catalyst-chicago.org

Chicago "teachers are spending almost 10-plus hours per day at the school, and then putting in roughly another two hours at home," says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois who co-authored a paper that surveyed 983 Chicago Public School teachers.

"So their workday is absolutely not five hours and 45 minutes but almost twice that – and that’s not even including weekends.” The study profiles a teacher’s standard school-day workload and the time they devote to the job. Click here read other findings in the survey.

Groups opposing Mayor Rahm Emanuel's original plan for a 7.5-hour school day continue to call for a 6.5-hour day, and with another round of budget cuts looming, some question whether CPS has the money to support a seven-hour day. (Tribune)

Student and parents descended on Oak Park and River Forest High School on Wednesday evening to express their frustration over the dismissal of non-tenured teachers during a special meeting called after an uproar over the firings. (Tribune)

IN THE STATE
At a time when suburban school districts are pushing back hard against taking over the state’s share of teacher retirement costs, many are paying thousands of dollars — sometimes hundreds of thousands — in penalties for giving big raises to administrators and teachers and driving up pensions. (Daily Herald)

IN THE NATION
Racial minorities and students with disabilities are suspended at substantially higher rates than their white and non-disabled peers, according to an analysis of discipline data from nearly 500 California school districts. Researchers said the disparities are a civil rights issue and cause for alarm. (California Watch)

New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott said on Wednesday that the city will close and reopen 26 schools this summer, regardless of whether New York State’s education commissioner approves the plans. (NYT)

Teachers, students, parents rally for education funding in Colorado. (The Denver Post)

A study of charter school spending in Michigan indicates elevated spending on administrative costs in charter schools. Charter schools spend more per-pupil on administration and less on instruction than traditional public schools, even when controlling for enrollment, student populations served, and other factors, the study by the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education found.