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School closings

As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.

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Catalyst Notebook

Thursday, May 13, 2010 - 7:08am

In the News: TIFs and school access, pink slips

By: John Myers

Restricted access to Skinner Elementary creates political friction as aldermen consider the use of tax-increment financing districts in school construction. (Chicago Journal)

* Drawing from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Goodman Theatre is helping students from VOISE and three other Chicago schools to create art and find empathy. (WBEZ)

* Despite low test scores, Young Women’s Leadership seeks renewal for its charter and recognition for its inspired and college-bound students. (Chicago Journal)

* The MacArthur Foundation has selected 10 new digital media learning projects to share $1.7 million in competitive grants. Among the winners: a coral reef conservation project that connects students on Chicago’s West Side with peers in Fiji.

* In Illinois, losing a job in the teaching profession is a painfully slow process. (Tribune)

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 11:00am

Teachers at Chicago's first union-backed charter school reach tentative contract agreement

By: Rebecca Harris
Tags: teachers

Teachers at a union-backed charter school have come to a tentative
contract agreement with management just months after newly unionized
teachers at Chicago International charter schools ratified their
contract.

The agreement calls for a significantly longer school day with daily
professional development, revamped teacher evaluation and a remediation
process that allows for quick dismissal of under-performing teachers.

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 7:26am

In the News: world language cuts, golden apples

By: John Myers

Chicago’s $3.5 million world languages program is on the chopping block. (Sun-Times)

* WBEZ: most of the 80 principals who will leave Chicago schools this year were not, contrary to news reports, forced out for low performance. For a complete breakdown, don't miss Catalyst's recent report.

Related: Eight Forty-Eight talks with UIC’s Peter Martinez about the challenges of finding 80 qualified principals.

* Five teachers won Golden Apple Awards yesterday. Another four winners will be surprised in class today. (Tribune)

* A healthy cooking program is launching in the Broadway Armory—part of a $100,000 health and fitness campaign coming to the Park District. (Tribune)

* The Tribune’s Dennis Byrne suggests campaign support from teachers unions led several Republicans to vote against school vouchers.

Related: Jim Broadway of the State School News Service says SB2494 may resurface soon.

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Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - 6:20pm

Principals face the chopping block and "on edge"

By: Sarah Karp
Tags: principals, principals

CEO Ron Huberman today defended his administration’s practice of using a
disciplinary process that was once reserved for the worst principals to
remove those who haven’t been able to turn around struggling schools. Also, budget news...

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Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - 7:13am

In the News: firing principals, frustrated teacher grads

By: John Myers

During a hearing on TIF-funded school construction, Schools Chief Ron Huberman tells a City Council Finance Committee that the district will replace 80 principals in struggling schools. (Sun-Times)

That is a very high number for us. We don't believe those principals are performing for schools. ... A key leader in a school makes a big difference," he said.

* Deep cuts in the teaching ranks have new education graduates looking outside Chicago for work. (Tribune)

* The Times’ Bob Herbert notes that CeaseFire operates in only a quarter of the Chicago areas in which it should.

* A bus crashed into Rowe-Clark Math and Science Academy. (Sun-Times)

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Monday, May 10, 2010 - 7:40am

In the News: crime down, budget stalled

By: John Myers

Chicago violent crime is down. (Tribune)

* Aldermen, University Village Association consider options for Jackson Language Academy expansion. (Gazette)

* Parents rally to stave off McCorkle’s consolidation into Beethoven. (Gazette)

* Consortium founding co-director Penny Bender Sebring discusses Chicago school improvement efforts on Beyond the Beltway.

* Despite poor facilities and budget cuts, Lane Tech’s women’s soccer squad wins. (Tribune)

* Caremark wins $800 million pharmacy contract with Chicago Public Schools and other city agencies. (CNC)

* Attorney General backs teachers’ request for CPS budget documents. (CORE blog)

* State budget apparently on hold until June. (WBEZ)

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