catalyst-chicago.org

Teachers, administrators and staff at four Chicago charter schools are being laid off because the New York-based company that manages the schools is being replaced, the Tribune reports.

Florida-based Charter Schools USA will take over management of the schools from New York-based EdisonLearning, which has been managing the four institutions for Chicago International Charter School for the past 12 years.

Substance News has the text of an email CTU President Karen Lewis sent to union membership following a historic rally at Auditorium Theatre last week. Lewis said the rally "was the beginning of a historic struggle for the soul of public education."

Chicago Teacher Union has launched a "We Love Teachers" video campaign that talks to people about CPS teachers that made an impact on them. See the video here.

The principal of Chicago's Fenger High School wants to change the school's image. That's because a lot has changed since the videotaped beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert made national news two years ago. Arrests and suspensions are down significantly. Attendance and the number of  freshman on-track to graduate are up. The problem, the principal says, is that nobody want to go to Fenger. (WBEZ)

IN THE STATE
Gov. Pat Quinn will get the chance to cut the number of regional school superintendents—a group of elected officials he tried to eliminate altogether last year. Senate Bill 2706, unanimously approved by the Illinois House Friday, would cut the number of superintendents from 44 to 35 and fund the positions out of the state's general revenue fund. (State Journal Register)

The Illinois House is proposing to cut $260 million from K-12 education for next year. (WJBC)

IN THE NATION
Five years after a blue-ribbon research report urged an overhaul of California's school governance and finance systems, a follow-up finds that the organizational ailments highlighted in 2007 remain, and the financial picture has gotten worse. (Education Week)

One of the key architects of the Common Core State Standards, David Coleman, is listed as a director on the board of StudentsFirst, the advocacy group begun by former D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. (Education Week)

A Washington, D.C., school, where no more than 24 percent of students have read proficiently over the last six years, has been chosen to try blended learning, a mix of online and traditional instruction championed by DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson. (Washington Post)