As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
Right Now On Notebook
By:
By:
Current Issue
Subscribe to catalyst-chicago.org by e-mail
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
By: Alexander Russo / July 21, 2009
There's a vibrant discussion about the Chicago Magazine profile of Ron Huberman going on down below, but in the meantime I have some other questions that came up from the profile but aren't directly related. If you know the answers, please share what you know.
-- What is Huberman import Barbara McDonald going to do for CPS (she came with him from CPD)
? I'm curious about what her portfolio is going to be.
-- Where does this guy Adam Case fit in the communications operation, esp. in re Monique Bond?
Does Case work for Bond, or vice versa?
-- Whatever happened to the 6 schools that Huberman took of the Duncan list of 22 that should be closed?
Who were they and did they do any better on this year's ISATs?
-- Mike Klonsky is now a DePaul professor? I have no objections, but I did not know this.
-- CPS eliminated low-performing after-school programs based on a Huberman review? What does this refer to? I thought that was ISBE's job to rate the after school providers.
-- Whatever happened to the review of 800 cases of teachers hitting kids that was done?
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
It's news. And there is much more where it came from. By yesterday during the Board meeting, additional people were asking where those ludicrous "facts" reported in the Chicago magazine article came from. Stay tuned.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2009/Numbers-Man/
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
Been slow news days and is a lot of this really news? I feel like I'm watching Larry King commenting on Michael Jackson lately on 299.
God knows AR and George are NO Walter Cronkite, but the bs "lead stories" and subsequent whining are getting REALLY old.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
no offense intended mike --
what are you teaching how long have you been there?
-- alexander
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
is now online on the cps.edu site.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
Yes, Adam was appointed at the Board meeting ... to be Chief of Staff.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
"-- Where does this guy Adam Case fit in the communications operation, esp. in re Monique Bond? Does Case work for Bond, or vice versa?..." (Alexander earlier).
Adam Case was appointed to a six-figure executive position (not in Communications) at the June 24 Board meeting. It's in the Agenda of Action available at the Board's Web site.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
"No objections?" Gee thanks Alexander. I hadn't even though to ask.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
The six schools "saved" this year were
Peabody, Las Casas, Global Visions, Hamilton, Holmes, and Yale.
Test scores had nothing to do with why these schools were on the list in the first place and even less with why they were "saved."
Only two of these schools were on the list due to test scores. Peabody, Las Casas, Global Visions, and Hamilton were all labeled the dreaded "under-enrolled." CPS had no choice but to remove these schools from the list. Peabody led a grassroots fight, as did Holmes. Las Casas gave compelling arguments about the need for their special education programming and the negative impact their closing would have on students. Hamilton's wealthy parents fought behind the scenes and used their powerful friends to help them.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
Yes, Mike Klonsky has taught/is teaching classes at DePaul. I know a couple of people who took his class. Said it was pretty good.
ChicagoMag Followup Questions
"CPS eliminated low-performing after-school programs based on a Huberman review" I think this refers to the OELO Performance Management session in which after school programs and providers were reviewed and compared to each other. Huberman's position was very clear: if two programs purport to do the same thing for the same group of students you should fund the one that has the most impact with the least cost.
The analysis of the after school programs was thorough and illustrated that several providers were expensive and ineffective relative to other comparable programs.
Yes, ISBE approves them and CPS must offer them, but there was a desire for CPS to change the system by being able to de-certify programs and providers that were not performing.
Perhaps this is the first real impact of the Performance Management system. I would have thought they would try to market this decision to show just how great Performance Management really is.