Current Issue

School closings

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

Stand for Children

April 18, 2013

A local chapter of the national education reform group Stand For Children, the well-funded, pro-charter organization that helped push through Illinois legislation for a longer school day and teacher evaluations, has been canvassing Chicago neighborhoods most affected by schools closings, according to WBEZ.

October 15, 2012

We all know the statistics. 

By the age of 25, just 6% of students who enter CPS high schools as freshmen will have a bachelors’ degree.  For African-American and Latino students, that number drops to just 3% who will hold a four-year degree.  This is a systemic problem that starts at birth, but is exacerbated by inequities in a school system. There is a 28-point gap between the percentage of Caucasian and African-American students who meet and exceed reading standards in 3rd grade. In 11th grade, the gap is 40 points.

June 18, 2012

New Schools for Chicago, which funds charter schools, and Stand For Children, an Oregon-based group that recently opened offices in Chicago, have been conducting parent training workshops this spring.

January 12, 2012

Up to 30 Chicago public schools with great ideas about how to use a longer school day this fall will receive an extra $100,000 per school under a new, privately-funded “innovation grant’’ competition announced Wednesday. (Sun-Times)

January 11, 2012

After scoring a legislative win with a recently-enacted state law limiting teacher tenure and strike rights, the well-heeled education advocacy group Stand for Children is turning its attention to issues specific to Chicago—including school turnarounds.

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)

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