In a public petition released today, more than fifty educators and researchers, including some of the most well-respected figures in the field of education, pledged support for the boycott of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) by teachers at two elementary schools in Chicago, Saucedo Scholastic Academy and Drummond Elementary School and called on Chicago’s mayor and schools chief to rescind threats of punishment for those who participated in the action.

Among the signers of the statement are former US Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, and activist and educator William Ayers.

Today, Monday March 10, the Chicago Teachers Union is calling for a Day of Action to support the boycotting teachers. The CTU is encouraging members and supporters to wear red and attend a rally in Chicago at 4pm. Supporters outside of Chicago can call the Board of Education at 773-553-1600 and say:

“I’d like to leave a message for all members of the Chicago Board of Education. I support families boycotting the ISAT and there should be no retaliation against teachers who stood up for their students on the ISAT.”

To add your name to the petition, send an email to educatorsolidarity@gmail.com.

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PETITION TO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL & CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS CEO BARBARA BYRD-BENNETT:

CELEBRATE CHICAGO’S TEACHERS OF CONSCIENCE, DON’T PUNISH THEM!

Teachers at two public elementary schools in Chicago, Saucedo Scholastic Academy and Drummond Elementary School, have refused to administer the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). By taking this bold action at great personal risk, these teachers are standing up for authentic teaching, learning, and assessment. We believe that these teachers are heroes who are worthy of praise and thanks, not punishment and censure.

The teachers at these schools believe that boycotting this test is in the best interest of their students. Hundreds of parents and students agreed. At Drummond, 112 students out of 178 students refused to take the test. At Saucedo, roughly 450 of 1200 students refused also. For teachers who declined to administer the test, this was not a day off — they were able to conduct actual lessons with students who opted out. Threatening to punish teachers who prefer to teach rather than give standardized tests is not in the best interest of students.

The ISAT test is being phased out, and will not be given next year. The results from this test will not be used to improve teaching and learning, to determine grades or promotion in Chicago Public Schools. It’s only purpose is to satisfy the accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. NCLB demands that schools raise test scores every year, pressure which has led to an abusive over-emphasis on standardized test preparation nationwide.

Like early participants in the Civil Rights Movement, the teachers at Saucedo and Drummond who have refused to administer the ISAT have taken an enormous risk for what they believe is right. And like those early Civil Rights protesters, they are facing intimidation and threats that they may be fired or lose their teaching licenses.

We, the undersigned, call on Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett to stop all threats and punishments directed at the teachers of conscience at Saucedo Scholastic Academy and Drummond Elementary.

Signed*:

Curtis Acosta
Founder
Acosta Latino Learning Partnership, Tucson

Mary Adams
School Board Member
Rochester, NY

Dohra Ahmad
Associate Professor of English
St. John’s University

Wayne Au
Associate Professor of Education
University of Washington, Bothell

William Ayers
Retired
University of Illinois

Ann Berlak
Retired
San Francisco State University

Kenneth Bernstein
Teacher
North County High School, Glen Burnie

Bill Bigelow
Curriculum Editor
Rethinking Schools

Elizabeth Bishop
Drop Knowledge Project

Stephen Brier
Professor
Ph.D. Program in Urban Education
The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Phyllis A. Bush
Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education, Fort Wayne

Kristi Butkovich
Executive Director
Denver Alliance for Public Education

Duane Campbell
Professor of Education, Emeritus
California State University, Sacramento

Alex Caputo-Pearl
Teacher
Frida Kahlo High School, Los Angeles

Julie Cavanagh
Teacher
Public School 15, Brooklyn

Sumi Cho
Professor of Law
DePaul University College of Law

Noam Chomsky
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Linda Christensen
Rethinking Schools

Anthony Cody
Co-Founder
Network for Public Education

Rocío Cordova
Association of Raza Educators, San Diego chapter

Tammy Oberg De La Garza
Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy
College of Education
Roosevelt University, Chicago

Rosalie DeFino
Educator, Chicago

Bertis Downs
Board Member
Network for Public Education

John W. Duffy
Retired
Illinois Education Association

Allan Dyen-Shapiro
Educator
Estero, FL

Lisa Edstrom
Barnard Education Program
Barnard College, Columbia University

Stephanie Farmer
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Roosevelt University, Chicago

Guillermo Antonio Gomez
Association of Raza Educators

Judith Gouwens
Professor of Elementary Education
College of Education
Roosevelt University, Chicago

