COAL's Saturday, June 6, 2026 Power Breakfast
May 28, 2026
Greetings,
On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, Chicagoans will go to the polls to finally elect every member of the Chicago Board of Education.
There is general agreement that Chicago public school boards, beholden to the mayors of Chicago, and not accountable to voters has, over decades, resulted in an overly politicized, problem-ridden public school system that is not educating our children in an effective, high-quality, and equitable manner, across all schools in the system.
One important strategy we fought to get legislated, towards affecting the improvement of public education in Chicago, was to move to an elected school board; a board that would be responsive to the voters of Chicago and all stakeholders: parents, teachers, administrators, taxpayers and others.
In 2024, we elected 10 members of the school board, and the mayor selected 10 members, along with appointing the president of the board. Finally, this November, Chicago voters will elect all 21 members to the Chicago Board of Education. But let us not fool ourselves - an elected school board is not the goal, it is a response to past failures, a change we fought for, to achieve improved educational outcomes for our children; that is the goal: a financially sound, well managed, public school system that effectively educates Chicago's children, preparing them for post-secondary pursuits and the myriad of opportunities a competitive global economy presents.
If we are to elect a school board that has the commitment, the requisite skills and competencies, the independence, courage and will to grapple with CPS' problems and significantly improve the education of our children, then we must:
- educate ourselves and the community on the roles and responsibilities of the school board;
- better understand the diverse skills and competencies required of an effective president and member of the board;
- invest time to assess all candidates, their qualifications, experience, commitment; and where they stand on the issues;
- work to turn out our community's vote, to elect candidates who will prioritize the education of our children, along with all children;
and if we want to ensure the board's performance achieves positive and measurable results, then we must:
- employ processes to hold the newly seated school board accountable for making substantive improvements to Chicago Public Schools; and
- remain engaged.
This is a tall order; however, our children deserve our collective efforts towards improving the state of education in the City of Chicago.So let’s begin the process of electing qualified, independent thinking and acting professionals to the Chicago Board of Education. This is the focus of the June Coalition Power Breakfast, scheduled for Saturday, June 6th.
COAL is honored to host Dr. Kim Dulaney, educator, strategist, and Co-Chair COAL Education Committee, Lafayette Ford, subject matter expert and Vice Chairman of Board of Directors for Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI), Valerie Leonard, Founder of Non-Profit Utopia and Illinois African Americans for Equitable Redistricting (IAAFER), and Gerald Morrow, retired Principal of Dunbar High School and Co-Chair COAL Education Committee, to discuss everything we need to know on electing a fully elected and qualified Chicago Board of Education.
Please join COAL for an important conversation on public education in Chicago and the upcoming Chicago school board election.
Our children deserve a quality education.
Respectfully,
COAL Board of Directors
P.S. COAL's Education Committee is again developing candidate questionnaires for board member candidates, and for candidates for the position of board president. Responses and candidate ratings will be widely distributed and accessible.
June Coalition Power Breakfast
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Guest Panel
Dr, Kim L. Dulaney,
Co-Chair COAL Education Committee
Lafayette Ford,
Vice-Chairman - Board of Directors.
Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI)
Valerie Leonard,
Founder, Non-Profit Utopia
Principal Gerald Morrow,
Co-Chair COAL Education Committee
Topic
Electing a Fully Representative
Chicago Board of Education
- Everything We Need to Know -
Bourdeau-Griffin Design Center,
8237 S. Princeton, Chicago
(parking / entrance in rear of facility)
8:30am - Start / Breakfast,
9:30am - Program
*Event / Breakfast Buffet $20*
RSVP to this notice at [email protected]
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