catalyst-chicago.org

Chicago School Board members Wednesday accused Chicago Teachers Union officials of “spewing lies,’’ issuing threats and trying to “intimidate’’ them into not closing half-empty schools, the Sun-Times reports.

The conversation quickly got heated at a Nov. 14 forum sponsored by Catalyst Chicago and the Better Government Association. After Catalyst Editor In Chief Lorraine Forte presented a primer on charter schools and Publisher Linda Lenz moderated a panel about their role in CPS.

Sen. Dick Durbin and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the Department of Agriculture has awarded $100,000 in funding to Chicago Public Schools to help make more locally grown produce available in their school cafeterias. This “Farm to School” grant will be used to fund a school garden program to teach students about agriculture and nutrition and to provide schools with fresh produce for healthy lunches. The funding will also be used to establish permanent and sustainable relationship between schools and local farmers and producers. (ENews Park Forest)

An advocacy group for sexual abuse victims is calling on a near west suburban school district to release disciplinary records of a former teacher there who has since been removed from contact with students at Chicago Public Schools for a past abuse conviction. (Tribune)

IN THE NATION
A federal appeals court has thrown out Michigan’s voter-approved ban on affirmative action in college admissions and public hiring. (Diverse)

If the president and Congress cannot agree on a resolution for the country’s looming debt crisis, the automatic budget cuts and tax increases that will kick in next year could spawn another round of belt-tightening at public schools already battered by the recession and its aftermath. Federal education programs for elementary and high schools would lose a little more than $2 billion — or close to 8 percent of the current budget — starting next fall, according to the Office of Management and Budget and the Education Department. (The New York Times)

Newark's teaching force has approved, by a 62 percent 'yes' vote, a three-year contract that creates a second salary schedule offering the opportunity for performance bonuses. The agreement also adds a peer-review piece to the evaluation process.  (Education Week)