Even as CPS opens more new schools, children with special needs have a tougher time finding options. Placements in private therapeutic schools are scarce, and some charters are reluctant to enroll them.
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Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, budget powers
Grassroots education advocacy groups are reeling from the news that state Senator James Meeks has filed a bill that would strip local school councils of their most important powers, including selecting principals and controlling their school’s discretionary funds. The bill would make LSCs merely advisory boards and would transfer their authority to the Board of Education.
Grassroots education advocacy groups are reeling from the news that state Sen. James Meeks filed a bill Monday that would strip local school councils of their most important powers, including selecting principals and controlling their school’s discretionary funds.
The bill would make LSCs merely advisory boards and would transfer their authority to the Board of Education.
Meeks, a Democrat and the pastor of the House of Hope, a megachurch on the Far South Side, did not return calls on Wednesday.
Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond issued a statement that “Meeks has been a champion of school reform and education and his efforts to ensure that students are receiving the best educational opportunities is consistent with our mission, and we look forward to reviewing the legislation.”
But Bond did not respond to follow-up questions about whether CPS officials knew Meeks planned to submit the bill and whether the district supports it.
Leaders of advocacy groups say they had no idea that the bill was coming.
“We are completely shocked and stunned about this bill, considering we have had no communication from Meeks’ office on an issue that directly affects us,” says Clarice Berry, the president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association.
Don Moore, executive director of Designs for Change, says he does not understand Meeks’ motives.
“It seems ironic that an elected official from the South Side would propose a bill that would basically gut the powers of LSC’s, which have a majority of African American members,” Moore says.
In recent years, the district has curbed the power of LSCs by choosing principals for schools on probation and by creating charters and other new schools that are not required to have LSCs.
Still, education advocates were caught off-guard by the attempt to completely remove any power from the councils.
Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart cited the bill as more evidence of bureaucratic leadership ignoring the needs of students in favor of their own agendas. She made her comments at a previously scheduled CTU press conference on Wednesday regarding school closings.
Wanda Hopkins, assistant director of Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE) says that the organization will not rest until the bill is stopped.
“We’re going to fight it like we’ve never fought before,” she says. “We are not going to let them kill our community.”
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Yo! This Meeks yap is a rouse to take the heat off the hearings, school closings, consolidations and turnarounds. Keep you eyes on the prize, y'all.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
LSC have ALWAYS had the power to extend the school day. They are responsible for the budget and they can fundraise too. Instead, they spend poverty money on hiring their friends and harASSing the principal and teachers. Meeks is right-on here, but he either has unbelieveable guts, is getting a payoff for this, or is completely crazy.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Meeks has gone off the deep end on this suggestion. Look Meeks is good for brining attention to himself but he has no idea what school reform is. That is called Lazy thinking. As a pastor, he is serving master caesar Daley and for what? Tired of these pastors who keep Daley and the Machine in power.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
When Daley has supported a two tiered education system and has the African American community schools under his heel for so long, it would seem obvious who the culprit is. The buck stops at the top Reverend Meeks. One has to scratch their heads at your scapegoating the LSC's! Meeks, who is your master? Seems you are protecting pharaoh Daley. Sad Reverend. No prophetic witness on your part. Supporting Daley will not get the children to the Promised Land. Martin is rolling in his grave at your antics, Reverend!
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Best news of the day.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
I am a substitute teacher in CPS grammer schools. I have been to more schools than most and have seen ineffectual leadership in schools across the board. I taught for a week at a big school in Humbolt Park where the principal had very little effect on disipline in the school. When a principal is ignored by the students and the students conduct is not changed by her precence, than... Huston we have a problem. I also agree that LSC's have no bussiness in pricipal selection or how discretionary funds are used. The power they wield is often misused, an example would be the rotating pricipals at De Diego.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Yes,
Here we go again, Meeks is only trying to get attention that he so desperately craves at the expense of his constituents, his community and his people.
