Innovation, high expectations could boost reading
Education officials in the Obama Administration have made innovation in teaching a top priority for schools and districts that want to win their share of extra federal stimulus grants. A recent study...
View ArticlePilot program will help homeless students and their families
Tough economic times are apparently contributing to a steep increase in homelessness among CPS students: As of June 2009, CPS identified 12,512 students as homeless, an increase of almost 2,000...
View ArticleTurnaround schools keep most students
At a recent press conference on federal incentive grants meant to spark educational innovation, President Barack Obama highlighted Chicago’s turnaround schools and lauded the work done by the Academy...
View ArticleOne more problem with Chicago schools' first-day attendance claim
CPS issued a press release last week touting once again an all-time high for first- day attendance of 94.1 percent. But the release didn’t explain that the calculation included all students in...
View ArticleChicago schools brace for loss of Reading First funds
The merits of Reading First—the $1 billion per year early literacy program created under No Child Left Behind—have been the subject of national debate, but local literacy experts and officials say the...
View ArticleKeller parents win stay; overcrowding issue remains
Parents of students at Keller Gifted School just won a major fight to stay in their building in Chicago’s Mt. Greenwood area on the far Southwest Side. But local elementary schools are still stuck with...
View ArticleMcCorkle continues to fight closing
Even though Board of Education members approved the shuttering of the South Side’s McCorkle Elementary at their February meeting, staff, students and parents gathered outside the school Friday morning...
View ArticleOut-of-school program gives elementary students an extra dose of science
Intensive science, technology and engineering instruction is generally reserved for students in middle grades and higher. But this year, some CPS 1st- graders are getting a taste of these disciplines...
View ArticleChicago summer school to get a makeover
CPS is revamping its summer school program to focus more on students’ individual needs, rather than the one-size fits all approach it has previously offered. In the past, 3rd-, 6th- and 8th-grade...
View ArticleTilton and Marconi get reprieve, won't be consolidated this year
Chicago Public Schools officials announced Thursday night that district officials would not go forward with a proposal to phase out Tilton Elementary School and send its future students to Marconi...
View ArticleCPS releases new guide to bring back recess
For six years, Lynn Morton and her parent activist group POWER-PAC have fought for recess in Chicago’s elementary schools. With the release Monday of a new Chicago Public Schools guide to implementing...
View ArticleFor the Record: Schools will be able to opt out of "mandatory"...
Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard made waves when he stated during his new monthly WBEZ call-in show last week that recess would be in every Chicago elementary school by the 2012-13 school...
View ArticleFor the Record: Full-day kindergarten
Despite a huge budget deficit, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CEO Jean-Claude Brizard have boasted of committing $15 million to expand full-day kindergarten. Emanuel emphasized the point at a recent press...
View ArticleCPS announces draft criteria for school closings
Officials released the district’s long-awaited criteria for school actions this afternoon, providing a glimpse of which schools could be closed, phased out or consolidated at the end of this year....
View ArticleNew school reports show stark gaps in achievement
The marquee outside of Beidler Elementary School in East Garfield Park makes the bold statement: We are off of probation. But when parents trucked into the school last week to pick up first-quarter...
View ArticleGrades for Illinois education up slightly, but still low
Only one-third of Illinois students are proficient in reading at 3rd grade, begin high school academically on-track to graduate and leave high school ready for college, according to the latest Advance...
View ArticleAt schools, an upsurge in mental health crises
Driven largely by an increase in calls from schools, the number of calls to the state’s mental health crisis hotline for children has soared by 37 percent over the past five years to nearly 42,000...
View ArticleNew report gives mixed reviews for Illinois charters
Illinois elementary charter school students made more academic gains than students in comparable district-run schools, according to a new report from Stanford University. Latino charter students posted...
View ArticleFor the Record: Gifted education
Students who lose out in the upcoming round of selective elementary school admissions – as well as other students whose families might have never considered applying – have another option: The...
View ArticleChicago schools brace for loss of Reading First funds
The merits of Reading First—the $1 billion per year early literacy program created under No Child Left Behind—have been the subject of national debate, but local literacy experts and officials say the...
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