Patricia Watson, the principal at Shoesmith Grade School, understands how serious the budget crunch is. The funds that are normally dedicated to art, music, technology, and sports may need to be used to keep teachers from being laid off by the school board instead.

“Our children cannot learn with 40 students in the classroom,” she said.

Shoesmith has been regularly renting out its gym for community use. Locals borrow the space each Saturday morning for basketball games at $120 per week. Last week, the gym was also prepped for an evening event.

Watson also hopes to save some of the arts and sports programs by selling vegetables from the school’s soon-to-be-completed greenhouse.

The Disney Magnet School on Chicago’s lakefront has been seeing respectable success from its fundraising efforts. The school rents out its gym, community center, and classrooms regularly. It also runs an after-school program that pulls in $600,000 annually.

Kathy Hagstrom, the principal at Disney, says that charging sports clubs to use a field could generate tens of thousands of dollars each year. She is willing to rent out any of the school’s spaces to stop her faculty from being laid off.

“If I have to buy a teacher because of a cut, I want to have that opportunity,” said Hagstrom.

The CPS plans to release the exact numbers from its final budget in the coming weeks.

Chicago schools looking to earn extra cash amidst budget crunch | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Felipa Hernandez, whose son attends Avondale Elementary School, is furious over the school board’s decision to merge the school with Logandale Middle School. She says parents at both schools had developed an alternative to the consolidation that dealt with the under-enrollment issues brought forth by the board.

“On the one hand you say parents are an essential part of our children’s academic success, and on the other hand you exclude us from decisions that affect our children and their future,” Hernandez said to board in Spanish.

Hernandez is convinced that the school shutdowns demonstrate the school board’s “hypocrisy” toward parents. Parents do want to play an active role in contributing to the board’s plans, she says.

Peggy Davis, one of the seven members of the Chicago Board of Education, was the only member who voted against the mergers.

President of the board Mary Richardson-Lowry offered a rare interview with reporters, saying that the district would not be acting responsibly if it continued to run under-enrolled schools.

Initially, the board had considered closing or merging nine schools, but plans for two of the schools were scrapped after parents revealed that children would be required to travel through gang territory to reach other neighboring schools.

The board’s decision to close the seven schools is expected to be their last. Their seats will be filled with Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s new Board of Education in the coming weeks.

CPS closes seven schools despite pleading parents | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Earlier this week, the school district revealed that the Cather and Beidler elementary schools would not be merged. Parents had informed officials that children would be forced to navigate through gang territory in order to reach other neighboring schools.

This follows last week’s about-face when the district decided not to combine the Marconi and Tilton elementary schools. Officials warn, however, that the schools may still be closed in the future if enrollment does not improvement.

Despite the positive outcome for the elementary schoolers, two charter high schools now face a new dilemma, as they were supposed to move into the unoccupied elementary schools.

Later this month, the school board will decide whether seven more area schools will be shutting their doors.

School consolidation plans modified | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Civic leader Terry Mazany begins what he hopes will be a brief tenure as CEO of the nation’s third largest school district–Chicago Public Schools.

The new schools chief is expected to receive briefings from various department heads this week. That’s in addition to a transition report from outgoing CEO Ron Huberman.

Mazany has said one of his priorities is to find a chief education officer, which is the district’s No. 2 spot.

That position has been vacant since Barbara Eason-Watkin left the district in June.

Clarice Berry, the head of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, has been pushing the district to find a chief education officer for months.

“We have a CEO and now we have another one. That spot was filled pretty quickly, but there doesn’t seem to be the same urgency for there to be an educational leader in place for the schools, and of course that’s our primary job,” she said.

Berry said a chief education officer will be needed as principals prepare for the statewide I-SAT test, which students will take next year.

Mazany has said he considers himself on “loan” from the Chicago Community Trust, where he serves as the president and CEO.

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

New Chicago Public Schools CEO reports to work | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Nuques’ work as Enlace Chicago’s director of education has gained national recognition as she has steadily and significantly secured greater funding. Nuques, a music educator who has taught piano, choir and classroom music and an Ecuador native, was chosen from nearly 100 candidates.

Despite focusing on local candidates with a connection to the Chicago community and the Chicago Public Schools, the job drew applicants from across the nation.

“Katya’s many successes at Enlace, her knowledge of the community and her vision for where we can go as a premier music school were compelling and convincing, said Suzuki-Orff Board President John Doty. “Our strongest candidates were from Chicago and the surrounding area, and Katya just proved to be the ideal one.”

Another selling point for Nuques was that Enlace’s holistic model for student success is closely aligned with the Suzuki-Orff model, which strives to nurture creativity and self-expression, develop critical thinking skills, accelerate academic achievement, enhance cognitive and social development, and cultivate school change through outreach initiatives that involve parents and community in arts programs.

“There is so much to build on in this community,” said Nuques, who will begin Nov. 15. “I look forward to working with the staff, faculty, parents, the Chicago Public Schools and other partners in the community to carry out our mission.”

In addition to her success as a music educator, Nuques is a member of the Illinois Federation of Community Schools, the Afterschool Alliance and the National Coalition of Community Schools. In June, she received an award for Outstanding Service to the Malcolm X College Family in Community Service.

