New York City Council passes resolution against High Stakes TestingWhile Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's aides among the city's aldermen block a referendum for Chicago to get an elected school board, the City Council of the nation's largest city has taken a stand against high-stakes . . . | Article | |
'No Military Coup at Ames!' A Conversation with Women at Ames Middle SchoolOn Friday, December 6, 2013, this reporter met with a number of parents in a collective meeting at Ames Middle School, at Armitage (2000 North) and Hamlin (3800 West), in Chicago. I had been reading . . . | Article | |
Analysis of the Pension Theft deal... 'Since 1953, Illinois policymakers have consistently failed to make the annual required contributions to the state’s pension systems, primarily because they could then pay for services and their pet projects without raising taxes...'“At the time of passage of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, Illinois has both atypically large debts and structural budgetary imbalances that will, unless addressed by the General Assembly, lead to even . . . | Article | |  |
AFT video explains why international 'test scores' like PISA do not tell the real story of American schoolsIndicative of a significant shift in national union policy, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has devoted its considerable talent and resources not only in the implementation of the National Day of Action but to . . . | Article | |
Office Depot headquarters remains in Florida... When will Illinois politicians stop playing corporate blackmail games?On the morning of December 10, 2013, Crain's Chicago Business reported on line that Illinois was "losing" the possibility of the company's headquarters of Office Depot to Boca Raton, Florida. But as the story notes, . . . | Article | |  |
Chitown CEO Nixed in NYC!... Byrd Bennett strikes out in New York City as her slavish adherence to Rahm's school closing quota catches up with herDespite her attempt to escape Chicago, schools chief Barbara Byrd Bennett will not find a new home running the nation's largest school system after a little more than a year running the nation's third largest . . . | Article | |  |
Concept Charter Schools packs Chicago Lawn 'NAC' meetingI got to the Chicago Lawn NAC late. I was there with a friend (Sarah Ann and her daughter Tarah). It was unusual in that the Neighborhood Action Council meeting was in the basement at . . . | Article | |
Rahm the Grinch featured in Chicago protests during National Day of ActionRahm the Grinch was one of the features of the Chicago demonstration that was part of the "National Day of Action" held on December 9, 2013, at more than 30 cities across the USA. The . . . | Article | |  |
New York's 'reform' mayor creates a short list of the most reactionary corporate reformers out there... Byrd Bennett looking for a new job in New York City as New York schools chancellor?When the rumor first reached Substance that Chicago Public Schools "Chief Executive Officer" Barbara Byrd Bennett was consulting with people in New York City about returning to New York for the job as schools chancellor . . . | Article | |  |
National Day of Action at City Hall December 9, 4:15 p.m.Chicago parents, teachers, students and community leaders will be at Chicago's City Hall on December 9, 2013, to sing holiday songs and protest the school privatization and closing policies of the national administration and locally, . . . | Article | |
ZAP! Vitale, Ruiz & Co. continue strangling democracy at Chicago Board of Education meetings by restricting sign in to speak at Board of Education meetingsAt 8:32 a.m. on the morning of December 9, 2013, the message went up at the Home Page of the nation's third largest school system: "All advance registration slots filled." What the message meant was . . . | Article | |  |
'National Day of Action' brings hundreds to City Hall and State of Illinois building December 9 in protestCTU Press Release:
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UNO chieftain out... Problem with charter corruptions growsThe December 5, 2013 announcement that UNO chieftain Juan Rangel was resigning came as a shock to no one who has been following the rather sordid tale of nepotism, cronyism, union busting and corruption at . . . | Article | |
Drinking the Technology-Enhanced Kool-aidLior Klirs, Coordinator of English Language Arts Content and Resources in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction at the Tennessee Department of Education, offers an explanation (http://thescoresheet.org/2013/11/25/how-were-building-parcc-ela-and-literacy) of how the Common Core-aligned tests will be . . . | Article | |  |
New Labor Beat Video... 'Done with Democrats' released in a timely manner after Springfield vote against public worker pensionsDone with the Democrats is a new Labor Beat video on On YouTube at: http://youtu.be/u8bSkYhmk74. It is also archived at:. laborbeat.org. After the recent vote in Springfield against teacher and other public worker pensions, . . . | Article | |  |
MEDIA WATCH: 'These people are hypocrites, and they should be ashamed to open their mouths...' Karen Lewis lays out the challenge on 'pension reform' in The New York TimesIt was buried towards the end of the article, after a stream of half-truths and lies quoting Rahm Emanuel and the billionaires' mouthpiece, Civic Federation chief Laurence Msall, but at least it was there. The . . . | Article | |  |
CTU had a history of activism against apartheid... Chicago Teachers Union pauses to honor memory of Nelson MandelaThe Chicago Teachers Union has had a long history of organizing opposition to racism, and part of that history was supporting the struggles of the majority of people in South Africa against apartheid. That support . . . | Article | |  |
Catalyst investigation hitting Byrd Bennett's corruption... 'Chicago Executive Leadership Academy' is another ripoff... Principals will be attending their 'training' on December 7 while edupreneurs and Barbara Byrd Bennett's buddies laugh all the way to the bank...SUPES Academy corruption continuesThe question is when Chicago principals and other professionals (including those at the city's major universities) will take a public stand against an example of corruption that even in Chicago is a zinger -- CELA . . . | Article | |  |
ANALYSIS: Liars and thieves vote for 'pension reform'... State pension hopes now rest with lawsuit on constitutionality of what the General Assembly has doneIt was passed by both houses of the Illinois General Assembly on December 3, 2013. Illinois Senate Bill 1, the So-called “Pension Reform” Bill (or Attempt to Break a Constitutional Contract with Public Employees and . . . | Article | |  |
ALEC plans include continuing attacks on public education, teachers and unionsDespite growing protests across the nation, the strategy of America's ruling class continues unabated. The December 3, 2013 Illinois vote to begin the destruction of the state's defined benefit pension plans (most, for teachers and . . . | Article | |
