"The park district buildings will be an easier place for young people to wait than a police station, and an easier place for us to communicate with the parents who come to pick up their own children," Daley said...

* Former CTU President Deborah Lynch throws her support behind Karen Lewis in teacher union runoff. (WBEZ)

* A new report from America After 3PM suggests that just one in four Illinois children will attend summer learning programs.

Chicago youth who violate curfew this summer will be sent to the park. (Tribune)

"The park district buildings will be an easier place for young people to wait than a police station, and an easier place for us to communicate with the parents who come to pick up their own children," Daley said...

* Former CTU President Deborah Lynch throws her support behind Karen Lewis in teacher union runoff. (WBEZ)

In state news

* A new report from America After 3PM suggests that just one in four Illinois children will attend summer learning programs.

* A sales tax holiday for school supplies has been approved. But state senators left town yesterday without finalizing support for a key piece of the state budget: a $4 billion borrowing plan to pay for pensions. (Tribune)

In national news

* Key lawmakers acknowledged yesterday that they do not have enough votes to advance a $23 billion bailout for schools. (AP)

* New York officials struck a tentative deal to double the cap on charters. (NY Times)

* New Jersey’s largest teachers union is backing the state’s Race to the Top bid. (Star-Ledger)

* The Alabama Education Association, however, has pulled its support. (Montgomery Advertiser)

* Michigan submitted its R2T application early. (Tribune)

Ben Joravsky notes that there are 133 administrators making more than $100,000 a year. (Chicago Reader)

* Schools Chief Ron Huberman promised parents that funding for full-day kindergarten programs would be prioritized if extra state funds materialize. (Medill)

* Huberman also provided a progress report on the district’s anti-violence initiative during yesterday’s Board meeting.

Related: more from the Sun-Times on violence prevention and WBEZ has posted unfiltered audio.

* CPS tells Gender JUST that it will establish a grievance procedure for students who have been threatened or attacked. (Windy City Times)

* Funding restored for Barbara Vick Early Childhood Center. (Southtown Star)

* Eric Zorn digs through Tribune archives to highlight promising strategies used by Urban Prep. (Tribune)

Chicago Public Schools officials have posted salary information for all teachers and staff. (Gapers Block)

Ben Joravsky notes that there are 133 administrators making more than $100,000 a year. (Chicago Reader)

* Schools Chief Ron Huberman promised parents that funding for full-day kindergarten programs would be prioritized if extra state funds materialize. (Medill)

* Huberman also provided a progress report on the district’s anti-violence initiative during yesterday’s Board meeting.

Related: more from the Sun-Times on violence prevention and WBEZ has posted unfiltered audio.

* CPS tells Gender JUST that it will establish a grievance procedure for students who have been threatened or attacked. (Windy City Times)

* Funding restored for Barbara Vick Early Childhood Center. (Southtown Star)

* Eric Zorn digs through Tribune archives to highlight promising strategies used by Urban Prep. (Tribune)

In state news

* Illinois has added 132 districts and more than 80 local unions to its Race to the Top application. (Tribune)

* Suburban districts face an estimated $327 million cut to school funding unless lawmakers pass a new tax on smoking. (Tribune)

* Mayor Daley dislikes the state’s borrowing scheme and wants education prioritized in the budget. (Clout Street)

In national news

* Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell signs sweeping education bill in hopes of landing Race to the Top dollars. (CT Mirror)

* Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell has confirmed his state will not submit another R2T bid. (Washington Post)

* Teachers unions join lawmakers to renew push for education jobs bill. (Ed Week)

Related: Greg Hinz says it’s unclear which teachers devised the plan.

* Perspectives says nearly all of its graduating class is headed to college. The charter will mark the milestone tomorrow with a celebration.

* Urban Prep, which is sending every graduate to college in the fall, celebrated the feat with a mock signing day for seniors. (Tribune)

* The House found key votes last night to approve Gov. Pat Quinn’s $4 billion borrowing plan and setup a convoluted budget. (Tribune)

Teachers on both sides of the upcoming union election runoff came together Tuesday night to rally against looming school budget cuts. Marilyn Stewart and Karen Lewis were among the thousands of teachers who raised their signs and their voices against larger class sizes and teacher layoffs. The crowd stretched for blocks and filled the sidewalks and streets. Teachers expressed their concerns about potential job losses. Leah Cooper, a part-time ESL teacher at Bell and Waters elementary schools, said she thinks she should start looking for a new job. But instead of accepting lay-offs, she wants legislators to fight harder for more financial support from the state. “They should be finding a way to fund us.That’s the bottom line,” Cooper said.

