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Fri Feb 13 2009
Community Coalition Asks Businesses to Have a Heart on Valentine's Day
The Grassroots Education Movement will bring parents, teachers, students and community members picket the Rock N' Roll McDonalds at 600 N. Clark, tomorrow, February 14th starting at 12:00 noon to inform the public of their anger toward big-business for meddling with their schools. A similar picket will be occurring simultaneously at the Walgreens across the street.
From 2004 until 2008 McDonald's Corporation and Ronald McDonald House Charities contributed heavily the Renaissance Schools Fund, a fund that undermines neighborhood schools and informs the policies under the "Renaissance 2010" program. During the same period the Walgreen Corporation also contributed.
The purpose of the picket, according to Jackson Potter, a teacher and member of the Caucus of Rank and File Educators, "is to inform McDonalds and Walgreens that their contributions to the Renaissance 2010 fund are destroying high quality neighborhood schools and replacing them with unproven and unaccountable contract, turnaround and charter schools."
The picket will begin at 12 noon at both locations, and last approximately two hours.
Those gathered will ask customers to tell store to discontinue their support for Renaissance 2010.
Parents and Teachers at schools targeted for closure, consolidation, phase-out and turnaround will hold a press conference at 12:30pm in front of 600 N. Clark.
Disclosure- I am on C.O.R.E's steering committee
