to be stopped by four usage / grammatical errors in this report. too much to ask to have clean copy for such an important story?

Posted By: marcus hersh on Sat Dec 12, 2008 at 09:10:15 AM

It is my sincere prayer that Arne Duncan does not replicate the confusion that has been foisted upon Chicago. I live in North Lawndale, the largest "beneficiary" of Renaissance 2010. We have more charter schools than any community in the city of Chicago.

The gains the charter schools have made have been at the expense of the other local schools. For example, CPS spent millions of dollars renovating schools just before they were closed. In many instances the traditional schools were re-opened as charters with different children than attended the school that was closed. The local charter high school, which has never made acceptable yearly performance since it opened, has been on academic warning for several years. The school made modest test score gains when the local traditional high school was being phased out. This school was allowed to expand its charter to take over part of the campus of the closed traditional high school. This year, the charter high school’s test scores dropped significantly, and it is still being touted as a model for others to replicate.

When the traditional public schools were closed and re-opened as charters, kids were shuffled around to different schools. We still don't know how many children were lost from the system altogether in the shuffle. The teachers in the charter schools don't have to have the certifications that they need in public schools, and things don't always run as smoothly as they lead the public to believe. The charter schools open up with assurances that they have the financial wherewithal to be self-sustaining, and then they go back to the State Legislature to lobby for more money to fund charter schools. The data suggest that in some instances , the charter schools operate at a higher cost structure than the typical Chicago Public Schools and have access to deep pocket corporations and foundations that the neighboring public schools can only dream about.

We have effectively created 2 classes of schools in North Lawndale--charters and traditional public schools. If we're not careful, we will end up with further compounding of "separate but (un)equal”, with resources effectively being diverted from traditional public schools in favor of charters.

Posted By: Valerie Leonard on Fri Dec 12, 2008 at 10:08:14 AM

I'm angry but not surprised by the appointment of Arne Duncan. Obama and Duncan are old buddies. But it does feel like a betrayal to run on a platform of change then appointment someone who is not a reformer but a NCLB follower. My son was so mistreated at a rural title one school in Oregon because of DIBELS that we now homeschool. There were other problems as well but I don't see education getting any better during Obama's administration if Arne Dunca is at the helm. I'd really like to rejoin the public school community but not as long as the abuse continues.

Posted By: Lisa Laser on Tue Dec 12, 2008 at 10:07:19 PM

This appointment feels like a betrayal. Arne Duncan heads one of the most dysfunctional school systems in America; a school system that President Elect Obama eschewed in favor of private school for his own children. My bipolar son would have been unwelcome at the private school his children were lucky to attend; and CPS hardly did him any favors. We were forced to migrate to the suburbs to find potentially appropriate educational services. I believe more thought should have been put into this appointment.

Posted By: SEI on Tue Dec 12, 2008 at 06:02:02 PM