November 10, 2015
Dear Parents/Guardians.
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ACS PARENTS TAKE ACTION: Our school district, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), is facing a $480 million dollar budget shortfall that will have consequences on our staff and class size beginning February 1st if no action is taken. If nothing is done, our students will pay the price. That will mean: rising class sizes, fewer teachers and classroom disruptions in mid­year. Your help is needed ­ this problem can’t be solved without you. The most important thing you can do is let the people who represent you in Springfield know you care about this issue. You can use the sample letter below to email, call, and/or visit Governor Rauner and your representatives. There will be a community meeting with CPS district leadership to collectively discuss the context for and potential harmful impact of the current budget crisis. The community meeting will be held on Monday, November 30th at 6:30 p.m. at Apostolic Church of God 6320 South Dorchester Avenue. We expect 100 or more Carnegie parents in attendance! 
Congratulations to the following classes for having the highest attendance rate for the month of October. Each class will receive a pizza party. Our school­wide attendance goal is 97%. o 1st Place – Room 204­4th Gifted – Mrs. Daley­Mitchell – 98.87%
o 2nd Place –Room 202­4th – Mrs. Carter­Clark ­98.69%
o 3rd Place – Room 218­5th Gifted –Mr. Kelly – 98.29%
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Carnegie School held its Annual High School Fair on Thursday, November 5th for 7th & 8th graders. Parents and students talked to representatives from a number of schools about their academic and sports program. 
We had a fun filled sugary Halloween at Carnegie. There were so many great costumes! Thank you to the parent volunteers that help make Halloween a fun success! Many thanks to our hardworking Parent Advisory Council (PAC) members for turning Brazier Hall­cafeteria into an AWESOME Haunted House!
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There will be No School on Wednesday, November 11th. It’s Veterans Day.
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Thursday, November 12th all classes will participate in “Extended Learning Outside of the Classroom” Field Trip. All students MUST wear their school uniform. •
There will be No School on Friday, November 13th. It’s a School Improvement Day for staff.
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Carnegie School has chosen to implement iReady Reading and Mathematics web­based curriculum for all Kindergarten through 8th grade students. With internet access at home, your child may log­on and work on activities at home beginning Monday, November 16th. To access the website, follow these simple steps: • iReady website address: login.i­ready.com
• Username: Student ID number
• Password: carnegie • State: Illinois
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1st Quarter Parent/Teacher Conference will be held on Wednesday, November 18th. Parent Conferences will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and are limited to 10 minutes per student/teacher. We are expecting 100% parent participation! 
Reminder: There are NO Afterschool programs scheduled for Monday, November 23rd and Tuesday, November 24th. All students will be dismissed promptly at 3:45 p.m.
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Just a reminder to check the school’s website for vital information: www.carnegie.cps.edu and follow us on Twitter @ACSCOUGARS to see what’s happening inside classrooms.
Mrs. D. Pollard
Principal
Andrew Carnegie Elementary School
“Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts”
1414 East 61st Place • Chicago, Illinois 60637
Telephone 773/535­0530  Fax 773/535­0525
Docilla Pollard Juanita Stem
Principal Assistant Principal November 2015
Hello,
My name is [FULL NAME], and I'm [writing / calling / visiting] you today as a parent of a student at Andrew Carnegie Elementary School. As a proud member of the Carnegie School community, I'm extremely concerned by the $480 million budget shortfall that CPS is currently facing.
I know this problem has been created over time, but now you have a chance to fix it, by voting for bills that provide increased funding and pension equity to Chicago schools, so that my student's education is funded like every other student in the state.
I have seen firsthand the progress my [DAUGHTER / SON] has made in a positive school environment, and I don't like seeing that progress threatened. I hope I can count on you to stand up for fair treatment of Chicago's students.
Thank you,
[FULL NAME]
[ADDRESS] (w/ ZIP CODE)
[PHONE NUMBER ] (optional)
“Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts”