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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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race and class

Race and Education: A Look at the Chicago Public Schools September 20, 2011 In a forum on race and education, Terry Mazany, president of The Chicago Community Trust and former interim CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, talks about the need to raise achievement for all students for the United States can remain economically competitive. A panel then discusses promising programs for black and brown students: Terrence Carter, AUSL; Ernesto Mateas, Wells Community Academy High School; and Shelby Wyatt, Kenwood Academy Brotherhood. Read More \| (0) Comments	High-mobility, low-achieving schools more likely to have lower-quality preschool programs July 05, 2011 By: Rebecca Harris Preschool quality can influence students’ learning and ultimately,their readiness for kindergarten. But some of the children who needhigh-quality preschool the most are not always getting it, according to a Catalyst analysis ofdata from the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Read More \| (0) Comments
Ed Week: High dropout rate for black males in KIPP April 01, 2011 By: Mary Ann Zehr, Education Week KIPP charter middle schools enroll a significantly higher proportion of African-American students than the local school districts they draw from, but 40 percent of the black males they enroll leave between grades 6 and 8, says a new nationwide study by researchers at Western Michigan University. Read More \| (0) Comments	Reaching boys with books August 26, 2009 By: Phuong Ly Good books featuring black characters are hard to find, but they’re out there. Here’s where to start: Coretta Scott King Book Award winnersEstablished in 1969, the award honors African American authors and illustrators whose works embody the themes of peace and brotherhood. Read More \| (0) Comments
WebExtra: A disconnect in reading August 26, 2009 By: Phuong Ly As a teacher, LaVerne Coke has no trouble finding books that might appeal to girls. But when it comes to books for boys, especially black boys—including her own 8-year-old son—she has to search harder. Sometimes, she’s allowed kids to choose comic books, “as long as it gets them to read.” “I have thought about writing a book myself because it’s so important for our students to get engaged,” says Coke, whose 14-year career as a Chicago Public Schools teacher includes 3rd and 4th grades and middle-school science. Read More \| (1) Comments	WebExtra: Teaching leadership skills August 19, 2009 By: Cassandra West Michael Stinson had one last lesson for the 13 young men he had spent months mentoring. It was the last meeting of the school year for Julian Middle School’s Leadership Academy for African-American Young Men, and Stinson wanted to send them on summer break with a vivid exercise that would provide them with a lesson for the future. Taking to the blackboard, Stinson made three columns and labeled them—Red Apple, Green Apple and Rotten Apple. Then he asked the young men to name characteristics typically associated with each type of apple. Read More \| (0) Comments
WebExtra: Mentoring to a new beat July 28, 2009 By: John Myers A newly unveiled 5,000-square-foot space inside Harold Washington Library is Ground Zero for a program that teaches new-media skills to teens from Chicago Public Schools. Read More \| (1) Comments	WebExtra: Starting young to manage misbehavior July 17, 2009 By: Sarah Karp One by one, the three young boys walk into the cozy office and sit around a small round table. It’s mid-morning on a school day, but rather than learn about reading and math, these boys will spend some time learning about self-control. Read More \| (0) Comments
Lopsided discipline takes toll on black male students June 26, 2009 By: Veronica Anderson African-American boys face a peculiar dilemma in Chicago’s public schools: how to get a solid education when, more than any other group of students, they are singled out for harsh punishments and sent packing for days, weeks, sometimes months at a time. Some are expelled—even in elementary school—for a year or longer. Many folks assume that these punishments are deserved. Isn’t it true, they ask, that black male students are more likely to behave in ways that warrant such sanctions? Read More \| (1) Comments

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