Our Schools, Our Future. We’re All Involved! (Kids or No Kids!)

Newsletter from October 26, 2024 is below.

Come Meet Kimberly Today! Free & No RSVP Required! Trick-or-Treating Clothing Drive Today at SE Corner of Belmont & Broadway Kimberly has benefited from donations and help in her hardest times, and we know many of you have too. CPS families have immediate needs, and her friends in CPS Family and Community Engagement, Evelyn and Jeannette, work every day for us and our neighbors.  Join Kimberly during the Lakeview East Little Monsters Crawl today (Oct 26) from 11am-3pm to get candy and give items for her friends E and J. Their annual budget is $300. It's just not enough.   If you vote for Kimberly for Board of Education, she'll solve this need at the macro level. Until then, she's working every day to help them how she can (volunteering, finding bookshelves, running clothing drives).  She bought too much candy, so she wants to see you! Come out, meet her IRL (in real life) and let's have fun and make our world a better place! Kimberly will be personally manning the table 11-3pm. Our Schools, Our Future: Get Involved! Did you know that over 50% of your tax dollars go towards education? That's a huge investment in our community's future. Whether you have kids in the district or not, your voice matters. Let's work together to ensure our schools have the best leadership. Connect with Kimberly: She's passionate about our schools and is always available to chat. Email her to set up a time to connect. I'm committed to ensuring our public schools provide the best education possible for every child. Over just this past month, I've been actively engaged in our community, attending forums, meeting with voters, and organizing events. Here's a glimpse of what I've been up to: Community Forums: I've attended 6 forums in the last 7 days to discuss the critical issues facing our schools, from budget constraints to curriculum development. Direct-to-Voter Conversations: I've been calling and meeting directing with voters to listen to the concerns of our residents and share my vision for the future of our schools. Volunteer Events: I've organized and participated in local events like the Trick-or-Treat Clothing Drive, bringing our community together for a good cause. Your Vote Matters: By voting for me, you're investing in the future of our children and our city. Together, we can create a thriving Chicago for all of us. Strong public schools are the foundation of amazing and thriving economies. Let's make a difference together! Better Streets Questionnaire Summary Read Full Q&A School pick up/drop off can be chaotic and at times unsafe. What are ways you think this could be improved? We need a district-wide approach that is required for every school and includes school- and community-specific committees to tailor to their unique situation. This includes leveraging the results from the Chicago School Zone improvement study with multiple safety upgrades to neighborhood streets with crossing upgrades, enhanced signage, traffic calming, reduced speed limits, and truck restrictions. Infrastructure improvements include curb bump-outs, raised crosswalks, and refuge islands. We cannot do a piece-by-piece roll out. We need a comprehensive plan with a timeline that is activated across the district. Increasingly,  a lack of busing has become a serious burden for many families’ day-to-day lives as services continue to be cut. What are some short-term and long-term solutions that you think would address this? I am the only candidate in District 4 that is endorsed by CPS Parents for Buses because I am in alignment with their group and earned the parents’ trust to be the leader to make change quickly. We need to bring back buses immediately. Driver shortage is an excuse, and we need to work with our amazing Chicago community to rethink and reactivate safe, district-managed transportation to school for every student. This means a database and map of every student and where they go to school to match them to available transportation options including walking groups, bike buses, car pools, and bus stops managed by safe passage adults. This is not a budget or a resource issue. This is a lack of innovative thinking and prioritization. WE need to get children to school safely via district transportation, and we can do that with and without traditional yellow school buses. For many years now, Chicago Public Schools has failed to meet federally mandated requirements for accessible transportation for students with disabilities. How do you envision ensuring that students with disabilities’ transportation needs are met? I see Facebook posts from parents of students with disabilities unable to get to school, experiencing “ghost buses”, and/or being told to use an Uber to send their young child to school without them. This is UNACCEPTABLE. Children with disabilities are equal citizens and require transportation. We need to implement everything I said above with priority routes and support given to special education students and their families (many of whom have to send their children to different schools). At the same time we’re implementing all the transportation actions I’ve detailed in this questionnaire, we also need to be upgrading the infrastructure and expanding special educational services to be in every CPS school, so every school is a viable option for every student. It becomes an unbelievable hardship on parents (who are already doing so much) when their special education or disabled student can’t go to their local school or siblings’ school because they are not accessible (physically or educationally). Aside from being illegal, it is also unethical and against our district and city’s values. Finally, we need to really listen and work with our parent-led committees and CPS staff to prioritize and implement their recommendations. SUN TIMES/WBEZ SUMMARY OF ENDORSEMENTS Karen Zaccor Chicago Teachers Union, Our Schools Coalition Ellen Rosenfeld - Urban Center Action*, Chicago Democrats for Education, Illinois Policy PAC Kimberly Brown - CPS Parents for Buses Thomas Day Carmen Gioiosa Andrew A. Davis * Urban Center Action is a super PAC, which can spend money on behalf or against a candidate but can’t coordinate with candidates. Read Full Story REGISTER FOR REAL, LOCAL INFORMATION Local news is hard to come by, and we're committed to sharing critical candidate and elected leader information, educational policies and implications for our neighborhood and city, and hero-level community groups helping our children and families every day.  Regardless of the 2024 election, this is one newsletter you want to get.  Register Now MEET YOUR CANDIDATE! Kimberly Brown has the proven experience as an organizational and executive leader, adult educator, CPS parent, and journalist to serve on the Board of Chicago Public Schools.  As the candidate with the most experience, she has earned endorsements from parent-run organizations. Vote for experience and empathy over Chicago business-as-usual. Kimberly Brown is committed to: Bringing back bus transportation to ensure all students have equal access to education. Prioritizing bike and pedestrian safety around schools. Implementing improved procurement and financial oversight to ensure our resources are used effectively. Promoting transparency and access to data and information to keep our community informed about school operations. Improving academic outcomes for all students. Ensuring a safe and supportive learning environment. Strengthening partnerships between schools, families, and the community. Your vote is crucial in shaping the future of our schools. Please join Kimberly in making a difference for our kids. Learn More CPS Board of Education Job Description Being a member of a Board, especially a Board of Education for the 4th largest school district in the United States of America, is a really big job. I have come to realize that there is a huge knowledge gap from most people (including many of the candidates running) about the roles and responsibilities of an effective Board member. As a trained journalist, Chicagoan, citizen, CPS parent, and candidate, I want everyone to make informed decisions about their Board of Education members. I have created a scorecard for District 4. I have also included the primary sources to help everyone get informed on this critical leadership role.  CPS recently former Board Members did an incredible video explaining their jobs.  Read More & Watch Video Decide the best person to vote for based on proven experience. Use our scorecard to get started. Read about the Board of Education roles and responsibilities & vote for the candidate with proven experience for the job.  YOU ARE OLD SCHOOL COOL We believe public schools create a strong economy, safe community, and vibrant society for every human.  This community crowd-sourced design is meant to inspire and celebrate education AND be something you want to wear! Shop Now Join Our Movement Voter outreach in local elections matter, and Chicago is a global city with far-reaching impact when our policies work. If you can volunteer to send an email or a text, post on social, or make a call, we want you! Everyone in the U.S. is invested in the success of Chicago Public Schools.  Support Independent Candidates Paid for and authorized by Friends of Kimberly Brown. A copy of our report filed with the State Board of Elections is (or will be) available on the Board’s website, or for purchase from the State Board of Elections, Springfield, IL 62704. Friends of Kimberly Brown 521 W. Belmont Ave, Unit 3 Chicago, IL 60657 United States If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please  (Unsubscribing is not supported in previews).