Posts filed under 'CPS'
What is this Track E Business all about?
A reader suggest that I post something about the new Track E calendar that is being rolled out at a fair number of CPS schools this year.
A Track E school has the same number of days off as a regular CPS school, but the timing is different to reduce the long summer break.
The CPS web site lists the following as benefits of Track E.
- Minimizes “learning loss” for kids who otherwise would be out of school an entire summer.
- Allows teachers better time management to design more meaningful lesson plans in shorter bursts, which can contribute to enhanced instructional programming and improved student achievement.
- Minimizes teacher burnout by providing for regular and better-spaced time off.
- Provides children with a safe environment.
- Regular scheduled time off allows for better student and staff attendance.
I can’t say I’d disagree with any of these reasons. Not totally sure about the attendance thing. From what I’ve read, the plan is supposed to be more effective in addressing problems at schools with low test scores, where kids are at risk due to socio-economic and neighborhood conditions, and where parents are as involved in making sure their kids are keeping up with their academics. In these neighborhoods, schools that act in part as a community center have forged greater bonds with parents and have sometimes found more success with student achievement.
The calendar looks something like this:
- Schools starts Aug 10 (4 weeks early)
- 2 weeks + 2 days off Sept 25 – Oct 12 (total new Fall break)
- 3 weeks off Dec 14 – Jan 1 (1 extra week for Winter break)
- 2 weeks + 1 day off March 26 – April 9 (1 extra week for Spring break)
- School ends June 18 (regular end date)
So….. summer break is down to 7-8 weeks (I can’t quite figure it out. I’m missing a week somewhere.) There are still all the random days off throughout the year as well (professional development, report card days, holidays.)
Boy, I know it has its benefits and in a city like Chicago where the schools are somehow under-serving many kids it sure makes sense to try it. I just can’t stop thinking that it doesn’t make sense with our weather (we only get 3 short months of summer!) and the lack of air-conditioning in CPS schools. Starting on August 10th? Torture on a 90 degree day.
It’s also a working parent’s nightmare. Right now many parents hire a summer person (like a college student) to watch their kids during the summer months. Who do you get to cover a 3 week Winter break? Or a 2 week Fall break? The logistics are nerve-wracking if you’re the parent who has to scramble to find a sitter.
On the plus side, as a person who is crowd-averse, I’d welcome some days off when the rest of the world is still in school. It’s be nice to tour all the museums during that late Sept break. Or take a trip to Disney or the Dells.
For now, many of the schools who are trying Track E are schools with very low test scores and/or in low income areas. I did notice Prescott Elementary on the list (in a fast-gentrifying neighborhood.) I’m curious to see how the parents there like the schedule or whether teachers feel it helps the kids academically.
Anyone with thoughts, information, or feedback, please feel free to comment!
http://www.cps.edu/Calendar/Key_events/Documents/Cal_2009-2010_TrackE.pdf
19 comments August 13, 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
10 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
CPS Worries – Classroom Management
I imagine there will be more of these down the road, and maybe this first one is just a school thing and not specific to CPS, but here goes:
One thing that makes me crazy about the big classes is the time spent on classroom management. My son’s Kindergarten teacher is amazing – possibly one of the best he’ll have in CPS over the years. She knows all kinds of tricks to help prevent the kids from getting out of control and when a child has a particular problem she seems to work with the parents to set up a system that works for the child and that the parents are on board with. I’ve marveled repeatedly at how well-behaved the class is. But now that a few months have passed and the kids are buddying up, the talking and goofing off factor is growing. For the first time I was in the classroom in the mid-afternoon and the noise factor was crazy. The kids spend a good part of classroom time in centers where they sit at a table of 5-6 kids to work on a learning project. Which is how parents want it these days since the traditional all-kids-at-desks-facing-front classroom is totally frowned upon. The problem is, this system really relies on the kids teaching themselves or each other the materials. My son DOES seem to be learning a ton at school so it appears to be working, but man, it is SO hard to believe that in that loud, crazy, boisterous room they are learning math. The teacher works with one center at a time, yet has to keep her ears open for the tables that have veered off course (namely one child hogging all the dominoes and another one freaking out about it – typical 5yo behavior.)
A couple months ago I happened to be in the computer lab filing stuff while a kindergarten class was learning some basics on computer usage. The teacher was infinitely patient, but his talk was something like this “OK, let’s find the letter P. Who can find the P? OK, I need everyone to sit still and not talk. This side of the room is doing a very good job. If you get this finished you can have computer free time at the end. Did everyone find P? OK, someone over there may not get free time. Find the P. Quiet everyone. I need everyone to look at the keyboard and find the P. OK, now lets look for the B. But we need to ALL be quiet. And find the B.” This went on for a good 20 minutes and it took all the composure I had not to just blurt out “It’s PBSKids.org! Just type it in!” Or just walk around and show each kid individually which would have taken half the time. Honestly, it was torture to listen to. I have to keep reminding myself that part of being at school is learning how to act in a classroom setting and that keeping Kindergarten kids in line is like herding wild kangaroos. Or curious monkeys. Or bored cats. It just is bothersome when you think about how little times is probably spent each day on actual learning.
Today my son reported that “we didn’t do anything in art class except learn how to behave and what the rules are.” Damn, they only get art once a week. They have to spend the whole class session one week learning rules?! Its just seems like its sucking the joy out of school.
I sense that these are good teachers and I have to assume that a class of 27 kids needs a lot of “molding” so they don’t stage a rebellion, but these are the times I can’t help but be wistful for the smaller classes of a private school where I imagine that controlling the masses isn’t as big a part of the day.
5 comments January 28, 2009
New head of CPS: What the F?
