District 299 The Chicago Schools Blog

Preparing Principals -- What Matters Most

Got some things to say about how Illinois principals are (or aren't) prepared for the real world of schools and district bureaucracies?  I bet you do.  Well here's a survey that welcomes K12 teachers' input.  Take a look and tell them Alexander sent you (Principal Preparation Program Survey Survey).

Chicago Teacher Retention Program Goes To DC

There were some folks from the Chicago New Teacher Center in DC on Tuesday, talking to Congressional staff, people from other districts, and advocates about the power of what they call high quality teacher retention programs.  In a handful of South Side areas, new teachers get tailored, weekly support from fulltime mentors, which is much more intensive than most other parts of the city or around the country.  I'm generally pretty suspicious about out of classroom support efforts, but from what I've seen this one can be really powerful.  And of course I'm partial since they asked me to moderate the event and have commissioned me to do some writing about them.  Pictured are Lisa Vahey, director of CNTC, Amy Treadwell, an induction coach, and Jennifer Frisch, a 2nd year kindergarten teacher. 

Requested Test Score Data

The call for data in the charter school conversation below has been answered, in part at least, by a reader who sends in the attached spreadsheet showing test score data for all schools for 2007. Isat_all_schools_2007_by_grade_level.xls

Chicago Teacher Slams Silence In NYT

NYT golden boy Will Okun (a Chicago teacher) has moved from prize-winning NYT blogger to full-on op-ed writer with today's NYT opinion piece on the silence thing:  "Boy, are our legislators busy. I teach in an overcrowded classroom with Xeroxed books, no computers and limited supplies in a city where the black male graduation rate hovers significantly below 50 percent. And they give us silence? An existing Illinois law already allowed teachers to start with a moment of silence but did not require it." Go, Will, go!

Enrollment Disaster At Percy Julian High School

Things have gone from bad to worse ato Percy Julian HS, the school slain student Blair Holt attended, according to a reader email.  Twelve (12) teaching spots dismissed due to an unexpectedly large decrease in enrollment.  Check it out. 

Why Teach Chinese?

Chinese foreign language classes are all the rage in some districts (cough, cough).  But, according to this totally trustworthy YouTube video my cousin sent me, the Chinese are learning English faster  and in greater numbers than we could ever match up. I'm all for rigorous courses, and loved taking Chinese in college, but should setting up Chinese language programs really be a priority? Cross-posted from This Week In Education

Putting Data On The Wall At Hearst

What would you do if your principal put up the results from Learning First and the Math Benchmark outside your classroom, or had you look at data to find spikes and gaps that might help you teach differently?  The story that jumps out at me from this month's Catalyst is this one about Hearst elementary:  "How one Southwest Side school built a [controversial] data wall, lost half its teachers and is leading the charge to use data-driven instruction." Click on the link to learn more about Principal Miller and decide for yourself whether this approach being used at Hearst and other parts of the city is worthwhile or too much.

 

1600 Recently Retired Teachers Getting Shafted?

Last week, there was lots of discussion about the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (Back And Forth About The Chicago Teachers... ).  This week, a retired teacher sent in this letter (below) saying that he and hundreds of other recent retirees may be getting shorted on their benefits.  It's a little different from the previous issue -- take a look and write in or call the author if you want to get involved.

Global Education / Distance Learning "On A Dime"?

If you or any of your colleagues have any ideas or information, I'm working on an article about global education and awareness programs with (or without) a distance or e-learning component that are being done "on a dime."  People keep telling me that you can do great stuff with kids without much technology or infrastructure, but I remain skeptical.  Got any advice or experiences to share, comment here or send something to district299 at gmail dot com.  Chicago examples are great, but not required. 

ABC News Segment On CPS Incentive Pay Plan

 "In Chicago, once described as having the worst public schools in the nation, they are trying something new," begins this ABC News segment (Can Teacher Incentive Pay Close Achievement Gap? ).  "Veronica Griffin, who colleagues consider to be an exceptional teacher, was going to leave her job in a struggling inner city school for a higher-paying one. To keep her, the city of Chicago did something a business might do: They offered her a $15,000 bonus."