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Special Education

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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Catalyst Notebook

Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 8:36am

In the News: CPS plans to add 60 more charters

By: Cassandra West
Tags: charter schools

Chicago Public Schools plans to add 60 more charter schools over five years, part of a larger proposal for 100 new schools over the same five years that is laid out in an application seeking $20 million for charter schools from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Tribune reports.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 7:32am

In the News: Voters side with CTU on school reform

By: Cassandra West
Tags: Chicago Teachers Union, Rahm Emanuel

Chicago voters overwhelmingly back Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push to extend the school day, but far more of them side with the teachers union than the mayor on overall efforts to improve education, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.

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Friday, May 11, 2012 - 5:25pm

CTU: Poll shows members unhappy with contract proposal

By: Sarah Karp
Tags: Chicago Teachers Union

In the ongoing battle between the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS over a new contract, CTU announced Friday that the first large-scale poll of its members found that more than 90 percent think the current proposal will "lower the quality of education in the city."

But CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll fired back, accusing the CTU of putting out misleading information about the details of the proposal in an attempt to fire up the base. “If I were a CTU member, I would be disappointed,” she said.

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Friday, May 11, 2012 - 8:31am

In the News: CPS explains student 'verification'

By: Cassandra West
Tags: CPS administration

Last week Chicago Public Schools issued to all principals an elaborate memo outlining how all teachers were being required to "verify" the students they had taught in the previous year — even down to estimating how much of the "learning" these students did should be attributed to the individual teacher, Substance News reports.

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Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 3:46pm

Comings & Goings: Foundation News, Chapman

By: Debra Williams
Tags: Comings and Goings

Polk Bros. Foundation CEO Sandra P. Guthman and Executive Director Nikki Will Stein will retire at the end of December. The foundation then will merge the two positions into one leadership role—Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation. For two decades, Guthman and Stein have led the foundation in providing grants to nearly 800 local nonprofit organizations. Guthman will continue to serve as board chair through November 2018.

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Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 12:22pm

Charter funding bill not yet a done deal

By: Jim Broadway
Tags: charter schools, finance and budgets, legislation

SPRINGFIELD -- The Chicago Teachers Union and other charter critics spoke out strongly in opposition to a proposal that would increase the funding that school districts must provide for charter schools, squaring off against supporters who want equal funding with traditional public schools.

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