About Suzuki-Orff

Suzuki-Orff, in existence for 29 years, brings together families from a wide range of cultural backgrounds with a strong emphasis on reaching those who face significant economic and environmental challenges.

Suzuki-Orff’s on-site programs and outreach initiatives in the Chicago Public Schools provide high-quality, year-long music education to over 3,000 children each week.

Suzuki-Orff Names New Executive Director – Respected educator will enhance community connections, enhance mission | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The protesters at Whittier elementary school in the city’s Southwest Side Pilsen neighborhood are asking Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman to sign off on a list of demands.

The protesters have been holed up at Whittier’s field house for more than a month. They want the building to be renovated to include a library.

As first reported by WBEZ last week, school and elected officials hammered out multiple plans for the field house. They include leasing the field house to a non-profit to use as a library or creating a library within the school.

Protester Carolina Gaete says those options sound good, but she’s still not agreeing to anything.

GAETE: We don’t trust them. We don’t trust them to negotiate behind us or even come up with solutions that we were never included in.

Gaete and some other protesters instead want the district to hand over the building’s keys to them.

A CPS spokeswoman says the district plans on meeting with the parents this week.

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Whittier Protesters Want CPS to Sign Off on Plans | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The Chicago school district and the teachers union are grappling with the impact of a federal ruling on layoffs of tenured teachers.

A judge earlier this week ordered the district to rescind its layoffs after the union sued.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis says she wants all laid-off tenured teachers to head back to classrooms.

District lawyers say they’re not convinced that’s required, and other officials say rehiring all tenured teachers would put the district in a bind.

Alicia Winckler is the chief human capital officer for the district.

WINCKLER: We’d have to find the money. We don’t have any additional money to utilize for something like this, so we’d have to find that money within our budget.

Another district official says rehiring all tenured teachers could cost CPS about $30 million. In order to free up that money, the official says pink slips would have to be sent out to about 500 non-tenured teachers.

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

CPS: Rehiring Tenured Teachers Could Cost Millions | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

One of 11 New Schools Open Under Modern Schools across Chicago in the Last two years

Daley dedicates Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School in the Avondale community | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Represents “New Era” in Training CPS Students for Jobs of the Future, Mayor Daley Says

Chicago Public Schools today marked the traditional first day of classes by opening the first 30 of a projected 80 “College and Career Academies” that represent a comprehensive re-structuring of the CPS Career and Technical Education programs.

“This opening represents a new era in career education at CPS and a big step forward in our plan to coordinate the resources of the city’s job training programs, the public schools and the City Colleges to have the greatest impact on training and retraining our workers for the jobs of the future,” Daley said after the traditional first-day bell-ringing ceremony, held this year Wells Community Academy High School, 936 N. Ashland Av., one of 12 CPS high schools that will house academies this year.

“In today’s economy, it is essential that we graduate students with the skills they need to go directly into a good job and a long term career,” the Mayor said.

The “College and Career Academies” initiative was announced in January and reorganizes 250 non-standardized career programs into 80 academies in 35 high schools over seven years.

For the first time, through the academies, career education will be open to students citywide through an application process.

The academies this year will offer programs in construction, architecture, culinary arts, hospitality, pre-engineering, auto technology and auto body repair, business and finance, medical and health careers, cosmetology, information technology, child care and childhood education, law and public safety, logistics, and broadcast technology.

“For years, we’ve offered career and technical education in the school system, but we needed to strengthen and improve it. This is an exciting day for all Chicago, because we’re doing just that,” Daley said.

This year, some 1,500 students will be enrolled in ninth grade at the 30 new college and career academies. Altogether, some 23,000 students will attend CPS career and technical education programs throughout Chicago.

At Wells — where the career education programs include law and public safety, logistics and teaching — some 250 students are expected to enroll in the academies this year, up from 183 students who took courses under the old career and technical education programs last year, CPS officials said.

The Mayor said that the new academies will focus resources and teaching staff. There will be more courses, more teachers and a rigorous curriculum based on industry standards and demands – all aimed at preparing students to fill the jobs of the future and to keep Chicago competitive in the global economy.

Daley said the Career Academies build on other steps the City has recently announced to keep the progress going at CPS.

For example, two weeks ago Daley and school officials announced a pilot program starting in November that adds 90 minutes of online reading and math learning time to the school day at five elementary schools. Another ten schools will be added when the second semester begins

The program – called “Additional Learning Opportunities” — will add 255 hours of learning time a year for 5,500 students.

Daley also said that to take the schools to the next level and graduate students who are prepared for the jobs of the future, students, teachers and principals must be given all the tools they need to achieve the highest possible levels.

“There’s no better tool than an up-to-date school building that provides a safe and modern environment for learning. This school year, we are opening five new school buildings as part of the Modern Schools Across Chicago program,” he said.

Eleven new schools have been opened in the last two years under this program, which is funded entirely with city money. Since 1996, the City has invested more than $5.5 billion in school capital improvements across the city.

“When you open a new school, you give students and staff a fresh start, greater hope and of course, an improved learning environment. You provide a new anchor for the community,” the Mayor said.