It's so sad to see a so called "leader in the African American community stoop so low. I can't understand why any teacher would sit and and listen to his horrible sermons that have not relevance to Christ or Christian doctrine.
Does he know that Jesus himself was one of the most radical humans that ever lived? What about Martin, Malcolm, Garvey and Nat Turner. Meeks you are a far cry away from these heroes. In fact you're closer to a zero!
On this issue, you are so wrong as usual. We have grown to know you as a Daley man. In fact since you want to act like a slave, well just call you "Daleys Meeks Man".
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Celeste, you really need to learn how to spell before criticizing schools.....
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
I have a few stories about a corrupt LSC at a top school. I'd like to hear yours. I also know how dysfunctional the Board of Ed is. Seems like we are between a rock and a hard place.
The desire to gain influence with the principal in order to benefit their child or their pocket is strong.
1.) I have seen two principals rig LSC elections to make sure their supporters were in place.
2.) Another LSC chair's wife was hired to replace a foreign language teacher during her maternity leave, a direct violation of CPS rules.
3.) One father wanted his twins admitted to a regional gifted center despite their low test scores. The principal wanted him on her LSC. The twins were admitted.
4.) Two LSC members had children they did not want labeled as learning disabled, but they did want them to have extra time on the ISAT. Done.
I also know how corrupt the Board of Ed is..
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Keep your eyes on Daley, Huberman & his PM crew and layers of punitive "bean counters" now built into entities like SCRMA and CAO areas. The moral is so low now in CPS. Maybe it is Huberman's plan. Have folks give up and pay low paying inexperienced folks to teach. We can point fingers around but don't be distracted where the chaos starts. Daley hiring an amateur to run CPS and the Amateur is now building his bureaucratic army of punitive bean counters, and they don't come cheap!
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
While there are serious problems with LSCs, they are the only true democratic body in CPS. Mayoral control has been a nightmare and the Baby Boss has done everything he can to gut the schools of their ability to function, but at least properly trained LSCs do excellent jobs. There has always been resistance to LSCs - I've heard teachers complain about how ignorant we parents are - but many of them came around when they saw we cared about how the principal treated them.
My children are grown now, but I still appreciate how our LSC found a great principal to replace an OK one. Maybe we were just lucky, but those parents, community members and teachers did an excellent job. My son and daughter got into selective enrollment high schools and graduated from Northwestern and Princeton respectively. I hope LSCs continue and that grandstanding Meeks finds something else to do. When is he up for re-election?
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Rev Meeks is finally standing up for African American children.
CPS was once an effective school system with highly
credentialed principals. Having worked in over 14 CPS schools
across the near south and west side, and having served as
a school administrator K-12 in urban and high income ditricts
in Michigan, and with 3 degrees in educational mgmt, I say
with 40 years of experience,LSC were a good idea, but have
become the bane of school performance. Lindblom HS LSC
ousted a superb principal- Lolita McDowell, to hire a man who
couldn't write a sentence and was taken out of the school
within 6 months! The chief influence in his hiring was an active
union member on the council who intimidated other lay
members. CPS principals spend an inordinate amount of time
pleasing individual LSC members (who hire and fire them)
rather than serve as instructional leaders in their school!
Persons who have zero educational bckgd and training should
be strong advisors but should NOT hire and fire principals.
Parents should ask themselves, "why are so many schools on
the south and west side failing" ? Are LSC's really making a
difference? NO, they are turning schools into political quagmires
where as long as principal pleases the council, s/he gets to
keep their job- no mattter how poorly the school performs!
CPS should close all non performing schools and take back
the professional process of hiring effective, smart administrators
rather than LSC sycophants! Meeks, I'm with you 100%!
