Archive for June, 2009
Coming soon….
A post with my end-of-year thoughts about our year in CPS kindergarten. Of course it’s turning into a dissertation.
Add comment June 30, 2009
Nettelhorst to march in Gay Pride Parade
Wow, this is pretty cool. Parents from the Nettelhorst Elem School have organized to march (with their kids) in the Gay Pride Parade this year. They’ll be the first school to march in the parade.
Nettelhorst is located in Lakeview near Broadway and Belmont in the heart of Chicago’s main gay community. Parents want to show support for the community and to help their kids realize that there are families of all types.
I think it’s a cool idea. Not sure how the parents will handle explaining some of the outfits they’re likely to see there that day but hey, a parade is always a good time. I took my son to the Andersonville Midsommerfest last year and he still refers to it as the “festival where all the guys had their shirts off.”
In any case, if you’re at the parade, make sure to cheer for the kids of Nettelhorst. They’re showing support for their school community which is a great thing.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-gay-pride-parade-25-jun25,0,3925455.story
UPDATE:
A note from Jacqueline Edelberg, author of How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Rennaisance (the story of Nettelhorst’s parent-lead transformation into a highly regarded neighborhood school.) www.howtowalktoschool.com
Nettelhorst would love you to walk with us on Sunday!!
The outpouring of support and encouragement from families of all flavors has been overwhelming. So far, over 100 parents, kids, and faculty members have RSVP’ed that we will march together in the Pride Parade and send a unified message of support to our neighborhood and our families.
This is history. Nettelhorst will be the very first school ever to march in Chicago’s parade. If you haven’t read them, some recent press articles do a fabulous job describing the spirit of what we’ve done together. We should all be proud…
Tribune: Chicago school to march in Pride Parade
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-gay-pride-parade-25-jun25,0,3925455.story
Sun-Times: East Lake View school’s straight parents line up with gays
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1622677,CST-EDT-edit15a.article
If you’d like to participate:
Date: Sunday, June 28
Time: 11:00-11:30 am
Place: Line up with the groups near the front of the parade on Clark Street at Barry in the east curb lane (by CVS). We’re #17.
1 comment June 25, 2009
CPS Positions – Out with the old, in with the new — maybe you?
If you’re not familiar with how CPS hierarchy is set up, the school system is divided into “areas.” I actually have no idea how many areas there are, I just know that I live in Area 2.
Each school principal reports into an AIO officer (an Area Information Officer.) This is sort of the middle management between the Principals and downtown CPS. Anyone familiar with the business world is well aware of the middle-management concept. And in theory, it’s a great concept. Someone with experience and knowledge in education and who knows about best practice ideas helps the principals improve, grow as leaders, and strive to be their best. I’d think that a good AIO person would share ideas that are successful between the schools in their area and would encourage collaboration and communication. I’m sure there are some AIO’s who excel at this and some who don’t.
What I’ve seen as the key benefit to this system is that most principals could use some guidance. Not because they’re bad, but because they work in a vacuum of sorts. When I used to work in an office I had other people at my level to talk to, share ideas with, collaborate with, etc. A principal is like a free-floating entity who unfortunately doesn’t have another, more experienced principal in the next office to bounce ideas off of. It makes great sense to have someone help them along. The LSC’s (Local School Councils) are charged with selecting principals, renewing their contracts, and giving input in their principal’s evaluation but often don’t know much about education. I found myself in a position this past year of wanting to give my opinion about how a school should be run, but wishing someone who really knew what they were doing could advise us.
I’ve gotten the impression that the AIO staff focused a LOT on test scores. Obviously we do as parents as well, but man, it is disheartening to realize how much emphasis this gets in CPS. Yes, it’s the only objective way to measure “success,” but when I see a really good principal comment that they were thinking strategically about how to administer the test this year (what days, what times, etc) it makes me cringe. I heard another principal say that the AIO office questions why the schools can’t score as well as Decatur. Uh duh… that question doesn’t even make sense since Decatur only takes kids who test in.
So to cut to the chase, CPS has cut all the AIO positions this week. Over 1000 ( new info says 550 non-teaching positions in all) positions eliminated just like that. I believe there will be new positions created with new names and the axed staff may interview for those (gee, they must be so psyched about that!) Frankly I’m up for any major change in CPS but here is the thing that worries me: A posting on the CPS web site for a new (high-paying) Area position that emphasizes management experience more than education experience.
Position: Chief Area Officer
Salary: $119K – $170K
The CAO is responsible for increasing student outcomes and performance for an Area.
I like parts of the job description:
-Guide schools to commit to higher expectations
-The ability to inspire and motivate others
-Intelligent risk-taking
The part that’s surprising is:
Experience managing a complex organization essential
Education experience preferred
PREFERRED?! So like I could apply for this job if I’d managed a mass of people in the world of marketing research?! Weird. Scary. Exciting! Damn, I wish I had more (any) management experience I’d totally apply for that job. Is there anyone out there who could apply? Try it… I’d love to know what happens. In fact maybe I’ll send in a fake resume – all my real work experience but I’ll make up a bunch of management stuff to see if they’d call me.
So Ron Huberman isn’t an education guy. I don’t know… maybe it’s just me but I’d think he’d want people under him who are. Or maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit. Time will tell.
To see the full position description, click here:
http://www.cps-humanresources.org/Careers/Forms/6172009_Bull.pdf
11 comments June 23, 2009
Why you need to buy candy, go to auctions, and save Box Tops
More interesting information from my CPS pamphlet called “On the Same Page,” this time about school funding.
We all know from word on the street that Illinois and CPS are not exactly setting the standard for education funding.
I’m not completely sure what this means, but it doesn’t sound good: “Illinois’ state contribution to public education dropped to a new low of total funding this year, putting our state 49th out of 50 in state funding.” (Nevada is last, Hawaii is first.)
My understanding is that school districts combine the state money (where we are 49th) with city/town tax income to fund the schools. The brochure explains that cities with high property wealth, like Evanston, can generate lots of extra funding per pupil, while here in Chicago (and other urban areas) we have a lot of lower-income citizens which makes it tough. The city takes all our tax dollars, puts it into one central school pool, then divides it out equally across all students (well, lower income students get an extra $700 or so in funding each year – called the discretionary funds at a school.)
But even compared to other big cities, Chicago lags behinds. They provide the following amounts spent per pupil per year on education:
Evanston $20,040
Washington D.C. $18,332
NYC $17,209
Atlanta $14,666
Los Angeles $11,409
Chicago $10,431
Houston $9,036
I imagine that NYC and DC are paying a lot more in salaries than we do? I know LA pays fairly well and has good benefits (based on info from a friend whose husband teacher high school there.)
But I can’t help but think that if Chicago is spending $10K per kid, couldn’t we just send everybody to private school?! Seriously, there are good private schools that cost less than that per year!
Basically IL needs to kick in more. It’s shameful that we’re 49 out of 50 with only Vegas behind us. And somehow that $10K per year needs to be better utilized. And if all else fails, at least Evanston is close by. Damn, $10K more per kid a year up there! It makes me want to cry. Or move.
Add comment June 7, 2009
Still a Chance to Get “The Call”
From the comments showing up, it looks like Skinner West and other magnet schools are still calling about spots. I think my son got a spot at Stone right around this time last year.
The schools need to wait to see if people drop out or change plans so the whole process takes a while. I’m not quite sure what happens over the summer. I think it’s all on hold based on how many people seem to get calls right at the begining of the school year.
So we’ve got a week and a half of school left. Good luck to those still waiting for a call!
31 comments June 4, 2009
