Union: Teachers ratify contract
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...
View ArticleEmanuel: Brizard stepping down, Byrd-Bennett next CEO
Just after midnight, Jean-Claude Brizard sent out a statement, confirming that he will leave the helm of Chicago Public Schools. He said he does so with "great sadness." Brizard's departure was the...
View ArticleThe "Soft Stuff": What schools can do
Even in high school, teachers can help students develop the beliefs and habits that are needed for learning, says researcher Camille Farrington. Farrington, lead author of the University of Chicago...
View ArticlePanelists debate future of charter schools
The conversation quickly got heated at a Nov. 14 forum sponsored by Catalyst Chicago and the Better Government Association. After Catalyst Editor In Chief Lorraine Forte presented a primer on charter...
View ArticleSaturday: Join us for a webcast of TEDxWellsStreetED
Join us for a live webcast on Saturday, Sept. 28 of TEDxWellsStreetED: Exploring Teacher Voice Beyond the Classroom. You will see and hear more than a dozen Chicago teachers and former teachers discuss...
View ArticleA Holiday Treat: Videos from TEDxWellsStreetED
This holiday season, we are featuring videos from TEDxWellsStreetED: Teacher Voice Beyond the Classroom. We invite you to view the videos below of TEDxTalks that were given by numerous classroom...
View ArticleTake 5: Victims of violence, “transparency” stats, Ventra misstep
Connecting CPS to violenceApparently hoping to impress U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Mayor Rahm Emanuel last week announced that 49 fewer CPS students were shot and 12 percent fewer were victims...
View ArticleTake 5: Budget matters, teacher licensing clout, bad help for student loans
Budget matters. The Chicago Tribune’s school budget analysis shows that the143 charter and contract schools are getting a funding increase of $72 million---exactly the same amount as the cuts for the...
View ArticleTake 5: Academic tracking and choice, selective enrollment, Concept Schools
WBEZ releases a big package this morning that proves what many have long charged: The opening of new charter high schools and selective enrollment schools--becoming a district focused on school choice...
View ArticleTake 5: Noble Charter changes, TIFs and teacher turnover
Noble Street Charter School Network often boasts that its schools are the highest-achieving non-selective schools in the city. And, while it is true, Noble does not have students test in, critics have...
View ArticleTake 5: Former CPS official's credentials in question, progressive...
Terrence Carter, who went from principal at Barton Elementary School to chief academic officer at Academy for Urban School Leadership, is having trouble getting his contract approved as superintendent...
View ArticleTake 5: Charter admission transparency; new political coalition and career ed
1. Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday signed into law legislation intended to address some of the common complaints about charter schools, like that they are secretive or that they kick kids out and keep the...
View ArticleTake 5: CPS grads hiring preference, Common Core money and governor endorsements
1. Touting it as a way to keep CPS students in school, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is defending a decision he made two years ago to give preference in firefighter hiring to Chicago Public School graduates. Now...
View ArticleTake 5: Absenteeism task force, principal eligibility and "lost"...
The Chicago Tribune calls the reforms recommended by a state task force on absenteeism sweeping. The task force was created after a Tribune investigation found that about 13 percent of Chicago’s...
View ArticleTake 5: Principal stability; elementary school drain and teacher licenses
It looks like Earle Elementary School in Englewood--one of the schools designated to take in students from closed schools--is once again going to get a new principal. DNAinfo first reported that CPS...
View ArticleTake 5: Concept Schools Chatham location, healthy food and standardized testing
Concept Schools just can’t catch a break. The Chicago Sun Times reports that the building they are trying to rent for their Chatham location is being foreclosed on by the bank run by CPS board...
View ArticleTake 5: UNO making a break; Karen Lewis' loot and preschool information
After this school year, the UNO Charter School Network will no longer be managed by the United Neighborhood Organization, the community organization that started it all, according to The Chicago...
View ArticleTake 5: Safe Passage expansion, closed, vacant buildings and more on Concept
A meeting of parents and community members about a shooting in North Lawndale spurred CPS officials to finally divulge some information about how they plan to expand the Safe Passage program. In...
View ArticleTake 5: Simeon electrician program, Lewis campaign, middle school dropouts
Late Wednesday afternoon CPS announced that Simeon High School’s electricity program will be “reinstated” for the coming school year. In addition, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers...
View ArticleTake 5: Graduation rate up, Urban Prep's first class, end of PURE?
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett are basking in the latest graduation and on-track rate numbers, saying the five-year cohort graduation rate is now nearly 70 percent. Instead of holding...
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