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Special Education

Even as CPS opens more new schools, children with special needs have a tougher time finding options. Placements in private therapeutic schools are scarce, and some charters are reluctant to enroll them.

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elementary schools

New school reports show stark gaps in achievement November 08, 2011 By: Sarah Karp The marquee outside of Beidler Elementary School in East Garfield Park makes the bold statement: We are off of probation. But when parents trucked into the school last week to pick up first-quarter report cards, they got some sobering news from the district’s colorful new school progress report: Beidler is categorized as a mid-level school in terms of performance on state tests, but less than a quarter of students scored at or above grade level on a different, more rigorous test and only 7.5 percent of 8th-graders met college readiness benchmarks. Read More \| (7) Comments	CPS announces draft criteria for school closings October 31, 2011 By: Rebecca Harris Officials released the district’s long-awaited criteria for school actions this afternoon, providing a glimpse of which schools could be closed, phased out or consolidated at the end of this year. Read More \| (5) Comments
For the Record: Full-day kindergarten October 10, 2011 By: Candelaria Rosales and Rebecca Harris Despite a huge budget deficit, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CEO Jean-Claude Brizard have boasted of committing $15 million to expand full-day kindergarten. Emanuel emphasized the point at a recent press conference, noting that while other cities are cutting their programs, “in Chicago, 6,000 more children will be in full-day kindergarten.” Read More \| (1) Comments	For the Record: Schools will be able to opt out of "mandatory" recess, but criteria unclear August 15, 2011 By: Rebecca Harris Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard made waves when he stated during his new monthly WBEZ call-in show last week that recess would be in every Chicago elementary school by the 2012-13 school year. Read More \| (10) Comments
CPS releases new guide to bring back recess May 23, 2011 By: Sam Barnett For six years, Lynn Morton and her parent activist group POWER-PAC have fought for recess in Chicago’s elementary schools. With the release Monday of a new Chicago Public Schools guide to implementing recess, it looks like the work is finally paying off. Read More \| (8) Comments	Tilton and Marconi get reprieve, won't be consolidated this year April 07, 2011 By: Sam Barnett Chicago Public Schools officials announced Thursday night that district officials would not go forward with a proposal to phase out Tilton Elementary School and send its future students to Marconi Elementary on the West Side. Read More \| (2) Comments
Chicago summer school to get a makeover May 13, 2010 CPS is revamping its summer school program to focus more on students’ individual needs, rather than the one-size fits all approach it has previously offered. In the past, 3rd-, 6th- and 8th-grade students who failed to meet promotion requirements all attended the standard Summer Bridge program that focused on reading and math. Read More \| (4) Comments	Out-of-school program gives elementary students an extra dose of science March 31, 2010 Intensive science, technology and engineering instruction is generally reserved for students in middle grades and higher. But this year, some CPS 1st- graders are getting a taste of these disciplines through in a program that designers hope will set the stage for the city’s children to be globally competitive. Read More \| (0) Comments
McCorkle continues to fight closing March 19, 2010 By: Sarah Karp Even though Board of Education members approved the shuttering of the South Side’s McCorkle Elementary at their February meeting, staff, students and parents gathered outside the school Friday morning for a last-ditch rally. The district says McCorkle is too dilapidated and would cost too much to repair, but those at the rally said they think the investment would be worthwhile. “We are praying and hoping they change their mind,” Aisha Jarrett said Read More \| (14) Comments

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