Chicago Reporter

Vol. XVI Number 1 CHICAGO SEPTEMBER 2004 INDEPENDENT REPORTING ON URBAN SCHOOLS YOU’RE HIRED! MORE CPS TEACHERS ARE BEING RECRUITED FROM PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON PUTTING CAREER- CHANGERS ON A FAST TRACK TO CERTIFICATION CHICAGO LOSES MOST TEACH FOR AMERICA TEACHERS PAGE 10 Start-up high schools reinvent the traditional model PAGE 15 CPS corners market for tutoring under No Child Left Behind PAGE 22 A Publication of the Community Renewal Society www.catalyst-chicago.org FROM THE EDITOR Chipping awayat LSCs ocal school councils—Chicago’s grand change will render many local school councils lame ducks. LSCs at schools experiment to put the power and authority on probation lose all of their decision for changing schools into the hands of making authority to the School Board. parents, teachers and community leaders— Last year, councils at 83 schools held L that status; more are likely to join their took more hits this summer. The Chicago School ranks when this year’s probation list is Development Cooperative quietly shut its doors released later this month. at the end of August after five years of recruiting “I’m agnostic on LSCs,” Duncan says. “I just want great schools. I want Veronica Anderson and supporting council members, and kids to learn to read. I want some advocating a grassroots reform agenda. competition.” However, you’re not likely to get In June, Mayor Richard M. Daley Unlike LSCs, so-called transition great neighborhood schools if you pay announced a plan to create 100 new advisory councils seat members who only lip service to the neighborhood. schools—a mix of charter, contract apply to and are chosen by the What happens when a transition advi- and small schools that are not School Board, which in turn may sory council recommends something required to seat elected councils. adopt the councils’ recommenda- that the board does not want to do? Under the Chicago School Reform tions, but is not obliged to do so. The What recourse does a community Act, councils have legal authority to first time these councils were con- have to replace a weak principal at a hire principals, and set priorities for vened was two years ago, when CPS neighborhood school that is on pro- spending discretionary funds and for first tried its close-and-reopen strat- bation? If schools are to be centers of their schools’ improvement plan. egy to jumpstart reform at two ele- their communities, shouldn’t they But the real erosion of local power mentary schools. grow out of that community? began long before this summer. It’s Grand Boulevard Federation There are still hundreds of local been a steady slide that began 10 Director Greg Washington, who was school councils that are a positive years ago when Daley took control of on one of those councils, notes the force at their respective schools. They the district. process is “much more inclusive” stand as examples of what shared Of course, Daley, Schools CEO now than it was then. The advisory responsibility for public education Arne Duncan and others who view council he sits on to help convert can produce. But that’s of little solace councils as obstacles to improving DuSable High School into small when the district’s latest stab at schools are too smart to challenge schools has reviewed proposals and school improvement ignores such contributions and continues to chip “I'm agnostic on LSCs. I just want great schools. I want kids to learn away at councils’ influence instead of welcoming them as partners. to read. I want some competition.” ABOUT US Kudos to Charles Whitaker, Schools CEO Arne Duncan the assistant professor at the Medill School of Journalism who copyedits them directly. The last public official interviewed applicants. Yet he is Catalyst Chicago in his spare time, for who committed that political blun- skeptical about what role the adviso- winning the Charles Deering der was soundly defeated. Instead, ry councils will play after the school McCormick Professor of Teaching they are using the 1995 amendments is reopened. “It’s not clear to me what Excellence Award, which recognizes to the reform act and district policies the scope of authority would be for Northwestern University faculty for to sidestep councils or replace them advisory boards,” he says. outstanding performance. with weaker substitutes that would Also affecting LSCs’ power is a gather the community’s input for recent change in the CPS accounta- schools slated to close and reopen bility policy, which raised the bar under Renaissance 2010, the 100- schools have to meet to escape being school plan. deemed failures. A side effect of that 2 Catalyst Chicago September 2004 ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION A new breed of teachers hicago schools are hiring more teachers from alternative certification programs, most of Cthem for hard-to-fill specialties such as math and special education. In exchange for picking up tuition costs, the district requires