Sparks Fly at Chicago Board of Education Between Presidents

Chicago Principals and Adminisrators Association President Troy LaRaviere

Sparks were flying at the May 24 Chicago Board of Education Meeting after the Board President threw out the leader of the Principals.

“Good morning beautiful people,” Troy LaRaviere, president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association said in his opening statement. “I’m here because of a deep and profound incompetence and corruption.”

“Troy I ask that you not make defamatory statements,” quickly interjected Chicago Board of Education President Miguel Del Valle.

Three security guards then grabbed LaRaviere and took him from the mic, a scene reminiscent of the fight against school closings when emotions ran high.

LaRaviere was there to defend Abdul Muhammad and speak out about false claims that led to his removal as principal from Lindblom High School last year. 

The fight to defend Muhammad who was removed due to a Chicago Public Schools “investigation that substantiated findings” has turned into a power struggle between two formidable foes.

Troy LaRaviere made his name during the dark days of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his drive to privatize the public schools by standing up at a time when administrators were afraid to say anything. He called out Rahm personally and documented how his claims that charter schools would be better were false.

He was so good that CPS fired him. However, he was able to get elected as the president of the Principals Association. Many administrators were proud that they had a leader who finally stood up to the powers that be that were hell bent on destroying the schools and micromanaging principals. 

He is leading a drive for the principals to form their own union so that they have rights and cannot be fired without due process.

His fight today is focused on defending African-American male principals who he says have been unfairly terminated. He told the Board of Ed in his opening statement that he wanted to speak on behalf of Lindblom’s Abdul Muhammad and Dunbar’s Gerald Morrow, both African American principals fired because of misconduct.

But LaRavier focused his speech on Muhammad.

In addition to a student protest at Lindblom High School to reinstate a popular assistant principal he had fired, the former principal spoke out at a press conference at St. Sabina Church organized by Father Michael Pfleger, a popular activist against violence in the city.

Father Pfleger, who was accused of sexual misconduct but found not guilty, had earlier supported Mayor Richard Daley’s Renaissance 2010 plan to close 100 schools and open new ones.

Abdul Muhammad is a member of the Nation of Islam, where Malcom X once was associated with. They are known to be radical fighters and snazzy dressers, carrying the Koran in one hand under a sparkling red bow tie. 

On the other side of this fight is the education leadership. Lindblom Math and Science Academy is a selective enrollment high school on the South Side and considered a gem to compete with the numerous North Side selective enrollment schools. CPS Chief Pedro Martinez and Troy LaRavier, as well as other network brass have children who attend Lindblom.

Whereas other battles to remove principals such as the one at Jones College Prep continue, this action to remove Muhammad came fast and quick like lightning.

The question is what was the real reason behind the abrupt firing of Muhammad.

Staff at Lindblom had testified about financial irregularities and other problems at the school under Muhammad’s leadership. Students protested his abrupt firing of long-time Assistant Principal Karen Fitzpatrick-Carpenter last August by staging a walk out. However, Muhammad’s action was entirely in his right as any new administration has the power to hire their own staff to work with.

But according to Lindblom staff who did not want to be named, Principal Muhammad created a lot of turmoil in the school by failing to address problems and generating extra positions so that these new hires would be beholden to him. The new teacher assistants he hired would refuse to do certain jobs in their cluster program, which upset a lot of teachers and staff. There were also anti-disability slurs made that were not addressed.

They say he did not manage the school well, and he was planning to clean house by removing teachers and replacing them with his own people. This has happened at many schools when a new principal comes in, and despite union protections, teachers have been forced by hook or crook to leave, with new staff obedient to the new leader. 

But the fight to bring back Muhammad and championed by LaRaviere continues.

LaRaviere’s confrontation with Del Valle at the May Board of Ed meeting exploded because the fiery principal activist is hitting back hard against the whistleblowers who testified against Muhammad. He claimed at the board meeting that the athletic director had failed to turn in financial reports and ran unauthorized practices that students had to pay for.

“These are accusations, Troy,” said Del Valle, interrupting him during his speech and then shutting off his mic before ordering security to escort him out. “I didn’t want to have to do this Troy. You leave me no choice. You just referred to our staff as corrupt. You defamed them.”

LaRavier, not to be intimidated, upped his ante by continuing to speak defiantly, saying it was not defamation, which is false. His accusations were proven with documents. 

Muhammad’s supporters called the Board’s outster of Muhammad a ‘witch hunt,’ while LaRavier is using his own intimidating tactics. Muhammad supporters said emails were sent out encouraging parents to testify against certain teachers in the public ‘lynching’ of Muhammad, while LaRavier wants the teachers who testified against Muhammad ‘terminated.’

In addition to the racial aspect of targeting black male administrators, there is also talk of Islamophobia because of Mohammad’s ties to the Nation of Islam.

Those in the middle who work at the school say they just want the acrimony to end and get on with educating the students without all the turmoil. But problems continue. “It’s definitely not over.”

Lindblom was once a neighborhood school until Ren 2010 made it a ‘performance school’ in which it became a selective enrollment high school in Englewood. The school has an advisory local school council (ALSC) meaning they do not have ultimate say in the hiring and firing of a principal. The CPS privatization plan that began with Ren2010 focused on destroying the democratic control of the schools that elect LSC members to oversee the school.

Some staff say they were also disappointed the Chicago Teachers Union didn’t play a bigger role in this fight. The union may be loath to take on LaRavier who is firing from all cylinders.