Posts filed under 'Uncategorized'
When “bad” schools close
I can’t find the link, but I was just reading today about a couple schools out East somewhere (Maine maybe?) A quick search of the Internet revealed a ton of links to schools closing and people protesting.
In this case, the school was severely underperforming and had a very low graduation rate. Similar to what we see in Chicago in many high schools. The state decided to close the school and re-open with teachers having to interview. So in theory, they’re saying “something isn’t working and we have to start fresh.” Same plan as in Chicago in a few schools.
So in this school, the entire community is mad as hell and protesting the re-inventing process. They say the teachers were wonderful and caring and inspiring. It sounds like they were. Yet the kids are all reading at levels WAY below state standards and generally don’t seem to be ready to enter the world after high school.
Why do people want to keep their underperforming schools as is? Am I nuts to place a value on academics and not just nicey-nicey behavior?
A similar thing supposedly happened at Prescott. The principal took a “no-nonsense” approach to shaping up the school, which drew ire from the teachers and families who’d been around for a while and loved their school despite underperformance. I loved the quote from someone in a story about Prescott who said something like “the tragedy isn’t what is happening NOW, it’s that the school was allowed to operate so long with poor performance!”
Why is it that more families aren’t outraged about the low test scores, etc in these schools, but are outraged when they’re shut down or changed significantly?
I mean I “get it”, but then I also don’t get it.
Add comment March 12, 2010
Trying to figure out what happened with SE High Schools
Can we discuss why the Tier system has had such an imapt (assuming it has) on the SE admissions process?
From what people are saying, kids in the upper Tiers (3-4? Just 4?) who had the grades/scores to get into an SE High School last year, aren’t getting spots this year. So the higher socio-economic background kids are having to compete against each other more directly, with more getting pushed out.
So it sounds like in the past, more lower-socio-econ kids were getting pushed out, due to lower scores. If this is true, then why is CPS scrambling to get kids from low-performing kids into the top schools?
If speculation is correct, the SE schools ended up looking a little too “rich”/white so CPS needed to balance it out.
Oh, why can’t they just publish the numbers for geeks like me? Need to understand…..
8 comments March 8, 2010
Wah! Even the suburbs may not be a great option anymore…
Thanks to Hopeful for sending in this depressing link… 
Really, I feel very badly for teachers who get laid off. It’s not like there’s a ton of other professions where you can easily transfer your skills, right?
Well guys, this is going to be an interesting month for CPS this month, between budget cuts and the 4-Tier system for assigning magnet and gifted/classical spots.
Illinois Schools Chief: 13,500 Layoffs Likely At Schools
March 4, 2010 by admin
Filed under Broadcasts, Governor, State News
SPRINGFIELD – The latest warning from Springfield to local schools across Illinois is to get the pink slips ready.
Illinois State Superintendent Christopher Koch told lawmakers at the statehouse Thursday that the state’s 12-billion dollar budget deficit will likely force local schools across the state to lay off thousands of teachers, administrators, and other workers.
30410Koch1 :15 …in school buildings.”
Koch says if he is ordered to take a budget cut, or is included in Governor Pat Quinn’s 1-point-5 billion dollars in education cuts, the number of layoffs will only grow.
Rockford Democrat Chuck Jefferson says that cannot be allowed to happen. He hopes the legislature does something, and soon.
30410Jefferson1 :14 …number might be.”
Lawmakers have talked about immediate budget cuts, but both Jefferson and Koch say there’s no way a local school could trim anything from its budget before classes let-out in June.
Governor Quinn will deliver his budget proposal next Wednesday.
3 comments March 7, 2010
The Selective Enrollment numbers
For those who haven’t seen it yet, here’s the talkworthy link from the District 299 Blog that reveals the test score distribution by Tier for the Selective Enrollment High Schools.
As you also may have read, CPS has decided to open 25 spots at each of 4 top high schools for kids at “failing” elementary schools. The top-performing kids at these schools have been invited to apply for the spots. Speculation is that the new Tier system ended up with too many whiteys in the top high schools.
One of the first things that surprised me was the narrow range between the average score (out of 1000 based on 7th grade grades, admission test, attendance) by Tier that gained admission. At Northside, the Tier 4 kids had an average score of 888 while the Tier 1 kids had 868. Maybe in reality that does give the Tier 1 kids a big advantage. But it’s good to see they aren’t exactly letting slackers into the school. Whitney Young has a wider spread of 836-869.
