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Mayor Rahm Emanuel is preparing to “ratchet up” negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union to seal a deal needed to guarantee an on-time Sept. 4 opening of Chicago Public Schools and preserve his signature plan for a longer school day and year, City Hall sources said late last week. (Sun-Times)

Sources said the mayor plans this week to step it up a notch by having a “second level of negotiations with more senior people” away from the same cast of characters currently at the bargaining table.

The Chicago Teachers Union did not file the required 10-day strike notice Friday, and union President Karen Lewis, ensuring that students will return to class on time. (Tribune)

After nine months of firing up its members for a possible strike amid rancorous contract talks, Chicago Teachers Union leaders may be hard-pressed to secure a deal that satisfies members, The Tribune writes in an editorial.

In a recently released video, Chicago Teachers Union shows the games played by wealthy elites to smear the union in the midst of heated contract negotiations. In the video, Chicago Tea Party activist and blogger Andrew Marcus boasts about working with Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel to discredit "the unions in this town." (Democratic Underground)

IN THE STATE
Belvidere School District’s student poverty rate has increased for the fourth straight year, escalating to 47 percent districtwide. (Rockford Register Star)

IN THE NATION
As pressure mounts for students to improve their digital-learning and 21st-century skills, out-of-classroom environments are increasingly being seen as appealing settings to foster them. From out-of-school programs that use mobile gaming to reinforce school lessons to learning labs where students create their own multimedia projects using digital tools, these new environments have provided more leeway for young people to pursue individual interests, which some educators say helps them gain a deeper understanding of core academic knowledge. (Education Week)

Louisiana’s 60,000 public school teachers are about to face their first job evaluations under a new review system that continues to spark controversy and questions. (The Advocate)