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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In the News: Emanuel mum on churches' support for ed agenda
By: Cassandra West / January 31, 2012
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday declined to say whether it’s appropriate for faith-based groups that have become vocal public supporters of his controversial education agenda to receive millions of dollars in contracts from his administration. (Tribune)
Chicago’s Board of Education is planning to release a decade of closed-session meeting minutes that have been kept secret since 1995, when Mayor Richard Daley took over the schools. The board voted late Wednesday to release minutes from July 1995 through December 2004. The minutes will be redacted but will offer the public the first glimpse at what board members discussed during hours of behind-closed-doors meetings on school board business. (WBEZ)
A new website that launched Wednesday offers a glimpse into the art programs at Chicago public schools, identifying which programs have certified teachers and which outside organizations work inside the school. The map, known as ArtLook was released today by Ingenuity, Inc., a new organization that aims to coordinate different organizations’ arts education efforts around the city. Ingenuity, Inc.’s current funders include Boeing, the Chicago Community Trust, the Crown Family Philanthropies, the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, the Joyce Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Milne Family Foundation and the Polk Bros. Foundation. (Catalyst)
IN THE STATE
Teachers and administrators in Oak Brook’s Butler Elementary District 53 have declared an impasse after nearly a full year of contract talks, officials said Monday. (Daily Herald)
IN THE NATION
As budgets grow tighter, districts that have always had their own top administrators are considering new leadership structures, including creating part-time superintendent positions, sharing superintendents with neighboring jurisdictions, and consolidating roles, such as having a superintendent also serve as a principal. (Education Week)
Texas school district superintendents say that state budget cuts are hindering their ability to educate children as a result of teacher layoffs, bigger class sizes and fewer services for students who need academic help, according to a recently released survey. (Star-Telegram)
More New York City principals are putting their name to a letter protesting the state’s use of students’ test scores to evaluate educators. As of Monday, 1,318 principals had signed the letter. New York State has 4,511 principals. (The New York Times)
Violaton of US Constitution
I think he may be mum because no matter how he slices it he has to be violating the seperation of church and state:
The establishment clause is "[t]he First Amendment provision that prohibits the federal and state governments from establishing an official religion, or from favoring or disfavoring one view of religion over another."[1
Consulting Church Leaders
Inviting Church leaders to a breakfast to discuss board issues
Using their protesters to support his opinions at board meetings?
I would say he has violated the US constituition in some way? I think he better talk
re Texas and education cuts
It was a good idea for Catalyst to post the article on the education cuts Texas school districts have been facing. We should also recall that during the hearings for SB7 that Advance Illinois praised the Houston school district for its longer day and presented it as a beacon of light in comparison to CPS. Even Mayor Emanuel cited Houston while running for office as having a model school day.
It will matter little if the Houston school day is longer if children are packed into classes due to staff reductions. The one thing the Star-Telegram did not mention is that Governor Perry and the Texas Legislature has refused to release reserve funds to school districts to help prevent the budget cuts and this has been a big issue down in Texas. The perspective seems to be releasing these funds will only delay the cuts and it is better to get on with the reductions rather than delaying them.
CPS needs to take note of this experience in light of any spending for a longer school day. Governor Quinn is proposing flat education spending for the next three fiscal years which only can be done by cutting the human services budget or again raising taxes given the billions in unpaid bills our state has. The current choice is to cut human services. I expect that the Governor is being hopeful in this projection and actual cuts may still take place in the education budget and in the human services budget.
Rod Estvan
Página de CPS en internet
Página de CPS en internet está en español
(CPS page on Internet is in Spanish)
Emanual Mum
When you get your hand caught in the "cookie jar" you must remain mum!
Hunter Clauss's CNC report linked by Alexander was interesting
but I think it did not dig into the story of the making of the Education Action Group Foundation's (EAGF) video “A Tale of Two Missions” as much as I would have liked to have seen. While I have no doubt that Mayor Emanuel's spokeswoman Tarrah Cooper was correct when she stated that the Mayor was not in agreement with the perspective the video projected of the CTU, after the Mayor's staff saw the finished product and said OMG. But I also have no doubt that friends of the Mayor urged him to work with Kyle Olson on the making of the video. These same friends no doubt also convinced Noble Street Charter Schools to work with EAGF.
There have been several stories about who gets access to Mayor Emanuel (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/10/27/big-money-helps-get-access-to-may... and http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/who-has-access-to-mayor-rahm-emanue...) so some of the treads can be drawn together.