“Years ago we understood the necessity of turning around a public school system that had failed students and taxpayers for decades. Our schools aren’t yet where they need to be. But all of us put our children first, our schools can become the best in America,” he said.

College and Career Academies now operating are:

• Fenger High School, 11220 S. Wallace Av. – construction, culinary and hospitality
• Harlan High School, 9652 S. Michigan Av. – pre-engineering, information technology
• Harper High School, 6526 S. Wood St. – construction, culinary and hospitality
• Schurz High School, 3601 N. Milwaukee Av.– auto technology, business and finance
• Sullivan High School, 6631 N. Bosworth Av. – medical and health careers
• Washington High School, 3535 E. 114th St., culinary, information technology
• Crane High School, 2245 W. Jackson Blvd. – auto technology, information technology, medical and health careers
• Dunbar High School, 3000 S. King Dr. – auto technology and auto body repair, construction and architecture, cosmetology, culinary and hospitality, medical and health careers
• Manley High School, 2935 W. Polk St. – culinary and hospitality, medical assistance
• Orr Academy High School, 730 N. Pulaski Rd. – child care and childhood education, information technology
• Wells Academy High School, 936 N. Ashland Av. – law and public safety, logistics, teaching
• Westinghouse High School, 3223 W. Franklin Blvd. – broadcast technology, business, information technology, medical and health careers

New Buildings part of the Modern Schools Across Chicago opening Fall 2010:

• Azuela — 4707 W. Marquette Blvd. — PK-8
• Calmeca — 3456 W. 38th St. — PK-8
• Lorca — 3231 N. Springfield Av. — PK-8
• Solorio — 5400 S. St. Louis Av. — 9-12
• West Ridge — 6700 N. Whipple St. — PK-8

30 new college and career academies open as 2010-11 classes begin for Chicago Public School students | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

A panel is expected to be named this week to begin work on restructuring the district’s debt. But an official from Denver says her city’s attempt to try the same thing should give Chicago pause.

In 2008, the Denver Board of Education okay-ed a complicated plan to restructure that district’s debt and to plug a multi-million dollar gap in its pension fund.

Jeannie Kaplan sits on the board. She says no district should rush into debt restructuring.

KAPLAN: [I] spend more time than I can possibly tell you trying to unravel all of this and to see what does make sense. So I would say, ‘Ask as many questions as you can on the front end of this.’ That would be my advice.

Kaplan says the economic downturn made Denver’s plan more expensive. She says Denver ended up paying more than $20 million in additional fees from the restructuring.

CPS officials say they hope to have Chicago’s debt restructuring plan worked out by the end of the year.

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Denver School Official Urges Caution on CPS Debt Plan | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

A couple of weeks ago, art teacher Sunny Neater-Dubow got canned from her job at the Multicultural Arts High School.

But a month before that, she says she saw her position posted on the district’s website with a tweak.

NEATER-DUBOW: It said the Multicultural Arts School is looking for an art teacher with a dance endorsement. That is an endorsement I do not have, and that’s an endorsement that I think is pretty rare. I’ve never known an art teacher with a dance endorsement.

Neater-Dubow says she thinks the district is trying to find less experienced and less expensive teachers to hire.

Schools chief Ron Huberman says the district plans on restoring 400 teaching positions with federal money it expects to get.

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Laid Off CPS Teachers Search for Jobs | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Chicago Public Schools Chief Ron Huberman said the school district used all $190 million of its reserves this year.

It also increased class sizes from 31 to 33 students and made budget cuts.

They’re expected to layoff about 800 classroom teachers and 400 classroom support personnel.

Officials say the state still owes CPS $236 million in state funding from last year, and it is counting on that money to replenish its reserves.

Meanwhile, It’s back to school time for some CPS students.

Year-round schools, also known as Track E schools, start back up Monday.

Nearly 100,000 elementary and high school students are enrolled in the program.

Students in a Track E school actually attend the same number of days as students who attend a regular calendar school, but instead of one long summer break, those students have shorter, more frequent breaks.

Originally reported by FOX News Chicago. Read the original article here.

CPS Balances Budget on 1st Day for Some | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Huberman’s public service career began when he joined the Chicago Police Department as a patrol officer who attended night classes at the University of Chicago to complete master’s degrees in both Business and Social Service Administration.

He has headed a number of city departments and government agencies in the City as well as Mayor Daley’s Chief of Staff and his recent appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools.

“We see the influence of social work values and researched based interventions in Mr. Huberman’s  approach to the complex problems facing the Chicago Public Schools,” said Amy Eldridge, Dean/CEO of the Institute.

In his address to the nine graduates, and ICSW community, Mr. Huberman pointed out that while he has had many assignments for the City of Chicago, he was first a social worker. He emphasized the critical role that social workers play in Chicago’s public schools—they are on the front lines and influence the safety and well being of students so that they are able to learn and succeed.

The Institute for Clinical Social Work is the nation’s first and only free standing, fully accredited institution offering a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work.

