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School closings

As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.

Guest Column

June 22, 2010

Despite modest increases in the number of available after-school opportunities for our young people over recent years, the demand for quality programs far outpaces the supply.  According to Chapin Hall, an independent policy research institute, and the Chicago Out-of-School Time (OST) Project, there are only enough publicly funded opportunities to reach a little more than one-third of Chicago’s teens.  Last summer, the number of applicants to the City’s YouthReadyChicago summer jobs program was more than 70,000—for fewer than 30,000 jobs. 

June 09, 2010

It’s all about student success.

That is all anyone needs to know to appreciate the need, the scope, and the value of the School Leader Reform Act signed into law recently by Governor Pat Quinn to totally reform the way Illinois selects, trains, and certifies educational leaders to be principals in our schools.

May 18, 2009

Our nation is making unprecedented investments in supporting young children’s development and well-being. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides more than $2 billion in one-time funding to expand and improve Head Start and Early Head Start; more than $2 billion for high-quality child care for parents seeking employment or pursuing higher education; and a significant earmark for early intervention and special education services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. States are also eligible to receive additional stimulus dollars for early childhood education.

April 09, 2009

With the recent announcement that Illinois will receive close to $3 billion in stimulus funds earmarked for education, the debate over how best to use that money has reached a fever pitch. As a leader in advancing the teaching profession in Illinois since 1985, Golden Apple Foundation offers the following recommendations for getting the biggest bang for Illinois’ new education dollars:

March 11, 2009

There are many parts of President Barack Obama’s March 10 speech on education to applaud, though some of it will make education leaders uncomfortable.

Obama’s call to the nation’s youth to enter teaching is certainly laudable. The president’s remark that “the most important factor (to a student’s) success... (is) the person standing in front of the classroom” echoes the sentiments Golden Apple has proclaimed for decades, and we hail those that heed his call.

February 05, 2009

It’s the straw that broke the grassroots back: the appointment of Ron Huberman to head the Chicago Public Schools.

December 17, 2008

Quick, name three of the last seven secretaries of education (not including Margaret Spellings).

Outside the world of education, most people probably can’t—which says something about the level of attention the general public typically pays to the job, despite poll after poll that says we rank education as one of our top priorities.

December 12, 2008

Thank you for drawing attention to the high demand for more quality public school options in Chicago.  Your recent article on school choice (“The challenges of choice”) notes that 62% of African-American CPS students are attending schools outside of their neighborhood for high school.  This is a startling figure and testament to the need for more and better options across our city. 

December 02, 2008
By: Dea Meyer

With a monumental national election behind us and change coming to both Washington and Springfield, now is the time for our state leaders to tackle one of the most intractable problems facing our state:  the need to create a better public education system for our children.  We commend efforts by Catalyst for highlighting the intense disparities in education choices and the painful search facing desperate parents looking for a quality education for their children (see Catalyst In Depth, November/December 2

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