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School closings

As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.

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Catalyst Notebook

Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 11:28am

Catalyst reporting on Reaching Black Boys receives another national award

Tags: About Us

“Reaching Black Boys” has won more honors for Sarah Karp and John Myers.
This issue of Catalyst In Depth, published last June, just received a
public service award in the magazine category of the 2009 Sigma Delta
Chi national journalism competition. Earlier, it won the one and only
award that the national Education Writers Association bestows on
specialty and trade publications, and locally it won a Peter Lisagor
award.

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Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 7:37am

In the News: budget protests, ComEd plan dies

By: John Myers

Chicago students hit the streets again to protest budget cuts. (ABC7)

* Museum of Science and Industry teams up with Illinois Institute of Technology to offer masters degree in science education. (Sun-Times)

* Rev. Jesse Jackson calls on Obama administration to create jobs program aimed at reducing Chicago youth violence. (Sun-Times)

* As Ed Sec. Arne Duncan pursues more federal dollars for parental involvement in schools, PURE’s Julie Woestehoff laments his track record in Chicago. (Examiner)

* Ald. Richard Mell and his daughter, state Rep. Deb Mell, call on the Reader’s Ben Joravsky to discuss tax-increment financing reform.

* New study outlines benefits of single-sex schools for boys of color, including a close-up on Chicago’s Urban Prep. (Ed Week)

* A state pensions borrowing scheme is dead and ComEd has withdrawn plans to exchange rate guarantees for $500 million in school funding. (Sun-Times)

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Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 6:25pm

Meeks' voucher bill falls short in House vote

By: John Myers
Tags: government and policy

After a lengthy debate on the House floor, lawmakers voted 48-66 against state Sen. James Meeks’ controversial school voucher bill. The plan would have granted private school tuition vouchers of about $3,300 to perhaps as many as 46,000 students in some 50-70 low-performing and overcrowded Chicago schools.

House sponsor Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Worth) technically postponed the bill for later consideration. But lawmakers will have little time in this session to return to the matter. They must now turn their attention to the 600-pound gorilla in Springfield: passing a state budget before the end of the week.

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Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 7:43am

In the News: Rating Evanston teachers, Madigan and U of I

By: John Myers

Evanston schools forge ahead with rating teachers based on student performance. (WBEZ)

Orrington Elementary in Evanston seems a long way from the national fray. But District 65, with schools in Evanston and Skokie, is the only Illinois district to try evaluating teachers based on student outcomes. Up close, it looks less controversial—and more complicated.

* A Tribune editorial that embraced school vouchers for Chicago drew a sharp rebuke from Ken Swanson, president of the Illinois Education Association.

Yesterday, lawmakers successfully added a technical amendment to state Sen. James Meeks’ voucher bill. But intense lobbying apparently slowed the bill’s advance to a floor vote. That’s expected to change today.

* Mayor Daley to address school leaders trained by the New Leaders for New Schools program. (Press release)

* A Tribune investigation finds House Speaker Michael Madigan helped clout students into the University of Illinois.

* The General Assembly approved plans to shutter the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education. (Clout Street)

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Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 10:45am

Four year olds in Illinois increasingly less likely to attend preschool

By: Rebecca Harris
Tags: early childhood education

Illinois has long been seen as a leader in early-childhood education,
but a national organization says the state has started to slip.

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Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 7:11am

In the News: charter cuts, cigarette tax

By: John Myers

Lawmakers may vote on state Sen. James Meeks’ school vouchers bill today. The Tribune takes stock of some parents’ emerging options.

* Stock Elementary preschool granted full funding for next year. (Pioneer)

* After two years, the courts have made little progress with PURE’s local school council lawsuit. (Columbia Chronicle)

* Elizabeth Purvis, the executive director for Chicago International Charter Schools, explains how impending state budget cuts would impact her charter schools. (State of Your State)

For background on charter funding, read Catalyst’s In Brief report on charters.

* $1-a-pack cigarette tax could help state finance schools. (Statehouse News)

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