Who were these friends of the Mayor that paved the way for EAGF getting such exclusive access to both him and a CPS charter school? I doubt it was Stand for Children because they were still in disarray last summer when the Mayor agreed to participate in the making of the video. I suspect these friends who suggested Kyle Olson was worthy an interview are also supporters of the New Schools for Chicago organization. Bruce Rauner, a venture capitalist and charter school advocate who was a supporter of the SB7 legislation that passed Springfield, and who is a Republican with ties to Mayor Emanuel might have been one of those friends.
Given what a hatchet job this video turned out to be the Mayor might be wise to question the ideological intent of video makers recommended to him by some of his friends. By the way given the shots inside a Noble Street Charter School one has to also wonder if the parents of any of these students were aware their children were being used a props for an ideological attack on the CTU? Do you think if the parent of one of these students happened to be a CTU member they would be happy? What would happen if the CTU made a video inside a CPS school attacking charter schools and using students in a traditional school as props for the attack? I bet we would see some people fired.
Noble Street Charter Schools does many things right for the subgroup of students enrolled in its schools. The charter school did not do its self a favor by participating in the video made by the Education Action Group Foundation.
Rod Estvan
Hunter Clauss's CNC report linked by Alexander was interesting
but I think it did not dig into the story of the making of the Education Action Group Foundation's (EAGF) video “A Tale of Two Missions” as much as I would have liked to have seen. While I have no doubt that Mayor Emanuel's spokeswoman Tarrah Cooper was correct when she stated that the Mayor was not in agreement with the perspective the video projected of the CTU, after the Mayor's staff saw the finished product and said OMG. But I also have no doubt that friends of the Mayor urged him to work with Kyle Olson on the making of the video. These same friends no doubt also convinced Noble Street Charter Schools to work with EAGF.
There have been several stories about who gets access to Mayor Emanuel (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/10/27/big-money-helps-get-access-to-may... and http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/who-has-access-to-mayor-rahm-emanue...) so some of the treads can be drawn together.
Who were these friends of the Mayor that paved the way for EAGF getting such exclusive access to both him and a CPS charter school? I doubt it was Stand for Children because they were still in disarray last summer when the Mayor agreed to participate in the making of the video. I suspect these friends who suggested Kyle Olson was worthy an interview are also supporters of the New Schools for Chicago organization. Bruce Rauner, a venture capitalist and charter school advocate who was a supporter of the SB7 legislation that passed Springfield, and who is a Republican with ties to Mayor Emanuel might have been one of those friends.
Given what a hatchet job this video turned out to be the Mayor might be wise to question the ideological intent of video makers recommended to him by some of his friends. By the way given the shots inside a Noble Street Charter School one has to also wonder if the parents of any of these students were aware their children were being used a props for an ideological attack on the CTU? Do you think if the parent of one of these students happened to be a CTU member they would be happy? What would happen if the CTU made a video inside a CPS school attacking charter schools and using students in a traditional school as props for the attack? I bet we would see some people fired.
Noble Street Charter Schools does many things right for the subgroup of students enrolled in its schools. The charter school did not do its self a favor by participating in the video made by the Education Action Group Foundation.
Rod Estvan
LSC
I have heard that the LSC training was used as chance to promote Charter Schools and Obama? THat cant be right?
No 1st Amendment issue at all
There is no First Amendment establishment clause violation to this story. The very fact that ministers from various Christian, Jewish, and other faiths are involved should point to the fact that no single religion is being favored over others. For goodness sake, the very fact that a Jewish mayor is working so closely with Christian ministers should lead one to see this is political and not religious.
The Mayor is spot-on in his comments. The churches receiving funds are doing so for running after-school programs, and not worship services.
People who claim a First Amendment violation just look silly here.
oK DANNY
You may be technically correct. However, how would you feel if you read a story about Cardinal George speaking at a board meeting in favor of extending the day then finding out george was given 6 million to watch after school. then sudddenly the alter boys and sunday school teachers were speaking up at board meetings in favor of the mayor..who by the way were brought in by a church bus and paid by a local bishop? i would think a line is being crossed!!!
closing of schools
Fred Bates
The Casals community had NO idea that Mr. Bates has a long history with CPS , and that he does indeed get paid by them. We believed him when he said he was not an employee of CPS ( he said it 2x) and thought we were addressing an impartial officer. It is SO disappointing to be played like this , to have all those speakers stand before him , all the faxes that were sent to him, and then to know this is what was really going on. In my 2 minute speech, I spoke about the immoral behavior of CPS , and even I didn't know how RIGHT I was or how far it went !
Tech Talk
You do realize that Tech Talk is backed by Gates and Microsoft. The introduction paves the way for lowering the teacher workforce as now a teacher can conceivably facilitate instruction to an unlimited number of students and all students will have a "virtual" IEP. Now do you get the hidden agenda.
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