Teachers marched downtown yesterday to protest budget cuts. (Sun-Times)

Related: Greg Hinz says it’s unclear which teachers devised the plan.

* Perspectives says nearly all of its graduating class is headed to college. The charter will mark the milestone tomorrow with a celebration.

* Urban Prep, which is sending every graduate to college in the fall, celebrated the feat with a mock signing day for seniors. (Tribune)

In state news

* The House found key votes last night to approve Gov. Pat Quinn’s $4 billion borrowing plan and setup a convoluted budget. (Tribune)

The measure also would require state agencies to review contracts to look for savings. But other suggestions, more politically sensitive, such as cutting education funding by $300 million and requiring state retirees to pay higher health-care costs were not part of the package.

Suburbanites could suffer a $300 million setback for programs like special education, school transportation and English as a second language under one proposal that went to the governor.

But House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said after tonight’s session that those could be avoided if lawmakers pass a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase. The measure, which has passed the Senate, is supported by Quinn.

* State Treasurer and Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias says Ed Sec. Arne Duncan will campaign on his behalf in June. (Tribune)

* Springfield schools dabble in parent surveys. (SJR)

In national news

* Mixed signals from the White House may sink a $23 billion bailout for schools. (Politico)

* The New York Times says charter school freedoms have led to some questionable spending and conflicts of interest.

* A teacher evaluation bill inspired by Race to the Top is picking up speed in Oklahoma. (NewsOK)

* Maryland endorses common core standards. The move improves the state’s R2T bid, which unions are largely rejecting. (Washington Post/Baltimore Sun)

* North Carolina lawmakers are close to adopting a charter-like model for school turnarounds. (AP)

* Chicago students gathered in Daley Plaza to study and send lawmakers a clear message on school funding cuts. (Tribune)

* Schools Chief Ron Huberman has been named Doctor of Humane Letters from the Institute for Clinical Social Work. (Press release)

* A $1.2 million Walmart Foundation grant will put solar panels on 20 schools across the country, including four in Chicago. (Press release)

Chicago Public Schools has tapped Richard Smith to serve as the new head of the Office of Specialized Services. (Tribune)

* Chicago students gathered in Daley Plaza to study and send lawmakers a clear message on school funding cuts. (Tribune)

* Schools Chief Ron Huberman has been named Doctor of Humane Letters from the Institute for Clinical Social Work. (Press release)

* A $1.2 million Walmart Foundation grant will put solar panels on 20 schools across the country, including four in Chicago. (Press release)

In state news

* Gov. Pat Quinn wants a budget this week that relies heavily on borrowing. (WBEZ)

Related: some Democrats are pushing $400 million in education cuts. (Sun-Times)

* District 181 is withdrawing from the LaGrange Area Department of Special Education cooperative. (Suburban Life)

In national news

* Illinois lawmakers may soon reconsider State Sen. James Meeks’ school voucher plan, according to the Chicago Teachers Union. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, will be considering the constitutionality of Arizona’s brand of school choice. (Ed Week)

* Democrats are split on raising New York’s charter cap. (NY Post)

Related: The State University of New York’s authority to grant charters could be watered down. (WSJ)

* Teachers unions and school districts are lining up behind Rhode Island’s Race to the Top application. (Boston Globe)

* Chicago students stage school walkout to demand immigration reforms, protest divisive Arizona laws. (WBEZ)

* CTU President Marilyn Stewart, who faces a runoff election on June 11, will march to City Hall on Tuesday with various community and parent groups to protest budget cuts and proposed class size increases.

More on the runoff from the Tribune, Sun-Times and WBEZ.

