Coming to Chicago schools: 37 students in a class and other budget details CEO Ron Huberman gathered together all principals and chief area officers Monday morning to tell them to prepare for the worst, presenting them with a detailed list of sacred cows that would have to be cut with if state legislators don’t find more money for schools next year.



Continue Reading Coming to Chicago schools: 37 students in a class and other budget details »

Illinois heading to DC to pitch for Race to the Top funds

Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration today confirmed the five representatives who will travel to Washington DC on March 17 to defend Illinois’ Race to the Top application. At stake: up to $510 million in federal stimulus dollars that would jumpstart changes to teacher evaluations and other school improvement initiatives.

Called upon to defend the state’s bid will be: Miguel del Valle, Chicago City Clerk and chairman of the state’s P20 Council, and Audrey Soglin, executive director of the Illinois Education Association. They will be joined by Chris Koch, superintendent of Illinois schools, his general counsel, Darren Reisberg and his chief of staff Susan Morrison.

Continue Reading Illinois heading to DC to pitch for Race to the Top funds »

In the News: Monday, March 15

Honors student with cerebral palsy waits a month for CPS bus services before returning to school in Joliet. (Tribune)

* 18 percent cut in the works for Chicago charters. (WBEZ)

* New Consortium report finds mixed results in science after a Chicago policy change made college-prep coursework the default.

More from Ed Week. Download the full report here.

* Like CPS, where sophomore sports have been slashed, other districts are trimming back on athletics. (Sun-Times)

* Budget guesswork has schools extremely anxious this year. (Tribune)

* President Obama will unveil today his blueprint for No Child Left Behind overhaul. (Politico)

 

Continue Reading In the News: Monday, March 15 »

Tougher science requirement has little impact on achievement As part of a larger effort to institute more rigorous graduation requirements, in 1997 CPS passed a policy requiring students to take three years of science instead of just one year.
 
But for the most part, the increased coursework did little to raise science achievement overall, according to a study released today by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.
Continue Reading Tougher science requirement has little impact on achievement »

Teachers union pushing again for end to Chicago residency rule

Residency requirements for Chicago teachers are back on the Springfield agenda, this time with an unlikely sponsor.

State Sen. Heather Steans says she was able to convince Sen. President John Cullerton to extend the deadline for SB 3522, a bill that would scrap the rule requiring teachers in traditional Chicago public schools to live within the city limits. Mayor Richard M. Daley has long defended the requirement, established in 1996, as a way to try and beef up the city housing market and keep teachers close to the communities they serve.

Should Steans successfully move the bill out of the Senate Executive Committee next week, she believes it could reach a vote on the Senate floor—the first time a residency bill has done so.

Continue Reading Teachers union pushing again for end to Chicago residency rule »

In the News: Friday, March 12

Rep. Monique Davis wants violence hotline for Chicago schools; critics say its another unfunded mandate. (Chicago Talks)

House Bill 4647, which passed the House 112-1 last month and is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate, would force Chicago Public Schools to start a hotline to collect anonymous tips from people who might otherwise fear reporting crimes to the police. The hotline would be run by the Chicago Police Department, which would investigate each call.

* Marconi consolidation plans in flux. (Substance)

* Gov. Quinn starts tax hike barnstorm at Springfield school. (SJR)

* Schools must plan for bleakest of state budgets. (NYT/CNC)

Continue Reading In the News: Friday, March 12 »

In the News: Thursday, March 11

Draft academic standards in math and English—the bedrock of the national common standards movement, of which Illinois has played a central role—were released yesterday. (NYT)

The new standards are likely to touch off a vast effort to rewrite textbooks, train teachers and produce appropriate tests, if a critical mass of states adopts them in coming months, as seems likely. But there could be opposition in some states, like Massachusetts, which already has high standards that advocates may want to keep.

“Many states have too many expectations in their academic standards that force teachers to cover too much in a superficial way,” said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. “We said: ‘Let’s keep these very understandable and at a number that is manageable. Let’s not put on teachers more requirements than they can deliver.’ ”

* Schools Inspector General launchs investigations into 30 Chicago high schools where grade-changing may be rampant; Mayor Daley lashes out. (Sun-Times)

* Undocumented Chicago youth come out to press for immigration overhaul. (WBEZ)

* CEO Ron Huberman’s performance management highlighted on All Things Considered.

