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Events and Info week of 10/10/11 (and beyond….)
I’m going to try to get to Lake View for a bit tomorrow evening to see what’s going on.
A friend of mine from the private school world has a daughter in 7th grade and she mentioned that they’re touring Jone this weekend. Do people usually start that process in 7th? I guess it makes sense to start. It just reminds me of the craziness of taking a 7th grade (and younger siblings, and possibly my son who they’ll be watching) to see all the schools in the hopes that the child will test into one of them. And really, unless you ace all the measures, is there really much of a choice?
Maybe letting the kids see the schools is a good motivator for the testing process and 7th grade grades?
Feel free to post any other events in the comments section.
LVHS: Meet the New Principal, Dr. Lilith Werner
Tuesday, October 11th at 6pm at Lake View High School
Parents are invited to meet the new Lake View High School principal, Dr. Lilith Werner, on Tuesday, October 11th at 6pm.
2011 High School Fair at Audubon
Hosted by Bell, Coonley and Hamilton Schools- save the date. November 9th, 6-8 pm
29 schools will be there – public, private, and charter
Several CPS Gifted School open houses this week:
http://cpsmagnet.org/apps/events/view_calendar.jsp?id=0
NPN PreSchool and Elementary School Fair
**I will be sitting at a table at the NPN along with Christine Whitely who runs the ABCs of CPS workshops. If you’re there, come say hi!** Togther the 2 of us should be able to answer any CPS-related question!
- WHEN: Sat. Oct. 15, 2011, 10am-2pm, Parents RSVP for 1hour time slots to help us manage attendance
- WHAT: NPN brings together more than 130 exhibitors to give our NPN member families unparalleled access to representatives of public and private schools, enrichment programs, family friendly businesses, and nonprofits. Each year, nearly 1,000 parents turn to NPN to help them navigate Chicago school search by attending this event.
- WHO: NPN Members/Adults only Event. Free admission. RSVP is required. Parent RSVP will open in September.
- WHERE: Grossinger City Autoplex, 1561 N. Fremont (autoplex? what the? odd location for a fair, but sounds interesting….)
South Loop Regional Gifted Center has stopped taking new students
After a weekend of puzzled emailing as to why the South Loop RGC is not on the OAE application this year, I heard from a couple SL parents who confirmed that the program will not be accepting new students this year. The existing classes will continue (for now, all housed in one building but there is talk of moving the middle school classes to a separate building, although it sounds like plans for this are not actually close.) But by closing entry, I assume the program will graduate one class per year until it no longer is housed at South Loop at all.
The letter sent to parents is below. I was also told about a recent LSC meeting there where parents made a strong case to try to find a solution to the overcrowding. It sounds like some of the neighborhood classes were very large (sizes in the mid 30′s.) The school had acknowledged that keeping the gifted program DOES bring extra resources to the school (?) but the school is at full capacity and clearly something had to give.
So one immediate issue is that there are now 28 fewer Kindergarten gifted spots in the city. And that will probably affect entry scores in some way (driving them higher.) It is POSSIBLE that CPS is formulating plans to start a new RGC somewhere or that schools can lobby to get one (this is what Coonley did a few years back to help drive enrollment.)
I would point out that even if there is not a gifted program near your home and you are interested in one, it’s worth putting in an application this year since you never know where/if a new program will spring up. The year Coonley started the plans were not announced until AFTER the testing period was over, so only families who had their child tested were eligible for entry. For all you know, a gifted program will pop up a mile from your home. OR CPS could decide not to start a new one.
I hate the idea of dropping a gifted class when there are so few in the city, but I certainly have a lot of sympathy for the neighborhood parents who are getting the shaft with giant class sizes due to limited space. Somehow Bell has made it work creatively. Coonley will likely need to get creative space-wise soon. Pritzer and Beaubien have seemed to manage OK with space. Are there any other Gifted/Neighborhood schools I’m forgetting?
LETTER TO SOUTH LOOP PARENTS.
Dear Parents,
As many of you are aware, the subject of growth at South Loop School (SLS) has been a much discussed topic. There continues to be just one question: To grow or not to grow? If SLS continues to grow with current programming and boundaries, the school needs more space. If the school starts to limit enrollment, the school will not need more space.
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) recently notified me that it is unable to provide additional space for our school next year, so we have taken some steps to limit enrollment.
