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: Algebra-for-all has downside, study shows
By: Cassandra West / August 03, 2012
The push for algebra-for-all policies may inadvertently take a toll on high-achieving students, suggests a new study by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research and reported by Education Week.The research looked at changes in math scores in a set of Chicago public schools after the district enacted a policy in 1997 requiring all 9th graders to take Algebra I. Mathematics achievement gains for high-performers dropped in those schools most affected by the policy, when compared with a control group, the study finds. The main reason, it suggests, was the shift to mixed ability grouping in classrooms.
St. Scholastica Academy, one of the city’s oldest schools for girls, is set to re-open this fall as a public charter school.
Mayor Emanuel greeted students and parents on the first day of class at a South Side charter, and delivered his standard line about how Chicago children "deserve a full, quality education that will help them succeed and excel." (ENews Park Forest)
IN THE NATION
Highland Park School District, one of Michigan's lowest-performing academically, says it will turn over its three schools and nearly 1,000 students to a private, for-profit charter school company—the second district in Michigan to take such a drastic step to avert financial collapse. (Wall Street Journal)
D.C. Public Schools is planning to reduce the power that students' standardized test scores have over teachers' performance ratings and job security, The Washington Examiner reports.
District of Columbia school officials say 98 teachers have been fired after receiving low scores on a key evaluation instrument. (The Washington Post)
Worth reading and they kicked Denoso out for less!
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=3476§ion=Article
In All Fairness to Ms. Cheatham, (ahmm) DR. Cheatham,
the questions should have been aligned to the core standards, submitted in standard Lesson Plan form, and she should have had additional time, according to her IEP, to answer these questions!
Sad enough that practically all of the principals questions were about testing and not instruction, but even sadder that the people so handsomely paid to answer them, couldn't.
With leadership like this I am reminded of Faulty Towers.
May God have mercy on us all!
High Paid staff at central office
B. Carroll = Zero personality, worst communications person ever. Everything is a crisis when you have no knowledge, skills or leadership training.
S. Gearing = Great rip-off of salary. Fake theories for the last 6 years with no results since Arne started flying him in from Kansas City. This says the present leadership knows nothing better.
J.C. Brizard = Figurehead (or flunky)
Mayor Rahm Emanuel took over the schools and began the Reign of Rahm and the Era of the MBAs (as some are calling it). The Reign of Rahm at CPS is based on the philosophy that anyone from outside Chicago is better able to run Chicago's reformed public schools than veteran insiders. Another tenet is that anyone whose training was outside education is the most qualified to hold the top executive positions in public education in Chicago in 2012. An MBA from the University of Chicago or Harvard is the highest qualification today to get any of the six-figure administrative jobs running the schools that serve the more than 400,000 public school children of Chicago. The fastest way to get vetted out of the vetting is knowing about Chicago and its schools. It's a twisted philosophy for sure. It's the same as a non-politician running for mayor. This is something we might see.
CPS has few revolutionaries sitting in principals offices these
days. But whichever principal asked: "This is a lot of assessment. Are we sure that testing K-2 students in NWEA will help to inform instruction? There are other tools that are better indicator of the early stages of literacy and numeracy. — The results for MAP for the little ones is more a measure of computer skills than literacy or numeracy. You do realize that, don't you?" That principal should be awarded the red badge of courage. But how many principals actually allow the time for students to read a novel like Crane's Red Badge of Courage, given their fear of test results and the volume of material that is covered by these assessments.
My take on Jennifer Cheatham is that she is individually competent, but unfortunately she is part of a process that is pushing changes so fast that it has gone out of control for the moment. Historical knowledge of the school system is of limited value in the current situation where the school district is transforming itself into an unknown entity, where new education management groups are knocking on the door daily asking for a piece of the pie. CPS is now asking CPS principals of traditional schools to be mini CEOs and make do with the resources they can muster at the school level and those resources are very limited at poor schools that can't lean on parents to raise more money. CPS is also asking principals to follow numerous bureaucratic dictates which limit their ability to innovate and survive. Every school is now an island in the middle of an ocean with few rescue ships on the horizon.
I had the experience today of closely looking at CPS open positions for special education teachers and it was stunning. I counted about 310 unfilled special education teaching positions as of today, which is remarkable since the CPS FY 13 budget cut some special education positions. You can see these positions by going to https://www.cps-humancapital.org/app/vacancies.aspx
As George pointed out in his article CPS forced the deluge of retirements by pulling the plug on sick day pay outs. When we add this to the numerous other changes including the longer day I have to agree we have serious confusion.
There is little doubt schools will muddle through this confusion but many poor children will receive little or no benefit at all this year from the longer school day or full day as some like to say. Middle class CPS students would probably this year better spend the extra time they will spend in school taking a ballet class or going to an ACT prep-class. The confusion will exist whether or not there is a strike.
Rod Estvan
Once again the BOSS MAN had
Once again the BOSS MAN had to fulfill a campaign promise. Not one time did he say a longer learning educational day. A full school Day PLAY ON WORDS. I do NOT understand why the powers to be think kids will eat then go out to recess and come back ready to work. SENSELESS they will need water, bandages, from playing (falls). Then a calming down period (hyper kids) many recess fights. There will be a lost of learning time but an additional warehousing of students. No additional teaching time mean no more instruction PEOPLE. Half the schools who sold out and extended there day scores droPPED. The other half showed minimal gains which was within the Error of margin. There needs to be a PLAN. longer school day should have been thought out starting with HOW ARE WE/CPS GOING TO FUND MY CAMPAIGN PROMISE. TAKE POLITICIANS OUT OF EDUCATION. THAT is why THEY are not allowed in the operating room b/c they would mess **** up.
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