addition to his editorial duties at The Nation, Zirin has authored almost a dozen books about sports, athletes, and the struggles for justice and civil rights. The three discuss how the sports scene has changed very quickly from the vilif…

This episode of CTU Speaks! has co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros speaking with Mueze Bawany, a teacher at Roberto Clemente High School, about another epidemic hitting our city...housing instability. They discuss issues of homelessness, rising rents, and gentrification as well as the overarching need for safe and affordable housing in Chicago. …

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros discuss the recent release of CPS' remote learning framework as the first day of the school year approaches. They also speak with Walter Taylor, the director of Professional Development for the Chicago Teachers Union, about classes for teachers to help them improve their remote t…

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros discuss the issue of union organizing with Norine Gutekanst (director of organizing for CTU) and Jhoanna Maldonado (organizer for CTU) and show how CTU never sleeps! They discuss what organizing is, why it is critical to the successes of the Chicago Teachers Union over the last 10 years, and wh…

In this episode, co-hosts Jim Staros and Andrea Parker interview author and historian Diane Ravitch, who is Research Professor of Education at New York University. In this episode's deep dive into the exploitation of our school system by "disruptors" and public education profiteers, Andrea and Jim will discuss Ravitch's latest book "Slaying Goliath…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk to teacher Kent Martin and security guard Denzell Sanders, both of whom work at Ms. Parker's own Robert Fulton elementary school. This episode focuses on the smoldering issue of police in public schools—and how it came to be that today there are plenty of schools with cops b…

CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates speaks with co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros in this episode of CTU Speaks! about the right to recovery for the students and families of Chicago. She discusses how in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic downturn, and widespread demands for racial justice, we have a unique opportunity to redesign…

In this episode of CTU Speaks! co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros meet with Walter Taylor, the director of Professional Development for the Chicago Teachers Union and an expert on remote learning as well as training others on how to implement digital education. He talks with Jim and Andrea about what a true public education should entail and how…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with the organizers of a historic vote to unionize at EPIC Academy, a charter school on Chicago's South Side. Three educators and a CTU organizer reflect on their struggles, successes, and the impact of the pandemic, including how EPIC tried to compel teachers to come to the…

In this episode, co-hosts Jim Staros and Andrea Parker revisit their discussion with school teacher elementary Carla Jones, early childhood teacher Arathi Jayaram, and middle school writing teacher Comfort Agboola who were featured in Episode 17. During this episode, these three teachers outline their struggles and successes with remote learning du…

It’s pretty clear that teachers don’t like remote learning, and students like it perhaps even less than teachers, but what about the parents? In this episode, CTU Speaks! co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with CPS parents Andrea Mosley and Valerie Nelson about their assessment of the first couple weeks of remote learning. How are parents d…

In this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros have a discussion with Professor David Stovall from University of Illinois-Chicago about race and inequity in Chicago schools, and how the current pandemic has highlighted problems that have existed within Chicago’s most vulnerable communities for decades. And Andrea talks with J…

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros discuss the remote learning experience with three rank-and-file teachers. Remote learning officially goes into effect in Chicago Public Schools on Monday, April 13, but teachers across the city have already started implementing many aspects of digital instruction. Their experiences provide an e…

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros continue our coronavirus coverage with CTU President Jesse Sharkey detailing the union’s ongoing effort to fight for equity within Chicago Public Schools as the learning environment shifts online. CTU clinician and nurse Dennis Kosuth also joins the team to describe his view from the front line…

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros speak with Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey and Vice President Stacy Davis Gates about the COVID19 pandemic and its far-reaching impact on schools, the union, the city, and the world. Then they interview Emily Hecht, the CTU delegate at Vaughn Occupational High School that was clo…

Oleh Chicago Teachers Union

Oleh Chicago Teachers Union

Oleh Chicago Teachers Union

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with nine teachers who got arrested on Day 9 of the Chicago Teachers Union's recent strike. The CTU 9 were calling on mega developer Sterling Bay to return some of the $1.3 billion in taxpayer money they received to develop Lincoln Yards in order to help CPS settle the contract and end the…

In this episode, co-hosts Andrea Parker and Jim Staros talk with bargaining team members Quentin Washington and Kirstin Roberts about what it was like to spend weeks (and even months!) at the negotiating table with Chicago Public Schools, how the wins in the contract came to be there, and what some of the strategic considerations are when striking …

On this episode, Jim and Andrea review the last couple weeks, during which the Chicago Teachers Union has been on strike, with a number of guests, including CTU Chief of Staff Jen Johnson, President Jesse Sharkey, and Deputy General Counsel Thad Goodchild. Jen takes a step back to look at what we won and how, Jesse describes some of the negotiation…

On this episode, Jim and Andrea have the absolute joy and privilege to sit down with writer, scholar, and people's mayor of Chicago Dr. Eve L. Ewing. Eve talks about how the lessons of her book Ghosts in the Schoolyard, which deconstructs the 2013 CPS school closings, connect to the current strike, the impact of structural racism on our school syst…

Five days into the CTU strike, Jim sits down with Cook County Commissioner CTU member, and former middle school teacher Brandon Johnson (Andrea caught a cold from striking so hard!). Brandon puts the strike in historical context and helps us understand it as a potential pivot point for the city, while also underscoring the ways that CTU has been im…

Andrea and Jim take a deep dive into the wildly inequitable world of TIFs with Chicago's resident gadfly and journalism legend Ben Joravsky. Ben breaks down how TIFs became a slush fund for the Mayor's office, why they continue to serve as such, and how this connects to the CTU strike.Subscribe to CTU Speaks and write a review on Apple Podcasts!: h…