January/February 2009, Vol 18. No. 1
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SPECIAL EDITION Inauguration • New L.A. Leader, p.3 • College “Guarantee,” p.5 • Top Superintendent?, p. 8 • LEGISLATIVE • Economic Stimulus Package, p. 10 The Nation’s Voice for Urban Education January/February 2009 Vol. 18, No. 1 www.cgcs.org Magazine Ranks New Education Urban Schools Among Secretary Expected Nation’s Best To Address Thirty-three schools in 21 urban dis- tricts represented by the Council of the Urban Educators Great City Schools rank among the top 100 high schools in the nation, the Urban Virtually every March, the U.S. secre- Educator found in a review of the recent tary of education pays the nation’s urban U.S. News & World Report’s second annual education leaders a visit at the Council of ranking of “America’s Best High Schools.” the Great City Schools’ Annual Legisla- In December 2007, when the news- tive/Policy Conference. magazine released its first-ever ranking, 33 This year’s conference, March 14-17, schools in 17 urban school districts in the should be no exception, as Secretary Arne Council made the Gold Medal list. Four Duncan, formerly CEO of Chicago Public ‘Real Change’ more Council districts made the top-100 Schools, is expected to address his former cut among more than 21,000 public high urban education colleagues. Obama Portrait schools in 48 states analyzed in the maga- Education priorities of the new Obama zine’s recent 2008 rankings. Administration will be front and center in With more than 4,000 coins, J.C. The highest ranking big-city school is discussions at the conference to be held at Lenochan, an art teacher in New Jer- Design and Architectural Senior High in the Washington Marriott Hotel. sey’s Newark Public Schools, created Miami – the fifth best among the nation’s Reauthorization of the No Child Left “Real Change,” a portrait of President 100 top high schools, moving up from Behind Act will also take center stage. Barack Obama based on Obama’s call eighth place earlier. for change. “I saw the coins not only as Other urban schools in the Council Education Secretary continued on page 9 a metaphor for ‘real change’ but also as that ranked in the top 20 of the 100 Gold metal armor to protect him from the Medal Schools are: sicknesses of racism,” said the artist, whose work has been exhibited in New Academic Magnet High School York, Los Angeles and Europe. in North Charleston, S.C., No. 9; Benjamin Franklin Senior High in New Orleans, No. 16; Inaugural Highlights Early College at Guilford in Urban school students around the na- Greensboro, N.C., No. 17; and tion and the Council of the Great City Schools celebrated the inauguration of As CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan participated President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. See in a Council of the Great City Schools town hall meeting in pages 4-7. Magazine Ranks continued on page 3 October before being selected U.S. secretary of education. INSIDE THE COUNCIL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 Urban Educators Win Surprise $25,000 Milken Awards In October, Cheryl Watkins, the In addition to Watkins, teachers in Chi- principal of Chicago’s John J. Pershing cago, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, West Magnet School, invited her stu- Shreveport, St. Paul, Omaha, Wichita, dents, staff and local education officials Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., and Clark such as Chicago Public Schools CEO County (Las Vegas) also received awards. Arne Duncan to a special school-wide Two teachers in the Los Angeles Unified assembly she had organized to discuss School District and two from Chicago her school’s academic progress. Public Schools received awards. But during the assembly, the real Watkins has been the principal of Per- purpose of Duncan’s visit was revealed: shing West Magnet School since it opened Then-Chicago Schools CEO Arne Duncan congratulates to present an unsuspecting Watkins its doors in 2005, as part of Renaissance Cheryl Watkins, the principal of John J. Pershing West with a $25,000 Milken National Edu- 2010, an initiative by Chicago Mayor Magnet School in Chicago, for receiving a Milken National cator Award for furthering excellence Richard Daley to create more high qual- Educator Award. Photo Credit: Milken Family Foundation in education. ity schools. Under the No Child Left Behind Sponsored by the Milken Family law, the school has achieved adequate year- mended for the award by a blue-ribbon Foundation, the award honors outstand- ly progress every year. panel appointed by each state’s depart- ing elementary and secondary school “I have an amazing faculty and staff,” ment of education and must have dem- teachers, principals and other educa- said a shocked and tearful Watkins as she onstrated exceptional educational talent, tion professionals at schools across the accepted her award. exemplary educational accomplishments nation. Known as the “Oscars of teach- The Milken Educator Awards were and an engaging and inspiring presence ing” by Teaching Magazine, this year established in 1985 to