Based on discussions I have had with CPS officials and the Office of Academic Enhancement (which oversees CPS gifted programs), we have determined that it is in the best interest of current SLS students to limit the number of students admitted to SLS. Consequently, CPS will not accept applications for the SLS Kindergarten Regional Gifted Program for the 2012-2013 school year.
South Loop School will continue to offer Neighborhood K-8 grade programming and Regional Gifted Center 1-8 grade programming.
To utilize the space in our existing buildings most effectively, I am working with CPS to make use of the SLS Early Childhood Center (ECC aka “Branch”) building for Kindergarten and 1st grade programming. Under this arrangement the preschool program would move to the SLS Main Building. Please note this plan is not confirmed and would not be effective until the 2012-2013 school year.
These plans will make better use of the resources that are available to us and allow us to continue to provide the excellent academic and Extended Day programs that have made SLS a school of choice.
I appreciate your interest and invite your participation as we continue to monitor and manage growth at SLS.
Yours in education,
Tara Shelton
How is school going? (Especially you longer day people)
Well, CPS has been quiet lately and we’ve talked the concept of the longer school day to death (although I’m sure there plenty more so say.) For now. Quite the opposite of Karen Lewis who still will apparently not offer any input on the subject.
****
From this new Trib story:
The concerns seem to mirror that of the Chicago Teachers Union, which has called for a better rather than a longer school day. The union’s own proposal for a longer school day next year calls for more time for foreign languages, physical education, art, music, science and social studies. While students would be in class for an extra 75 minutes under the union proposal, teachers would not be working longer.
In speaking with principals last week, district officials also recommended adding extra time for non-math and reading subjects. O’Keefe said the district and union’s proposal for what a longer school day would look like are similar and differ only by 15 minutes.
She called for the union to join the advisory committee. But CTU President Karen Lewis has declined to join the group, saying its members are politically connected. The union has instead offered five other candidates that it says include three teachers. CPS officials have said the district had agreed to add the union nominees solely to get Lewis to join. But without Lewis’ participation, those nominees have not been contacted.
CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey, who attended tonight’s Raise Your Hand meeting, said Lewis never agreed to join and offered other names because she has been out of the classroom for a year. “Karen needs to be in a room with our members before she talks to (CPS chief executive Jean-Claude) Brizard about what’s going to happen,” Sharkey said.
****
I can’t tell what’s going on – why can’t they just get some Union reps to start discussing it?
I’m curious how the start of everyone’s school year is going? Do the new Kindergarten parents feel good about their schools? How’s homework? How is the longer day feeling?
Some of my updates:
My son is now in 3rd grade at a Regional Gifted Center. As you may know, the RGCs work 1-2 grades ahead. So for K-2 they were 1 year ahead in math which mostly worked out fine. This year it turns out that they suddenly skipped to 2 grades ahead. So he came home with a 5th grade math book. So seemingly the concepts covered in 4th grade can just be skipped (Insert sarcasm.) I have full confidence in the teacher (my son had her for 1st grade) and she pulled it off last year and has given us many re-assurances. It’s just one of those Things-That-Bug-Me about CPS’ bureaucracy. I assume somebody decided that skipping the 4th grade material was the best year for skipping, it just seems like a big leap.
We also had our language program changed from French to Spanish. Which is great. The whole school is now learning Spanish (parents fundraise for it for the neighborhood program.) But 3 years ago when the program started we asked if the language had to be French and were told “Yes, it has to be French, that’s how the program is set up.” So it has to be French until it doesn’t have to be French. Sigh.
Our school day is now 45 minutes longer, which includes 20 minutes extra of instructional time. So far I haven’t heard any complaints from my son and he seems to like the longer lunch and recess (but still doesn’t eat most of his lunch.)
Overall, the school continues to instill confidence in me, between the admin and my son’s 2 teachers, so I’m in a happy-CPS place right now. Somehow our budget cuts seemed minimal (if not having some stuff added.) My son will have art, music, library, gym, computer, and science with one of his teachers. It seems very well-rounded. I can’t recall as a child how often we had those specials. Can you?
My son’s class lost one kid at the begining of the year (to another gifted program) and tried filling the spot through several rounds. Nobody has shown up yet. It seems that once families have settled in at a school, it’s hard to get them to switch.
One *interesting* thing my son mentioned this summer was the ISATs and that he wants to do well on them. That makes me raise an eyebrow a bit. I get that the school may want to mention the test, but I’m curious how it’s being presented to the kids. Curious if other kids have mentioned the test at all….
