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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

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 8:22am

In the News: Wednesday, Feb. 17

By: John Myers

Schools Chief Ron Huberman met with top aides last night to review the district’s school closing proposals. Still no word which schools—if any—will be removed from the list. (Tribune)

* A student-led urban teacher program at Illinois State University—called Urban Needs in Teacher Education or UNITE—aims for savvier Chicago teachers. (Tribune)

* Ald. Pat Dowell calls community meeting on proposed turnaround at Phillips High. (Substance)

* Former head of Triumphant Charter found guilty of embezzlement. (Sun-Times)

* Prison documentary says 'stay in school'. (Columbia Chronicle)

* Art for the People lecture series tells the story of WPA murals in Chicago schools. (NewsOK)

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 8:22am

In the News: Tuesday, Feb. 16

By: John Myers

CPS officials will change the process for closing failing schools. The district plans to warn struggling schools early, giving parents and educators time to devise their own improvement strategies. (WBEZ)

[Chief administrative officer Bob] Runcie says CPS wants to educate parents on what a high quality education looks like...“And raise their level of expectations in terms of what they should be demanding in the quality of education in their schools.”

Related: A handful of schools will likely be pulled from this year’s list of proposed closings. (WBEZ)

* Two out of three Chicago students exercise less than the government recommends—well behind national and state averages, according to research at Children’s Memorial Hospital. (WBEZ)

* Eric Zorn and Dennis Bryne debate state Sen. James Meeks’ school voucher plan. (Tribune)

* Mayor Daley protests war in pro-education speech at Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards ceremony.

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Monday, February 15, 2010 - 8:29am

In the News: Monday, Feb. 15

By: John Myers

Tab hits $189,623 in federal probe of selective enrollment practices in CPS. (Sun-Times)

* More from the Tribune on state Sen. James Meeks’ proposal to curtail LSC powers.

"The politics of this are complicated in a year that there is likely going to be some calls for pension reform that impacts new teachers," said state Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), who was involved with the previous attempt to create an local school council task force.

Related: clergy group says Meeks’ bill is bad policy from a good man. (ABC7)

* Aldermen Pat Dowell and Freddrenna Lyle have introduced a resolution to freeze all school closings for one year. (Substance)

* UPC slate assembled for Chicago Teachers Union campaign race. (Substance)

* CPS CEO Paul Vallas out of Chicago mayoral race and into school system planning in Haiti. (Sun-Times)

* James Kane, an engineer for CPS for 37 years, has died. (Sun-Times)

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Friday, February 12, 2010 - 9:09am

In the News: Friday, Feb. 12

By: John Myers

State budget wrangling could result in 10 percent cuts to general state aid, says chair of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee. (Naperville Sun)

* Local School Council advocates will today rally against legislation proposed by State Sen. James Meeks at a City Hall press conference at 10am. Meeks’ bill would remove the authority councils now have to hire principals and approve discretionary budgets. (Newstips)

Related: Matthew Blake describes the bill’s rationale and national context.

Meanwhile, the Sun-Times says Mayor Daley has refused to take sides over legislation proposed by Meeks. (Besides the controversial LSC proposal, Meeks is also pushing legislation that would give vouchers for private schools to nearly 40,000 students at the city’s worst public schools.)

More from WBEZ here and here.

* The Chicago News Cooperative profiles Marshall High and the district’s turnaround plans for the troubled school. Marshall was featured in Catalyst’s 2008 In-Depth report on High School Transformation—a program alluded to by Chicago turnaround officer Donald Fraynd in the CNC piece.

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Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 9:29pm

Massive budget cuts on the horizon for Chicago schools

By: Sarah Karp
Tags: finance and budgets

CEO Ron Huberman is preparing for another round of budget cuts to hit this school year and to issue a major announcement about next year's cuts to close the district’s estimated $800 million budget gap. The immediate budget reductions would be instituted to deal with the state’s failure to pay out about $207 million that it owes the district. But this year’s cuts will pale in comparison to what Huberman is planning for next year--including possible cuts to charter schools.

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Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 8:19am

In the News: Thursday, Feb. 11

By: John Myers

Mary Mitchell spotlights gang and race issues at Hubbard High, where an African American student nearly died in a shooting three weeks ago. (Sun-Times)

"Hubbard High School is in a Mexican neighborhood, and a week before that happened, black kids were being chased by Mexican gang members," [the boy’s mother] said.

* Teachers union protests school closings on last day of hearings. (WGN/WBEZ)

*State Sen. James Meeks shocked school activists with legislative plans to strip LSCs of the power to pick principals and approve discretionary budgets. (Sun-Times) More from Catalyst and WBEZ.

* Ald. Edward Burke, after learning about waste in Chicago school lunchrooms, has proposed a citywide ban on Styrofoam food trays. (Sun-Times)

Related: CPS officials say the district’s size hampers sustainability efforts, yet recycling is up and energy savings plans are in the works. (Medill)

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