Current Issue

School closings

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

Chicago Teachers Union

January 23, 2012

The Chicago Teachers Union submitted a list of demands to the Chicago Public Schools on Friday as they and district administrators embark on what is likely to become months of grueling contract negotiations. (Tribune)

January 20, 2012

As contract negotiations gear up between the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS, teachers say that working conditions such as class size, prep time, and professional development days could become critical points in contract talks.

At the same time, increasing pressure on teachers to raise test scores, coupled with teachers’ perceptions that city and district officials don’t respect them, has sparked practice strike votes at several schools.  But it’s not clear how many schools have held such votes, and the union’s not saying.

January 06, 2012

In Thursday's edition of WBEZ's "Schools on the Line" program, Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard fielded questions from parents, teachers and students about everything from sex education to recouping more than a million dollars the district improperly paid to retired teachers.

December 06, 2011

Natalie Hopkinson, a Washington-based writer and parent, takes on the perverse inequities that play out along racial lines and have resulted from a "reform" process that proponents say will bring choice and accountability to school systems in majority-black neighborhoods such as hers. (The New York Times)

December 05, 2011

While the state last week released detailed performance data for city charter schools for the first time, revealing that many schools from even the most prominent charter networks struggle to close the achievement gap for low-income students, not a single charter school made the schools closing list announced by CPS officials. (Tribune)

November 29, 2011

A report from the Institute for Research on Higher Education looks at Illinois' decline from being a top-performing state in preparing students for college, enrolling residents in college and keeping college affordable.

November 28, 2011

The Center for American Progress released a report recently, “Teacher Diversity Matters,” detailing the “teacher diversity gap” state-by-state.

The findings paint a sobering picture of minority under-representation, statewide, in the teaching profession: Just 54 percent of Illinois students are white, but 89 percent of teachers are.

November 16, 2011

Community groups around Chicago have begun revving up for what likely will be a fierce battle to keep neighborhood schools open as CPS prepares to announce this year's list of school closings and consolidations. (Tribune)

November 07, 2011

A Tribune data analysis found the gap in spending between rich and poor school districts is no narrower than it was 10 years ago. In both 2002 and 2011, the 10 poorest schools on average spent 30 percent of what the 10 richest schools spent on average to educate each student, according to the analysis.