Chicago Education Guide

Moving Day

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:57:00 +0000

OK, then. This is the last blog post I’ll be making here at Catalyst, after nearly two years. Thanks to everyone involved, especially Linda Lenz, the Catalyst founder and publisher who brought the blog to Catalyst a year and a half after it began, and Mark Royko, the web designer who developed and maintained the blog even when reader comments threatened to blow up the site (or I made ridiculous requests like that Facebook share button).
Of course, there were occasional disagreements over what was an appropriate…

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Busing, magnet programs, bilingual ed in limbo as Chicago schools desegregation decree is lifted

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Now that the CPS desegregation decree has been scrapped, a number of
questions are up in the air: What criteria will the district use to
admit students to highly sought-after selective and magnet schools?
Will CPS provide any busing to magnet schools–and if it not, how will
lower-income families get their children to them? What will happen to
the extra staff, such as foreign language teachers and dance
instructors, provided to magnet schools and paid for with desegregation
funds?
And will anyone keep tabs on how well the district is serving English-
language learners, a question that was…

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WBEZ Does This Week’s Board Meeting

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Coverage of the Board meeting by WBEZ’s Linda Lutton.
“Today
we’re starting a new segment called “Cheat Sheet,” and it’s meant be a
quick and dirty peek into Chicago’s often contentious school board
meetings and the issues that are brought up there.”
It’s a welcome addition. I can’t believe no one’s done it before. I hope they keep it up.
Cliff’s Notes: the Latest Chicago Board of Ed Meeting
Unfiltered: Regular Chicago Board of Education Meeting
…

Source: Catalyst-Chicago – District 299: The Chicago Schools Blog RSS Feed

In the News: Friday, Sept. 25

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:47:00 +0000

The Illinois Network of Charter Schools blog spotlights Schools Chief Ron Huberman’s comments at the year’s first District 299 charter school get together.
Mr. Huberman spent much of his time reviewing the “report card” that CPS will release in the next 4 -6 months which will provide parents reliable information about how every public school is performing. And school leaders agreed to the need for clarity and accountability while offering several refinements to the process….

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Free At Last.

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:03:00 +0000

At last, popular Chicago schools can let more white kids in.
No more pesky 35 percent rule (WBEZ).
…

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Federal judge ends Chicago schools desegregation decree

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:09:00 +0000

Late Thursday afternoon, a federal judge scrapped the CPS desegregation consent decree–a move that likely will result in the district abandoning the use of race as a factor in the admissions policies of magnet and selective schools. The move by U S District Judge Charles Kocoras also halted the court’s monitoring of the district’s bilingual program, which activists claimed is still inadequate and in need of supervision.
The desegregation decree had been in place for more than 20 years.
…

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Stimulus Trouble Brewing For IL

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:08:00 +0000

Oh, lovely.
First came news that
districts were being told to redo their stimulus reports to make it
look like as many jobs were saved as possible (State School News
Service PDF here).
Now Illinois has been IDd as one of four states who are “at risk” of having misused federal stimulus funding: 4 States Are Ripe for Stimulus Slip-Ups (EdWeek). The others include California, Michigan, and Texas. The
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico also made the list.
…

Source: Catalyst-Chicago – District 299: The Chicago Schools Blog RSS Feed

For Once, The Tall Black Guy Isn’t The One From AUSL

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:52:00 +0000

The folks at AUSL were kind enough to send along this picture of one of their folks in DC last week. Apparently, AUSL is going to help Chicago get the Olympics. Another reason to like or hate them.
They even provided a helpful caption: “Rob Harman, wrestling
coach at the Academy for Urban School Leadership’s Howe School of
Excellence, with President Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday for a
rally supporting Chicago’s 2016 Olympics bid.”
…

Source: Catalyst-Chicago – District 299: The Chicago Schools Blog RSS Feed

In the News: Thursday, Sept. 24

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:30:00 +0000

The big news from yesterday’s Board of Education meeting: A collective of Englewood pastors protested a decision to award $5 million for mentoring services to the Pennsylvania company Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. The Tribune broke the story yesterday, noting that the pastors felt “purposely disrespected” and cut out of the bidding process by CEO Ron Huberman.
You can hear Huberman defend the move on WBEZ. Linda Lutton will also be on Eight Forty-Eight talking about the Board meeting, followed by Alex Kotlowitz, who will talk about his research on violence in…

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What To Do With $38M In Violence Prevention Funding

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:11:00 +0000

Ignoring the obvious self-interest involved, who do you think should be getting money to implement Huberman’s violence prevention program — familiar folks like the ministers and CeaseFire or unfamiliar out of town folks like YAP with their magic out of town powers?
South Side ministers irate over CPS anti-violence plan Tribune
Saying
that Chicago schools chief Ron Huberman had “purposely disrespected”
them, a group of Englewood neighborhood pastors said this morning they
will protest the award of a $38 million contract by CPS to combat youth
violence.
Chicago Looks to Out-of-Town Group for Help With Youth Violence…

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