As I face a possible housing move in the upcoming year, I can’t help but think that if Ireside in a Tier 1 neighborhood, my son has an immediate 20-30 point advantage the year he applies to high schools. I would like to move to his neighborhood school area. Tier 4. Disadvantage. I’m thinking of living in a mobile home so I can move as needed for the best application strategy.
Let me know what you think of these number.
I don’t necessarily see the SE thing as a debacle. I’m OK that CPS is doing some experimenting and I’m also in favor of helping kids who are excelling despite being in schools/neighborhoods where the odds are against them. I would LOVE to see some follow-up stories on these kids over the next few years to see how they’re faring in the high schools and what they do beyond high school.
21 comments March 5, 2010
Source for info on cutting gifted/magnet/classical programs
OK, before my son gets totally blacklisted from the SE high schools (probably too late for that,) here’s the article that got me wondering about the gifted/magnet program below. Speculation is that Huberman is talking about this as a last resort situation. But truly, I cannot blame him. These are serious times. We’re living above our means (both CPS and the city of Chicago as a whole.) Something’s gotta give. It’s just reality, people.
Huberman sounds school budget alarm; confirms 500 more layoffs Posted By Sarah Karp On Thursday, February 25, 2010
In CPS Administration
No stranger to doomsday budget predictions, CEO Ron Huberman issued a big one Thursday, saying that the state’s huge shortfall announced Wednesday will trickle down to the district’s deficit, bringing it to nearly a billion dollars next school year.
To prove that they are “fiscally responsible,” CPS officials said will layoff 500 more central office and citywide staff over the next two weeks and force those remaining to take an additional three weeks unpaid leave, bringing their furlough days to more than a month. District officials refused to say which positions were going to be cut as they haven’t been finalized and the staff not yet informed.
In return, Huberman wants state lawmakers to provide more money, either by prioritizing current funds or passing a tax increase. He also wants legislators to alter the law that specifies what CPS must pay into the teachers’ pension fund. This year’s obligation is $500-plus million. Huberman several changes could reduce that amount by $300 million.
But this will be an incredibly difficult year to get more money or concessions from state lawmakers or Chicago union leaders, all in the midst of running for re-election.
Huberman said he will be heading down to Springfield as early as next week to press his point. But Gov. Pat Quinn and House Speaker Mike Madigan have already said they aren’t going for a tax increase this year.
And late Thursday CTU Union President Marilyn Stewart began pushing back.
“I want to make it clear that we will not agree to any proposal that either destroys our contract or fails to maintain the integrity of our pension system,” she said in a statement. “Nor will we tolerate the implied threats being made by Mr. Huberman that he may have to cut programs and services for our students or lay off teachers.”
Huberman can force the union back to the bargaining table by declaring a fiscal emergency, but chief labor relations officer Rachel Resnick stressed that district officials would like the union to willingly come to the table.
Huberman emphasized that all the things he outlined Thursday need to happen in order for the district to balance its budget, which is required by state law.
“We are talking and, not or,” he said.
If Huberman doesn’t get everything he wants, he warned he will be forced to take drastic actions. He would not say what big items he would target in a worst-case scenario.
But he displayed a breakdown of how much the district would save by increasing class sizes and how much it would save by doing away with specific programs. Among the areas he highlighted: $49 million for gifted and magnet schools, $11 million for after-school programs and $89 million by closing 100 schools and opening no new charter or turnaround schools.
“I am not saying we will cut these specific programs,” Huberman said. “But all that is left is class sizes and programs. This is incredibly serious.”
Huberman has been dealing with severe budget issues since he was appointed to the helm last January. Coming into the 2009-2010 school year, he promised to trim the budget by $160 million.
This summer, he laid off 536 central office and citywide employees. By mid-year, over the last couple of weeks, he said he carried out another $64 million. How he did this is unclear. (CPS officials promised to provide details by the end of the business day Thursday, but did not.)
Now, Huberman says he will layoff another 500 people at a savings of about $25 million. District officials said this move showed that central administration was willing to sacrifice for the greater good.