* 5^th graders perform in fifth annual Having a Ball dance competition. (Sun-Times)

Jordan Norwood, a 14-year-old student at Dunbar Vocational, wants to be a neurosurgeon. But he faces long odds. (CNN)

Jordan's mother, Josephine Norwood, said the Chicago Public Schools have thrown up a number of barriers to her son's education. One of the biggest problems is that they keep closing his schools. Jordan, who will be a high school freshman next year, has seen two of his schools close in the past. The disruption in his education has had a lasting impact, she said. She wanted him to attend a better high school, but he didn't qualify to apply because he didn't do well on a state test he took in the middle of a school closing. She said it was no wonder the normally good student was struggling. She saw the chaos herself.

* Chicago students stage school walkout to demand immigration reforms, protest divisive Arizona laws. (WBEZ)

* CTU President Marilyn Stewart, who faces a runoff election on June 11, will march to City Hall on Tuesday with various community and parent groups to protest budget cuts and proposed class size increases.

More on the runoff from the Tribune, Sun-Times and WBEZ.

* 5^th graders perform in fifth annual Having a Ball dance competition. (Sun-Times)

In state news

* Illinois and 19 other states have won federal grants to build better student-centric data systems. (Tribune)

* Students throughout Chicagoland have faced stiff penalties for staging protests and sit-ins. (Tribune)

* School districts have until today to decide if they will back Illinois’ Race to the Top application. Some local leaders say there are too many unanswered questions to warrant their support. (Northwest Herald)

* The State Board of Education approved a new Southland charter school that has divided Matteson and Rich Township school officials. (Southtown Star)

* Round Lake UD116 wants local financial control reinstated. (Daily Herald)

In national news

* Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has signed into law landmark teacher evaluation and pay changes. (LA Times)

Under Colorado's law, passed with bipartisan support and signed by Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. on Thursday, even tenured teachers who are found to be "ineffective" for two consecutive years could lose job protections, and possibly their jobs.

* Districts across the country are cutting summer school despite Ed Sec. Arne Duncan’s calls for more learning time. (Washington Post)

* Today is election day for the Chicago Teachers Union and five candidates are vying for president. (WBEZ)

Related: Eight Forty-Eight discussed the importance of the election with Susan Moore Johnson of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Results are expected early Saturday morning. If no candidate wins a clear majority of votes, a runoff will take place on June 11.

* The Tribune offers more details on the budget transparency lawsuit filed by the union caucus CORE.

* NAEP reading scores were released for 18 urban districts yesterday, including Chicago. The Sun-Times discussed Chicago's flat results with outgoing Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins.

A 20-week ballroom dancing program that operates in 15 Chicago public schools faces extinction as federal and local funding sources dry up. (Chicago News Cooperative)

* Today is election day for the Chicago Teachers Union and five candidates are vying for president. (WBEZ)

Related: Eight Forty-Eight discussed the importance of the election with Susan Moore Johnson of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Results are expected early Saturday morning. If no candidate wins a clear majority of votes, a runoff will take place on June 11.

* The Tribune offers more details on the budget transparency lawsuit filed by the union caucus CORE.

* NAEP reading scores were released for 18 urban districts yesterday, including Chicago. The Sun-Times discussed Chicago's flat results with outgoing Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins.

In state news

* Winners have been announced in the state's Internet safety awareness campaign, including two ASPIRA students. (Community Times)

* Addison 8th-graders will meet President Obama after their recycling efforts draw national attention. (Daily Herald)

In national news

* Teachers face stiffing job market. (NY Times)

* Former Chicago Tribune writer Stephanie Banchero, now with the Wall Street Journal, takes a comprehensive look at NAEP reading scores.

* As competition gears up around $437 million for performance-based compensation systems, three national groups of teachers and school administrators have released principals that they hope will shape proposal planning. (Ed Week)

Chicago performed somewhat better on 8th-grade tests, outscoring eight urban districts but lagging behind nine others.

Chicago’s average 8th-grade score of 249 is three points lower than the average for all large-city districts and 13 points behind the national average. The city’s average 4th-grade score of 202 is eight points lower than the urban district average and 18 points behind the national average.

These scores signal that Chicago’s students are performing behind many of their counterparts in other large cities, and more than a year behind students nationwide. NAEP officials estimate that a 10-point difference on the assessment’s 500-point scale is equal to a year’s worth of learning.

Chicago posted flat reading scores in today’s release of the 2009 Trial Urban District Assessment, which stacks up 18 big-city districts based on results from last year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the “nation’s report card."

