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: Getting at why school choice fails
By: Cassandra West / December 06, 2011
Natalie Hopkinson, a Washington-based writer and parent, takes on the perverse inequities that play out along racial lines and have resulted from a "reform" process that proponents say will bring choice and accountability to school systems in majority-black neighborhoods such as hers. (The New York Times)
Chicago Teachers Union officials say they are coming to the rescue of ailing schools, with plans on how they would spend the same budget the Academy of Urban School Leadership is being given to “turnaround’’ ailing Chicago Public Schools, CTU President Karen Lewis said Friday. Lewis called closing schools entirely are slowly phasing them out of existence "nuclear options" that are "starting to lose traction." (Sun-Times)
In defending CPS officials' decision to close two elementary schools next fall and phase out two high schools, CEO Jean-Claude Brizard says the schools "are so far gone that you cannot save them." (CBS Chicago)
IN THE STATE
The possibility of boundary changes in Naperville Unit District 203 has so riled parents concerned their children may have to switch schools or even watch their school close that at least three Facebook pages have been started for parents to share their questions and complaints. More than 70 people have signed an online petition opposing boundary changes as well. (Tribune)
The Springfield School Board is considering a policy that would regulate how teachers and students use social media inside the classroom. (State Journal-Register)
IN THE NATION
Charter schools, often touted as the solutions to rescuing students who live in poor neighbors, are getting more scrutiny lately. And rightly so. Now comes a report released by the U.S. Department of Education this week that says charter schools nationwide spend about $1,800 less per student than traditional public schools. Why? Because charters pay their teachers less. (StateImpact/NPR)
Applications from the 11 states seeking flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act offer a hodgepodge of student-achievement goals and strategies to help low-performing schools. (Education Week)
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