“We are not just cutting the fat,” said Alicia Winckler, chief of human capital. “We don’t have 500 extra people. These are not people in schools, but people in the schools will be impacted.”
3 comments March 4, 2010
Short break from obsessing – school lunch comedy
A reader sent me the following link to a blog that features photos of school lunches around the world.
I have only had glimpses of the CPS lunches, but I think I can state quite definitively that they’re the worst of all of these.
http://whatsforschoollunch.blogspot.com/
The blog also reminded me of one of my favorite lists from McSweeney’s:
TWO LIST OF COMPLAINTS
1. Complaints My Middle-School Students in Korea Had About Our School’s Food.
“The rice is cold.”
“The kimchi is dry.”
2. Complaints American Middle-School Students Would Have If They Were Served Korean Food.
“There’s an entire fish in my soup.”
“The fish in my soup still has eyes.”
“The fish in my soup with eyes is full of fish eggs.”
“What is this?”
“They made me eat off a metal tray with chopsticks.”
“I was served a vertebra.”
“This salad is clearly made from the bush in the front of the school.”
“I told you last week I don’t like fish eggs!”
“The menu says we’re having chicken anus for lunch.”
“The live baby octopus you served me stuck to my throat and died.”
“There wasn’t any pizza.”
“This is dog meat.”
“It’s too spicy.”
“The rice is cold.”
“The kimchi is dry.”
More lists here if you like that sort of stuff….
http://mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/
1 comment March 3, 2010
Will budget cuts axe the Gifted/Classical/Magnet progams?
So the big panic now is the massive budget problems plaguing CPS. I’ve said already that I’d never want Huberman’s job. It’s hard enough trying to educate an inner-city student base when the state of IL kicks in very little to help out. Now he has to do it with almost a billion dollars less than we’re spending right now.
I won’t go into the gory details, mainly because it gives me a headache and makes me want to start perusing the suburb real estate listings.
But, one of the threats is to eliminate the gifted/classical programs and magnet schools to save many millions.
The thing I don’t get about this possible solutions is the following: It’s not like by eliminating these programs the kids in them just disappear! I mean they’ll just resurface at their neighborhood schools where CPS will STILL have to pay to educate them! Right?!
Does it cost a lot more to educate kids in the gifted/classical/magnet programs than in other schools? I know these schools get full day Kindergarten for “free” from CPS, while neighborhood schools do not. Gifted and classical schools get a foreign language, which costs more. I supposed gifted/classical teachers get some extra training. I wouldn’t think that magnet teachers do. These schools tend to have full classes, which makes them more efficient than many neighborhood schools. Of course bussing is a big cost.
So it seems like it would just result in a “re-allocation” of kids. Not a reduction of any sort. I can see addressing those extra costs I mentioned, which would actually make things more fair. But I’m not seeing how full-on elimination is going to help.
Frankly, I’ve talked to people about how getting rid of these “enablers” would force more parents to support their neighborhood school which wouldn’t be entirely bad.
My God, what would I obsess about then?!
22 comments March 2, 2010
The gifted/classical ranking process
A commenter asked about the ranking process on the Gifted/Classical test forms and how kids are assigned to schools. Here’s my impression and best explanation. Feel free to add input or stories…
The GEAP offices ranks all the kids by test score, from highest to lowest. There is a separate list for gifted and for classical test scores.
They go down the list from the top and assign each child their top choice of school. If their top choice is full, they get assigned to their #2 choice, or #3 choice, and so on. (that includes the Gifted and Classical schools all in one pool.)
In the past, for the North side, Edison was usually the top choice since it was the only Northside program that started in Kindergarten (now there is Edison and Coonley.)
So say you had a kid who scored well, but not outstanding. If you put down a full 6 schools, you probably would have gotten into Pritzker or the old Skinner.
Then, as families turn down seats, GEAP continues down the list, calling the next highest child who picked that school. So say a seat opens at Edison in April because a family decided to go to private school – GEAP will call the next child on the list who has a test score and is NOT currently assigned to another gifted/classical program.
So the GOOD news is that you can rank your choices in order of true preference. The system efficiently will assign your child a seat in your top choices as one comes open.
