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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.

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In Focus

How restorative justice came--and quickly left November 22, 2010 By: Rebecca Harris Monroe Elementary Principal Edwin Rivera was excited to learn in fall 2008 that his school would receive grant money to start a restorative justice program. As a former counselor, Rivera is a strong believer in strategies that give schools an alternative to solve conflict and avoid suspensions. Read More \| (0) Comments	One in 10 charter school students transfers out November 09, 2010 By: Sarah Karp It’s almost 8:21 a.m. at Gary Comer College Prep Charter, nearly a minute after the morning bell. On this sunny day, Principal James Troupis stands in the gleaming foyer, watching several stragglers head to class. “Hurry up,” he tells one young woman, as she shifts her backpack from one shoulder to the other. “Power-jog if you have to.” The student picks up her pace. Behind her, two serious-looking students trickle into class. By 8:25, the foyer is empty. Read More \| (2) Comments
Daley's school legacy still leaves much to do September 14, 2010 By: Sarah Karp With a backdrop of light streaming through the spotless windows of the library of a brand-new school, Jose Hernandez said what everyone else in the room may well have been thinking: That the building would be part of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s legacy. Read More \| (1) Comments	Merit pay for Chicago teachers: one program ending, another in the works September 07, 2010 By: Rebecca Harris This month, Chicago Public Schools will find out whether the district has been selected for a federal grant to launch a new initiative on merit pay that would radically restructure teacher compensation at participating schools. Read More \| (1) Comments
What communities are planning for Promise Neighborhoods August 05, 2010 By: Cassandra West Chicago communities and social service agencies are making a pitch for part of $10 million in federal planning grants for Promise Neighborhoods, the Obama Administration’s initiative to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone. The 20 planning grant winners will be announced in September. Chicago could conceivably have multiple winners, says department spokeswoman Elizabeth Utrup, since there is no limit on the number of planning grants for each city. Read More \| (0) Comments	Life after high school: Boot camp at Cook County Jail July 06, 2010 By: Sarah Karp Last year, Kenny Rainey was saying goodbye to high school. He had too few credits to graduate and was nervous about his future, but he had a summer job lined up and plans to enroll in an alternative school to earn his diploma. But now, Kenny is in Cook County Jail’s boot camp, where he was sentenced for possessing an illegal firearm. Two days before he was shipped to the camp, he appeared much thinner than he had been a year ago, and looked pale in the fluorescent light of a jail visiting room. Read More \| (3) Comments
More Time for Learning: Necessity or Tangent? November 19, 2009 From Mayor Daley to Education Secretary Arne Duncan to President Obama, there is a drumbeat to extend the school day and year to keep schools open as community centers, providing more learning times to children and their families. Moreover, leading educators point out that teachers in the US spend three times fewer hours in professional learning and collaboration than do their peers in higher achieving countries.With just 308 minutes of instruc Read More \| (0) Comments	WebExtra: Two steps forward, one back September 25, 2009 By: Rebecca Harris By the time Twin Green left Cook County Jail on Sept. 2, she had obtained contact information for the children of more than 60 inmates and furlough participants -- the first step toward enrolling them in a new mentoring program at the south suburban Link & Option Center. With new streams of federal funding, mentoring programs like the one Link & Option offers to children of the incarcerated are expanding their reach. Read More \| (0) Comments
Q&A with Michelle Reininger: The student teaching experience February 24, 2009 By: Daniela Bloch Michelle Reininger was astonished to read a report claiming that nationally, only half of those who complete traditional teacher preparation programs end up in the classroom. Thinking that a negative student teaching experience might be partly to blame, she decided to research student teaching and teamed up with Chicago Public Schools. Her study includes surveys of student teachers both before and after their placement. The study is in its second year and is still ongoing. Read More \| (0) Comments

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