The June 5 Commencement ceremony marked twenty years of graduating clinical scholars who  serve as educators, clinicians, researchers and administrators in Chicago and across the nation. The Ceremony was held at the Standard Club of Chicago.

CEO of Chicago Public Schools Ron Huberman Awarded Doctor of Humane Letters | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CHICAGO, IL (May 19, 2010)—Chicago Opera Theater’s (COT) Opera for All, concluding its 10th year, is an educational outreach program that works with Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) to bring opera to Chicagoelementary students at five Chicago Public Schools: Clinton Elementary, Hampton Elementary, McKinley Park, Reilly Elementary and Von Humboldt.   

This year’s curriculum began in the fall of 2009 concentrating on the ancient myth of “Jason and the Argonauts” and Cavalli’s Jason (Giasone), which was presented as part of Chicago Opera Theater’s 2010 Spring Festival Season. Students are currently performing their operatic adaptation titled: Cavalli’s Giasone: Jason and the Golden Fleece.

This year, 330 participating students have created an original performance by taking inspiration from the opera Jason, while also looking to the original mythological sources. In studying these stories the students explored the hero’s journey from the power of the gods to mapping the physical journey itself.

 ”I am very proud of the impact that we have made with Opera for All over the past ten years,” said COT General Director Brian Dickie.  “Not only is arts education an important part of Chicago Opera Theater’s mission to bring opera to the next generation, but we also feel that it is crucial to a child’s well-rounded development.”

COT Education & Outreach Manager Linden Christ continued, “This year the students have collaborated with teaching artists to create an opera that is a unique take on classic mythology. They’ve come up with their own twist on gods and mortals that includes a panel of gods and goddesses debating about the fates of love versus war and incorporates audience participation.”

As part of Chicago Opera Theater’s mission to make opera fresh, engaging, and accessible to the entire community, COT developed an educational outreach program in the spring of 2000. This outreach initiative, known as Opera for All, focuses on demystifying opera for kids through in-depth, participation based programs. COT brings opera to the schools, infuses it into student’s everyday lives, and gives them a chance to experience it firsthand as both audience members and as performers. Working closely with classroom teachers, teaching artists from Opera for All incorporate the many elements of opera allowing students to collaborate and make their very own opera. This curriculum has become a crucial supplement for elementary school students in the Chicago Public Schools and addresses specific Illinois Learning Standards while supplementing participation-based classroom activities with field trips and visits by members of COT’s Young Artists Program. At the end of the year, students perform an abridged version of an opera for classmates and family members. The partnership at Reilly Elementary also offers group violin lessons for students who then serve as part of the Opera for All ensemble at the final performance.

Beginning in the 2008-09 school year Opera for All partnered with CAPE to create an informational website for teachers, students, and donors. This year the partnership was increased and CAPE artists joined COT teaching artists to create a more in-depth and behind-the-scenes experience! CAPE artists worked with the students to focus on all the elements of opera including: composition, staging, props, set design and videography.

The final performances this year will be as follows: Von Humboldt Elementary School, 2620 West Hirsch Street, on May 25th at 9:30am & 11:30am; Reilly Elementary, 3650 West School Street, on June 2nd 9:30am & 11:30am; and Hampton Elementary, 3434 West 77th Street, June 9th at 10:30am and 11:30am.

ABOUT CHICAGO OPERA THEATER

Founded in 1974 by Alan Stone, Chicago Opera Theater has carved a significant place for itself in the operatic life of Chicago and has reached an audience of hundreds of thousands through its main stage performances, outreach, education and young artist programs.

Since Brian Dickie’s appointment as General Director in 1999, COT has evolved as an opera company that is young, fresh, and colorful – an image well suited to its surroundings at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.

For more information visit ChicagoOperaTheater.org or call 312.704.8414.

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Chicago Opera Theater’s OPERA FOR ALL Concludes Its 10th Year! | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The latest moves are part of the system’s continuing efforts to shut down and consolidate failing and under-enrolled schools.

Four schools–Las Casas, McCorkle Elementary, Prescott Elementary and Paderewski Elementary-will be closed due to inadequate facilities and low enrollment.

Another four schools will be consolidated into nearby facilities. These are Marconi Elementary, Curtis Elementary, Guggenheim Elementary and Mollison Elementary.

One school, Schneider Elementary, will be phased out.

Five schools in the district will be the subject of turnaround operations. That means staff will be fired and a new operator will come in to run the school.

Two elementary schools, Gillespie and Bradwell,  will be operated by the successful Academy of Urban School Leadership. A third, Deneen, will be run by the office of school turnarounds at Chicago Public Schools.

Two chronically underperforming high schools will be turned around, Phillips High School by AUSL and Marshall High by the district office.

School closings have been immensely unpopular since the district began shutting down facilities several years ago when Arne Duncan, now U.S. secretary of education,  led the system.

–Azam Ahmed

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

14 schools added to CPS failing schools program | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The girl was attacked Friday at about 3:30 p.m. after she got off the Fullerton Avenue bus at Cicero Avenue, police said. The girl was walking southbound on Cicero Avenue and was crossing an alley between Belden and Medill Avenues when she was grabbed from behind, police said.

