Big week for BPNC is a big week for Social Justice

National Walk-ins for Education Justice

On Wednesday, February 17th, took part in a national school walk-in campaign to demand a world class public education for all children, revenue to fully fund public schools, and accountability and transparency for charter schools and operators. Nationwide a total of 40,000 supporters from 838 schools in 31 cities participated in the walk-ins.

BPNC organized walk-ins at 13 different schools on the Southwest side of Chicago. Hundreds of school staff, teachers, students, and parents participated in the historic walk-ins to support their neighborhood public schools.

Participating Southwest side schools: 

Brighton Park Elementary 

Burroughs Elementary 

Columbia Explorers Academy

Davis Elementary 

Evergreen Academy 

Hernandez Middle School 

Shields Elementary 

Shields Middle School 

Back of the Yards College Prep 

Curie High School 

Hancock High School 

Kelly High School 

Solorio Academy High School

Check out our Storify page to learn more about the walk-ins!

#77 Proud - Financial Education Resource Fair

BPNC held the #77 Proud - Financial Education Resource Fair on February 13th at Kelly High School to help empower Chicagoans and promote economic opportunity across the City. The Fair is one of 11 events taking part in the “77 Proud” initiative, sponsored by Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers. The fair kicked off with a panel discussion that gave community residents the opportunity to ask questions and learn about financial services and resources. 

Following the panel, attendees got the opportunity to visit resource tables from 27 different partners and attend workshops on various topics. The workshops offered included: first time home buyer, down payment, foreclosure prevention, banking, building and improving credit, FAFSA, college savings, and public versus private college cost. In addition, people were also able to have one on one sessions with financial coaches and were offered free tax preparation services on site. The event was capped off by Treasurer Summers and Senator Tony Munoz who took a moment to address and thank the community and our partners for making the event possible. 

BPNC in Springfield

BPNC community leaders Guadalupe Hernandez and Elizabeth Tellez went down to Springfield on Tuesday last week to advocate for the reinstatement of programs and services in the neighborhood. They spoke to elected officials about the need for a Fair Tax and funding for Teen Reach. Their efforts were rewarded as Senator Tony Munoz and Martin Sandoval as well as Representative Dan Burke and Silvana Tabares all expressed their full support towards these issues. 

The very next day, more leaders went to the state Capitol in Springfield to give testimony at the Elementary and Secondary Education School Curriculum & Policies Committee Meeting for the HB-557 bill for an Elected Representative School Board. Kelly High School student/leader Evelyn Solis spoke to the House Committee about her experience with school budget cuts and charter expansion in the Southwest side of Chicago, specifically at Kelly High School. She highlighted the fact that the CPS appointed school board did not care about charter opposition on the Southwest side. The bill passed committee later on that day and will be up for a general vote in the House of Representatives later this month.

Parent Mentor Program

The Parent Mentor Program participated in a Violence Prevention workshop at St Pancratius Church last Friday. The focus of the meeting was to learn about and identify domestic violence in the home, specifically towards women. The workshop was given by Aide Fonseca who is a School Base Counselor at Shields Middle & Burroughs Elementary School. The program curriculum promotes educational workshops for personal development.