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

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high schools

CPS opens application process for selective, magnet schools October 08, 2012 By: Sarah Karp Starting today, students can apply for selective enrollment, magnet and other specialty schools, an annual ritual that sends many families scrambling for a shot at what are considered the city’s better schools. This year, the district was supposed to debut a new single-application process that would mean students could apply for all schools in one place and then get one offer. The centralized system would be modeled on the application process now used in New York City and Boston. Last November, the Board of Education awarded the Institute for Innovation in Public School Choice a $390,000 contract to help develop the new application. CPS spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler says CPS officials felt that they were implementing too many other initiatives, such as the common core and the longer school day, to also roll out the single high school application. She says it is now scheduled to be implemented next year. Though she says that the delay had nothing to do with unresolved issues, those intimate with the process say CPS is still working through topics such as how to incorporate charter schools into the mix. Read More \| (10) Comments	For the Record: Social Justice High School August 31, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris For the past month, the School of Social Justice has lived up to its namesake. After the removal of the principal and the elimination of three AP classes, students waged a sit-in, walked out and planned “days of silence” in which they refused to talk in class. Community meetings drew hundreds. Read More \| (3) Comments
Summer programs teach teens about health, science August 31, 2012 By: Nicole Koetting At the Options For Youth offices in Hyde Park, dozens of posters cover white walls and display a plethora of information: diagrams of the male and female reproductive systems, the different types of birth control and tips for healthy communication in relationships. At the front of the room on an August night, a young man in dress clothes points to a poster of “The Five Love Languages.” They are: words of encouragement, appropriate physical touch, quality time, acts of service and giving meaningful gifts. Read More \| (0) Comments	For the Record: High school cops August 06, 2012 By: Sarah Karp Once routine, the long-standing practice of stationing two police officers at high schools has become controversial in recent years. Activists for students worry about a rush to arrest teens, and district officials have made murky claims about the cost. This year’s proposed budget includes just $13 million to pay for these officers, far less than officials have previously estimated as the cost for current staffing levels. But CPS officials declined to say which schools would lose their police officers and how many would be cut. Read More \| (4) Comments
CPS awarded grants to "transform" four high schools June 20, 2012 By: Sarah Karp This story has been updated to reflect the actions of the Illinois State Board of Education at their June 21 meeting. CPS was awarded on Thursday a $25 million federal School Improvement Grant to perform what is called "transformation" on four high schools and to turnaround one. Read More \| (17) Comments	Back of the Yards High gets IB program, neighborhood library June 12, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday afternoon that Back of the Yards High School, slated to open in fall 2013, will offer a “wall-to-wall” International Baccalaureate program and house a neighborhood library branch in its building. He had announced in March that the city would open 10 new IB programs – five whole-school programs, including one at Back of the Yards and another at Senn High School in Edgewater – and five new programs in existing neighborhood high schools. Read More \| (0) Comments
CPS touts higher graduation rate June 09, 2012 By: Sarah Karp Chicago Public Schools announced Saturday that more than 60 percent of their 2007-2008 freshmen graduated last year, calling it a history-making record. The current administration has only been in place for a year and therefore can take no credit for the increase in graduation rates. However, CPS spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler says the news can provide “great momentum going into next year.” CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, in a press release, gave the credit to the staff that was in place before he took the helm. Read More \| (9) Comments	Report sheds light on graduation rates for English learners May 30, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Researchers from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research found that the district’s Freshman On-Track Indicator is a valid predictor of graduation rates for English language learners. Read More \| (2) Comments
At Dyett, will phase-out lead to early closure? May 29, 2012 By: Sarah Karp Closing high schools in Chicago has historically resulted in unrest in the receiving schools and officials being blamed for putting students at-risk for danger and violence. So this year, CPS leadership decided they would take another approach. Rather than shut the doors immediately, they would phase-out two high schools, Crane on the West Side and Dyett on the South Side in Washington Park. Read More \| (1) Comments