* Hundreds protest cuts to Chicago sophomore sports programs. (ABC7)

Continue Reading In the News: Thursday, March 11 »

Quinn warns of drastic cuts to Illinois schools without tax hike

Governor Patrick Quinn used his budget address today to back lawmakers into a corner on school spending. His ultimatum: Enact a 1 percent income tax hike for education or slash state funding for schools by 17 percent.

Continue Reading Quinn warns of drastic cuts to Illinois schools without tax hike »

Catalyst wins national reporting award

Deputy Editor Sarah Karp and Data & Research Editor John Myers have won first place in the Education Writers Association’s 2009 National Awards for Education Reporting, the country’s most prestigious competition for education journalism. Karp and Myers won for “Reaching Black Boys,” our May/June 2009 issue of In Depth, which reported on the widespread use of harsh discipline against African-American boys in Chicago Public Schools, and the impact on their education. Karp and Myers won in the special interest/trade publication category. Scott Stephens, from our sister publication Catalyst Ohio, won a second-place prize in the beat reporting category.

In the News: Wednesday, March 10

The Sun-Times unearths thousands of changed grades at Hyde Park Academy, including more than 870 F’s that were boosted to passing marks.

Search through a database of changed grades by high school.

* Olympic Speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno visits Smyth Magnet to discourage underage drinking and push healthy lifestyles. (Sun-Times)

* BackTalk notes the need for LSC candidates.

* Gov. Pat Quinn formally unveils his budget at noon and will invite reluctant lawmakers to pass tax hikes. But Quinn’s opening salvo includes little more than cuts, loans and deferred payments to help fill an estimated $13 billion hole. (Clout Street)

Continue Reading In the News: Wednesday, March 10 »

In the News: Tuesday, March 9

The US Department of Education has released final rules for the $650 million Investing in Innovation grant, a stimulus-funded competitive grant aimed at school districts and nonprofits. (Ed Week)

* While the Supreme Court considers Chicago’s handgun ban, Mayor Richard Daley pushes statewide gun restrictions. (Tribune)

More from WBEZ.

* Students are filing college financial aid requests at a fast clip as state funding lags. Nearly 45 percent of CPS seniors have already done so. (Huffington)

* The Tribune Editorial Board applauds Urban Prep for its 100-percent college acceptance rate.

Continue Reading In the News: Tuesday, March 9 »

Chicago group set to take parent education campaign statewide

To outsiders, the fact that a school is performing poorly might seem obvious from the numbers readily available on state school report cards. But there’s a vast difference between the quality of education many parents think is taking place in schools and what students are actually experiencing, says Patricia Watkins, director of TARGET Area Development Corp. and founder of Parents and Residents Invested in School and Education Reform, known as PRISE.
Continue Reading Chicago group set to take parent education campaign statewide »

In the News: Monday, March 8

Dawn Turner Trice profiles a pre-med student who opts to teach in a South Shore elementary school instead. (Tribune)

"You know the social problems. But it's not just that," he said. "It's the school system's inadequacies. It's the budget constraints. It's the No Child Left Behind law. It's the almost exclusive focus on reading and math for standardized testing. Sometimes, it's bad administrators or a system so thick with bureaucracy it's almost impossible to get through."

* All 107 seniors at Urban Prep are are off to four-year colleges, a major milestone that drew praise and a surprise visit from Mayor Richard Daley. The school is the nation’s first all-boys public charter high schools comprised entirely of African American students. (Sun-Times)  

More from WBEZ and the Tribune.

* Grow Your Own program faces high funding hurdles in state’s fiscal crisis. (Chicago Talks)

* CPS students are plan more budget protests, this time over specific cuts to sophomore sports. (ABC7)

Continue Reading In the News: Monday, March 8 »

Students protest budget cuts Students from North Lawndale/Little Village and Julian high schools joined young people across the nation Thursday afternoon to protest budget cuts. Most of the students outside of Chicago were from universities and were angry at proposed tuition hikes and program slashing.
 



