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Adolescent Literacy

A raft of past programs have failed to substantially improve the reading skills of middle grade and high school students. CPS is trying once again, as part of a federal project that aims to help teens learn how to analyze complex non-fiction.

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teachers

For the Record: Displaced teacher hiring October 19, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris and Sarah Karp One of the biggest wins for the union in negotiating the new teachers’ contract was getting CPS to agree that half of its new hires would be qualified, displaced teachers. Still, it’s questionable how much the new provision will change what is happening on the ground in schools, given a host of factors. For one, the provision had a stipulation that if CPS could not meet that quota by hiring back teachers, they could do so by taking the most-senior in the pool and making them substitutes. Read More \| (19) Comments	In the News: Parent group stands up for teachers October 18, 2012 By: Cassandra West Bashing CPS teachers won’t fix school problems, say members of Parents4Teachers, a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting Chicago Public School teachers. (Medill Reports) Read More \| (0) Comments
Union: Teachers ratify contract October 03, 2012 By: The Staff of Catalyst Teachers have voted to ratify their proposed contract with Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Teachers Union announced Wednesday. The union said that of 20,765 votes it counted, 79.1 percent were in favor of the contract. The Chicago Board of Education must vote on the contract as well before it takes effect. Read More \| (6) Comments	Contract should help new teachers become great teachers October 03, 2012 By: Ivy McDaniel On Tuesday, the teachers of Chicago voted on the new contract that has been the focus of so much debate both in the city and nationally. As a future teacher who will look for a job in CPS at the end of the year, I felt a tension between opposing desires during the negotiations. Read More \| (7) Comments
Education reformers set post-strike agenda September 25, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris At a press conference convened Tuesday by Advance Illinois, representatives from numerous education reform groups laid out their post-strike agenda for Illinois schools. Read More \| (21) Comments	Few early childhood teachers have bilingual, ESL credentials September 25, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris Just 6 percent of early childhood teachers in a recent survey had bilingual or English as a Second Language credentials, according to a report released Tuesday by the Latino Policy Forum and New Journalism on Latino Children. Since almost 20 percent of Illinois students come into kindergarten as English-learners, there is a substantial gap between the need for bilingual services and the supply. Read More \| (3) Comments
Union releases deal details September 16, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris On Saturday night, the Chicago Teachers Union released the most detailed information so far on its "agreement in principle" with CPS. But nothing is final yet. The union's House of Delegates will meet Sunday at 3 p.m. at 2260 S. Grove to vote on three possible options: accepting the agreement and ending the strike; continuing the strike; or taking 24 hours to discuss the deal with rank and file members, and returning to vote on Monday. Read More \| (6) Comments	CTU Strike: Day 4 September 13, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris As negotiations dragged on into Thursday night, it began to seem doubtful whether CPS and the union would reach a deal by Friday's 2 p.m. House of Delegates meeting. Read More \| (0) Comments
Teachers, principals should work together on faculty hiring September 13, 2012 By: Adam Parrott-Sheffer Right now, our city’s teachers and central office administration are at an impasse. Much has been made in the media and in conversations on the picket line that this strike is about power and respect. The sticking point seems to be who decides who teaches our children, with the Board of Education demanding unilateral autonomy for principals linked to accountability and the union refusing to accept nothing less than full job protection for all of their tenured workers city-wide. Read More \| (12) Comments