Dear Instituto Families,
We want to take a moment to address the recent statements made by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and provide clarity on some key points regarding ongoing negotiations.
Over the past year, our bargaining team has met over 52 times with CTU and union members to negotiate a fair contract for Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy (IHSCA) and Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy (IJLA). To date, we have reached tentative agreements on 25 proposals and have made progress on others. To say that negotiations have stalled is simply inaccurate and certainly not because of our bargaining team’s lack of willingness and participation.
Regarding the mention of special education staffing, it's important to note that some members voluntarily resigned before the school year, causing a staffing shortage. We have been diligently addressing this issue by working with experts and consultants to fill any gaps and recruit qualified teachers. We continue to actively recruit qualified teachers committed to the success of our students. We would be remiss in not mentioning that there is a nationwide teacher shortage and are not the only schools facing a shortage of qualified teachers.
CTU has raised concerns about sanctuary protections for immigrants, but we want to emphasize that we take immense pride in providing a safe environment for all students, including immigrants. Our commitment to supporting immigrants through various initiatives like Project Amor remains strong. CTU’s disagreements with Instituto on sanctuary status is not about students, parents or the community. It is purely economic.
On the topic of fair pay, we firmly believe in paying our union members fairly, however, without CPS-level funding and without CPS-level working hours, we do not believe salary above CPS teachers is a good faith demand.
CTU has mentioned a raise in management and occupancy fees, security and utilities were previously paid by the schools and are now handled and paid directly by IDPL, accounting for the bulk of the increase. CTU’s message is simply false. There is nothing unusual or wrong about Instituto’s financial management of the schools – all of which is routinely subject to audits.
CTU has threatened us with increased scrutiny from the Board of Education unless we meet their demands, risking our students' learning environment. This isn't about genuine compliance concerns but seems like a tactic to force unfair concessions during the charter renewal process. While we differ in negotiation tactics, we agree with CTU on the need to improve the charter school renewal process. Unfortunately, charter schools, including ours, are facing challenges and criticism from critics, largely represented by CTU. Our students and families deserve fair, long-term renewals for stability in their education. We're committed to navigating these challenges and advocating for a renewal process that benefits everyone.
Despite challenges in negotiations and unprofessional tactics employed by CTU, we remain committed to bargaining in good faith. Our primary goal is to reach an agreement that benefits our community, students, and educators.
Thank you for your ongoing support.