catalyst-chicago.org

In a move spurred by student and community groups demanding a less punitive student discipline system, a City Council committee on Wednesday passed a resolution calling on Chicago Public Schools to reduce suspensions and expulsions by 40 percent. The committee's resolution, which is non-binding, will go before the full City Council.

Chicago Public Schools, which faces a nearly $700 million budget deficit, has proposed a capital spending budget  of $110 million for the coming fiscal year, a sharp drop from this year's $660 million. A large chunk of the capital budget, $39.9 million, would come from the new Chicago Infrastructure Trust. (Tribune)

Local schools of education are among those in 25 states piloting a new evaluation system for teacher candidates that will require them to compile a portfolio of work—including video clips of their classroom teaching—to earn a teaching license. (Catalyst)

Child care advocates are headed to Springfield Wednesday to speak up for state-funded child care as the Illinois General Assembly considers Gov Pat Quinn’s proposed cuts to the program. (Catalyst)

The union representing 3,200 school lunchroom workers became the first of seven Tuesday to reveal it had reached a contract agreement with the deficit-ridden Chicago Public Schools.

The new agreement supports “cooking schools” and is expected to be unveiled at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, 3857 W. 111th St., according to a union media advisory. (Sun-Times)

In less than one year in the place, the top leadership at Chicago Public School is undergoing a shakeup. Noemi Donoso, the current number two in command, is leaving less than a year after Mayor Rahm Emanuel plucked her from Denver public schools for his team. Last June the school board authorized CPS to pay Donoso up to $21,000 to relocate here, on top of her $195,000 salary. Donoso is the third top CPS cabinet member to leave in recent months. Also gone: Andrea Saenz, chief of staff to CEO Jean-Claude Brizard; and Jamiko Rose, the district's chief of family engagement. (WBEZ)

Incoming high school freshmen who have yet to secure a spot in a challenging academic program in the Chicago Public Schools still have a chance to sign up for admission to a new school on the Southwest Side. CPS said Tuesday that the application deadline for the new STEM high school has been extended from April 20 to May 8. The school is set to open at 7651 S. Homan Ave. in the fall and will specialize in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. (Tribune)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday sloughed off his first public break with his predecessor and political mentor, former Mayor Richard M. Daley, over Daley’s surprise opposition to a longer school day. (Sun-Times)

IN THE STATE
Illinois’ top Senate Democrat dropped his resistance Wednesday to abolishing the state’s scandal-tainted legislative scholarship program and advanced a measure that would kill the waivers this fall. (Sun-Times)

Oak Leaves covers teaching expert Charlotte Danielson's visit to Oak Park last month, when she talked about making the transition to an effective teaching evaluation system.

IN THE NATION
Online public schools, where students as young as kindergarteners log on from home to take classes, don’t make the grade, according to a study released Friday. The findings demonstrate that online public schools, which educate more than 200,000 students nationwide, don’t have the results to justify their growth, said Gary Miron, lead author of the study and a professor at Western Michigan University. K12 Inc., part-owned by billionaire Michael Milken, and Pearson’s Connections Academy are the biggest operators of Internet- based charter schools — privately run public schools. (Bangor Daily News/Bloomberg News)

New York City public school teachers may not contact students through personal pages on Web sites like Facebook and Twitter, but can communicate via pages set up for classroom use, the Education Department said Tuesday after it released its first list of guidelines governing the use of social media by employees. (NYT)

Atlanta Public Schools tribunal dismisses teacher who gave students ‘look' when they erred on tests. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Diane Ravitch's latest blog post looks at the role that American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, has played in "an explosion of legislation advancing privatization of public schools and stripping teachers of job protections and collective bargaining rights."