The CHALLENGE is when you get a spot at, say, your 5th choice. Do you take the spot so your child is guaranteed something? If you do, you WON’T get called if something opens at your top choice (or your 2nd, 3rd, etc.) You have to turn down a spot to be called for another program. It can feel risky turning down something that is in-hand. I know of a family who stuck to their guns in turning down 2 decent programs, only through amazing luck of the universe ended up getting 2 children into the same Classical school in the same year. That is a feat that is hard to duplicate!
So my advice is to tour as many as you can and rank them in your true preference. There’s really no “gaming” the system or anything. Although I suppose taking social-econ factors into account might help, although it is harder to figure out than race. For instance at Coonley, despite the best efforts there are very few minority kids in the gifted program. A minority family (and likely a Tier 1-2 family) would have a better shot there, I’d imagine than in a different program. A look at the school demos might help there, but of course you have to be willing to drive anywhere in the city to get to that school.
One thing I’d add is that it is worth including at least one of each school (gifted/classical) on your list even if you don’t think any would work out. The year my son started, some people didn’t choose a gifted school since there were none nearby, then at the last minute they opened Coonley. People who hadn’t tested their child and picked a gifted school didn’t get the chance for entry that year. I doubt in this financial environment, CPS is opening any new programs soon, but you never know!
EDIT: what makes this all the more difficult this year is the 4-tiered socio-econ groups. In the past, there were actually 2 lists for gifted and classical; caucasian and non-caucasian. Now there will be FOUR lists — one for each tier. So I believe the first 40% of spots per class will be assigned straight off the top of the list (no regard for tier.) Then the next 60% of spots will use the 4 lists to assign spaces. The complication could be mind boggling.
6 comments March 1, 2010
Lice again
Sorry I’ve been late with approving comments. Lice have swept through my son’s 1st grade class, jumping from head to head and plunging parents into a frenzy of emails and nerdy lice-product researching and testing.
I would love to see a slow motion video of how these creatures make the jump from head to head. Do they see a human head coming in and start preparing like “Get ready to jump ship!” ?
Honestly, I am almost ready to just give up and live with the little buggers in itchy harmony. The combing, the washing, the picking. Hours a day of that could be spent wasting in front of the TV or computer!
My current dilemma is what to do about my son’s blue blankie that he sleeps with every night. It is a ball of string that is one vigorous wash cycle away from falling apart. I’m wondering whether I can microwave this every night to kill any offending creatures?
Oh, and a P.S. – If you’re the guy I was sitting next to on the Metra train today, talking about my blog (yes, I randomly accost strangers and direct them to CPSObsessed.com,) don’t worry, my head is clear.
3 comments February 25, 2010
Prescott 2nd chance
Thanks to 2 readers who posted this news about Prescott tonight. Wow, I’m actually surprised…sounded like a done deal. I’m impressed that CPS recognizes the schools where parents are working to grow enrollment (basically free marketing and labor for CPS!) I just wish CPS didn’t have to make everyone go through such agony to reach final consensus! Jeez! I’m sure now the Alcott people feel jerked around….
Post 1:
hey hey!! 299 just reported:
Last Minute Reprieve For Prescott and Marconi
“Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman announced today that he is removing William H. Prescott Elementary School, 1632 W. Wrightwood, from the school actions list that is to be submitted to the Chicago Board of Education tomorrow, Huberman also said he is also suspending a proposal regarding the consolidation of Guglielmo Marconi Elementary School, 230 N Kolmar.
“Huberman said CPS officials have received substantial input from the Prescott School community regarding plans to increase the school’s enrollment for the next school year. Prescott was proposed for closing because of under-enrollment. The school has less than 200 students and a design capacity to accommodate 600.
“The school community at Prescott has put forth a variety of plans on how they would improve enrollment, and we are going to give them the opportunity to do that,” Huberman said. The success of those efforts will be reviewed this fall, he said.
well what do you know. He kept Hamilton open too…..GOOD FOR HIM!!!!!!
As a parent who was majorly invested (and still am) in helping my own neighbohood school increase enrollment for the past 4 years, I know what great lengths parenst go to in order to get people interested in their school They believe in it, and it’s great for their communities when so many get involved.
I am so glad to see that their efforts paid off (in both schools).
Post 2:
Looks like there was a reversal of the closing decision at Prescott. Congratulations to all who worked on keeping it open. Where does Alcott HS go now?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-school-closing-20100223,0,941728.story
4 comments February 24, 2010
