President’s remarks from our January membership meeting:
Greetings and Happy New Year fellow administrators, members, and supporters of NHAE,
I am Dr. Antonio Acevedo, the President of NHAE. I also serve as the Chief of Schools for Network 7 in CPS. Supporting Dr. Acevedo are the VP DR. Campos, Elba Iniguez Corresponding Secretary, Nelly Robles, Recording Secretary and Maria Fresse-Giffels Treasurer.
After his welcoming remarks, Dr. Acevedo summarized our last membership meeting, where we welcomed Dr. Alfonso Carmona, CPS Chief Portfolio Officer. He provided us with a preview of the CPS Accountability Redesign Initiative. Dr. Carmona also answered questions from the membership about this important topic that in the past has greatly affected school leaders and the communities they serve. We look forward to hearing more about how the new system will be less punitive and more accurately and equitably showcase how schools are doing with respect to various criteria.
In January, we welcomed Fatima Cooke, the Chief of Equity, Engagement and Strategy at CPS. We heard from her about how the work CPS has been doing in this important area, and what equity and engagement mean to our membership. NHAE members serve predominantly children of color who are multilingual and multicultural students. In addition, Chief Cooke provided us with updates on the GEM program which cultivates leaders of color, predominantly Latinas, Latinos, and Black males to further the work of Equity in the district.
Dr. Acevedo words to the membership present: Having just recently celebrated a holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, I ask you to turn to someone next to you and share how Dr. King, or another civil rights leader, has inspired you to lead in education with a sense of social justice. As for me, my favorite quote from Dr. King is: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Colleagues, I ask you to continue doing the work you do in the name of justice; the students,, and the families we serve. They deserve no less.
Dr. Antonio Acevedo
President of the Network of Hispanic Administrators in Education.
Dear Members and Friends of NHAE
We are at the time of the year when we begin to fulfill one of our goals. That is to help aspiring teachers. This year we plan to award five scholarships to Latino students currently attending an accredited college or university in the State of Illinois. In addition, we plan to award one Aspiring School Administrator scholarship of $1,500.00 to a teacher who is taking classes to become a school administrator.
We are asking members and friends of NHAE to help us sponsor even more scholarships to future teachers. Please let us know which level of support you choose by sending an email to Maria Fresse-Giffels at mfresse@comcast.net:
Ø NHAE Scholarship Sponsor -$200.00 and above
Ø NHAE Family and Friends -suggested contribution of $50.00
Ø Paying Back and Paying Forward -any amount you can
Your support will be acknowledged at the NHAE Annual Retiree and Scholarship Banquet on May 20, 2022, being held at the Ukrainian Cultural Center. Please tell us if your contribution
is to honor or recognize a person.
All contributions are strictly for scholarships to future teachers. Let us know, at the
above email, the amount of your contribution. Or better yet, Zelle your donation to 708-826-6646.
We thank you in advance, and we hope to see you at the banquet.
Sincerely,
The NHAE 2022 Scholarship Committee
Araceli Ibarra, Chair
January 20, 2022
Fellow administrators, members, and supporters of NHAE:
I hope everyone finds themselves well and that your loved ones are in good health as well. As educational leaders we continue to find ourselves in this battle against COVID-19 and how disruptive it has been to the educational process. On top of that, we recently experienced a work stoppage in CPS that left our students and families without access to education. Fortunately under the leadership of our new CEO, Pedro Martinez, an agreement was reached with the CTU that returned students to our schools and classrooms. During that process our CEO reached out directly to school leaders during Zoom calls to hear from principals, who are usually caught in the middle between the teachers and central office, during these work stoppages. I do not believe that during my time at CPS, as a school leader, a CEO has had such direct contact with principals. I commend CEO Martinez for his efforts in engaging with such an important stakeholder group at Chicago Public Schools, our principals who have a pulse on what is happening among the staff and in the school community.
This month our invited guests are CPS Network Chiefs who will share their leadership stories and inspire our members to consider what their next career move could be. Whether it is moving from a teacher leader position, to an assistant principal position, or an assistant principal to a principal position, or from a principal position to a network or central office position, members need to be prepared to move on to the next step. Having the support of mentors and support networks, leaders create succession plans, and always, continue educational growth and professional learning opportunities in order to lay a solid foundation for success. Remember NHAE is one of those support networks, and we are committed to supporting you along your professional path as an educational leader.
I thank all who are able to participate in person today and those participating via Zoom. Let’s hope that we are turning a corner with respect to this omicron variant of the virus and that it will no longer disrupt our lives as profoundly as it has in the last month. Please continue advocating for the communities you serve, and most of all remember to take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Dr. Antonio Acevedo
President of the Network of Hispanic Administrators in Education