catalyst-chicago.org

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

It's difficult to assess Mr. Assad's reporting to date, but he's building a portfolio. His UNO article was a strong entry, but his CPS cuts article was naive. Had he attended the CORE press conference before the June Board of Education hearing, or even the hearing itself where CORE persistently questioned the Board on cuts and Ren10 policies, Mr. Assad would have had additional research. CTDN's article on the cuts was second only to Substance ... and I'd bet Mr. Uribarri of CTDN is about the same age as Mr. Assad.
If Mr. Assad is going to cover Chicago ed, going to the once-monthly Board hearings is a bare minimum. I hope he doesn't miss the next one.

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

A Free Press Works Both Ways

By Christmas of the first year a teacher should know if the job
Is for them. Personally I think it takes about three years to hit your stride.

Ben Wilson’s picture was all over the newspapers the day he died,
as well it should have, but what about all the rest?
I watched from the second floor of Harper High School as a 200 student
Riot broiled across the playground. Bats, fists, clubs, the neighbors, were all involved.
It was my second day of student teaching. Being naïve I read all the local papers
the next day, nothing, not one word. I saw blood, scores of police, arrests,
and one injured teacher from the melee but I guess it wasn’t news.

Today the news blackout is being applied to Charter Schools while it has
loosened up a little for the rest of us. Some one realized lots of our kids are getting
Murdered and decided to publish a list. So now we get the Charter news is good,
The rest of us are at least starting to get the news printed.

For decades the local papers would print something like this :†the
Official dropout rate for the CPS is 6,or,7 or even 8 percent.â€
Teachers would read this and wonder. We have 400 freshman and
180 seniors. Every year it was the same. A cub reporter with a phone in
one morning could see that was a bold face lie, just by making a few phone calls.
But the real numbers took years to get reported. That is just one of the dirty
Little secrets we have had to put up with.

P.S. The papers finally admitted that the 6, 7, or8 percent were per year.

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

Sorry, but you are speaking to an audience of scholars, who teach research skills for a living. I don't let my students construct bibliographies out of Wikipedia and I sure as hell don't accept your glib ashcanning of what you don't want to hear with an offhand 'Studies show..'
We're all educators here and we understand the big words. Document your referring sources or else frame your post as it should be framed - [i]your personal opinon.[/i]

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

Loved it. Especially the quote he included from Principal Camilla.

Tribune Watchdog

In Chicago high school: Class attendance or numbers game?

Bowen Environmental Studies Team High School keeps dropouts on attendance books

By Azam Ahmed | Tribune reporter

June 14, 2009

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

I take Alexander's instruction about experience versus talent...up to a point.

There have been studies that show that teachers generally hit their stride around 4-5 years, no matter how talented they may be. Now after that point, it doesn't really matter how long they've been teaching. A 25-year-year veteran isn't necessarily any more skilled than a 5-year teacher (ignoring the idea of "institutional memory," which some on this board continue to harp on about).

However, below that point, experience matters a good deal. Many new teachers come in--talented and with the energy to work 60-hours or more per week--and get no better, or even worse results than the 20-year veteran who leaves the building within 15 minutes of the final bell.

Let me give you an example: You have to teach a course for several years to be able to [i]anticipate [/i]student problems with the content. Inexperienced teachers may spend hours on a lesson, but not realize until after the testing that kids simply didn't understand a key concept.

Of course, we're talking about education journalism in this thread. But that's not much different.

Like others, I certainly hope these people are in the mold of "investigative reporters" rather than just rewriters of press releases.

To get information from the Board, they are going to have learn to file Freedom of Information requests, and do it regularly.

But also, they need to build a network of sources (reliable sources, not just rumor-mongering lunatics), and that takes time.

My wish is that they hit their stride within 5 years.

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

"...we need [reporters] people with off the chart analytical skills who can cut through the complete BS in the Board's PR. " - Anyone (posted above)

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

God help education reporters in this town with Monique Bond in charge of communications at CPS. Getting real info out of CPS under Huberman/Bond is going to be like trying to get blood from a stone. Ahmed better get to know people like Rod Estvan, who've been bird-dogging the system for years, and quick.

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

Remember that Monique Bond's PR/communications "skills" were honed at the Chicago Public Department. That organization, as is the case with most law enforcement agencies, does not generally communicate any more than is absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, while it may even be necessary in a law enforcement environment, such a batten-down-the-hatches strategy does not serve Chicago taxpayers well.

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

Anyone can transcribe a CPS press release, take dictation over the phone from Monique Bond or one of her myrmidons, or repeat that nonsense about a "$475 million deficit" that Ron Huberman has been ploying for three months.
Did I miss something, or did Monique avoid hosting a press conference about the "administrative" cuts? She certainly hasn't sent any listings out about where these "administrators" were and who they were, just abstractions and historical inaccuracies (or are those going to be blamed on the reporters?).

The largest layoffs in CPS history were between 1979 and 1982 at the height of the financial crisis. Administrative and classroom. By 1982 CPS had 8,000 fewer people working for it than in 1979.

The next huge round of "administrative" cuts came between 1988 and 1990, when the "Compton-Singer Board" took over. District superintendents received phone calls telling them their careers were over (and that later cost CPS a few million dollars, when they finally settled all the litigations).

The next round of real administrative cuts came when Paul Vallas took over (1995) and got rid of the "districts" (actually sub-districts) all together, replacing them with the (remember) "Regions."

The expansion began under Arne Duncan, with the creation of the "Area Instructional Offices" (now called simply "Area Offices" so they can hire an MBA without a Type 75 and expand Daley's patronage).

It continued until last Wednesday (the June 24 Board meeting) when Huberman created 11 new top-dollar jobs (most without any teaching or other experience) a few hours after hosting the retirement fest for (some of) the AIOs and principals.

The reason Ron Huberman won't be holding any press conference to announce this nonsense is that he doesn't want to answer any specific questions when the TV cameras are rolling, even if the majority of reporters don't know their green grasses from an AIO. Someone just might ask him how he could be prattling on about a "$475 million 'deficit'" when the Board has generated such a huge reserve (nearly $500 million according to the last CAFR and other documents).

And, of course, someone might also ask about all those City Hall Clout children who got hoisted into executive positions a week ago.

Give a rest Alexander. Novices are novices, and the plan is for them to be spoon fed "news" for recycling for as long as City Hall can get away with transforming their official narrative into the news columns of the Tribune and Sun-Times (and from there into the TV and national news sources).

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

I find the timing of this change interesting. The Trib barely mentions most education issues, especially those of CPS. Their education link pulls up months old articles, at best. So, why, when the Trib is bleeding money, editorial positions and readers, was this seen as an opportune time to increase reporting on education? Is it possible that with the 'world watching' because of the Olympic bid, the Trib feels it will be possible to delve into the real issues of CPS without Mayor Daley retaliating?

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

sorry if it seemed like i was upset.

i'm just saying that we should judge people on their work, not jump to conclusions or generalizations based on their birth year.

what do you think of ahmed's reporting so far?

-- alexander

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

how would you take it if someone said something derisive about your 20-something son or daughter, i wonder? that they couldn't do the job, that they didn't know anything.

there's no guarantee that doing a job longer makes you better at it -- there's this thing called talent, remember? and hard work.

be glad the tribune is going to have a CPS reporter, given the economic situation.

-- alexander

Revamped Trib Education Team Taking Shape

Oh goody; reporters who have only worked for five years will investigate and analyze the actions of school administrators who only taught for five years.
I love it; Kismet in Hell.