most teachers hired out of alternative programs to commit to a three-year stay. A new study will try to answer the question of whether these teachers do a better job of raising student achievement, and CPS is begin- JOE GALLO ning to track retention rates among the various Prospective teachers line up at the CPS teachers fair held in July programs. COVER STORY: PAGE 6 at McCormick Place. CPS ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS Basics on the nine programs the district has partnerships with. PAGE 9 TEACH FOR AMERICA ON HOT SEAT More than half of recruits from national program quit after two years. PAGE 10 EXPERIENCE HELPS CAREER-CHANGERS REACH MANLEY STUDENTS New teachers’ maturity, job background are pluses at West Side school. PAGE 12 NO CONSENSUS ON PROS, CONS Experts say research on alternative programs is limited and inconclusive. PAGE 14 DEPARTMENTS Notebook 4 UP CLOSE Page 15 Viewpoints 20 Four schools on new course Grants 26 Comings & Goings 28 RESEARCH Page 18 School districts often use top-down approach to improve instruction ON THE WEB UPDATES Page 22 Catalyst is going to redesign its web CPS corners tutoring market but site to make it more useful, and we runs risk of losing it all want your feedback. Go to www.catalyst-chicago.org and JASON REBLANDO New leadership shifts union focus take two minutes to complete an Summer music class keeps one new high school’s students on Board closes 8 child-parent centers, online survey. Help us help you! track to graduate in three years. See story, page 17. converts some to Head Start Catalyst Chicago September 2004 3 Q&A Notebook with ... Executive Director Greg Washington, TIMELINE Grand Boulevard Federation July 26: Tests Cut Aug. 2: Crackdown Aug. 10: More taxes Grassroots activists, parents and local school council members have To save some $6 million, Citing poor academic per- In response to a less-than- pounced on the Chicago Public students will no longer take formance at their schools, expected increase in state Schools’ Renaissance 2010 and Mid- state tests in social studies the School Board fires prin- per-pupil funding that left South plans, accusing the School or writing beginning in cipals at Cregier Multiplex, the district with a $45 mil- Board of sidestepping community 2005, state education offi- Fenger High and Bouchet lion deficit, Schools CEO input before deciding to shut down cials announce. Because the Elementary. Several others Arne Duncan announces a dozens of schools and reopen most as federal No Child Left Behind reportedly agree to quit, but 2.4 percent increase in charter or contract schools, without Act requires testing only in the board does not name school property taxes. The LSCs. Greg Washington, who was on reading, mathematics and them. Some 20 principals increase will raise $40 mil- the planning team for Mid-South, science, legislators elected are given new plans for lion, but more cuts will have talked with Consulting Editor Lorraine to stop the tests to help pay improving their schools. to be made throughout the Forte about what’s wrong—and what’s for the $154-per-pupil The leader of the local prin- year to make up the remain- right—with the board’s plans. increase in state funding for cipals’ group says principals ing $5 million. The district’s local school districts. But are being “scapegoated” total budget reaches $5 bil- Are activists satisfied with CPS’ response some education experts and criticizes the board for lion and targets more mon- to their concerns? express concern that cutting failing to inform local ey toward early childhood, They should stop implementation of the the tests will result in fewer school councils. A CPS reading and dropout pre- plans until they can engage the community resources and less class- spokesman says the actions vention. Critics later ques- more meaningfully. room time being spent on were “an employee per- tion whether the budget is the subjects. formance evaluation.” as lean as CPS claims. Arne Duncan has said there isn’t going to be a final plan for Mid-South schools. That’s bad. I and other people put a lot of ELSEWHERE time and energy into planning, and it was our textbooks, trained teachers and a safe school understanding that the outcome would be a Miami: School shakeup environment, according to the Aug. 11 Los specific plan. Now, it’s too bad it had to wait Supt. Rudy Crew plans an overhaul of 39 Angeles Times. The proposed settlement, until the community was gentrifying. But the failing schools, according to the Aug. 17 which is subject to approval by a judge, original Mid-South concept of linking hous- Miami Herald. The plan includes 10 more would require the state to spend $1 billion to ing, community development and education days in the academic calendar, an extra improve 2,400 low-performing, deteriorating is real exciting and offers a real opportunity for hour in the school day, smaller classes and schools.

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