New Catholic school blazes new trailPaul CuadrosIn September, Chicago got its first new Catholic high school in more than 30 years, and it's like none other.
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, housed in the shuttered St. Stephens Elementary School in Pilsen, is centered around college-prep courses, but it also teaches workplace skills, conducts some classes in two languages, stresses cooperative learning and employs what educators call block scheduling, or 80-minute classes.
"I would say that we may be similar in curriculum to other schools in that we're preparing our students for college, but we're different in our... > Read More |
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Reform groups in, teachers out at firstElizabeth DuffrinWith elementary school reforms underway, Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas shifted focus last summer and revved up a team for high school redesign. In a kick-off speech last July he called for "quick and lasting" reforms for the city's high schools.
A steering committee and seven task forces made up the redesign team. Vallas cast a wide net, drawing in reform groups with whom he had often been at odds, businesses, universities, local school council members, foundations and principals.
However, when the task forces convened last summer, no teacher had been appointed.... > Read More |
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How Catholic, public high schools differElizabeth DuffrinUrban Catholic schools seem to have all the answers these days when it comes to educating disadvantaged students. Among other successes spotlighted by the media, they're sending a higher percentage of low-income, minority students onto college than do their public school counterparts.
Critics call the comparison apples and oranges: Catholic schools have options public schools don't, like barring low performers and dismissing the unruly.
Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas rejects the argument. "There are many parochial schools in this city that deal with children from at-... > Read More |
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Board downshifts on high school planElizabeth DuffrinIn December, the school administration released the first draft of a sweeping plan to overhaul the city's long ailing high schools. Hurry-up hearings were held—including one on Christmas eve—with the goal of crafting a final version by late January.
By that time, however, the administration had downshifted. A final plan is now due in March, and it will spell out changes for freshmen only, according to Chief of Staff Cozette Buckney.
Some ideas in the draft plan were "unrealistic," some too costly, she explains. Others need more time for planning. Buckney adds that the... > Read More |
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