The man then force her near a garage and was attempting to sexually abuse her when the girl kicked the man which then caused him to slip and fall, police said. The man fled west down the alley, police said.

Police are searching for either a Hispanic man with a dark complexion or a black man, in his 20s, 5-feet 7-inches and 180 pounds. He was wearing a black skull cap pulled to nearly cover his eyes, a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, black jeans and black Nike gym shoes.

Anyone with information should call Grand Central detectives at 312-746-8282.

– Staff report

Read the original article from WGN Radio Chicago.

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Six years after Mayor Richard Daley launched a bold initiative to close down and remake failing schools, Renaissance 2010 has done little to improve the educational performance of the city’s school system, according to a Tribune analysis of 2009 state test data.

Scores from the elementary schools created under Renaissance 2010 are nearly identical to the city average, and scores at the remade high schools are below the already abysmal city average, the analysis found.

The moribund test scores follow other less than enthusiastic findings about Renaissance 2010 — that displaced students ended up mostly in other low performing schools and that mass closings led to youth violence as rival gang members ended up in the same classrooms. Together, they suggest the initiative hasn’t lived up to its promise by this, its target year.

“There has been some good and some bad in Renaissance 2010, but overall it wasn’t the game changer that people thought it would be,” said Barbara Radner, who heads the Center for Urban Education at DePaul University. “In some ways it has been more harmful than good because all the attention, all the funding, all the hope was directed at Ren10 to the detriment of other effective strategies CPS was developing.”

Turning around public schools is the core of Daley’s efforts to keep the city vibrant. But the outcome of his ambitious education experiment is as important to the nation as it is to Chicago. The architect of Renaissance 2010, former schools CEO Arne Duncan, is now the U.S. Secretary of Education — and he’s taking the Daley-Duncan model national as part of his Race to the Top reform plan.

Duncan is using an unprecedented $4.35 billion pot of money to lure states into building education systems that replicate key Ren10 strategies. The grant money will go to states that allow charter schools to flourish and to those that experiment with turning around failing schools — all part of the Chicago reform.

Illinois education officials hope to get a piece of the pie and are preparing an application for Tuesday’s deadline.

Renaissance 2010 was launched in 2004 after decades of school reforms failed to fix chronically underperforming schools. City leaders promised to close the worst schools and open 100 innovative ones that would rely heavily on the private sector for ideas, funding and management. Central to the plan was an increase in charter schools, which receive tax dollars but are run by private groups free from many bureaucratic constraints.

Daley and Duncan credit the program with injecting competition and invigorating a stagnant system and say it has laid a foundation the district can build on.

“We haven’t looked at all the data, but our belief is that Renaissance 2010 dramatically improved the educational options in communities across Chicago,” said Peter Cunningham, Duncan’s spokesman, who followed him from Chicago to Washington. “We believe that it is contributing to Chicago’s overall success. Renaissance 2010 and Race to the Top both reflect a willingness to be bold, hold yourself to higher standards and push for dramatic change, not incremental change.”

Cunningham and other supporters argue that many new schools, mainly in low-income and high-crime neighborhoods, are outperforming nearby traditional schools. They say attendance rates, parent satisfaction and student engagement are higher. And they point out that expecting significant gains from startup schools is unrealistic.

There have been some bright spots.

Most of the elementary schools overhauled by the Academy for Urban School Leadership, which changes the school staff but leaves the students in place, are outperforming their previous selves. The Noble Street charter schools, which operate in some of the toughest neighborhoods, have college-going rates that even suburban schools would envy. And innovation has flourished, as the city’s first all-boys public high school, Urban Prep opened in Englewood, and the Chicago Virtual Charter School went online.

The business community embraced the reform agenda and has ponied up $50 million to the Renaissance Schools Fund, a nonprofit created by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. The group has awarded about $30 million to 63 new schools.

Currently, 92 Renaissance 2010 schools enroll 34,000 children — about 8 percent of the district total. Seven new schools will open in the fall, and the city plans to announce a new raft of school closings within the next few weeks.

The new schools mirror the district demographically, except they enroll fewer special education students and those who speak English as a second language.

Chicago school officials don’t publicly track the performance of the Renaissance 2010 schools. But Ron Huberman, who took the helm of the city schools when Duncan left, said he has crunched the numbers and about one-third of the new schools are outperforming their neighborhood counterparts; one-third are identical in performance; the rest do worse.

A Tribune analysis shows that in Renaissance 2010 elementary schools, an average of 66.7 percent of students passed the 2009 Illinois Standards Achievement Test, identical to the district rate. The Ren10 high school passing rate was slightly lower on state tests than the district as a whole — 20.5 percent compared with 22.8 percent. But it’s identical at 17.6 percent when selective enrollment schools, where students test to get in, are removed from the equation.

Only a quarter of Renaissance 2010 schools had test scores high enough to meet the federal goals set by No Child Left Behind, the signature education policy of the George W. Bush administration. Chicago students as a whole still post some of the lowest test scores on national math and reading exams.

A series of studies released last year paints an unimpressive picture of Renaissance 2010.

Read the original article from WGN Radio Chicago.