Admissions-wise I’ve heard of families being offered spots in higher grades (1st +) at some desirable schools, but they seem to be turned down often if a sibling can’t be admitted right away. So there IS movement in these schools. If you’re willing to shift after school starts and willing to split siblings up for a while (ugh) you just never know what might come along if you keep applying.
And FINALLY – if anyone is looking to buy a great bungalow in the Waters school district, feel free to email me at cpsobsessed@gmail.com.
3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1.5 lot, big 1 car garage, nice yard with some grass and cookout area, right by the Brown Line Francisco stop, giant basement, great dining room and living room with wood ceiling beams, awesome retro kitchen, and a giant attic for storing Happy Meal toys or converting to a huge master suite. Probably gonna be priced around $530K.
Weekly Announcements and Events w/o 9/26
Still digging out of a work hole, but here’s some stuff going on….
Feel free to add some events or info in the comments section.
CPS on Facebook
A nice person from CPS let me know that we can all friend CPS on Facebook now. Sounds like someone has a new PR agency… ? Could be worth it just for reading the comments….
http://www.facebook.com/chicagopublicschools
Elementary School Fair for Options for Knowledge Schools and Programs 10/1
Parents and students seeking information about elementary school options for the 2012-2013 school year should plan to attend the fourth annual Options for Knowledge Fair at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Van Buren, on Saturday, October 1, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
9/28/2011, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Location: 4929 North Sawyer Avenue
1809 W. Webster
If you can RSVP by Septmeber 27th to Donna Chen, Coordinator 773-534-5599
NPN PreSchool and Elementary School Fair
- WHEN: Sat. Oct. 15, 2011, 10am-2pm, Parents RSVP for 1hour time slots to help us manage attendance
- WHAT: NPN brings together more than 130 exhibitors to give our NPN member families unparalleled access to representatives of public and private schools, enrichment programs, family friendly businesses, and nonprofits. Each year, nearly 1,000 parents turn to NPN to help them navigate Chicago school search by attending this event.
- WHO: NPN Members/Adults only Event. Free admission. RSVP is required. Parent RSVP will open in September.
- WHERE: Grossinger City Autoplex, 1561 N. Fremont
- EXHIBITOR REGISTRATION: $50 Public School, $95 Private School, Non-School Exhibitors – Visit the event page to register as a School Exhibitor. Questions, please email leslye@npnparents.org
Weekly Events and Announcements w/o 9/12
I think I’ll start a weekly announcements post where we can post stuff that is going on during the week.
Also, if you have some event or other stuff you’d like people to know about (I know someone emailed me about a blog they started recently….) feel free to add that to the comments section so people can see what’s going on out there.
The union debate is wearing me down. I think I’ll post that article about the freshmen grades for the different schools. I know people wanted to discuss that and I never got it up. Lots of interesting stuff there. If you have any ideas for other topics for discussion, feel free to share.
Open House – Beasley Academic Center (Regional Gifted Center)
Date: 9/13/2011
Time: 8:15 AM – 10:15 AM
Location: 5255 South State Street
Chicago Tribe/PNC Bank Event with Brizard and Karen Lewis
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 13, 6 p.m.
Location: UIC Forum 725 W. Roosevelt Road
Quest Chicago (Charter School) Open House
Date: Tuesday, Sept 13 6-7 pm. Spots still open for this school year.
School Tour – Hamilton Elementary School (Fine and Performing Arts) (K – 8th)
Date: 9/14/2011
Time: 8:30 AM
Location: 1650 West Cornelia Avenue
Open House – Gompers Elementary School (Fine and Performing Arts) (4 – 8th)
Date: 9/14/2011
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: 12302 South State Street
Take the Raise Your Hand survey about the extended school day:
http://ilraiseyourhand.org/content/school-day-survey
STEM Magnet School Year 2011/2012
Ok, STEM magnet parents. I’m so curious to see how the year progresses! Keep in mind that getting things perfect takes a little time (something I’ve heard from principals repeatedly.)
I’m sure some of you may start classroom groups or a school message board (my son’s class set up a Google Group which is nice.)
But in the meantime, feel free to use this thread to share information and let us know how it’s going — especially in regards to the longer school day!
Zoinks! 3 CPS Schools Vote to Extend Their Day
You know, sometimes I still wish that the fake Rahm guy was still Tweeting. He did a great job of imagining our Mayor in all kinds of funny situations that Rahm himself would probably like to engage in if he could due as he pleased. Today I can see fake Rahm giving the double birdie with a “take that!” look on his face at Karen Lewis, head of the teacher’s union.
