Photo caption: Top photo: COFI and POWER-PAC IL Parent Leaders with the Chicago elected school board candidates. Bottom left photo: Talibah Moore speaking at the Chicago “Babies Can’t Wait!” rally. Bottom right photo: Elgin Parent Leader Ana Arguenta speaking at the “Babies Can’t Wait!” rally.
POWER-PAC IL’s Elementary Justice Campaign and Early Learning Campaign hosted two different “Weeks of Action” in October!
In late October, parent leaders participated in the Dignity in Schools’ National Week of Action Against School Pushout, which calls on schools to move away from punitive discipline policies and toward restorative, culturally responsive, and emotionally safe school communities.
Parent leaders also partnered with Raising Illinois for the “Babies Can’t Wait!” Week of Action in late October to call on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to invest $60 million into the state’s budget for early intervention services critical to the first three years of a baby’s life.
Read more about how parents took action below!
Chicago Parents Host a Candidate Forum for the First-Ever Elected School Board in Chicago Public Schools for Week of Action Against School Pushout
ICYMI: Chicago residents voted for ten school board candidates for the first time in Chicago’s history on Election Day. Previously, the Mayor appointed all of the board members. Many Black and Brown communities are still feeling the repercussions from 2013 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointed board closed 50 schools.
Since the school board is responsible for the district’s budget and policies, COFI and POWER-PAC IL parent leaders knew this was a pivotal moment to get to know the candidates and their views on the following issues:
- Allocating resources for mental health and social and emotional learning
- Collaborating with parent and student organizers
- The expansion and implementation of Whole School Safety (WSS) that COFI and POWER-PAC IL parent leaders initiated with the WSS Steering Committee
- Ensuring equity in district funding and more!
Parent leaders came up with questions and sent questionnaires to the candidates in the six districts where POWER-PAC IL is active. Nine candidates responded and all of their answers were posted to a webpage where parents could read the responses. And, then, these candidates were invited to attend a “Meet and Greet” with 50 parent leaders from across the city.
The following candidates attended: Jason Dones, Jitu Brown, Anusha Thotakura, Jessica Biggs, Eva Villalobos, Lanetta M. Thomas, La’Mont Raymond Williams, Adam Parrott-Sheffer, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, and a representative from Karin Norington-Reaves campaign. (Three of these candidates subsequently won election to their seats on the new school board!)
A big thank you to all the candidates who showed up, listened to parents’ concerns, and explained their policy priorities.
Read more: Parent Leader Lynn Morton met with the Austin Weekly about the school board election and said, “We should be just as concerned about the school board election as we are about the presidential election, because this is going to hit closer to home faster.”
COFI Parent Leader Ana Arguenta and Organizer Talibah Moore Share Testimonies at “Babies Can’t Wait” Rallies for Early Intervention Funding
Elgin Parent Leader Ana Arguenta knows early intervention prepared her three children for preschool and beyond. At a rally, she said she could see her kids learning to socialize and gaining critical developmental skills in EI sessions.
As a Spanish speaker, Ana said it also made a world of difference when her first child’s therapist could speak Spanish. She could get involved in the lessons, understand what was happening, and continue building on the lessons after the therapist left.
But, when Ana’s other two children needed therapy, the therapist did not speak Spanish, and she needed an interpreter. With only 45 minutes per session, interpretation took up a chunk of that time, and she knew her children weren’t getting the full benefits.
Nonetheless, when they entered school, she could see the difference it made on all three of them. “Early intervention helped my children,” she said. “And it helps so many children.”
COFI partnered with other Raising Illinois member organizations to host a “Babies Can’t Wait!” Week of Action to call attention to stories like Ana’s and build support for increasing early intervention funding in Illinois by $60 million.
Early intervention covers critical support to babies 0-3, including speech and language, occupational, and physical therapists. However, parents have identified a problem they label as “redlining” of early intervention given that these crucial services are hard to access in many communities.
COFI Organizer Talibah Moore has experienced that “redlining”. At the Chicago rally during Week of Action, Talibah spoke about how getting services for her 3-year-old took six months. “I started the process last year in October (2023). They told me he would start receiving services in March (2024), but Corey turned 3 in April and aged out.”
Talibah said he’s thriving now at a Chicago Public preschool, but the challenges and delays she faced for six months are something thousands of families across Illinois are experiencing.
A $60 million increase is just a start for funding early intervention. We urge the Illinois legislature to increase funding for the Early Intervention program by $60 million in the state’s FY26 budget. Join us by signing this petition to support early intervention parents and providers.
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