catalyst-chicago.org

In fall 1987, then-Mayor Harold Washington's bid to reform the city's schools was blessed with the city's longest teacher strike. The 19-day walkout triggered the community outcry that resulted some 15 months later in the Chicago School Reform Act.

Probation and reconstitution for low-scoring schools. No promotion for low-scoring students. These get-tough prescriptions to remedy educational failure have thrust the Chicago public schools into a national spotlight and generated hope at home.

However, a little-known project by an obscure non-profit organization holds more promise for improving Chicago's schools. Called the Partnership to Encourage the Next Century's Urban Leaders, the project is aimed at getting Chicago schools the best principals possible.

With this special report, Catalyst: Voices of Chicago School Reform begins an eight-part series examining What Matters Most in Chicago's ongoing struggle to create schools that meet the needs of our children. After more than seven years of chronicling school reform's twists and turns in the nation's third largest school system, we decided it was time to focus on its essential elements.