Why, you ask? Because 3 Chicago schools have more or less given the f-you to the union and voted to approve a school day that is 90 minutes longer at their schools. The article reports that the schools are:
Skinner North classical
STEM magnet (parents have not been officially informed by the school yet)
Melody (neighborhood school on the West side)
So the discussion I’ve seen here and on Facebook is whether the extra 90 minutes is too much (particularly for younger kids.) The school day would go from 5 hours 45 min to 7 hours 15 minutes? So we parents want a longer day, but not THAT long — is part of the back and forth discussion. I think parents want to know how the time will be allocated.
There’s already been discussion about this in a previous thread so I’ll copy some of the posts here.
From WGN news:
Longer school day for some Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have made it very clear that all schools will go to longer days starting next year.
At skinner north elementary school on the city’s northwest side, 60% of the teachers voted for a longer school day. That means classes will go from 8 to 3:30, an extra 90 minutes a day.
Teachers at stem magnet academy in Little Italy and Genevieve melody on the west side also chose to waive the current teachers union contract and make the days longer. That’s not sitting well with union leaders who say that about 40 members in three small schools should not set the tone for the district’s 30, 000 teachers.
However, they did get a 2% raise which amounts to about 15-hundred dollars per teacher and $150,000 for their school which they decide how to use.
The union doesn’t like the fact that there’s not a set plan in place for the longer day.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have made it very clear that all schools will go to longer days starting next year. They weren’t available for questions but issued a joint statement calling the teachers courageous and this day historic. Union leaders say school officials will still have to honor their contract.
Question? Comment? Ask JC Brizard this Thursday 9/1
Here’s a chance to ask the CEO himself. Admittedly, I get bogged down thinking about what to ask and can never decide what my question would be. Actually, I think I might inquire about the grading scale inconsistency. That is one of my obvious “need to fix” things right now….
WBEZ will be taking questions from Jean-Claude Brizard live on Thursday at 7PM. Anyone can call in to ask a question—they can be big, policy-level questions or more specific questions about particular schools.
Here are ways to participate:
-Email questions to: SchoolsOnTheLine@wbez.org
-Leave a question or comment for Mr. Brizard ahead of time by calling 312-948-4886
-Join the live broadcast at 7pm by sending an email or by calling 312-923-9239
-Twitter: @AskBrizard
Live Forum with Brizard and Karen Lewis Sept 13th
Thanks to a reader who sent this in today. Sounds like it would be interesting, bringing to life a lot of the discussion we’ve had recently. And frankly, I feel the need to see JB and Karen Lewis in person. Does he keep that big smile? Does she sound as snarky live as she does in print?
August 15, 2011 – Just a week after Chicago Public Schools are back in session, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard will join Chicago Tribune Editorial Page Editor Bruce Dold in a lively and topical discussion at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road, Tuesday, September 13, at 6 p.m. Lewis and Brizard will take questions from the audience, followed by a complimentary reception with food and drink where audience members can continue the conversation.
Karen Lewis was elected president of the 30,000-member Chicago Teachers Union on June 11, 2010. A member of Chicago Teachers Union since 1988, Lewis taught high school chemistry in the Chicago Public Schools for 22 years. During the American Federation of Teachers Convention held in Seattle, Washington in July 2010, Lewis successfully won her election as an AFT Vice President, where she has input in the national organization’s policy decisions. She also sits as a member of the AFT Pre-K-12 Program and Policy Committee.
Jean-Claude Brizard was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools by the Chicago Board of education on May 25, 2011. Most recently, Brizard served as Superintendent of Schools for the Rochester City School District. He also worked as an educator and administrator with the New York City school system for 21 years, where he served as Executive Director for Secondary Schools, Region 8 Instructional Superintendent, and as a high school principal. Brizard began his career as a high school physics teacher and junior high school science teacher.
This program is sponsored by PNC Bank, and presented by the Chicago Tribune’s Chicago Forward, a series of public discussions focusing on issues important to our city, region, state and nation.
Tickets for this one-night-only program are priced at $15, and include a post-event reception. Tickets can be purchased by calling (312) 222-3348 or visiting www.tribnation.com/events.
Plus, Trib Nation, an initiative of the Chicago Tribune to bring news, information and entertainment to live audiences, is hosting an essay contest offering Chicagoans the chance to win four free tickets to Chicago Forward. Entrants should respond to these questions: Drawing on your personal experience, what makes a Chicago Public Schools education a success or a failure? And what question would you ask Mr. Brizard and Ms. Lewis?