Chicago tied Baltimore and outscored six other districts on 4th-grade reading tests, but fell short of 10 other districts—including Atlanta, New York and Boston.

Chicago performed somewhat better on 8th-grade tests, outscoring eight urban districts but lagging behind nine others.

Chicago’s average 8th-grade score of 249 is three points lower than the average for all large-city districts and 13 points behind the national average. The city’s average 4th-grade score of 202 is eight points lower than the urban district average and 18 points behind the national average.

These scores signal that Chicago’s students are performing behind many of their counterparts in other large cities, and more than a year behind students nationwide. NAEP officials estimate that a 10-point difference on the assessment’s 500-point scale is equal to a year’s worth of learning.

Since 2002, when Chicago first participated in the urban district assessment, 4th-grade scores have increased by nine points while 8th-grade scores have stagnated.

Chicago’s student population is poorer and more likely to be black or Latino than the population in other urban districts. But an analysis shows that low-income minority students in other districts still, to a large degree, outperform students in Chicago.

Here's what the comparison shows:

• Low-income African-American students in Chicago scored higher in 4th-grade reading than seven districts, behind 10 others, and six points below the urban average. On 8th-grade tests, they tied two districts—Baltimore and Houston—outpaced eight districts and lagged behind seven others. Chicago outscored the 8th-grade urban average by one point (an advantage that is not considered statistically significant).
• Low-income Hispanic students scored higher in 4th-grade reading than eight districts, behind six others, and two points above the urban average. On 8th-grade tests, those figures are eight, four and five points, respectively.

Still, there is a bright spot: Chicago’s low-income minority students have made strides on 4th-grade tests since 2002, raising their scores by nine points. Yet scores remained flat on 8th-grade tests between 2002 and 2009.

Michael Casserly, executive director for the Council of the Great City Schools, noted that scores are trending upward for urban districts as a whole.

During the last five assessments, 4th-grade reading scores for large cities jumped seven points while the national average inched up from 217 to 220 only. Among 8th-graders, national scores have slipped a point and city scores have improved two points.

"We’re not only improving, we’re catching up," Casserly said. When the public looks past individual scores in the report, he added, it would see a forest growing taller. "And two of the fastest growing trees are Atlanta and New York."

The results were announced in Atlanta today, home to the district with the largest test score gains—14 points—since the Trial Urban District Assessment program started. New York Schools Chancellor Joel Klein also fielded media calls via satellite.

Catalyst profiled the approach in its September 2008 issue.

* The Caucus for Rank-and-File Educators, which has fielded candidates for tomorrow's Chicago Teachers Union election, is suing CPS to force greater budget transparency. Progress Illinois has the backstory.

Related: CTU President Marilyn Stewart faces multiple opponents, dissatisfaction at the polls. (Medill)

* The Peer Parent Education Network is surveying parents on the quality of the city's schools. Parents in Bronzeville are strongly encouraged to participate, but all school stakeholders are invited.

* A Jones College Prep student is pushing for an eco-friendly prom. (Sun-Times)

Related: making prom green, tackling prom pressure, highlighting prom glamour and creating prom safety.

* Chicago Opera Theatre is celebrating 10 years of work with five Chicago schools. (Broadway World)

Mayor Richard Daley, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle and others visited Reavis Elementary to celebrate a promising first year for five school-based health centers across Chicago. Physical and immunization rates topped 95 percent at all schools and, in some schools, discipline referrals are down 70 percent.

Catalyst profiled the approach in its September 2008 issue.

* The Caucus for Rank-and-File Educators, which has fielded candidates for tomorrow's Chicago Teachers Union election, is suing CPS to force greater budget transparency. Progress Illinois has the backstory.

Related: CTU President Marilyn Stewart faces multiple opponents, dissatisfaction at the polls. (Medill)

* The Peer Parent Education Network is surveying parents on the quality of the city's schools. Parents in Bronzeville are strongly encouraged to participate, but all school stakeholders are invited.

* A Jones College Prep student is pushing for an eco-friendly prom. (Sun-Times)

Related: making prom green, tackling prom pressure, highlighting prom glamour and creating prom safety.