Daley School Plan Fails to Make Grade | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The results emerged from a study of 390 Chicago public elementary schools over a seven-year period following the implementation of a 1988 law that increased decision-making at the local school level.

The authors of the study, current and former researchers with the Consortium on Chicago School Research, part of the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago, said those five essential supports are school leadership, parent and community ties, professional capacity of the faculty, a student-centered learning climate and a coherent instructional plan.

They were effective in a wide variety of schools, including especially troubled ones. By looking closely at the social context in which schools are embedded, the book provides new insight into why schools in communities with high rates of crime and poverty struggle with improving student outcomes.

These findings are helpful as states vie for billions in federal “Race to the Top” funds designed to spur school reform. They are drawn from the kinds of robust data that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has encouraged states to use in developing their reform plans.

The authors suggest that when looking for ways to improve learning in urban schools, leaders should resist the temptation to look for “silver bullets” and think instead about “baking a cake.” Just as several ingredients are needed in the right proportions to bake a cake, so too are several ingredients ― the “five essential supports” ― required to boost student achievement.

The research team will present their findings to educators on Thursday, Jan. 14 at a symposium at the University’s Gleacher Center, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive.

The study team found some improvements since Chicago decentralized its public school system in 1988. More than 80 percent of the system’s elementary schools showed at least some gains in mathematics, and close to 70 percent gained in reading.

More importantly, schools that were strong in all five essential supports were at least 10 times more likely to show substantial improvement in reading and mathematics than schools that were strong in only one or two of the essential supports. Follow-up studies conducted from 1997 to 2005 validated the findings of the first round of research.

The book, published by the University of Chicago Press, was written by:

• Anthony S. Bryk, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and founding senior director of CCSR;
• Penny Bender Sebring and Elaine Allensworth, interim co-executive directors at CCSR;
• Stuart Luppescu, chief psychometrician at CCSR; and
• John Q. Easton, Director of the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education, and former executive director of CCSR.

For nearly 20 years, CCSR has built a massive, one-of-a-kind longitudinal data archive on Chicago public schools, and that archive made the research possible.

The CCSR team visited schools, interviewed principals and did extensive surveys of principals, teachers and students to get behind what was leading some schools to progress and others to remain stagnant.

In addition to measuring local demographic characteristics, CCSR investigated community characteristics like community cohesiveness and crime rates to uncover reasons for success or failure.

In taking this approach, which looks at neighborhood effects and the influence of parents, the book draws heavily on the work of other scholars currently or formerly at the University of Chicago.

Sociologist William Julius Wilson, now at Harvard University, did seminal work on poverty at the University of Chicago and coined the expression “the truly disadvantaged” in a book by the same name. James Colemen contributed definitive thinking on the role of social capital in schools to show the value of parents working with teachers to improve learning.

Sociologist Robert Sampson, now at Harvard, and Steven Raudenbush, the Lewis-Sebring Professor in Sociology and chair of the University of Chicago’s Committee on Education, studied the dynamics of Chicago neighborhood interactions to identify differences in dealing with crime and other issues.

In assessing student performance, the team devised a “value-added” approach. Rather than simply looking at the percentage of students in each class who met or failed to meet state standards, the team looked at the progress of each student.

The authors also identified 46 very low-performing schools, serving more than 40,000 students, which they labeled “truly disadvantaged schools.” Even in a school district where disadvantage is the norm, these schools stood apart, serving neighborhoods characterized by extreme poverty and extreme racial segregation.

On average, 70 percent of residents living in these neighborhoods had incomes below the poverty line. The schools had virtually no racial integration.

But demographics tell just part of the story. Moving beyond an analysis of racial and economic descriptors, the authors examined these communities against other social indicators.

They found the communities of truly disadvantaged schools had the highest crime rates and the highest percentages of children who were abused, neglected or living in foster care.

Residents of these communities were the most likely to live in public housing and the least likely to attend church regularly or believe they could bring about positive change in their community.

A small number of these schools improved in reading and math, primarily because they were strong in the essential supports. But nearly half of them proved nearly impervious to systemic reform and had a lack of progress that contrasted sharply with many other schools.

These schools were seven times more likely than racially integrated schools, for instance, to stagnate in math and two times more likely to stagnate in reading.

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If approved, all six schools will open in communities in need of high-quality education options.

“Six months ago we targeted three underserved communities and strongly encouraged new school design teams, composed of educators and entrepreneurs with close ties to the community, to submit proposals for schools in those areas,” said Huberman.

“Today, after months of community, and parental input, we are pleased with the results.”

Huberman also stressed that input from the Transition Advisory Councils (TAC) was crucial in making the decision process fair and sensitive to the needs of each of the school communities. TAC members met with Huberman last month to share their new school recommendations.

The six proposals include four elementary schools, one high school serving grades 9-12, and a combination middle school-high school that will serve students grades 6-12.

Three of the new schools are slated to open in the fall of 2010, and the other three schools are slated to open in the fall of 2011. All six will be subject to approval from the Chicago Board of Education later this month.

The three schools slated to open in fall of 2010 are proposed in communities the district considers to be high priority — Englewood, Riverdale (Far South Side) and South Chicago—and would be run by existing charter school operators who manage other high-performing schools in Chicago.