Entries should be sent with name and contact information to TribNation@tribune.com or to Trib Nation Education Essay Contest, 4th floor newsroom, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611. The contest is open to Chicago residents who are at least 14 years old. The deadline is noon on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Rahm vs. The Union
Late story in the Trib Tuesday evening (thanks Hawthorne Mom for pointing it out.) I suspect THIS will be the ongoing topic of conversation for a while, since there won’t be any good admissions discussions for a while…..
The fight about teacher raises and the length of the school day continue and the threat of strikes is bandied about.
I’m gonna say, I understand the concept of pay raises “just for showing up.” The assumption, of course, is that if I am showing up for my corporate job it means I still have a job, which means I am doing a halfway decent job. I would like to feel I can make that same assumption about tenured/union-protected jobs. Assuming it’s a valid assumption (assuming. not saying.) then I do think showing up day in and day out merits a cost of living increase that reflects reality over time. Gas costs more, college costs more, movies cost more. The inflation cycle continues. Can’t say I’VE gotten a cost of living increase in the private sector, but I agree with the concept of it. I guess the question is whether every single teacher in CPS is doing a half-way decent job. Facing the obstacles of CPS and 28+ kids every day might qualify as a good show of effort. Then again, the “phoning it in” I’ve witnessed that has provoked fits of anger within me over the years in certain teachers makes me question the whole tenure idea at times. I certainly think a 2% raise is justifiable depending on the past years’ raise history. Can someone refresh my memory?
And by the way, where did reporter Noreen find a young teacher willing to say that longer days are part of life? Karen Lewis will probably put a hit out on that teacher! (joking!)
CPS budget to be considered Wednesday as teachers union and mayor fight battles
As the Chicago Board of Education prepares to approve a 2011-12 budget Wednesday, school officials and the teachers union are battling publicly over related issues of withdrawn raises and the mayor’s push for a longer school day.
On Tuesday, after negotiations over the rescinded 4 percent across-the-board teacher raises hit a snag, union delegates met to discuss their next steps. Union leaders had suggested that delegates could vote to terminate the current contract, opening the door for a possible strike, but no action was taken.
Although state law now makes it more difficult for unions to strike, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said the likelihood remains “very high” and that teachers “want respect and dignity and there’s only a couple of ways to get that.”
Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools officials announced firm plans to pursue a longer school day in the 2012-13 school year, by which time state law allows them to implement a longer day whether or not the union agrees. CPS will create an advisory committee that will recommend how to implement the longer school day.
Schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard upped the ante later in the evening on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” saying he would be willing to give elementary school teachers a 2 percent raise this year if it means the district could implement a longer school day this year rather than waiting until next year.
“A lot of this is theatrics on both sides,” said Rodney Estvan, education policy analyst with the disability advocacy group Access Living.
Behind it all is the district’s effort to plug a $712 million deficit. Rescinding the 4 percent raises would save $100 million, officials said earlier.
During negotiations over that point Monday, union officials said they would be willing to accept a 2 percent raise for union members for six months in 2011. They wanted an additional 2 percent increase starting in January. District officials rejected the offer, although Brizard’s comments later seemed to open the door with a new proposal.
The union still has the option of voting to toss out the current contract once delegates talk to rank-and-file members. Or the union could decide to start negotiating the terms of a new contract, which expires in June.
But the union has much to lose if it chooses to reopen the current contract. Education experts say district officials could eliminate teacher raises based on experience and graduation degrees and opt instead for merit pay.
“If they open the contract, the district can move more rapidly and lengthen the school day in January,” said Timothy Knowles, director of the University of Chicago‘s Urban Education Institute.
The budget proposal does not include extra funding for a longer day. It does, however, include a property tax hike that will lead to a 2.4 percent increase on taxpayers’ bills. The budget also calls for a $320 million reduction in programs, restructuring and cuts in the central office and $241 million taken out of reserves to close the deficit.
While many teachers on Tuesday expressed frustration with what they saw as the new administration’s attack on them, some younger teachers figure it is just a sign of the times.
Teacher Jackie Menoni, 27, said she comes to her school early and stays late like so many of her colleagues. While getting compensated for a longer day would be nice, it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker, she said.
“People in other professions get a salary and put in extra hours,” she said. “That’s life.”
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