Chicago Teachers Union leadership touts ‘merit pay’
No sooner had the Chicago Teachers Union election ended than CTU President Marilyn Stewart joined school officials and the head of the principals' association to announce Chicago's first merit pay program. The program had been in the planning stages for months, but CTU members had not been informed about it.
2006 Special Education cuts were not necessary
Despite sending schools reeling in 2006 from budget cuts which eliminated over 700 special education positions, the Board of Education finished the fiscal year with $100 million more than expected.
CPS IMPACT goes from 'paperless' to paper
The headlines should have read "Chicago's paperless office fails. School report cards sent back to paper!", after the new IMPACT program failed to deliver on its promise to eliminate paper waste in the grading process.
Leftover children and the charter school hoax
Given the disastrous start to this experiment, at least for half the children in public schools in New Orleans, are positive results possible?
MediaWatch
According to the Tribune, the most important thing about all the “new schools” being created in Chicago was that the principal of one of them was a “turnaround” story herself.
Sister Grim
Once upon a time it was October in the city of Chicago, located in the sorry scandal-ridden cheapskate state of Ill-A-Noise, and there was more than the customary amount of angst to go around.
Substance photo by George Schmidt.
New book shows link between 'Chicago School' reform and Chicago 'school reform'
Naomi Klein's latest book, 'the Shock Doctrine', offers insight and perspective into the birth, life, and crimes of the neo-conservative "free-market" ideology. This review originally appeared as a truthout book review and is reprinted here with the permission of the author.
New York teachers union joins mayor on merit pay
At press time, the United Federation of teachers (UFT, Local 2 of the American Federation of Teachers) announced it had agreed to a "merit pay" deal with the New York City schools administration.
Chicago Teachers Union, CPS help create 'Hooked on Phonics' infomercial
When Chicago Teachers Union officials joined the “Hooked on Phonics” tour this past summer, they apparently didn’t spend a lot of time researching the controversial — but highly marketed — Hooked on Phonics program. Nor did they research much about the HOP “Anniversary Tour” they helped promote at Crispus Attucks Elementary School in Chicago.
Daley, Duncan continue charter attack on city's public schools
Mayor Richard M. Daley, Schools CEO Arne Duncan, and representatives of three of the richest families on earth (Gates, Ford, and Pritzker) staged a major media event on October 3, 2007, to celebrate the creation of another boutique charter school in Chicago’s black community.
Substance editor updates NAACP on segregation in Chicago's schools
On Saturday, October 15th , 2007, members of the education committee of the South Side branch of the NAACP heard George Schmidt update 40 years of research on racial segregation patterns in Chicago’s public schools.
BoardWatch
A recap of the September 2007 Chicago Board of Education meeting.
