CORE: The Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators 0000
Under CORE’s leadership, the CTU has won class size protections, more bilingual education provisions and sanctuary schools protections, the first healthy green schools provisions in our new contract LGBTQIA+ protections and other crucial provisions. CTU members will see big COLA raises in our current contract and bigger raises for paraprofessionals while keeping healthcare costs down and expanding healthcare access and benefits. We’ve secured added salary steps to address stagnant veteran pay, with a step in place for every year of service up to year 25, plus longevity bonuses for teachers with more than 25 years. We are adding special education staff, librarians, social workers, counselors, bilingual and class-size TAs, fine arts and physical education teachers, technology coordinators and more. Additionally, all elementary teachers will receive more time to prepare and collaborate.
Our current contract advancements, which passed with record turnout and approval, would not have been possible without the last 15 years of work by CORE leadership. We finally won back the bargaining rights taken from us in 1995, and we helped elect public education champions as members of Chicago’s first elected school board, with others appointed by the mayor (and former CORE member) we helped elect. And we are working with our allies in Springfield to improve school funding, fix Tier 2, and dismantle REACH. But we’ll have to fight to win if we are to make the most of those opportunities. That’s why we need CORE to keep leading!
Latest Updates
CORE's Fight to Reduce Standardized Testing
Since the failed education reform of President Bush’s 2001 “No child left behind Act” our nation has seen a consistent increase in standardized testing across the country. As our government has continued to call for more so-called “accountability” measures, CORE has been frontlines of pushing back. A few years ago CORE members were at the epicenter of the opt-out campaigns, and we have consistently pointed out the racist and punitive nature of current assessment practices.
Read moreMeet your #COREClassOf2022 Candidates for Clinician Functional Vice President
Add your reaction Share
Wednesday: Rally and Press Conference at the CPS Board of Education to Oppose Budget Cuts
Add your reaction Share
Organizing Against the CPS Budget Cuts
As we headed into spring break, we got the news that CPS intends to make $42M in cuts to our budgets next year. For my school, this means losing at least one teacher and some paraprofessionals. Some schools are slated to see as much as an 11% cut to their budget. All while CPS sits on $370M in unspent relief money. At the time when our students need it the most, the school district is hoarding the funds meant to help our schools recover.
We have to fight this.
Read more