catalyst-chicago.org

The first round of negotiations between the Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union went squarely to the district, which will get its way in weighing student performance more heavily in teacher evaluations. (Tribune)

Chicago Public School officials Friday hailed as “historic” a new evaluation system that will eventually tie up to 40 percent of a CPS teacher’s rating to student growth — a prospect teacher union officials immediately blasted as “deeply flawed.’’ (Sun-Times)

WBEZ features an interview with Katie Ellis, Chicago Public Schools’ executive director of access and enrollment. She talks about the fact that a record number of students applied this year to selective enrollment high schools.

Also, featured on WBEZ's education home page is a map of 10 years of Chicago school closures. The sortable chart and maps show where schools have been closed or turned around, what's become of the school buildings and how well new schools in those buildings are performing. This item was mistakenly highlighted in In the News today. WBEZ has alerted Catalyst to the fact that, due to an update in its Web site, the page is not displaying correctly. 

IN THE STATE
The sluggish economy has led to an influx of students in south suburban communities where housing is less costly, or where parents have given up on paying to send their kids to private schools. Crete-Monee District 201U is one of those districts where enrollment is up because of the poor economy. (Southtown Star)

Officials of the Rockford School District say a tentative contract agreement reached with the teachers union will mean classes will resume Monday. (Tribune)

IN THE NATION
Protesters are set to convene in Washington Monday for four days of rallies, marches and talks taking high-stakes testing and the "corporatization" of public schools.  Being called “Occupy the DOE”—for its target, the U.S. Department of Education—the event is being portrayed as a way to build on last summer’s Save Our Schools event, which drew people to the nation’s capital for a high-profile demonstration and meetings focusing on many of the same themes. (Education Week)

Parents are pushing a plan to eliminate pre-kindergarten in New York City schools because some children can't get into kindergarten in their own neighborhoods. (ABC)

It may take a generation to know for sure whether e-books are better for children than regular books. (The New York Times)