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Show me a functional LSC. Most of the schools with effective parent groups are those who have either a PTO/PTA or friends of organization. LSCs, especially on the Southside are dysfunctional, have tyrant chairs who are in it for themselves and only think about their children when they are supposed to be working toward the greater benefit of all of the children.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
The problem is the principal has to please the LSC, the LSC parents, and the 2 LSC teacher reps. If the teacher reps don't get certain favors, they make the principals' life hell, lower his evaluation and will not renew his contract--no matter how talented he is. IL legislature made a royal mistake by allowing the employees (teachers) to evaluate and contract their managers/principals
It is very clear who principals MUST please.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
I appreciate the comments on this blog, but I am disappointed by the generalization of LSC's as "uneducated" and corrupt. Research proves that LSC's tend to be more educated than the general public. LSC members also demonstrate increased levels of civic involvement and for the most part, do their jobs DESPITE operating from a structural deficit. In other words, Chicago Public Schools have management over LSC's (which is a mistake) and they have effectively neglected this wonderful tool for parent and community voice in school decision making out of the public consciousness. Do you all know that until 2007, there were only 7 LSC facilitators for over 600 LSC's? LSC's suffer from a lack of support and they are NOT the problem with education in Chicago. At Dyett High School, where I sit on the LSC, we successfully advocated for resources to develop our library, campaigned central office to get a new heating and air conditioning system and worked to address the issue of violence in our school to the point that in 2008, Dyett had some of the largest increases of students going to college in the entire district! With proper support and oversight, LSC's are proven, effective, publicly elected school governing bodies. Lastly, who in their right mind would eliminate the largest body of African American and Latino elected officials in the United States? LSC's, with the right support, can become powerful local lightning rods for education equity!
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Disagree--this is why so many schools with LSC were closed, since LSCs have so much power, even Edison with a strong LSC, had no power against the Board. You do not count the dysfunctional LSCs who cannot even meet since no one shows, or LSCs that hold each other and/or the principal hostage until they get their way, or have their sisters hired, or their sons' grades changed. Or tell the teachers they want them in uniform. (I have seen the last three happen.) Right, they only needed more education and CPS should spend even more money on LSC INSTEAD of the students. How much does CPS spend on the LSC elections? How many people actually VOTE for LSCs, how many bother to run without the cajolling of the principal (like they are not busy enough.) I have been to 3 schools this week and the LSC candidates statements are in Spanish--I cannot read them and no one will translate them. Scores are still horribly low in our minority communities and LSC have much to do with this. As for elected officials being abolished, it is not about color. People are sick of any politicians and Novemeber will prove this point. Been since 1989-LSCs have had their time. Advisory Only--Meeks is right!
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Um, the biggest problem with LSCs is that 2 Teacher LSC Reps hire, fire, and evaluate their boss. What industry does that?
The results is deals by principal-politicians to placate their teacher-constituents so they get renewed/re-hired. For that reason, there are no principals who push teachers to get more children to learn.
Don't say that the parent or community Reps mitigate the Teacher Reps. Parent and Community LSC Reps defer to the teachers, because "teachers are there all day."
LSCs need to go.
CPS should should hire, fire, and evaluate principals based on a clear, transparent point system based on student learning. Oh, yeah, that already exists-- the Performance Policy.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
The silly arguments on giving Huberman more centralized control is dumb! The problem with the trolls on this topic is that they defend the indefensible! You can't get away from the truth that you not hire an amateur to do a complex job in an area that Huberman and his PM crew have no expertise. So sad because their acumen so low that it ultimately will hurt our students. What else is new. Real School Reform, No face PM BS.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Great idea!
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
I find this latest of Mr. Meeks not surprising inasmuch as his drumming is specious and personal and does speak to his attending to being the first drummer.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
LSC's definitely need to go. I have been at three schools and not one of them had an educated LSC. We had to beg people to run and then they never showed up. It was a great idea in theory, but we have more than proven that it doesn't work.
Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, b
Giving the power to put their patronage friends in schools as principals is plain dumb. Daley put public education on sale and is trying to build a new patronage army in the schools. Huberman is building the patronage army via the Performance Management group and CAO hires. Who knows, in a couple of years Al Sanchez of HDO fame could be given a job as principal with no credentials.
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