* Chicago Opera Theatre is celebrating 10 years of work with five Chicago schools. (Broadway World)

In state news

* Jacksonville SD117 backs Race to the Top bid. (Journal-Courier)

* Grayslake finance chief ousted before he starts. (Daily Herald)

* Indian Prairie teachers encouraged to accept two-year contract with modest raises. (Daily Herald)

In national news

* The Senate will likely consider Tom Harkin's $23 billion school aid package. (Reuters)

* West Virginia special session on education halts abruptly, killing the state's Race to the Top bid. (AP)

* Minnesota is officially out of R2T. (Star Tribune)

* Chicago schools explore the thin line between serving healthy food and making sure kids eat. (Southtown Star)

* Walgreens and Chicago Public Schools are targeting sexually-transmitted diseases with a new public service announcement campaign. (Drug Store News)

* Bogan High fight leads to 16 arrests. (Tribune)

The Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy will open its doors this fall and the city's health care industry is hoping it will make a dent in workforce shortages. (Crain's)

* Chicago schools explore the thin line between serving healthy food and making sure kids eat. (Southtown Star)

* Walgreens and Chicago Public Schools are targeting sexually-transmitted diseases with a new public service announcement campaign. (Drug Store News)

* Bogan High fight leads to 16 arrests. (Tribune)

In state news

* State Supt. Chris Koch's weekly message: Illinois would get an estimated $950 million if a $23 billion federal school funding proposal passes.

* When lawmakers pulled the plug on the Suburban Cook County Regional Schools Office, they created more work for others. (WBEZ)

* Naperville Central High students use Facebook, other means to support laid off teacher. (Tribune)

In national news

* Ed Sec. Arne Duncan's visit to New York stokes controversy over charters. (NY Times)

* Steven Brill looks behind the curtain on Race to the Top scoring. (Ed Week)

* A new report says high school success starts with reading proficiency in fourth grade. (Sun-Times)

Lawyer Jennifer Purcell says she expects a preliminary finding from the EEOC in about two weeks. After that, the U.S. Department of Justice will decide whether it will sue the district for discrimination. If not, the teachers can bring a lawsuit of their own.

* The Sun-Times takes note of the crowded field in Friday's Chicago Teachers Union election. Readers have been commenting for nearly two weeks on Catalyst's election roundup.

Teachers union members of the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) are adding teachers pink-slipped in this spring's turnarounds to discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The original complaint was filed almost a year ago and claims Chicago's turnaround policy has a disproportionate effect on African-American teachers.

Lawyer Jennifer Purcell says she expects a preliminary finding from the EEOC in about two weeks. After that, the U.S. Department of Justice will decide whether it will sue the district for discrimination. If not, the teachers can bring a lawsuit of their own.

* The Sun-Times takes note of the crowded field in Friday's Chicago Teachers Union election. Readers have been commenting for nearly two weeks on Catalyst's election roundup.

In state news

* Flat pay, class size increases mark a tentative one-year teachers contract in Elgin. The district has also riled up parents by delaying boundary changes this year. (Daily Herald)

* Gov. Pat Quinn expects lawmakers to pass a budget by May 31. (Statehouse News)

* State officials are expected to decide Friday the fate of a new Southland charter school. Advocates appealed to the state after Rich Township District 227 denied a charter. (Southtown Star)

* Indian Prairie officials have rescued most of the district's music program. (Daily Herald)

In national news

* The New York Times Magazine explores the tensions over teacher tenure and evaluation that have crystallized under Race to the Top.

* Some two-thirds of Iowa's school districts are supporting the state's R2T bid. (DMR)

In Illinois, Fred Klonsky argues that efforts to drum up support are wallowing.

* Georgia's school superintendent is leaving for a job in Washington DC, potentially undermining the state's R2T application. (AJC)

* Joseph Walker, grandfather of Derrion Albert, seeks a safe passage to school for Chicago's youth. (CNC)

* Student activists with Gender JUST surprised Schools Chief Ron Huberman at a fundraiser, demanding a formal grievance process for students who feel they have been discriminated against. (Chicago Pride)

* The Great Lakes Regional Games are offering Chicago’s disabled students a chance to compete in sport. (ABC7)

* 10 students win $500 for college textbooks at Mayor Daley's annual book club conference. (ABC7)

* The South Shore Drill Team will perform downtown in an effort to stave off financial collapse. (Tribune)

The Chicago Park District has overhauled playgrounds at a faster clip on the city’s North Side. (Tribune)

For the last five years, the Chicago Park District has been aggressively renovating playgrounds across the city with the goal of modernizing all 518 play lots. But a Park District map denoting every renovation over the last decade shows the majority occurred on the North Side.