recognize the im- that motivates students, colleagues and 70 elementary educators received the portance of outstanding educators and en- the community. award, which alternates yearly between courage talented young people to enter the Since its inception, the Milken Edu- elementary and secondary educators. teaching profession. Recipients are recom- cator award program has awarded $60 million to more than 2,300 educators. Executive Director Editor Associate Editor Michael Casserly Henry Duvall Tonya Harris [email protected] [email protected] Council officers A newsletter published by the Council of the Great City Schools, representing 67 of the nation’s largest urban public school districts. Chair William Isler Albuquerque Chicago East Baton Rouge Los Angeles Oakland Sacramento Board Member, Pittsburgh Anchorage Christina Fort Worth Louisville Oklahoma City St. Louis Chair-elect Atlanta Cincinnati Fresno Memphis Omaha St. Paul Carol Johnson Austin Clark Co. Greensboro Miami-Dade Orange Co. Salt Lake City Superintendent, Boston Baltimore Cleveland Houston Milwaukee Palm Beach San Diego Birmingham Columbus Indianapolis Minneapolis Philadelphia San Francisco Secretary-Treasurer Boston Dallas Jackson Nashville Pittsburgh Seattle Dilafruz Williams Broward Co. Dayton Jacksonville Newark Portland Shreveport Board Member, Portland, Ore. Buffalo Denver Kansas City New Orleans Providence Tampa Charleston Des Moines Little Rock New York City Richmond Toledo Charlotte Detroit Long Beach Norfolk Rochester Washington DC Wichita All news items should be submitted to: Urban Educator Council of the Great City Schools 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 702 • Washington, DC 20004 (202) 393-2427 • (202) 393-2400 (fax) 2 | URBAN EDUCATOR URBAN EDUCATOR | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 INSIDE THE COUNCIL L.A., Chicago and Nashville Select New Leaders Denver Superintendent Ramon Cortines has served as the su- (CTA) President Ron Huberman as CEO perintendent of the nation’s largest school of Chicago Public Schools. Now U.S. Senator district—New York City—as well as led He succeeds Arne Duncan, President several city school districts in California. Obama’s choice to serve as the U.S. secre- His experience is tary of education after Duncan led Chicago The U.S. Senate begins the new year one of the reasons Public Schools for the past seven years. with a number of new faces, but only one of the veteran educa- those new senators has operated an urban tor was recently Nashville Names New Chief school district with 75,000 students, 152 selected to take schools and 13,000 employees. the reins of the Also selecting a new leader recently was Michael Bennet, the superintendent of Los Angeles Uni- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools in Denver Public Schools, was recently ap- fied School Dis- Tennessee, which named an educator with pointed by Gov. Bill Ritter to serve in the trict. experience in reforming urban schools to U.S. Senate. Bennet replaces Ken Salazar, Cortines is no lead the 75,000-student school system. who was appointed by President Barack stranger to the Jesse Register was named the district’s Obama to serve as his secretary of interior. Ramon Cortines nation’s second new director of schools, replacing interim Bennet has been the superintendent of largest school sys- director Chris Henson. the Denver school system since 2005 and tem, having served as senior deputy super- Before coming to Nashville, Register under his tenure, full-day kindergarten intendent in helping manage the district’s served as senior adviser for district lead- programs have expanded and teachers who finances. And in 2000, he served as interim ership for the An- have improved student achievement or superintendent for seven months. nenberg Institute work in high-poverty schools have received Cortines succeeds David Brewer, who for School Reform higher salaries. In addition, voters in No- had been at the helm of the 688,000-stu- at Brown Uni- vember passed a $454 million bond issue, dent school system for two years. versity, consulting the largest bond measure ever approved for In the nation’s third largest school sys- with school leaders the school district. tem, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley re- across the nation In the Washington Post, Obama praised cently selected Chicago Transit Authority on issues such as the selection of Bennet as an “excellent high school reform choice” and someone who “has shown him- and improving ur- self willing to challenge old thinking and Magazine Ranks continued from page 1 ban education. stale policies.” Bennet plans to run for a full Jesse Register “My goal as di- term in 2010 when his Senate seat expires. School of Science & Engineering in rector will be to help Dallas, No. 18 develop the potential that exists in the dis- New Leader Named trict and the community,” said Register. “I U.S. News & World Report reviewed the think with some time, hard work, a unified S u c c e e d - performance of high schools with a three- and common vision and an intense focus ing Bennet as step formula to determine rankings.