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CTU urges Chicago Board of Education to demand corrected communications, transition plan for EPIC Academy families
Summary
Jen Conant, CTU charter division chair, told the board that a CPS email to EPIC Academy families omitted board-mandated transition-plan language and asked the board to demand an apology, a collaborative transition plan and corrected communications to families and staff.
Jen Conant, charter division chair for the Chicago Teachers Union, told the Chicago Board of Education on Nov. 10 that CPS sent families an email about EPIC Academy that omitted the transition-plan language the board had unanimously approved.
"The entire email from CPS to families violates the intention of the board's amendments on Tuesday," Conant said, and asked the board to "demand that CPS apologize to EPIC families and staff," develop a transition plan with families and staff, and send a corrected follow-up communication to families and to staff.
Conant said the board's language requires a transition plan "to maximize stability and continuity for EPIC families and qualified staff, including choosing a receiving school," and that the CPS message instead described a wind-down in which "every student enrolls somewhere else" with no mention of a receiving school or a transition plan. She said CPS had not communicated with EPIC staff despite an earlier commitment from district leadership that staff would be contacted.
Conant also raised concerns about the fiscal and staffing stability of certain charter operators, saying one operator had paused hiring daily substitutes at two of three schools, leaving teachers unable to take personal days. "It sounds like [the operator] cannot secure subs because they have not paid the sub company recently," she said.
The board did not respond during public participation; after public comments the meeting recessed and then moved to closed session. Assistant board staff noted a meeting with EPIC parents scheduled for 1 p.m. on Monday and said written comments submitted between the posting of the public agenda and 5 p.m. the day after the meeting will be published on cpsboe.org within five business days.
The matter of EPIC Academy transition planning and communications is unresolved in the record of the meeting; Conant asked the board to direct CPS leadership to correct the communication, produce a transition plan with family and staff input, and issue a follow-up notice to staff.
