MAP Coalition Rises Up to Advocate to Stop Funding Cuts

BUILD Leads the Way

By:  Yolian Cintron

 

Roughly 75 staff and youth from Chicago Public School’s (CPS) Mentorship and Advocacy Program (MAP) coalition agencies sat in the halls of the Chicago Board of Education (BOE) waiting to enter its regular monthly board meeting.   Thousands of teachers picketed loudly in the street against the 4% raise, rescinded just one week earlier, as a part of a five-year contract between the BOE and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).  Such was the scene on Wednesday, June 22 as BUILD staff and youth led the effort to stop the cuts in funding.

 

BUILDers, and other MAP coalition agencies, began gathering at the doors of 125 S. Clark St. at 4:00 a.m. to secure their seat in the Board room.  All of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s new appointed Board members were there, including the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jean-Claude Brizard.   After the meeting, the public participation session began with CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey, who was speaking in the absence of CTU President Karen Lewis, speaking about the failure of the Board to approve the previously contractually agreed upon 4% raise.  Next, Jasson Perez of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73, asked for the return of $102 million and Tax Incremental Funds (TIF) funds to CPS.

 

At 10: 00 a.m., BUILD Executive Director Dr. Roslind Blasingame- Buford, made an appeal to stop the funding cuts for the MAP program.  She told the Board failure to re-invest would have great ramifications.  She mentioned that students who took part in the program for only one year were less likely to use drugs and/or alcohol.  As she spoke, all of the youth and staff rose to their feet in a strong show of support for the MAP program. 

 

The MAP program has served some of the most at-risk youth in Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods.  Young people were engaged with mentors in a variety of activities such as life skills development, academic assistance, and goal setting and planning.  As a result, youth engaged in these services displayed positive behavioral changes, increases in school attendance and improvement in their grades.  Dr. Blasingame-Buford informed the Board of the success of this program, and the serious consequences of the funding cuts.  Attendance would once again decrease, violent incidents could go back up in the schools, and the dropout rates in target schools would remain unacceptably high.

 

After BUILD’s appeal, a youth gave his testimonial of how he had completely dropped out of school.  MAP mentors reached out to him, re-enrolled him in school, and re-engaged him in the educational pipeline towards college.  The youth not only graduated, but was accepted to three schools.  He will be attending college in the fall.  After his testimony, CPS Board President David Vitale, responded that funding for such programs will remain a priority for the CPS board. 

 

In these troubled economic times, obtaining funding to continue to serve the youth at BUILD is clearly becoming increasingly difficult.  Yet, BUILD staff have clearly shown that they are not afraid to do whatever it takes for the youth and their futures – whether it is picking up a youth in dangerous neighborhoods or camping out at 4:00 a.m. in front of the Board of Education.  It is that level of dedication from BUILD staff that is changing the lives of youth all over the city of Chicago. 

 

Thank you to Substance News for providing portions of this article.  For more information, please visit http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=2371.