Dear fellow Greater Bronzeville Community Action Council Executive Committee Members,
I want to take a moment to share the email below from CPS Leadership and bring you up to speed on a meeting with CAC Chairs and various Chicago City Council members. As promised Dr. Jackson and Chief McDade not only engage CAC’s immediately but also share amazing information and funding opportunities that you will see below. For many years, Bright Star Community Outreach in partnership with the GBCAC and other collaborative partners have all worked to have many of issues identified below addressed and funded. We decided to make Trauma Informed Care one of our main focuses for schools in our footprint. See the [ GBCAP following]. I fully intend to seek these long awaited resources to address trauma, healing, etc. and solicit the GBCAC’s full support on this. I look forward to discussing this further. When BSCO submits, I will be requesting letters of support from all the schools, CBO’s, FBO’s, etc. and I pray the EC will be the first letter we will receive. Thank you all in advance.
– Pastor C Harris
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A message from CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Dear Families and Supporters,
In order to help our students, staff, and families cope with the stress and trauma of a year that has been marked by unprecedented challenges, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is making a significant investment in programs and resources that will promote a commitment to healing across all schools and communities.
Along with our partners at Chicago Beyond and the Children First Fund, CPS today released a Healing-Centered Framework for our schools. This three-year, $24-million investment will help students and school communities cope and overcome trauma by taking targeted, culturally-responsive steps to help students and communities heal.
All of us have experienced some level of trauma in the past year, whether related to social isolation, illness, or economic loss. But many of our students have dealt with trauma – violence, poverty, and systemic racism – for their entire lives. Without intervention, this trauma can have a lasting impact on their futures, damaging their learning, and hampering their ability to form and maintain healthy relationships. The district’s Healing-Centered Framework will support students and educators by:
- Expanding behavioral health teams to all CPS schools and ensure staff are trained to help students manage trauma, anger, and depression.
- Offering professional development opportunities to help teachers better identify and address trauma.
- Empowering our students and teaching them the skills and coping strategies to act as agents in their own healing.
- Creating resources to ensure that the adults who support our students have what they need to pursue and support their own wellness.
- Establishing a robust network of community partners to support each school’s unique learning needs.
Input from hundreds of CPS students, families, staff, and community partners went into shaping the Healing-Centered Framework, and we will continue engaging all stakeholders through a series of roundtable discussions in the coming months. We will update our communities on these events once they are finalized.
We thank all who have played a role in shaping this framework and look forward to working together to build a healthier, more supportive district for all staff, families, and students.
Sincerely,
Janice K. Jackson, EdD LaTanya D. McDade
Chief Executive Officer Chief Education Officer
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools