As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
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In the News: Head Start braces for big cuts
By: Cassandra West / July 27, 2012
Tens of thousands of young children from low-income families could be dropped from Head Start programs if Congress cannot find a way to prevent automatic cuts to the federal budget in 2013, according to The New York Times.
Chicago Public Schools this week hired a chief special education officer and an employee of the business consultant McKinsey & Co. to lead the district's key reform efforts. (Tribune)
Education Reform Now – Advocacy, a 501(c) (4) organization affiliated with Democrats for Education Reform, on Thursday began airing a new radio commercial to highlight the public agreement reached by Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union on the length of the school day. Listen to the ad here.
IN THE STATE
Gov. Pat Quinn continues to push for a plan that would shift pension costs for teachers from the state to school districts. (CBS)
Community High School District 218 board declares an impasse and makes last and best offer to teachers union. (Palos Patch)
IN THE NATION
A company appointed by Indiana to run and try to turn around a troubled Gary high school is suing the Gary Community School Corp., demanding that it turn over student records it needs to run the school. (nwi.com)
No 8th graders in Bronx School District 7’s public and charter schools got the top score on state English exam. (New York Daily News)
Math test scores in D.C. public schools rose this year while reading scores remained essentially flat, officials reported Thursday. (The Washington Post)
Another office, another chief
Just how broke is CPS? It seems they have plenty of money to create new offices to staff with highly-paid chiefs and their underlings.
I'm not talking about the OSES appointment here. That vacancy was due to retirement, and we obviously need someone in charge of special education.
But the Office of Transformation?
And why do I feel that Mr. Brizard really meant to say: "The task for my team at CPS isn't to start the corporate takeover of education in Chicago, it's to complete it thoroughly, deliberately and systemically."
At least the new chief knows something about education, despite his career as a business consultant. You see, he's the son of...wait for it!..a teacher.
That's all it takes to make decisions about education these days, right?
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