Ellen Gradman
Former elementary school teacher and art educator
Chicago

Helen Gym
Asian Americans United/Parents United for Public Education
Rethinking Schools

Jesse Hagopian
Teacher
Garfield High School, Seattle

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

Marianne Handler
Highland Park, IL

Angela Hanson
Teacher, Minneapolis

Nini Hayes
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Julian Vasquez Heilig
Associate Professor of Educational Policy and Planning
University of Texas, Austin

Robin Hiller
Executive Director
Network for Public Education

Patricia Johnson
Admissions Counselor and Group Tour Coordinator
AFSCME LOCAL 1989
Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago

Brian Jones
PhD Program in Urban Education
The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Denisha Jones
Assistant Professor of Education
Howard University

Stan Karp
Rethinking Schools

Bill Kennedy
Urban Teacher Education Program
University of Chicago

Jeff Kipilman
Teacher
Portland Public Schools

Ari Klein
President
Cleveland Heights Teachers Union

Jonathan Kozol
Author

Connie Krosney
Professor (retired)
Burlington, Vermont

Mark Larson
National Louis University, Chicago

Rosemary Lee
Trinational Coalition to Defend Public Education, US section

Karen GJ Lewis
National Board Certified Teacher
President
Chicago Teachers Union

Gerardo R. Lopez
Professor, Department of Political Science
Associate Director for Research, Loyola Institute for Quality and Equity in Education
Loyola University, New Orleans

Tara Mack
CPS parent and Director
Education for Liberation Network

Barbara Madeloni
Educators for a Democratic Union

Eleni Makris
Associate Professor
Northeastern Illinois University

Morna McDermott
Associate Professor
Towson University

Elizabeth Meadows
Associate Professor of Elementary Education
College of Education
Roosevelt University

Marlene Meisels
Associate Professor
Concordia University, Chicago

Deborah Menkart
Executive Director
Teaching for Change

Nicholas M. Michelli
Presidential Professor
Ph.D. Program in Urban Education
The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Mark B. Miller
School Board Director
Centennial School District
Pennsylvania School Boards Association

Megan Moskop
Special Education Teacher
New York City Department of Education

Mark Nagasawa
CPS Parent and Assistant Professor
Erikson Institute, Graduate School of Child Development

Hyung Nam
Teachers, Portland Public Schools
NW Teaching for Social Justice Conference Steering Committee

Monty Neill
FairTest

Isabel Nuñez
Associate Professor
Concordia University Chicago

Dani O’Brien
College of Education
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

John Oliver Perry
Seattle

Bob Peterson
President
Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association

Anthony Picciano
Executive Officer
PhD Program in Urban Education
City University of New York – Graduate Center

Bree Picower
New York Collective of Radical Educators

Amira Proweller
Associate Professor
DePaul University, College of Education

Diane Ravitch
Research Professor of Education
New York University

Mary Cathryn D. Ricker
National Board Certified Teacher
President
Saint Paul Federation of Teachers, Local 28

Karyn Sandlos
Assistant Professor of Art Education
School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Mara Sapon-Shevin
Professor of Inclusive Education
Syracuse University

Nancy Schniedewind
Professor
State University of New York, New Paltz

Christine Sleeter
Professor Emerita
California State University, Monterey Bay
and Immediate Past-President
National Association for Multicultural Education

Tim Slekar
Dean
School of Education
Edgewood College, Madison

Philip Small
Brooklyn, NY

Deb Stahl
Rockville, MD

Simeon Stumme
Associate Professor
Center for Policy Studies and Social Justice
Concordia University, Chicago

Richard Sugerman
Richmond, CA

Daiyu Suzuki
Doctoral Student
Teachers College, Columbia University

Peter M. Taubman
Professor
Brooklyn College

Dora Taylor
President
Parents Across America

Angela Valenzuela
Professor
University of Texas, Austin

Bob Valiant
Valiant, ETC

Emma Lee Weibel
Lake Oswego, OR

Lois Weiner
Professor
New Jersey City University

Randi Weingarten
President
American Federation of Teachers

Joel Westheimer
University Research Chair and Professor
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Education, Ontario

Barbara Winslow
School of Education
Brooklyn College

Colleen Doherty Wood
Founder
50th No More, Florida

Ken Zarifis
President
Education Austin, Local #2048

Diana Zavala
Change The Stakes

Rebecca Zorach
Professor
University of Chicago

*organizations are listed for identification purposes only

[Updated 3/18/2014 @ 10:16am EST]