Progress Illinois

Chicago International Charter Schools (CICS) teachers made history last summer by becoming the first charter school employees to unionize in Chicago.  Today, they made it official and ratified their first contract. Teachers at three of CICS' Civitas campuses -- Ralph Ellison, Northtown Academy, and Wrightwood -- have struck a three-year deal. Among the contract highlights are a commitment to cap classroom sizes at 29 and to formalize community and teacher input. Also, the 140 Civitas teachers will see their wages increase over the next three years, their evaluations will be standardized, and staff will have due process in disciplinary or dismissal cases. (Catalyst has a more detailed run-down here.)

When the General Assembly lifted the state's charter cap last June, they cleared the way to doubling the number of outsourced public schools. While Civitas' landmark contract is limited to only three of the dozens of charter schools in Chicago, the expectations for transparency and public input in these institutions -- which rely almost exclusively on tax dollars -- are certain to set a new tone. As Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, sees it, the agreement is a key step in keeping innovation, not cost cutting, as the driver of the privatization model. More from her statement:

This contract is a great example of how charter schools can be incubators for innovative reforms and good labor-management practices,” Weingarten said. “Civitas teachers are walking the education-reform walk by forging a new path for charter schools that value collaboration.

With elected officials making clear that they have scant interest in making these schools more accountable to the public, it's encouraging to see the teachers step up.