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Posts in category "Teachers & Teaching"

Mixed Feelings About Lightford

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The guy at School Tech Connect has a couple of posts about Senator Lightford and some video illustrating his (and many others’) mixed feelings about the legislator who was central to the enactment of SB7. In the first post (Meanwhile, Down In Springfield) he admires Lightford (and Steans, who follows) for fighting for a restoration... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
Friday at 7:39 am
• 2 comments

Strike Vote Pro / Con

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Today's education news include more about the big rally on Wednesday and the possibility of a strike vote being taken next month (which starts a week from today). Principal hirings are starting to trickle in -- got anyone new named at your school let us know. But it's hard to concentrate on anything other than the possibility of a strike vote, and comments this week have including an understandable mix of views pro and con about the strike vote and the possibility of a real strike... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
Friday at 7:26 am
• 32 comments

CPS's Very Low Placement Rate

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It can be easy to tune out the complaints of special education teachers in Chicago because their concerns are so difficult and seemingly unresolvable, and also because of the assumption that things must be just as difficult in other cities.  But perhaps that’s not the case, really.  This Catalyst graphic (from the PDF version of... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
Thursday at 10:29 pm
• 16 comments
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CTU Rally Shows Strength, Desperation?

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Today’s education news is full of coverage of the CTU rally yesterday, plus some of the decisions made by the Board at its monthly meeting.  What to make of the rally?  I’m not sure. It obviously seemed to go off well, and the coverage was wall to wall. It was a big “get” for CTU... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
Thursday at 8:49 am
• 32 comments

There Will Be Strike [Vote]

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Today is a Board meeting day and also the big CTU event but in the meantime education news is dominated by the coverage of the CTU press conference yesterday and the increasing possibility of a strike vote commencing next month.  (Either CPS is trying to make CTU look bad for voting on a strike in advance of the conclusion of negotiations or CPS is also scared that the vote will actually meet the legal requirements and give CTU leadership authority to call a strike.) There's also news from Washington that Chicago would be eligible for a small, district-level version of Race To The Top. Jesse Sharkey looks like a young Antonio Banderas here, doesn't he... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
Wednesday at 7:44 am
• 5 comments

Wednesday CTU, Board Meetings

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Forget about NATO, it’s already old news. It’s the big CTU meetup on Wednesday that’s really important, right?  I guess so.  Details here. There’s also a Board meeting — agenda here. Note the proposed attendance zone changes to Shields and Brighton II in addition to the South Shore ICP / CVS / Bowen changes we... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
Tuesday at 8:40 am
• 21 comments
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The Very Public Execution Of Marc Wigler

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Today’s news is a hodge-podge of this and that, but the story that grabs my attention is the expulsion of Marc Wigler from CTU. First off, I want a copy of the 15,000 CPS emails that CTU got via FOIA — Jesse, you know my email. Second, I want to know the backstory here —... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
May 16, 2012 at 7:46 am
• 42 comments

Video: Sharkey Vs. Fox

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Here’s CTU’s Jesse Sharkey, valiantly responding to questions from two Fox newsmen who are clearly irked that CTU president Karen Lewis cancelled on them at the last minute (and perhaps also disinclined towards being sympathetic with the union.  In what may well have been Sharkey’s major media debut, he seemed nervous at the beginning but... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
May 14, 2012 at 8:00 am
• 18 comments

CPS Debunks Union Claims

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Today’s news includes a concerted pushback from CPS against some of the details and claims coming out of CTU regarding its proposals, plus an update on the new student verification process that has some people scratching their heads and a post-trial debrief with Hudson jury foreman Robert Smith, a CPS bus aide. Imaga via WBEZ... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
May 14, 2012 at 7:53 am
• 8 comments
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"Charterizing" CPS, Weekend Edition

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Despite all the controversy and attention surrounding charters, Chicago is one of the least-charterized big city school districts in the nation at this point, having set early and tight limits on the number of charters and the people who could authorize them. It seemed like a good idea at the time, to keep charters in house focus on quality rather than creating a wild west like some other states and districts have had, but the reality has been more of a mixed bag.But there are a couple of realities worth remembering, whether you're pro charter or against... Read more »
By Alexander Russo,
May 12, 2012 at 10:24 am
• 5 comments