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As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.

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Alexander Russo

Watching "The Principal" September 25, 2009 By: Alexander Russo I got a lot out of watching the PBS documentary The Principal Story, reluctant as I was to actually sit down and do it. Watching "The Principal" on PB Principal Tresa D. Dunbar Henry H. Nash Elementary School, Chicago, IL Tresa D. Dunbar, Ph.D., Principal A Pre-K-8 school in the city’s blighted west side Austin neighborhood, the Henry H. Nash Elementary School has a student population that is 99.8 percent African American;100 percent of the 800 students qualify for free and reduced price lunch according to federal Read More \| (0) Comments	West Side Kid Picked For DC Internship September 25, 2009 By: Alexander Russo Here's some good news sent to my by the folks from Al Raby about a CPS kid who's been picked to be a US Senate page in Washington. Congrats to all involved, including the school and of course the family. There are a handful of kids from Chicago who get to do this every year, picked based on grades and letters of recommendation from elected officials. I don't know how many kids from the West and South sides get to do it, but I'm glad to see there's at least one. Click here to read the article (PDF). Read More \| (0) Comments
WBEZ Does This Week's Board Meeting September 25, 2009 By: Alexander Russo Coverage of the Board meeting by WBEZ's Linda Lutton. "Today we’re starting a new segment called “Cheat Sheet,” and it’s meant be a quick and dirty peek into Chicago’s often contentious school board meetings and the issues that are brought up there." It's a welcome addition. I can't believe no one's done it before. I hope they keep it up. Cliff's Notes: the Latest Chicago Board of Ed Meeting Unfiltered: Regular Chicago Board of Education Meeting Read More \| (4) Comments	Free At Last. September 25, 2009 By: Alexander Russo At last, popular Chicago schools can let more white kids in. No more pesky 35 percent rule (WBEZ). Update: Comments are now closed. The site is moving. Previous comments have been moved here. Click there to read previous posts and continue the conversation. Thanks! Read More \| (18) Comments
Friday Morning News September 25, 2009 By: Alexander Russo CPS Head Defends Out-of-State Contract WBEZ Chicago schools chief Ron Huberman is defending his decision to bring in an out-of-town group to help curb youth violence. Huberman says the Pennsylvania-based Youth Advocate Programs, Inc., or YAP, has been successful with ... Youth Violence From a School Bus Driver's Point of View WBEZ School Bus Driver and organizer for 2nd annual Stop the Violence Walk Cynthia Johnson has more on what she sees from her seat at the front of the bus. Read More \| (5) Comments	adfadsf September 24, 2009 By: Alexander Russo Save The Date - October 15, 2009 As you’ve probably heard, our 5th Annual ACE Tech Gala is scheduled October 15, 2009. We’ve set a $200,000 goal for this year, and we really need you to consider supporting our event at one of the levels described at http://gala.acetechnical.org. I feel confident in asking for your support because of your connection with our mission to introduce minority and low-income youth to architecture, construction, and engineering (ACE) careers. In fact, we Read More \| (0) Comments
Stimulus Trouble Brewing For IL September 24, 2009 By: Alexander Russo Oh, lovely. First came news that districts were being told to redo their stimulus reports to make it look like as many jobs were saved as possible (State School News Service PDF here). Now Illinois has been IDd as one of four states who are "at risk" of having misused federal stimulus funding: 4 States Are Ripe for Stimulus Slip-Ups (EdWeek). The others include California, Michigan, and Texas. The Read More \| (4) Comments	For Once, The Tall Black Guy Isn't The One From AUSL September 24, 2009 By: Alexander Russo The folks at AUSL were kind enough to send along this picture of one of their folks in DC last week. Apparently, AUSL is going to help Chicago get the Olympics. Another reason to like or hate them. They even provided a helpful caption: "Rob Harman, wrestling coach at the Academy for Urban School Leadership’s Howe School of Excellence, with President Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday for a rally supporting Chicago’s 2016 Olympics bid." Read More \| (3) Comments
Thursday Morning News September 24, 2009 By: Alexander Russo Daley defends principals' role in school admissions Sun Times After dedicating the new, $41.6 million Mark T. Skinner West Elementary School — long-viewed as the elementary school equivalent of Whitney Young — Daley once again found the silver lining in the clout admissions investigation at CPS. Judge Announces Timeline PURE After hearing oral arguments from both sides in the LSC lawsuit, Judge Sophia Hall announced that she will render her verdict in court on October 6th at 11 am. Read More \| (10) Comments

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