CPS lunchrooms are piling up waste. (Tribune)

Environmentalists inside and outside of the district say the practices in Chicago lunchrooms aren't just bad for the planet but undermine the messages children hear in class about environmental stewardship. And they seem out of place in a city often touted by its mayor as one of the greenest in the nation.

Some advocates also object to polystyrene trays for health reasons. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers expanded polystyrene safe for food service, a new group called No Foam Chicago has formally asked the district to eliminate the foam trays on both environmental and health grounds. The group contends that styrene (considered a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer) can leach from the trays into heated food.

Related: CPS lunchrooms force kids to toss uneaten food. (Tribune)

Dutifully, the children dumped piles of untouched fruit into plastic bins and walked to class…The principal said a district health rule prohibits the taking of food from the lunchroom. He seemed sad about it but was serious about following rules…[District spokesman Frank Shuftan] said the district has "instructed lunchroom staff that it is permissible for unbitten, uneaten fruit to be removed from the cafeteria."

* CTA doomsday cuts hit today and could impact schools. (Sun-Times)

Chicago Public Schools, worried about high-school kids waiting on corners, are working with police to make sure there's no trouble because of reduced bus service. Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said police are in contact with schools daily to get information on trouble spots.

* Ald. Latasha Thomas tells Substance that the district’s criteria for closing schools are wrong and should be discussed in City Council hearings.

* Eight Forty-Eight spoke this morning with Mayor Daley's pick for School Board president, Mary Richardson-Lowry.

On Friday, the show interviewed UM researcher Brian Jacobs, who says hiring and firing authority afforded to Chicago principals has improved teacher attendance.

* Chicago Weekly highlights changes at Harvard Elementary, an AUSL turnaround.

* PC Rebuilders and Recyclers offer refurbished, discounted computers to CPS families. (ABC7)

* Culture of Calm coordinator jobs pay up to $90,000 a year. (CNC)

Across Illinois

* Decatur school officials begin work on Race to the Top local agenda. (Herald-Review)

If Illinois is one of the states chosen, the district then has 90 days to write and submit a comprehensive and specific plan to meet the four points of Race to the Top. That isn't much time, Davis said, so work on it already has begun in hopeful anticipation that Illinois will be accepted.

* Illinois schools, owed millions by the state, face the Aron Ralston problem. (Southtown Star)

Across the country

* Ed. Sec. Arne Duncan backs plans for Detroit’s emergency financial manger to takeover academic decision-making. (Detroit News)

* Duncan’s administration has made an unprecedented gamble in targeting nearly $3 billion in stimulus funding for Title I School Improvement Grants. (Ed Week)

* Schools nearing the federal stimulus funding cliff. (NY Times)

* 58 Race to the Top judges are in seclusion now, but their identities and written comments will be revealed after winners are announced. (Washington Post)

* Several Massachusetts union locals balked on R2T. (Boston Globe)

* Lack of union support dogs Florida’s R2T bid. (Jacksonville News)

* South Carolina governor criticized for submitting R2T bid after knocking the larger stimulus package. (AP)

* Maryland charter school advocates gear up for what they hope will be a R2T-inspired watershed year. (Baltimore Sun)

* Analysts suggest Virginia’s R2T application is a dark horse. (Washington Post)

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