teachers | catalyst-chicago.org

Current Issue

Special Education

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.

Read More

teachers

From security guard to teacher May 09, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris 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. Read More \| (0) Comments	In the News: CPS announces new ethics training March 20, 2012 By: Cassandra West In the wake of a gifts scandal inside the Chicago Public Schools food services department, official said Monday that employees who oversee vendor contracts will begin a new round of training to reaffirm the district's code of ethics, according the Tribune. Read More \| (5) Comments
Teachers tell Department of Ed about RESPECT March 19, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Members of the Advance Illinois Educator Advisory Council met with a federal “teacher ambassador” on Tuesday to give feedback on a 12-page draft proposal for the RESPECT Project, a proposed $5 billion grant program for states and districts that aims to sever the links between teacher pay and years of service and broadly restructure the teaching profession. Read More \| (20) Comments	Give teachers 'green light' to become leaders March 12, 2012 By: Cheryl Watkins 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. Read More \| (9) Comments
In the News: Teacher job satisfaction at new low March 08, 2012 By: Cassandra West Job satisfaction among public school teachers is plumbing new lows, according to the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher. (The New York Times) Read More \| (4) Comments	Target, CPS officials tout Children's Literacy Initiative January 19, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Read More \| (0) Comments
In the News: CPS could close popular magnet December 14, 2011 By: Cassandra West Chicago Public Schools is floating a plan to phase out LaSalle Language Academy magnet school in Old Town, one of its most popular magnet schools. LaSalle gets 1,500 applications a year for around 70 opening, WBEZ reports. Read More \| (1) Comments	Chicago teachers give ideas for longer school day December 12, 2011 By: Rebecca Harris A year-round calendar for all schools, more art and music, and staggered shifts for teachers are among the suggestions from nearly 600 CPS teachers that are outlined in a new report on how the district should use the longer school day it plans to implement next fall. Read More \| (4) Comments
Q&A with Jean-Claude Brizard December 07, 2011 By: Lorraine Forte and Sarah Karp When state legislators passed a law in 2009 requiring clear guidelines for school closings in Chicago, the goal was simple: to bring transparency and community input into decisions about vital public institutions. But the law didn’t stop complaints on the heels of the recent announcement that CPS plans to turn around a record 10 schools next year. Read More \| (5) Comments

go here for more