As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
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In the News: Emanuel denies AUSL conflict of interest
By: Cassandra West / November 30, 2011
Mayor Rahm Emanuel reacted angrily Tuesday to questions of whether it was a conflict of interest to award management of six new turnaround schools to the Academy for Urban School Leadership, whose former executives were handpicked by the mayor to help run Chicago Public Schools, the Tribune reported.
And, according to the Sun-Times: Mayor Rahm Emanuel went on the offensive Tuesday against the Chicago Teachers Union’s claim that it’s a conflict to have the Academy of Urban School Leadership oversee six public schools targeted for sweeping “turnarounds” in which all employees are removed.
Today, the state releases test data on charter schools. The Tribune report says, new research suggests many charters in Chicago are performing no better than traditional neighborhood schools and some are actually doing much worse. More than two dozen schools in some of the city's most prominent and largest charter networks, including the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO), Chicago International Charter Schools, University of Chicago and LEARN, scored well short of district averages on key standardized tests.
Catalyst reports: Illinois will release today, for the first time, report cards for charter schools, with test scores and data on student and school characteristics compiled in the same format used for traditional public schools.
And, the Sun-Times leads with: Chicago charter school franchises produced wildly uneven results — even among different campuses of the same chain — on state achievement test data released Wednesday for the first time in more than a decade.
Chicago Public Schools students can expect to sit through at least 88 sessions of standardized testing between third and eighth grade. As a result, 172,385 students in those grades were tested in reading last school year, according to the school system’s website. (Medill Reports)
IN THE NATION
The Nonprofit Quarterly questions the federal government's $50 million grant to Teach for America. "The program may have some serious drawbacks — not the least of which is the fact that the program’s recruits generally do not stay in teaching for more than five years," the Quarterly writes. "And their results do not seem to be better overall than those of other novice teaching recruits—which is to say that they do not compare with the results produced by well-seasoned teachers who have proven their mettle."
Between common standards and the No Child Left Behind law, advocates for social and behavioral sciences worry their field is getting getting short shrift in schools. (Education Week)
Congressional lawmakers put a crimp in a U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to limit starchy foods and serve more fresh vegetables in school meals. (Education Week)
Middle school students are being asked to do much more than take pre-algebra these days; they’re being asked to start launching their future careers. (Education Week)
Indiana public school teachers will be evaluated in the coming year by a model developed at Indiana University. (Indiana Student Daily)
If It Walks Like A Duck...
How is it not a conflict of interest for AUSL to receive $4.5 million dollars from CPS with the following crony credentials? "The principal of AUSL's Bethune School of Excellence was a co-chair of Emanuel's mayoral campaign. The former chairman of AUSL's board is now president of the city's Board of Education. CPS's new chief operating officer also comes from AUSL."
Why all the bluster from Emanuel if this arrangement passes the smell test?
Where's AUSL's profit?
While the turnaround process is not to my liking, I'm not sure how AUSL profits from this. The money that CPS is promising to turnarounds will go to the schools, not AUSL. The schools will still be CPS schools with all CPS staff who are CTU members. Cronyism involves getting something out of the political favor. Without sounding like a conspiracy theorist I'm not sure you could tell me exactly what AUSL is gaining from the political favor.
AUSL
Thank you to Anonymous for the reality check. While it's reasonable to argue that CPS should have put more resources into these schools long ago, it is not reasonable to argue that the new resources now coming their way are going to enrich the mayor's pals. AUSL is a non-profit organization that manages public schools; the money it receives goes to managing, refurbishing, improving, and staffing the schools they manage. Whatever you can argue about past CPS negligence, at least these schools will now get the additional resources they need. And given that CPS has failed these schools for decades, why not give someone else a try --- especially when that someone else has a reasonable track record? No union jobs lost, no need for students to be displaced, more resources for struggling schools --- where's the conflict?
AUSL does benefit from the
AUSL does benefit from the arrangement. As a non-profit, surplus funds cannot be distributed as profit or dividends but they can be invested in expanding the business, hiring administrators, paying executives, or furthering the organization's goals.
Goals
Yes, and AUSL's goals are to train teachers and manage schools in high poverty areas, which in turn is designed to benefit students. So saying that the turnaround contract "benefits" AUSL is true, but it also misses the point. It's like saying that increased funding for homeless services benefits a homeless shelter. Yes, but the more important point is that this would benefit the people who need the shelter's services.
Psst. Got A Bridge To Sell You
This is Chicago. There couldn't possibly be any conflict of interest between City Hall, CPS, and AUSL. AUSL's executives probably volunteer their time.
88 sessions of standardized testing between 3rd and 8th grade
WRoNG--multiply that X 4 becasue of CPS forced Common Core testing now--and ther are 4 seperate tests to Common Core. Second grade tested no too,with DIBLES, MClass, Access and more...
To: Rahm Emanuel: "Anyone can
To: Rahm Emanuel:
"Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not within everyone's power and that is not easy.”
Aristotle
What does arstotle have to
What does arstotle have to say about just being sad?? When i think of CPS makes me sad and nervous and I think more of a Herman Melville analogy
....Lately teaching at CPS is like teahing in a some Whale Ship from a Herman Melville Novel. Capitain Ahab is Rahm.....and the big white whale Moby is the common core standards and the elusive teach all kids from all walks of life and at all levels of IQ'a and motivation to be somehow magially all at the same level ?????? It just makes me sad!
It appears as though all
It appears as though all teachers will have to go through a special AUSL certification program that they will have to pay for out of pocket. The entire AUSL website seems like nothing more of a business scheme to sell these classes for teachers. If you look at the content of their site, (www.ausl-chicago.org) there is nothing that talks about how to fix the schools or tips for teachers to improve their skills. The only content provided is marketing propaganda to sell these teaching classes and certificates. In the about section it says the program was started by a venture capitalist.
It appears as though all
It appears as though all teachers will have to go through a special AUSL certification program that they will have to pay for out of pocket. The entire AUSL website seems like nothing more of a business scheme to sell these classes for teachers. If you look at the content of their site, (www.ausl-chicago.org) there is nothing that talks about how to fix the schools or tips for teachers to improve their skills. The only content provided is marketing propaganda to sell these teaching classes and certificates. In the about section it says the program was started by a venture capitalist.
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