Dear Friends,
I am so honored to have had your support in this election. Although the results did not go our way, the coalition we have built among progressive individuals and organizations can help us move forward on education and other issues that will no doubt become more pressing over the next few years.
In my unofficial counting of results, our campaign did carry Subdistrict 4a, the part of the district I would have represented. That includes the 46th and 48th ward precincts along with parts of the 44th and 47th wards. That is thanks to your hard work at doors and on phones and your donations to help fund needs like literature and staffing early voting sites. Our long history of organizing here, which many of you are part of, made all that work possible.
We got our message out to thousands of people: we have to move to a more equitable CPS in which every child has the opportunity to attend a well-resourced, high quality school in their neighborhood. We shared our model of equity–Sustainable Community Schools– and the importance of schools that can be hubs for their community, where the community feels ownership of the school and helps ensure their school’s success in providing challenging, engaging, and culturally relevant curriculum, building restorative culture, and offering extensive wrap around services and supplemental programming. Despite the pro-charter money and misleading attack ads bought with it, everywhere I went, voters supported public money for public schools rather than charters.
I hope that you will stay involved as we all figure out the best next steps to take. If you are looking for an organizational home, please check out the groups on my website to find one that fits your geography or interests/affinities.
Thank you so much for everything you contributed. The struggle continues and I will see you on the next battlefield.
Karen
