Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2011 The 1995 Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act and the Cps Ceo: A Historical Examination of the Adminstration of Ceos Paul Vallas and Arne Duncan Leviis Haney Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons Recommended Citation Haney, Leviis, "The 1995 Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act and the Cps Ceo: A Historical Examination of the Adminstration of Ceos Paul Vallas and Arne Duncan" (2011). Dissertations. 62. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/62 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2011 Leviis Haney LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO THE 1995 CHICAGO SCHOOL REFORM AMENDATORY ACT AND THE CPS CEO: A HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF CEOS PAUL VALLAS AND ARNE DUNCAN A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION BY LEVIIS A. HANEY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAY 2011 Copyright by LeViis A. Haney, 2011 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my mom, Leark A. Haney, for providing me such a great foundation by which to grow personally, professionally and educationally, passing along the gift of your intellect, and teaching me what true leadership is all about. Thanks for your unwavering support; I could not have completed this work without you! I would also like to thank two dear friends, Terrence Porche and Victoria Cox, who were of immense support during this process. Terrence, I appreciate all the conversations we had throughout the process, and our long friendship altogether. Victoria, your support throughout this process made it possible for me to stay focused on the task at hand. To my other good friends, Chris, Andy, Nick, Reese and others, thanks for still being my friend! I also would like to thank Loyola colleague and friend, Joseph Schumacher for his support, encouragement, and friendship throughout the dissertation process. It was really helpful being able to discuss issues and barriers and celebrate victories together! Finally, I must acknowledge the greatest dissertation committee in the world: Dr. Marla Israel, Dr. Shawn L. Jackson, and chairperson, Dr. Janis Fine. Dr. Israel, you have been an inspiration to me of what leadership should be, and I appreciate your support as well as your assistance in kick-starting my topic selection process. Dr. Jackson, you were not just a great boss and mentor, but also a friend. There is not enough room on this page iii to thank you sufficiently. Dr. Fine, you are the example of a transformational leader. Your remarkable guidance in preparing me for the dissertation process and throughout is a true example of your gift as an exemplary educator. Thank you all dearly. I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my grandfather, the late James Martin. Martin, you will never know the tremendous impact you had on my life and my development as a man. Thanks for letting me follow you everywhere. Thanks for letting me hang off your arms and arm wrestling with me. I appreciate all the fun games we would play all day long. I love you, and I’ll never forget you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................iii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 1 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................... 1 Background to the Study......................................................................................... 4 Significance of the Study........................................................................................ 9 Research Questions............................................................................................... 12 Proposed Methodology......................................................................................... 13 Limitations of the Study........................................................................................ 15 Biases of Researcher............................................................................................. 16 Proposed Chapters................................................................................................ 17 Key Terms............................................................................................................. 20 CHAPTER II: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF MAYORAL CONTROL OF SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES........................................................................... 26 Introduction........................................................................................................... 26 Extent of Mayoral Control.................................................................................... 28 Major Cities With a Significant Extent of Mayoral Control of Schools............... 29 Smaller Cities With a Significant Extent of Mayoral Control of Schools............ 29 Cities With Lesser Degrees of Mayoral Control................................................... 30 Cities in Which Mayoral Control Has Largely Taken Hold................................. 31 Boston ....................................................................................................... 31 Baltimore................................................................................................... 41 Cleveland .................................................................................................. 48 New York.................................................................................................. 57 Washington, D.C. .....................................................................................65 Chicago ..................................................................................................... 72 Jim Edgar, Mayor Daley and the Corporate CEO ................................................ 89 Why a CEO for Schools? ......................................................................... 89 The Corporate CEO.................................................................................. 90 The CPS CEO........................................................................................... 92 CHAPTER III: PAUL VALLAS: CPS’ FIRST CEO ...................................................... 97 Background........................................................................................................... 97 Early Cost Cutting Measures .............................................................................. 101 Balancing the Budget.......................................................................................... 105 Early Initiatives................................................................................................... 108 CPS Sports.............................................................................................. 108 School Overcrowding............................................................................. 113 School Remediation................................................................................ 115 Changing the Principal Selection Process............................................... 120 v Ending Social Promotion ........................................................................ 121 Truancy Program.................................................................................... 123 First School Year, Progress Made, More Progress Needed................................ 124 School Safety Concerns ...................................................................................... 126 Character Education and Service Learning......................................................... 128 Modified Magnet School Plan ............................................................................ 130 Victory at Springfield ......................................................................................... 131 Business as Usual................................................................................................ 132 Daley and Vallas Display First Signs of Public Disagreement........................... 135 Vallas Continues to Speak .................................................................................. 136 Vallas Seeks Final Approval in Firing Principals............................................... 139 Tension With Board President Emerges............................................................. 140 Other Notable Events 1999–2000....................................................................... 141 Vallas and Daley Bump Heads Again ................................................................ 143 The End of the Tenure of Paul Vallas................................................................. 144 CHAPTER IV: ARNE DUNCAN AND THE NEW WAVE OF REFORM................. 149 Background........................................................................................................