Officials say the reason for the disparity is because it has been easier to partner financially with city, state and civic leaders on the North Side to renovate playgrounds. Park District records show that of the $8.5 million aldermen contributed to playground projects since 2003, only $1.1 million came from South Side aldermen — and $925,000 of that from two lawmakers: Aldermen Virginia Rugai, 19th, and Michael Zalewski, 23rd. Each alderman is given city funds to support projects in his or her ward.

* Joseph Walker, grandfather of Derrion Albert, seeks a safe passage to school for Chicago's youth. (CNC)

* Student activists with Gender JUST surprised Schools Chief Ron Huberman at a fundraiser, demanding a formal grievance process for students who feel they have been discriminated against. (Chicago Pride)

* The Great Lakes Regional Games are offering Chicago’s disabled students a chance to compete in sport. (ABC7)

* 10 students win $500 for college textbooks at Mayor Daley's annual book club conference. (ABC7)

* The South Shore Drill Team will perform downtown in an effort to stave off financial collapse. (Tribune)

In state news

* The Tribune says Illinois has missed a chance to change teacher seniority rules under Race to the Top—and now districts and unions need to sign on to help secure $400 million.

* School officials in Machesney Park, near Rockford, are putting together an anti-truancy program. (RR Star)

* Minooka High School officials crack down on non-residents. (Herald-News)

* A Daily Journal analysis finds that, for the first time in five years, reserves have declined in 17 school districts across Kankakee, Iroquois and Will Counties.

In national news

* Congress is considering national health standards for food in school vending machines. (Tribune)

* Teachers have reached a tentative agreement to save their jobs at a Rhode Island high school made famous by Sec. of Education Arne Duncan’s support for mass firings. (Washington Post)

* Idaho is out in Race to the Top; Minnesota may bow out next. (Spokesman-Review/Pioneer)

* State budget cuts begin to hammer child welfare programs. (AP)

“This was not a cakewalk. Schools had to rethink everything, and teachers took part in extensive professional development on leadership, departmentalization of middle grades, social-emotional learning and content areas," said outgoing Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins.

Principals from Evergreen and Little Village will begin to train colleagues next year on the strategies and philosophy of middle-grades education, says Chief Area 10 Officer Isabel Mesa-Collins.

The three schools are part of the Cluster 4 Middle Grades Project, supported by the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust; and the McDougal Family Foundation.

Marshall Middle previously won a Schools to Watch award.

More coverage from ABC7.

* CPS staff from the Office of School Turnaround traveled to Fort Leavenworth recently to study virtual learning in the Army. (Ft. Leavenworth Lamp)

Evergreen, Libby and Little Village Academy have won Schools to Watch awards—so far, granted to only 16 schools across the state—for gains in the middle grades. (Press release)

“This was not a cakewalk. Schools had to rethink everything, and teachers took part in extensive professional development on leadership, departmentalization of middle grades, social-emotional learning and content areas,” said outgoing Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins.

Principals from Evergreen and Little Village will begin to train colleagues next year on the strategies and philosophy of middle-grades education, says Chief Area 10 Officer Isabel Mesa-Collins.

The three schools are part of the Cluster 4 Middle Grades Project, supported by the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust; and the McDougal Family Foundation.

Marshall Middle previously won a Schools to Watch award.

More coverage from ABC7.

* CPS staff from the Office of School Turnaround traveled to Fort Leavenworth recently to study virtual learning in the Army. (Ft. Leavenworth Lamp)

In state news

* School construction grants from the state are eight years late for a middle school addition in DuPage County. (Clout Street)

Related: In Rochester, where the state owed the most cash, officials will get $10.2 million. (SJR)

* Flat funding is meaningless without revenue source, educators say. (SJR)

In national news

* President Obama is throwing his support behind a $23 billion federal spending plan to avoid teacher layoffs. (Washington Post)

Related: today’s pink slips may be linked to a boom in hiring that took place between 1999 and 2008. (Ed Week)

* Colorado’s teacher tenure bill headed to Gov. Bill Ritter’s desk. (WSJ)

For Chicago Public Schools officials, quiet is good. They have yet to publicly name the organizations with whom they are partnering, lest a competitor use the information to its advantage.

