ATTENTION ASSIGNMENT EDITORS
Please find below the detailed information about a press conference on Monday, June 9, 2014, at 11:15am, at the Walter Q. Gresham Elementary School in Chicago, following the school's graduation ceremony for its 8th graders.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, June 8, 2014
RAINBOW/PUSH Coalition’s Jonathan Jackson Will Address Gresham Elementary School Graduates and School Turnaround Issue on Monday June 9th
Parents, Students and Community Leaders will Call on Chicago Board of Education to Reverse Decision to Turn Around School
WHO: Jonathan Jackson, national spokesman of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; members
of Gresham Parents, Students and Community United for Change; Gresham families and community leaders
WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: Monday, June 9, 2014, at 11:15 a.m.
WHERE: Walter Q. Gresham Elementary School, 8524 S. Green St. in Chicago
WHY: On Monday, June 9, 2014, at 10a.m., more than 30 students will graduate from the Walter Q. Gresham Elementary School. Jonathan Jackson, the national spokesman for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, who has been on the front line with Gresham parents, students and faculty fighting to overturn the Chicago Board of Education’s April 23rd decision to dismiss all of the school’s administrators, faculty and staff later this month, will address the eighth graders.
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Gresham/page 2
Following the graduation ceremony, there will be a press conference where parents, students and community leaders will provide the latest update about their campaign to block the turnaround.
Last Tuesday, the group and members of the LSC met with Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett and Chicago Board of Education’s President David Vitale at the school, where they urged the CPS leaders to maintain the current administrators, faculty and staff and not turn the school over to the private company, Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL). The organization has also requested a meeting with School Board Member Andrea Zopp, who is president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League.
Parents and teachers said they are excited that Jackson will address the graduates.
“He is a good representative for all concerned: the students, community and staff,” said Joanne Crist, a Head Start teacher who has taught at the school for 14 years. Crist said staff and students are concerned about the fate of their school and they have many questions that need answers. They are pleased that the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the NAACP, which has launched an investigation to review the legalities concerning the vote, have publicly stated that Gresham students will be best served by the current administration and staff.
“Gresham has been a staple in the community,” she said. “In my opinion, the turnaround, at this critical time, will erode the progress that has been made in the neighborhood.”
For additional information about this event, or to arrange interviews with organizers or Jonathan Jackson please contact Tiffany Walker - Public Relations Officer at 404-396-1488 tiffanytiffany.llc@gmail.com or Mrs. Ollie Clements - Asst. Public Relations Officer, 773-981-3761 imadreamer60@yahoo.com.
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