Rebecca Harris | catalyst-chicago.org

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Special Education

Even as CPS opens more new schools, children with special needs have a tougher time finding options. Placements in private therapeutic schools are scarce, and some charters are reluctant to enroll them.

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Rebecca Harris

School closing lawsuit goes to court this week May 21, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris UPDATE:A judge has put off until Friday his decision about whether a lawsuit against school closings and turnarounds will be able to proceed. If it does, the case will be heard on May 30 and 31 rather than on Wednesday, as had previously been planned. Read More \| (1) Comments	From security guard to teacher May 09, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Student teacher Michael Vargas steps confidently to the front of his middle-grades social studies class at Talman Elementary to start a lesson that will require his students to analyze the impact of events leading up to World War I. Why did America initially decide to stay neutral, he asks? “Because they didn’t want to get involved in what wasn’t their business,” one boy says. “Because they were supplying both sides,” says another. Read More \| (0) Comments
Infants and toddlers in lowest-quality care May 07, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Child care for Illinois’ infants and toddlers is lower-quality than that provided for preschool-age children, according to a Catalyst Chicago analysis. While that’s typical around the country, it is cause for alarm because a child’s youngest years are the most critical for brain development. Read More \| (1) Comments	For the Record: Special education teacher evaluation May 07, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris When CPS unveiled its new teacher evaluation system, one question was still unanswered: How would the new evaluations—which by law must take student test scores into account—affect special education students and their teachers? Read More \| (7) Comments
As contract talks heat up, teachers union seeks stronger ties with parents May 03, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris In recent weeks, teachers at dozens of schools have made efforts to reach out to parents about issues ranging from the longer school day and school funding to class sizes to teacher pay. Read More \| (18) Comments	As state mulls child care cuts, advocates head to Springfield May 02, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris As the Illinois General Assembly considers Gov Pat Quinn’s proposed cuts to state-funded child care—a move that would increase fees and reduce eligibility for low-income families—advocates are heading to Springfield Wednesday to speak up for that program and for early childhood education in general. Read More \| (0) Comments
More hurdles to earn teaching license May 01, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Several local schools of education are among those in 25 states piloting a new evaluation system for teacher candidates that will require them to compile a portfolio of work--including video clips of their classroom teaching—to earn a teaching license. The Teacher Performance Assessment, or TPA, is similar to the portfolio assessment that teachers must compile to earn National Board certification. Read More \| (13) Comments	Students, CPS spar over school arrests April 24, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris The student group Voices of Youth in Chicago Education held a City Hall press conference Tuesday to urge CPS to stop having students arrested for misdemeanor offenses, citing its analysis of school arrest data and claiming that the city arrests 25 students, on average, every day. Read More \| (10) Comments
CPS, CTU prepare for fact-finding in contract negotiation April 16, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union, which had previously been in mediation since early February, have appointed members of a three-person fact-finding panel – one of the final steps of a lengthy, legally required pre-strike process set out in Illinois law. Read More \| (26) Comments

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