Still, the district did say it will be serving as the lead agency in two “development level” applications—one aimed at school turnarounds and another at beefing up the skills of teachers and school leaders.

The deadline passed quietly yesterday for submissions in the $650 million federal stimulus competition known as the Investing in Innovation, or i3, grant program.

For Chicago Public Schools officials, quiet is good. They have yet to publicly name the organizations with whom they are partnering, lest a competitor use the information to its advantage.

Still, the district did say it will be serving as the lead agency in two “development level” applications—one aimed at school turnarounds and another at beefing up the skills of teachers and school leaders.

Catalyst did not immediately hear back from groups such as New Leaders for New Schools or the Academy for Urban School Leadership, two non-profit organizations that have long worked closely with CPS to develop principals and administer turnarounds of under-performing schools. A number of other school improvement groups may be involved.

Besides turnarounds and improving the skills of educators, the i3 program calls for proposals in two additional areas: data-driven decision making and standards and assessments.

Grants will come in three sizes. The largest are “scale-up” grants capped at $50 million. These grants require the most evidence that a program already improves student performance and can make a splash at the national or state level. Next are “validation” grants, which require moderate evidence of success and cannot exceed $30 million. Winning applications will need to secure, at a later date, a 20 percent matching grant from private donors.

Development grants, like those CPS is pursuing, require the least evidence and will top out at $5 million.

Alongside its two main applications, Chicago has also partnered on 41 other applications, says Janel Forde in the district’s Office of Performance Management. She declined to name any of the partner organizations, but says CPS has attached its name to grants of all three types aimed at all four priority needs.

There are no limits on the number of applications a non-profit, district or consortia of schools can submit. The only limit is a $55 million cap on payouts to the same lead agency.

Organizations were asked to submit letters of intent in the i3 competition by April 1. The Department of Education summarized the results in spreadsheets here.

A total of 86 groups from Illinois filed letters of intent, including 33 from Chicago. Many of the Chicago groups have Renaissance 2010 affiliations, including the Renaissance Schools Fund and charter outfits like Noble Street and ASPIRA, Inc.

Forde says the district has a strict policy against disclosing grant application details until a bid is won. But given the unique nature of the i3 competition, CPS may rethink its position. The grant is ultimately a chance for the U.S. Department of Education to tap the creativity of schools and education non-profits in school improvement planning. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has promised unfettered transparency in the application and vetting process.

Duncan wants Congress to extend the competition next year, and urged applicants that do not win grants to lobby legislators for another round of funding.

* 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)

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

The Ashland boundary erupted into debate Monday during a Committee on Finance meeting, where aldermen discussed a proposed multi-million dollar bond issue backed by TIF dollars that would help CPS pay for various school construction and repair projects.

Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) argued if dollars from TIF districts that overlap his ward are used for the school projects, ward residents must have access to the school.

* 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.

* Clarice Berry, head of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, appears on Fox to discuss principal firings, retirements and resignations.

* Foreign dignitaries will tour Payton College Prep and other Chicago sites as part of their “Experience America” excursion. (Tribune)

* A junior at Chicago Vocational Career Academy has been charged with possessing an unloaded gun outside the school. (Tribune)

* Mayor Richard Daley wants to bar contractors who have been convicted of various felonies against the city from getting business with Chicago’s schools, parks and other agencies. (Clout Street)

* Chicago Public Schools has cut ties with Reggio’s Pizza—upsetting, among others, The Black Leadership Development Institute. (Huffington)

In state news

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

* From shifting state budget commitments to a 70 percent under-funded reality: the story for Kankakee’s early childhood education. (Daily Journal)

In national news

* Invest in Innovation grant applications were due yesterday and Sec. of Education Arne Duncan wants losers to demand more funding. (Ed Week)

* A panel of educators cleared the way for Maine’s Race to the Top application when it pre-approved two ways to incorporate student test data into teacher evaluations. (Morning Sentinel)

* 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