Comments on: New Race Balance at Selective Enrollment/Magnet Schools

By: @Christine

@Christine — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:47:15 +0000

If you are South then Burnside elementary has a CGP which really is a program for parents whose children are on grade level and whose parents are involved. The curriculum really isn’s accelerated, it is on grade level per a parent whose child attends the school. In fact, my child sho attends a great magnet school on the south side did better than her child on the ISAT and she seemed upset about it. This is the reason she began investigating the curriculum. She quizzed me on what my child was studying and found out they were studying the same topic. I told her just go home and look at the books and sure enough (this was last year) both boys were in 5th grade and the books were on a fifth grade level. The CGP’s book were not a grade level above!

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 03:27:52 +0000

What other schools would the point that #58 makes be applicable? We’re near South. Any in this area?

By: curious

curious — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:12:50 +0000

Good point – that is the case, for example, at Bateman elementary close to where I live

By: Hawthorne mom

Hawthorne mom — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:29:51 +0000

I agree that every school needs to offer an accelerated track. But, here’s the thing. There are a number of schools which offer a comprehensive gifted program. I can think of three that I have observed firsthand. Those schools have so many “regular kids” who are so incredibly far behind, that while, yes, the “gifted” room is ahead of them, the gifted room is really only operating at actual grade level. Not above grade level.

Not all cgp’s are like this, but some are. It is worth some very serious investigating if choosing a school because it has a comprehensive gifted program or an accelerated track. CGP’s need to truly be accelerated by a year or more. Otherwise, it is misleading to say that they are accelerated.

By: Mayfair Dad

Mayfair Dad — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:43:43 +0000

@ RL Julia. In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be magnet schools because every child could walk to an excellent neighborhood school down the street and receive a first-class education. (I wonder how many posters on this blog remember what the original intent of magnet schools were? Hint: not yuppie designer label upgrade schools for Buffy & Jody) That being said, many people I know pull their kids out of an otherwise acceptable neighborhood school and try for magnets or opt for Catholic schools for one recurring reason: no gifted track offered. Gifted or accelerated track should be mandatory, like ESL and Special Ed, with fed funding behind it. This is a major flaw of most neighborhood schools – they offer nothing to stimulate the bright, college-bound student because the teachers’ energies are devoted to kids who can’t keep up and kids who can’t speak English. Smart kids get bored and start acting up in class. Gifted track would solve this. Full disclosure: my kids are in a gifted program and at a magnet school for this very reason.

By: curious

curious — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:26:05 +0000

Makes perfect sense to me. Lets add more idependently run schools to the mix instead of making what we have into an acceptable alternative. The attraction to selective enrollment is that a specified academic level and testing are required. Imagine a school filled with students who want to learn – which is what everyone is scambling for in the few schools that offer this. The selective enrollment format needs to be carried over to more of the existing CPS schools that we have so that more of those qualifed 13,000 candidates have a real choice. CPS is losing top students to private schools and the suburbs because of this leaving the worst students to populate the neighborhood schools.

By: RL Julia

RL Julia — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:02:19 +0000

Mayfair dad – totally agree. What’s your take on Elementary education?

By: Mayfair Dad

Mayfair Dad — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:22:06 +0000

Ogden International, Alcott Liberal Arts and Chicago Performing Arts belong on the list, too. OK, now we’re up to 15.

By: Mayfair Dad

Mayfair Dad — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:51:31 +0000

Point # 1.

Suppose you asked a blue-ribbon panel of internationally acclaimed pastry chefs to create the recipe for the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookies. Now suppose when you set out to make the cookies, you used 10-year old rotten eggs instead of fresh eggs. Crappy cookies, right?

10-year old Census information is rotten eggs.

Point # 2.

It is abundantly obvious to anyone involved with high school education in Chicago that there is a dire need for more seats at academically rigorous high schools. The gap in quality between the neighborhood high schools (50% drop out rate) and the SE high schools is vast. Just to be fair, lets add Von Stueben Scholars Program, Agricultural Magnet, Lincoln Park IB , maybe 1 or 2 more I’m not aware of into the mix. So maybe a dozen acceptable public high schools in a city the size of Chicago? Fear not, gentle taxpayer, Mayor Daley has a solution: more CHARTER high schools.

By: RL Julia

RL Julia — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:13:53 +0000

Can relate. Been there.