Seeking 10,000 LSC candidates
This year, organizations that are trying to recruit parents and community residents to run in the upcoming local school council elections will have to sign up candidates before they receive full...
View ArticleWebExtra: Late students undermine high school reform
Posted February 18, 2008--Chicago Public School's multimillion dollar High School Transformation project is forcing the district to confront a long-standing, but quiet problem: Hundreds of freshmen...
View ArticleCoaches keep rookie teachers on track
Stephanie Hansen, a new kindergarten teacher at Jensen Elementary, was having problems in her classroom. Getting 23 rambunctious youngsters to concentrate on their work was quite a feat, and Hansen...
View ArticleAspiring principals show off their skills
It’s 9:30 a.m. and at the West Side Technical Institute, Miyoshi Knox of Mays Elementary gives her poster-board exhibit and PowerPoint presentation a final once-over. Viewings will begin soon, and she...
View ArticleCharters: Open more, or rein them in?
Updated April 23, 2008--The Illinois Senate has passed two bills that would give Chicago more charters—in one case, by shifting slots to the city from the suburbs and downstate Illinois. Under the bill...
View ArticleAnyone want a turnaround?
Updated April 22, 2008--The city’s biggest charter school operator is gearing up to enter the school turnaround game, and the district is taking the first steps to coax more private managers into the...
View ArticleSaying YES to helping delinquent teens
For teens to re-enter Chicago Public Schools upon release from Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, a form letter is faxed to their neighborhood school. Principal Sean Stallings of Manley High School...
View ArticlePushing 'big picture' reform
Anew coalition of community groups is working to involve parents in what has been a controversial initiative: school turnaround efforts on the West Side. There, three small high schools at the Orr...
View ArticleTeach for America goes to preschool
Teach for America, the national program that sends top-tier college graduates to teach in high-needs public schools, has a new mission: Early childhood education. Chicago is the largest effort, with 21...
View ArticleClosings spark security concerns
Parents of Von Humboldt Elementary students are always welcome in the building. Principal Christ Kalamatas has even set aside a room just for them. He wants parents of Roque De Duprey students to feel...
View Article'A rude awakening'
Friday Feb. 29 Today was another boring day full of testing. We had to take two practice tests today for the PSAE (Prairie State Achievement Exams) or Work Keys. The state of Illinois requires that...
View ArticleResearchers: ACT 'not a test you can game'
Posted May 30, 2008: Forced to announce another year of disappointing ACT scores, Schools CEO Arne Duncan last summer sought to temper the news by talking up the district’s investment in strategic...
View ArticleAvoiding special ed
A decade ago, concerns that too many students were being mistakenly referred for costly special education services led Chicago Public Schools to adopt a process to stem the tide. The goal was to use...
View ArticleAdvocates: 'Let the people elect school board'
Since taking over Chicago schools in 1995, Mayor Richard M. Daley has directly appointed each member of the Chicago Board of Education. But a parent advocacy group says the board has become...
View ArticleConnecting the dots for freshmen
More than half of freshmen expected to attend CPS high schools this fall signed up for Freshman Connection, a districtwide initiative that aims to prepare soon-to-be 9th-graders for high school. About...
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