If approved, these schools will be located in CPS buildings listed in the 2009 Request for Proposals (RFP), released this past May.

The three schools that will be recommended to the Board for a fall of 2010 opening include:

• Noble Street Charter School – Englewood Campus, a proposed charter school, would serve grades 9-12. The Englewood Campus would follow the Noble model, which is built on a platform of small schools, strong leadership, strict adherence to a discipline code and a rigorous academic program that includes emphasis on reading, math, community service and physical fitness. The culture at all Noble Street schools is infused with the “Noble Way”-scholarship, discipline and honor. Noble Street currently operates nine campuses serving 2,200 students. The new school is proposed to be located at Reed Elementary School, 6350 S. Stewart Ave, which is being phased out.
• Chicago International Charter School (CICS) – Riverdale Campus, a proposed charter school, would serve grades 6-12. The Riverdale Campus would offer students a rigorous college-preparatory education through innovation and choice. CICS currently operates 13 campuses serving 8,100 students, including the K-8 Lloyd Bond Campus that opened in Altgeld Gardens in the Riverdale community this fall. The new school is proposed to be located at Carver Middle School, 801 E. 133^rd Place, which was consolidated with Carver Elementary last year.
• LEARN Charter School – South Chicago Campus, a proposed charter school, would serve grades K-8. The South Chicago Campus would provide its students with the foundation and ambition to earn a college degree through an academically challenging college preparatory curriculum. Each LEARN school, which features an extended day and extended year, is driven by its set of distinct Core Principles: mutual respect among staff, parents, students, and communities served; expected active family contribution; and emphasis on character development and the whole child. LEARN currently operates three elementary schools serving 900 students on the west side of Chicago. Their flagship campus is one of the highest performing non-selective elementary schools in North Lawndale. The school is proposed to be located at James N. Thorp Elementary School, 8914 S. Buffalo Ave. as a permanent co-share.

CPS received 14 proposals to serve the Englewood, Riverdale and South Chicago communities. Design teams applied to open new schools in those areas through a competitive and community-based process.

In each of these three communities, district officials formed a Transition Advisory Council (TAC) composed of parents, educators, community residents, community and faith- based organizations, and elected officials and their representatives.

Beginning in May of this year, and lasting through October, the TACs met regularly to discuss the community’s educational needs and assets, review education-based research, visit high performing schools, and review new school proposals.

Commenting on the process, Paulette Cage Edwards, Riverdale TAC member and Executive Director of the Foundation for Family Empowerment located in the Riverdale community said, “Parents in the Riverdale Community, like other communities, want to have a choice in schools for their children. CICS is the choice of the Riverdale TAC. As a member of the Riverdale TAC and former Altgeld Gardens resident, I believe the rigorous academic plan and disciplined environment offered by CICS is needed to propel these children to reach beyond state academic benchmarks and in doing so achieving their fullest potential.”

The three schools that will be recommended to the Board for a fall of 2011 opening in independently owned buildings include:

• LEARN Charter School – South Shore Campus, a proposed charter school, would serve grades K-8 in the South Shore community. Like the South Chicago Campus, the South Shore Campus would provide its students with an academically challenging college preparatory curriculum, a strong school culture and an extended day and extended year. The school is proposed to be located at 7110 S. Coles.
• Roseland Preparatory Academy, a proposed contract school, would serve grades K-8 in the Roseland community. Roseland Prep would offer students an education where they take pride in themselves, their families, their environment, their school and their community. The school will be modeled after Frazier Preparatory Academy, a college-prep contract school that opened in North Lawndale in the fall of 2007 and utilizes the Mosaica Paragon curriculum. The school is proposed to be located at 11400 S. Edbrook.
• UNO Charter School, a proposed charter school, would serve grades K-8. UNO seeks to provide its students a rigorous curriculum in a well-managed, structured environment to redefine the culture and expectations of public education, especially in urban settings among minority students. UNO currently operates one high school and eight elementary schools serving 3,700 students. Historically, UNO has focused on opening schools in communities experiencing overcrowding. The school’s location is yet to be determined.

Also, three schools were approved by the Board last year to open in fall of 2010.

They are:

• UNO Charter School, a charter school approved by the Chicago Board of Education at its September 2008 meeting, will serve grades K-8. It will offer students a structured academic and social environment to prepare them for success in high school and beyond. The school’s location is yet to be determined.
• UNO Hospitality High School, a charter school approved by the Board at their September 2008 meeting, will serve grades 9-12. Established in collaboration with the Chicago LEADS (Leading Economic Advancement, Development and Sustainability) Initiative, it will offer students a college-prep track and a career-prep track focusing on the hospitality industry. The school’s location is yet to be determined.
• Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy, a contract school approved by the Board at their October 2008 meeting, will serve grades 9-12. Also in partnership with Chicago LEADS, will offer college-prep and career-prep tracks that focus on study and careers in the health sciences. Students will have the opportunity to earn industry certification in nursing, health technology or health administration. The school’s location is yet to be determined.

Finally, eight contract schools have applied to convert their existing or planned schools to charter schools.

