catalyst-chicago.org

When it comes to high schools, the federal No Child Left Behind Act is not an effective tool for educators and administrators seeking to improve them.

Such was the consensus of a panel of experts who were convened for a Dec. 10 forum on reauthorization of the landmark federal education law and how it can be changed to support high school improvement.

CPS Schools Chief Arne Duncan described the landscape of Chicago's public high schools, which include some of the nation's top schools as well as some of the worst.

Three years ago, prospective teachers looking for a fast track to the classroom in CPS could choose from among 14 alternative certification programs. Now there are only seven.

Anyone who has ever raised an adolescent knows that from one day to the next, you never know what you're going to get. One day everything is fine, but in the blink of an eye, the world is coming to an end. Stacey Horn, associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, teaches adolescent development to prospective and current teachers to help them navigate this terrain. Horn talked to Associate Editor Debra Williams about what makes middle-grades students different, what teachers can expect and what schools and teachers can do to meet their needs.