Rebecca Harris | catalyst-chicago.org

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Adolescent Literacy

A raft of past programs have failed to substantially improve the reading skills of middle grade and high school students. CPS is trying once again, as part of a federal project that aims to help teens learn how to analyze complex non-fiction.

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Rebecca Harris

On the eve of union strike vote, battle lines are drawn June 05, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris As the Chicago Teachers Union prepares to poll teachers on whether to authorize a potential strike, parent groups and officials around the city are coalescing on different sides of the issue. Read More \| (23) Comments	Strike authorization vote to start Wednesday June 01, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris The Chicago Teachers Union officials will kick off a strike-authorization vote this Wednesday, and allow it to continue “until there is a clear result one way or the other.” Holding the vote over a multiple-day period will help the union garner more participation. Under a new law, at least 75 percent of all union members must authorize a strike potential strike. Read More \| (47) Comments
Youth Connection: No plans to close campuses for now May 31, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris UPDATE: A union for charter school teachers has put the brakes on an unfair labor practice charge after board members of Youth Connection Charter School put off a decision to close or restructure two of the school's campuses. Read More \| (4) Comments	Youth Connection charter set to fire teachers, union cries foul May 30, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Two days after staff at Youth Connection Leadership Academy in Bronzeville told the school they wanted a union, they received letters saying a CPS crackdown on charter performance had put their school up for possible closure or restructuring. Now, the charter school union Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS) has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. Read More \| (13) Comments
Report sheds light on graduation rates for English learners May 30, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Researchers from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research found that the district’s Freshman On-Track Indicator is a valid predictor of graduation rates for English language learners. Read More \| (2) Comments	School closing, turnaround lawsuit dismissed May 25, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris In a victory for CPS, a judge has dismissed for the second time a lawsuit filed by parents who sought to stop school closings and turnarounds. Read More \| (13) Comments
Child-care cuts smaller, advocates still fight May 24, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris A budget passed by the Illinois Senate would cut child care subsidies by $1.6 million compared to last fiscal year – smaller than the $6 million cut that was previously proposed – but advocates are still fighting for more funding. On Thursday, parents, children, and members of the group Pilsen Neighbors held a press conference at Pilsen’s Plaza Tenochtitlan to demand a neighborhood meeting with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn about the cuts. Read More \| (0) Comments	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

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