catalyst-chicago.org

Just under 300 CPS teachers at the six turnaround schools faced the same dilemma this spring: Reapply for jobs at their schools, or go elsewhere.

Only 38 teachers were rehired. That sent about 245 teachers into the job market.

Thank you for printing an excerpt of Catalyst Chicago's interview with me in your September issue. You continue to shed valuable light on the issues of teacher quality that are central to The New Teacher Project's mission.

One aspect of our conversation that did not come across clearly in the printed interview is the extraordinary progress Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has made in recent years on teacher hiring and transfer.

Chicago's teacher hiring and transfer policies, which allow principals to fill their own vacancies and teachers to choose where they want to work, are the envy of other urban districts, says Timothy Daly, president of The New Teacher Project. But CPS needs a big-picture strategy to hire and keep the cream of the teaching crop, Daly says. The New Teacher Project, which recruits urban teachers, recently completed a study of the district's personnel practices. Daly spoke with Deputy Editor Lorraine Forte and Data and Research Editor John Myers about the report and his recommendations.