Continue Reading Students protest budget cuts »

In the News: Friday, March 5

State Supt. Chris Koch, addressing lawmakers during a special Senate committee hearing, predicts 13,000 job cuts if state reduces education budget by 10 percent. (SJR)

Illinois Issues provides a rough breakdown of those cuts: tenured teachers, 457; non-tenured teachers, 5,826; administrators, 505; service employees, such as counselors and social workers, 402; non-certified employees, 5,194.

More from the Herald-Review and Statehouse News.

* Little Village, Julian high schoolers protest school budget cuts at City Hall. (Substance)

* News that Illinois made the final cut in phase one of Race to the Top generated lots of coverage—mostly positive, with a few cautionary notes.

Continue Reading In the News: Friday, March 5 »

Illinois one of 16 finalists for first round of Race to the Top grants Once thought to be on the outside looking in, Illinois instead has joined 14 other states and the District of Columbia as finalists for Phase One of the Race to the Top grants. A victory could pour as much as an estimated $510 million into the state’s education coffers to drive sweeping reforms.
 
To be sure, Illinois has won exactly $0 so far.
 
"We are setting a high bar and we anticipate very few winners in phase one,” noted U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “But this isn't just about the money. It's about collaboration among all stakeholders, building a shared agenda, and challenging ourselves to improve the way our students learn.”
 
Illinois was considered a long shot last fall, when The New Teacher Project ranked it “somewhat competitive” in the Race to the Top. But a flurry of legislative activity in January, coupled with what some national observers have called a strongly written application, helped the state leapfrog ahead.
Continue Reading Illinois one of 16 finalists for first round of Race to the Top grants »

In the News: Thursday, March 4

Chinese classes now offered in more than 40 area school districts, part of spiking national interest. (Tribune)

The suburban offerings follow on the heels of the acclaimed Chinese program in the Chicago Public Schools, regarded as among the most comprehensive in the nation. It started in the late 1990s and has grown to 53 teachers in 43 schools, said Robert Davis, manager of the district's Chinese Connections Program.

* Mayor Daley taps former Board of Education President Gery Chico to lead reinvention effort for Chicago City Colleges. (Sun-Times)

* CPS students from at least two high schools will protest budget cuts at City Hall today. (Substance)

* Eight Forty-Eight talks turnarounds with AUSL’s Donald Feinstein.

* Ald. Pat Dowell writes the Chicago Journal to urge constituents to stay vigilant and organized in the face of school shakeups. 

* Media roundup on news that 100 high-scoring students from 87 low-performing elementary schools will be admitted to the city’s top college prep high schools.

Continue Reading In the News: Thursday, March 4 »

Analysis of selective schools data shows poorer students have tougher time gaining admission
When CPS laid out its new magnet and selective enrollment admissions policy, the chief worry among community activists, lawyers and parents was that it would wind up favoring well-off students, who already have many advantages.
Continue Reading Analysis of selective schools data shows poorer students have tougher time gaining admission »

CPS declines to release data on selective enrollment, sets aside more seats for minority students

CEO Ron Huberman said Wednesday that he will not publicly release racial and socio-economic data on the students who received offers to attend the coveted selective enrollment high schools.

But, after his own review of the information, he is adding 25 seats to each of the freshman classes of Whitney Young, Jones, Walter Payton and Northside Prep and reserving them for students from the city’s worst elementary schools, all of which serve only black, Latino and poor students. These four high schools are the best ones in the district.

Continue Reading CPS declines to release data on selective enrollment, sets aside more seats for minority students »

In the News: Wednesday, March 3

Sen. James Meeks’ voucher plan moves on to Senate education committee. (Statehouse News)

* Sophomore sports cut according to confusing district memo. (Tribune)

* Schools Chief Ron Huberman leads clergy and other community leaders in rally for school funding reform. (WGN)

* The Supreme Court appears poised to strike down Chicago’s gun ban. (Tribune)

* In Chicago, lunches must be prepared on a $1-per-meal budget. (Medill)

* Black history glossed over in Chicago schools, some contend. (Medill)

* Former Orr High dropout tapped by Mayor Daley for top job at City Colleges of Chicago. (Sun-Times)

* Compensation for Illinois schools chiefs grows 4.1 percent as other school staff face cutbacks. (Tribune)

 

Continue Reading In the News: Wednesday, March 3 »