They are:

• Academy of Global Citizenship (Garfield Ridge)
• Catalyst Circle Rock Campus (Austin)
• Chicago Talent Development High School (West Garfield Park)
• EPIC Academy High School (South Chicago)
• Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy (Near Southwest Side)
• Rowe Elementary (West Town)
• Urban Prep Academy for Young Men (East Garfield Park)
• Urban Prep Academy for Young Men (South Shore)

A public hearing to allow for comments about the new school proposals will take place Nov. 9 at 6pm in the CPS Board Chambers, located at 125 S. Clark St., 5th floor.

Registration to speak at the hearing will be between 5:30pm and 6:30pm.

About CPS

Chicago Public Schools serves approximately 407,000 students in 666 schools. It is the nation’s third-largest school district.

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Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago Public Schools officials today joined with corporate and community partners in kicking off the city’s annual Back-to-School campaign and emphasizing the assistance that is available to CPS families during this difficult economic time.

“When school begins, it’s vitally important that every student shows up on time and ready to learn. The first day of school sets the tone for the entire year,” the Mayor said in a news conference held at Robeson High School, 6835 S. Normal Blvd.

“It’s important for the students, because they have to be in class every day in order to keep up. Any child who misses the first day of school has already fallen behind,” he said. For most CPS students, the first day of school is Tuesday, September 8. But for the increasing number of young people who attend the school system’s our year-round schools – 20 percent of total enrollment – classes begin next Tuesday, August 10.

CPS officials also unveiled their intent to use social networking tools in their back-to-school campaign this year. CPS will ask various celebrities and many of their back-to-school partners to help spread the “first day” word through use of such media as Twitter and Facebook.

“We’re excited about moving our message into the realm of these social networking media, and we believe this initiative could have implications on how school districts throughout the country increasingly will communicate with their various constituencies,” said Ron Huberman, CPS Chief Executive Officer.

Daley, together with Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott, Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman and representatives from the business, cultural and philanthropic communities, pointed out that CPS has established a network of partnerships that can serve as a helping hand for parents.

“We know that the bad economy will make it more difficult for many of our parents to afford the needed supplies, uniforms, health exams and other back to school necessities. We want to do all we can to lighten their burden, and thanks to many generous partners, we will,” the Mayor said.

Key partnerships and upcoming activities include:

• Walgreen’s will sponsor health fairs at Clemente High School on August 15 and at Manley High School on August 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At these events, students can receive free immunizations, physical and dental exams. Additionally at the health fairs, students that receive services will receive gift bags with health information and school supplies. Walgreen’s is also paying for the production and printing of the district’s 2009-10 calendars, which have become a popular source of information for CPS families and which also will include savings coupons on various items.
• Target, which is entering the second year as the official provider of elementary school uniforms for CPS students, will offer families at schools with a uniform policy a coupon worth $5 off on a uniform purchase of $30 or more. Target is further offering coupons for $1 off a $5 purchase of
• Hanes’ kids’ apparel, and $5 off a school supply purchase of $25 or more. Target’s partnership with CPS also includes the donation of 14,000 uniform pieces (shirts and slacks) for homeless district students.
• Kmart will donate 1,000 book bags and discount coupons totaling about $12,000 in value.
• The Kits for Kidz program, run by SchoolKids Incorporated, will provide school supplies for the school system’s neediest students. By visiting the organization’s Website at www.kitsforkidz.org/cps, donors can purchase grade-specific school supply kits for either $11 or $18 each.
• Feed the Children will donate 3,600 backpacks and school supplies. Chartwell Thompson will donate some $30,000 toward the purchase of almost 1,700 backpacks and school supplies.
• Bank of America will donate $25,000 for the CPS school supply drive, along with matching any employee monetary donations. Bank of America is also using its downtown corporate locations as a school supply drop-off point for its employees.
• Office Depot will donate 500 backpacks and school supplies.
• Harris Bank will donate $10,000 for the CPS school supply drive
• The Museum of Science and Industry will present every student who comes to school on the first day with a one-day pass for a family of four.

Media partners who will help get out the “back to school” message are: Channel 5, Fox 32, Radio Disney, Clear Channel, Power 92/Crawford Communications, Univision, La Ley and WVON.

“Anyone who wants to assist in this important effort can find out how to donate to the school supply drive at www.helpcps.org,” Huberman said. “This Web site contains links to purchase backpacks and supplies, and lists drop-off locations for donations. It also provides information for companies that want to do an employee drive of their own.”

Daley urged parents to take advantage of back-to-school and community festivals taking place over the next few weeks. He noted that CPS will have a presence at many events in neighborhoods throughout the city. “I am determined to make Chicago’s the best education system in the nation,” the Mayor said.

“We won’t be the best unless we raise the bar, set higher expectations and demand more from every student. It’s up to all of us – students, parents, teachers and principals – to take our schools to the next level,” he said.

About Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools serves approximately 407,000 students in 666 schools. It is the nation’s third-largest school district.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Monique Bond, 773-553-1620
Communications Officer

Mayor Daley, Chicago Public Schools Officials Kick-Off Annual Back-to-School Campaign | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.