For once I’m speechless. So Mayor Daley is selecting the current head of the CTA as the new head of the Chicago Public Schools. I can’t even fathom how to process this information.
If I read even one sentence tomorrow that expresses this guy’s opinion about a vision for CPS I might feel marginally better. And no, “greater efficiency” won’t count.
So who’s going to take over the CTA? The head of the Lincoln Park Zoo?
Add comment January 26, 2009
So I guess Arne really was good at his job…
Wow, so the news is out today. Arne Duncan, the CEO of the Chicago Public School system is headed to DC to be the new Secretary of Education. Of course my first thought has to be “how will that affect us?” For those who had inklings that he was doing something good here in Chicago, I guess the selection by Obama confirms that he’s impressing people at the highest level possible. It also makes me realize the benefit of sending your child to Harvard – they get to play basketball with future presidents.
I had the thrill of meeting Arne last year. For lunch. My fellow school-obsessed friend had purchased the lunch as part of a school auction and was on a mission to beg for extra funding for our neighborhood school. My significant-other advised me not to go, worrying that I would “get up on my soap-box” at some point during the lunch. Which at that point was actually pretty likely except for the fact that I would need to keep my ever-complaining mouth shut so as not to ruin our chance at begging for money.
In the end, the meeting was one of the highlights of my school-obsessed era. In addition to being totally down-to-earth and just plain nice, I couldn’t help but marvel at how much it seemed like he “got” the issues that parents have about our beloved school system. He ranted about the lack of funding and talked about how he was trying to get other superintendants to rally together to protest for more money. Nearly everything he said made we want to say “I KNOW! That is SOOO true!” like a giggling school girl. In some way he felt like my education soul mate. He got why nobody want big class sizes. He expressed the opinion about a certain “turn-around” school focusing more on their building and less on academics (I know! That IS so true Arne! I think that too!) He truly had a great appreciation for the parents who are making school improvement their personal mission. It was like having a great conversation about education, but the person you’re talking to isn’t just some random parent you run into who is willing to listen to your daily rant, but someone who can actually affect things. In a big way. Or theoretically. I also got the feeling that there were politics or bureacracy or something else here in Chicago that were preventing him from fulfilling all his ideas.
But now – there’s no stopping him. I cannot wait to see what happens in this country with Arne at the top of our education system. But again, I come back to “what about us?”
UPDATE: For all you Arne fans out there, here are a couple good articles about his appointment. If you haven’t read the book Freakonomics, I highly recommend it. There is a lot about CPS in there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/us/politics/16educ.html?scp=3&sq=arne%20duncan&st=cse
Add comment December 16, 2008
Roofs for Sale
Did you know that many CPS schools are “selling” their roof space to cell phone companies in exchange for putting up cell phone towers? Schools that are offered this opportunity can earn $24,000 per antenna, with a typical offer of up to three per school. That is some serious money for schools that are getting minimal funding from the city. Supposedly there are over 100 schools that now have cell antennas on their roofs including Bell and Bateman on the north side. The cell companies need to fill in their dead zones and schools often have the highest roof in residential neighborhoods.
The trouble, of course, is the nagging questions of whether these antennas are causing a health risk to the students and teachers who spent all day every day in the buildings. You can search the Internet until eternity and find “research” that supports both sides. The American Cancer Society says there is no theoretical reason why a cell antenna should cause health problems. But we live in reality, not theory. The antennas DO emit microwaves. The questions is whether prolonged exposure to these waves affect the human body. There has been no long term definitive study that proves either safety or danger.
So what is a school to do? Making up for $72K through fund-raising is daunting, if not impossible. But if a kid in a school gets seriously ill a couple years after the antenna goes up, who wants to be left wondering if their decision was part of the cause? On the other hand, these microwaves are in tons of products are us every day and if the phone companies don’t get their antennas on the schools, chances are they’ll find some other building nearby who is eager for the money (so the microwaves will be nearby anyhow.) Its easy to argue each side.
The guy from CPS who brokers these deals is an impressive smooth-talker but left me on the defensive based on two things from his pitch that reminded me of a late night infomercial:
- The school needed to “act quickly” so they wouldn’t lose the opportunity.
- He would provide the research about safety only after we made an official expression of interest.
Any comments are appreciated. I think only people in the city with kids in CPS can really understand a school’s desperate need for money.
Add comment October 13, 2008
Two Weeks of CPS
So…shocking as this may be for those who know me, I have no complaints yet. My son’s teacher is very sweet and good-natured, exactly they type of personality you hope for in a Kindergarten teacher. Inital chaos at the school has come under some control. My son is talking much more animatedly about school than he ever has before (mainly art, gym, computers, and science – but still.) When I emailed his teacher with some suggestions for our Open House evening, she was already on top of it all.
His enjoyment there has made the whole school-switching process more bearable for me (oh, and him too – guess that matters too.) Seems like most parents of Kindergarteners at any school say its going well, the kid is enjoying themself. I have to wonder if putting on a good Kindergarten is fairly easy. Throw in the “specials,” a snack, and some center time and you have a fun and progressive-seeming day. I was freaked out a bit when I overheard a mom near the school telling another mom that her daughter said “Kindergarten was fun – now it seems like we just sit at our desks and work all day.” Yes, I know the older they get, the more work they do. But I am SO hoping that it will continue to be made fun and engaging. I suspect THAT will be the challenge going forward.
But all in all, so far so good. With the exception of 2 comments I suspect I may not have heard had we stayed in private school:
“The first day the bathroom had a big pile of garbage. Like paper towels and used pull-ups.” Ewwwww!
“What we did in music class? Just marched in a circle the whole time.” Please tell me that is helping them learn some sort of school-related skill and was not how he’ll spend the typical music class. It could be death for his future dancing abilities.
1 comment September 15, 2008
