catalyst-chicago.org

CEO Ron Huberman made the case last week that his signature “culture of calm” initiative is starting to yield results, with suspensions down at some of the district’s roughest schools and fewer students shot compared to last year. Yet interviews with school administrators show that money has yet to reach some schools, and they are just beginning to implement the programs that are part of the $60 million, two-year initiative. 

Former dropout Tyrese Jackson left Farragut High School at age 17, served a brief time in jail and then enrolled in an alternative school the next year.

Taking part of in a film class gave him a better way to spend his time, he says. “Now I don’t like being around people who have me doing negative things,” says Tyrese, who is now a junior at the Academy of Scholastic Achievement.

As part of a larger effort to institute more rigorous graduation requirements, in 1997 CPS passed a policy requiring students to take three years of science instead of just one year. But for the most part, the increased coursework did little to raise science achievement overall, according to a study released today by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.