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teacher training

June 27, 2012

Angel Torres worked overtime to complete his student teaching.

Torres’ work day began when most people are asleep: At midnight, he started his overnight shift as a senior service technician for People’s Gas, helping the Chicago Fire Department and other public service agencies respond to calls about gas-related fires and explosions.

At 8 a.m., when Torres’ shift ended, he headed to Ames Middle School for his student-teaching assignment.

 Sleep?  “Whenever I can, I guess,” Torres said during the school year.

May 09, 2012

Student teacher Michael Vargas steps confidently to the front of his middle-grades social studies class at Talman Elementary to start a lesson that will require his students to analyze the impact of events leading up to World War I.

Why did America initially decide to stay neutral, he asks?

“Because they didn’t want to get involved in what wasn’t their business,” one boy says.

“Because they were supplying both sides,” says another.

March 12, 2012

We run a lean operation at John J. Pershing West Middle School. The administration consists of just two people – me and my assistant principal, who also doubles as the high school algebra teacher.

As the principal, I’m the person teachers go to when they have a question. I’m also the person they go to when they have an idea. So when Chris Hennessy, the physical education and health teacher, told me that it was obvious I had too much to do and he was willing to take over some of my workload, I was thrilled to have the help. His leadership has proved invaluable.

November 22, 2011

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten visited King College Prep on Tuesday to learn about the school’s unique approach to professional development for teachers and to meet with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis.  

November 18, 2011

A report released today by Advance Illinois argues that to improve teaching and learning, teachers should be given resources to collaborate with each other, to share leadership responsibilities with administrators, and to continue learning and advancing in their profession long after they’ve received tenure.

October 24, 2011

While policymakers and recently proposed federal legislation promote expanded learning time as a strategy for school turnaround, some worry that it may be gaining steam too rapidly as a fix for schools that lack the know-how, resources, or research to implement it effectively, Education Week reports.