District 299 The Chicago Schools Blog

Staph Infection Fears

It seems like the national press got lots of pics of Chicago area schools being cleaned, even though Chicago doesn't seem to be ground zero.  Maybe someone called a press conference?

A (Sometimes) Deadly Scourge New York Times
Caption:  A Chicago school where officials thought a student might have a staph infection ordered a heavy-duty cleanup.

Entire school system to be scrubbed after superbug case CNN.com
Caption:  Workers clean a classroom in Chicago, Illinois. Staph infections have spread recently through several schools.

Monday Morning News Roundup

Julian students protest teacher cuts Sun Times
Students already wearied by the violence that touched Julian High last school year protested yet another upheaval Friday -- the dismissal of 10 teachers because of a sharp drop in the number of students.

New Skinner school approved by PBC Tribune
The new L-shaped, 106,575-square-foot, three-story school will serve up to 928 students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Board of education officials expect 742 students to enroll to start.

Charter School Hoping To Create Lasting 'Legacy' CBS2
The school will be evaluated by the city in two years, but of the third graders, the only class tested so far, 73 percent scored at or above grade level in reading. That's compared to a little more than 50 percent for all Chicago Public Schools.

Missed Opportunity in Illinois

Hah!  Blogger Mike Antonucci says that Illinois lawmakers could have guaranteed a ton of teacher support if they'd proposed an hour, not a moment, of silence.   Intercepts: Missed Opportunity in Illinois.

Reader Contest: "A Day In The Life"

Inspired by last week's vivid reader comment, A Day At Crane High School, we're having a contest of sorts for the next few days in which readers describe the school (or administrative office) where they work, or where their children attend, or where they pass by every day.

So brush off your writing skills and tell us what it's like where you are -- what it looks like, what it sounds like, what things you notice from being there all the time, or how it's changed lately. Describe a typical day, or the best or worst one you can remember. Be truthful, honest, vivid. 

Write anonymously if you want to -- I don't want anyone to get in trouble -- but be as specific as you can about naming the school, area, or neighborhood.  No one will know who you are -- there are 25,000 CPS teachers out there, and hundreds of thousands of parents. 

Where Do CPS Kids Hang Out (Online)?

Where do CPS kids hang out online these days, if anywhere? I assume many kids are still texting or individual MySpace pages, but maybe there's some virtual collecting point that I don't know about.  Do you? Are there "places" where kids can meet online and chat as a group, or in groups? Let us know if you know -- teachers, parents, etc. 

Comment Of The Week: A Day At Crane High School

There are lots of folks who make great comments on this site, but sometimes one or two jump out from the pack because they are so vivid and compelling.  That's the case with this comment from an anonymous teacher who spent the day at Crane High School recently -- complete with security breakdowns, open gang activity, and all the rest.  Take a look -- let me know if anything doesn't seem right -- and share your own stories or impressions.  For background, here are some newsclips about Crane: Car, other prizes encourage kids to go to class (2007), Chicago gets $21M to retool schools (2006), Volunteers, police patrol near Crane High School (2003).

New Catalyst Focuses On School Violence

Making school a sanctuary Despite a districtwide decline, violence is up in some schools. Students and others say tougher security measures alone won't solve the problem. Parents want the real story CPS has yet to make school-level data on serious offenses, including incidents that sparked calls to the Chicago Police Department, widely available to parents and the public. State sets meaningless standard Under the Illinois criteria for designating a school as dangerous under No Child Left Behind, not one CPS building has ever received the label, even though numerous campuses have problems with violence year after year. Teaching alternatives to fighting Problems with serious fights and gang activity inside schools disrupt education for elementary students, as well as their older counterparts in high schools. Principals of elementary schools with high rates of violence say that helping young children learn to resolve conflict without fighting is key to curbing the problem.

Group Hugging Ban Captures International Attention

One Oak Park Illinois school's "hugging ban" has captured the media spotlight, for however briefly. Maybe this is a new part of Ed In '08's strategy to win more attention for education issues. And it's working. (You know they convinced Kozol to do that partial fast thing.)  Or maybe it's just a slow news week and schools are easy targets.  Check here to see 200-something stories published on the topic. Not known for accuracy, many of the media stories miss the fact that the hugs being banned are big group hugs not the usual greeting kind.

Question Of The Week: How About Those Progress Reports?

By now, in theory at least, everyone's schedules and class rosters should be settling out, hiring should be almost done, and the real business of schools should be well underway.  That's why this week teachers have to submit progress reports that will give parents and kids a sense of how the school year is going so far. So, how is it going?  [UPDATE:  Lots of good comments, but this one from Crane HS might be the best.]

Fasting -- Partially -- Against NCLB

As you may know, Jonathan Kozol has made quite a stir online this week in announcing his "partial" fast in opposition to NCLB, both for and against. 

However, the conservative Fordham Foundation gets credit for perhaps the funniest (or most tasteless) graphic I've seen on it so far: Mahatma Kozol.