catalyst-chicago.org

A new venture fund devoted to education reform efforts in Chicago's public schools is being proposed by a group of civic leaders under the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, but the Chicago Teachers Union sees the venture as "a slow road to privatization."

Union members passed out leaflets outside the hotel where the venture fund announcement took place. (Tribune)

A national coalition of parents and students will hold a press conference Thursday, June 21 at U.S. Department of Education offices in downtown Chicago. Students and parents are filing complaints alleging that top-down school closings, turnarounds and school phase-outs are a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They are demanding a meeting with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Assistant Secretary of the Office of Civil Rights Russolyn Ali. In May, Catalyst Chicago wrote about complaints by students at Dyett High who said that the district is pushing students out of school since it is slated to close. Those students filed one of the complaints. (News release)

High school students and organizers protested revisions to the CPS Student Code of Contact outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office on Monday. (Catalyst)

Catalyst takes a look at Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard's first year in office.

IN THE STATE
The Illinois State Board of Education announced Tuesday that Illinois is among six states to participate in the Pathways to Prosperity Network, a coalition that aims to increase the number of high school graduates who attain a postsecondary credential with value in the labor market while also leaving open the prospect of further education. The work will initially focus on Chicago and Aurora, but the long-term goal is to create a statewide system of career pathways. (News release)

Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education and the district's teachers union reached an agreement Friday on a three-year teachers' contract. (Niles-Morton Grove Patch)

IN THE NATION
Teachers in Denver Public Schools would receive their first cost-of-living increase in years under a tentative agreement between the district and union announced Tuesday, though the raise is contingent upon voters agreeing to a tax hike in November. (Education News Colorado)

A new analysis about disparities in school funding raises the uncomfortable question of just how effective any reforms can really be when issues of equity are ignored, writes Valerie Strauss of The Washington Post.

Congressional backers of Washington, D.C.'s private school vouchers said that they had struck a deal with the Obama administration to keep money and students flowing into the program. (The Washington Post)

Charter schools in most states continue to enroll proportionately fewer students with disabilities than traditional public schools, a new government report shows.  (The New York Times)