Too few teachers creates a shortage of class offerings for half of high-school-aged kids in St. Charles youth prison. (WBEZ)

* Obesity rates remain exceptionally high among Chicago youth, according to new report. On the bright side, fewer kids are entering kindergarten overweight. (Sun-Times)

* President Obama’s No Child Left Behind proposal gets some positive reaction from local educators. (WBEZ)

* Schools Chief Ron Huberman warned principals yesterday of drastic budget cuts and spiking class sizes.

More from the Sun-Times:

Under the current contract, if CPS declares a budget "emergency,'' it can move to reopen negotiations with the CTU and seek union agreement to forestall $169 million in teacher raises or to impose furloughs.

"If this is a negotiating ploy, there will be no negotiations in the press,'' said CTU spokeswoman Rosemaria Genova."I can't begin to speculate what Mr. Huberman's objective was in terms of briefing principals. . . For a man who is promoting a 'culture of calm,' this is not the way to do it.”

* Protests marked public hearings on turnaround proposals. (Substance)

* Coalition of civic groups gives Mayor Daley a D-plus on education. (Crain’s)

* The deadline to file as a Local School Council candidate has been extended to March 24. (Press release)

In state news

* More than 1,000 job cuts, mostly teachers, in the works for Elgin. (Tribune)

* Other red-ink stories: Rochester school workers ok pay freezes (SJR); Springfield considers 56 teacher cuts (SJR).

* Illinois Arts Education Week underway; Peru program earns recognition. (My Web Times)

* St. Supt. Chris Koch takes note of the budget crunch, i3 grants and other issues in his weekly message.

In national news

* A lighter touch proposed for most schools under President Obama’s No Child Left Behind blueprint. (Washington Post)

The proposal to update what is formally known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act divides nearly 100,000 schools into three categories: those rewarded for high performance; those challenged to overcome major academic struggles; and the huge number in the middle that are pushed to improve but given freedom to innovate. The latter group could amount to 75 percent of schools.

Education Department officials said that 5 percent of the lowest-performing schools would face radical interventions, including replacing the principal in nearly all cases. Those are tougher remedies than current law provides. The next-lowest 5 percent would be placed on watch lists and forced to take major steps. Another 5 percent with wide gaps in achievement between disadvantaged and better-off students would be required to take action to narrow them.

Overhaul would up the ante for students with disabilities. (Disability Scoop)

Download the 45-page blueprint for reform here. (PDF)

* California pink slips for teachers and other school workers total 22,000. (AP)

* West Virginia governor to call special session on Race to the Top. (AP)

* Nevada governor names 29-member task force to spearhead R2T bid. (RGJ)

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