Last year, a bill aimed at giving families in the worst performing Chicago schools a better opportunity failed in the Illinois House. This year, its back.
Despite the $700 million budget deficit Chicago Public Schools is facing, fourteen Chicago public school teachers went on an all-expense paid trip to a Las Vegas resort and spa for a conference last year.
According to a Renaissance Schools Fund and Richard Day Research poll, Chicago's charter school parents report overwhelming satisfaction with the quality of their children's education.
by Collin Hitt Some big efforts were begun by Ron Huberman during his time as CEO of Chicago Public Schools. The Trib editors encouraged his replacement Terry Mazany to keep shouldering those boulders uphill. I would agree, especially with this one: “There’s a boulder labeled Extending The School Day. Huberman started pilot programs to give...
By Collin Hitt Greg Hinz reports that Mayor Daley has officially named the replacement for the outgoing Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman. The new schools CEO – and probably the last of the Daley administration – is Terry Mazany from the Chicago Community Trust, who will serve in an interim role until the city’s next mayor...
Fact: The percentage of students who transfer out of charter schools is roughly half that of the neighborhood public schools which charter students would likely otherwise attend. Charter schools are a new kind of public school, attended solely by choice. They must take all comers, irrespective of past performance in school or on tests. Through...
by Collin Hitt Chicago mayoral hopeful Gery Chico says that he’d be interested in bringing Paul Vallas back to run the city’s public school system. Chico mentioned the possibility to Chicago Magazine columnist Carol Thelsenthal, who had floated the idea of bringing Michelle Rhee from Washington, D.C. to Chicago. I asked announced mayoral candidate Gery Chico, a...
Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...