catalyst-chicago.org

Federal officials are pressuring Illinois to speed up the rollout of a controversial evaluation system that will rate teachers in part on how their students perform, records obtained by the Tribune show.

For reasons including a lack of space, changing priorities and tight budgets, 98 Chicago public elementary and middle schools don't have outdoor playgrounds, which poses a logistical problem when Mayor Rahm Emanuel's longer day is introduced citywide and recess will be part of the schedule at all elementary and middle schools.

Two citywide youth groups packed CPS headquarters Tuesday afternoon to ask the district to incorporate student surveys into teacher evaluation.

“We are the ones in the classroom, and we are the ones impacted by the quality of the teachers,” said Timothy Anderson, a student at Gage Park High School and a member of Voices of Youth in Chicago Education. VOYCE joined with students from the Mikva Challenge, an organization dedicated to youth civic engagement, in making their request.