On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Chicago—like other major school districts—has made progress over the past decade. And compared to the city’s peers, that progress has been above average.
Why do Chicago school teachers make more than the average Chicagoan? Years on the job and advanced degrees are a big part of it. They do make more than they used to in the 1960s, but much of that gain came in a few short years.
The New York Times columnist’s infatuation with Rahm Emanuel blinds him to the realities of the strike—Karen Lewis is outfoxing the new mayor, who’s caving just like his predecessor.
The negotiations over teacher evaluations are a game of inches; Chicago teachers do better than their suburban counterparts early on, but top out lower; plenty of blame going to both Rahm Emanuel and Karen Lewis; and the labor rift within the Democratic party.
The end is nigh, but not soon enough to have class this week; how far and which way each side has moved during the negotiations; the specter of vouchers; the balance of teacher negotiations; and more
The CTU strike represents an important battle not just with the Chicago Public Schools and City Hall, but between unions and the school-reform movement as well. It’s trench warfare fought bullet-point by bullet-point.
Compared to other major cities, Chicago does a pretty good job of attracting college-educated residents. When they get married and have kids, however, the city has a problem keeping them in the school system.
A higher percentage of Chicago Public Schools graduates are enrolling in college—and a high percentage are also filing for financial aid. The two things are very closely related.
Chicago is unusual among school districts nationwide for its appointed school board, but less so among urban districts, where school board elections can be expensive and politicized. After an experiment with a hybrid model led to full mayoral control in 1995, there’s increased interest, including from some aldermen, in trying again.
Former Obama advisor Peter Orszag makes the case that all schools should dump the 3 PM school day, as Chicago is moving towards. But when Houston lengthened their school day, the biggest improvements came not just from more time, but more tutors.
