http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/ The highly unofficial inside scoop on Chicago schools -- all day, every day. Copyright 2008 Catalyst-Chicago - District 299: The Chicago Schools Blog en-us http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1243/Victor_Harbison_To_Blog_For_NY_Times http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1243/Victor_Harbison_To_Blog_For_NY_Times News is that Gage Park High School's Victor Harbison is going to blog for the NY Times, replacing Will Okun, who has left teaching for now. Many of you know Victor, who is a NBCT, but those of you don't may recall his several appearances on this blog (here and here) and in Catalyst (here). Congrats, Victor. You'll do us proud, I'm sure. ... Mon, 6 Oct 2008 16:55:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1242/%26quot%3BGood_Job%26quot%3B_On_The_Reader_Survey%2C_Says_Palin http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1242/%26quot%3BGood_Job%26quot%3B_On_The_Reader_Survey%2C_Says_Palin Thanks to the nearly 100 of you who took the reader survey last week. It was fun and interesting to see your responses and get your suggestions -- many of which were surprising (to me at least). For example, 33 percent of respondents said the year is going OK so far (financial crisis aside). And, pop culture, goofy pictures, and my headshot are not well loved features of the site. I had no idea (well, except for the last.) Other results were not so unexpected: Budget... Mon, 6 Oct 2008 09:03:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1241/Monday_Morning_News%2C_Part_2 http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1241/Monday_Morning_News%2C_Part_2 Parents seek more school input Tribune According to the findings, of the 75 percent of parents who had been summoned to their children's school to discuss their progress, only 25 percent were told that their children's school was performing poorly. The new guy at school: Dad Crain's Chicago Business This week, Chicago Public Schools kicks off its "Real Men Read" program to bring dads into schools to read to kids. CPS Board President Rufus Williams says ... McCain, Obama, And Leaving No Child BehindNPR One thing both candidates agree on is that the education system — particularly "No Child... Mon, 6 Oct 2008 08:26:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1240/Monday_Morning_News%2C_Part_1 http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1240/Monday_Morning_News%2C_Part_1 Chicago High Schools Miss Mark WBEZ Chicago public high school students lost ground in Illinois' latest round of standardized tests. High school juniors improve on PSAT, but scores still down Sun Times For the third year in a row, fewer Chicago public high school students passed their state exams this year -- results city officials immediately dismissed Friday as "screwy.'' Schools boss says exam scores 'screwy' Southtown Star CPS juniors did better this year on four of the six tests, taken over two days, that make up the Prairie State Achievement Exam, ... 24 arrested in fight at... Mon, 6 Oct 2008 08:09:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1238/Stealth_Ren-10_Hearing_Schedule http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1238/Stealth_Ren-10_Hearing_Schedule Again thanks to a reader comment, here's the schedule for "proposed" 2009 Ren-10 schools coming up of the next few days (Sat-Wednesday). No announcement from CPS. Nothing in the papers. Amazing. Remember that you have to register ahead of time if you want to talk, and -- interesting -- there's no discussion after the last speaker has spoken: "Registration to speak will be from 9:30am-10:30am for all hearings starting at 10:00am. Registration to speak will be from 5:30pm-6:30pm for all hearings starting at 6:00pm. All public hearings... Fri, 3 Oct 2008 22:48:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1234/CPS_Hotspots_%28Fall_2008%29 http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1234/CPS_Hotspots_%28Fall_2008%29 CommunityWalk Map - Chicago Schools HotSpots... Fri, 3 Oct 2008 16:26:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1237/CPS_%26quot%3BRequests%26quot%3B_Changes_To_2008_High_School_Composite_Scores http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1237/CPS_%26quot%3BRequests%26quot%3B_Changes_To_2008_High_School_Composite_Scores CPS says that CPS high schools posted gains on several individual parts of last year's PSAE, according to the press release attached here. This despite new ELL test-taking requirements. Some tests like the ACT math and English declined a small amount, however, and there's no word on the statistical significance of the changes. Most important, the composite PSAE score is given as 27.2 for CPS -- 30 percent in reading and 27.8 percent in math, and 23.9 percent in science. The CPS PSAE composite numbers aren't given... Fri, 3 Oct 2008 13:59:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1236/Friday_Morning_News http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1236/Friday_Morning_News Christian academy may soon convert Chicago Journal Chicago Public Schools is considering a proposal from administrators at Chicago Hope Academy, 2189 W. Bowler, to open a public school in its existing ... COOPER VS. COOPER: Paying for grades Montgomery Advertiser Mel Jr. A program developed by Harvard University has been implemented in 20 urban Chicago public schools that pays students up to $4000 per year for ... Drop Outs Cost Taxpayers WBEZ When students drop out of school they sabotage their chances to land a job-- and increase their chances of landing in jail. And Illinois taxpayers foot the... Fri, 3 Oct 2008 09:23:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1235/%27No_Child%27_Goes_Nationwide http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1235/%27No_Child%27_Goes_Nationwide Those of you who saw or heard about Nilaja Sun's one-woman play, 'No Child,' will be happy to hear that the play has been licensed in eight places around the country for productions during upcoming year. After two years and 600 performances at various places around the country, Sun has licensed the production to be done by other actors. Bid you see it? What did you think? Based on her own experiences as a visiting artist in the schools, the much-admired play is about a drama teacher and... Thu, 2 Oct 2008 19:39:00 CST http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1233/Next_Stop_For_Meeks_Protest%3A__The_Cell http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/RUSSO/index.php/entry/1233/Next_Stop_For_Meeks_Protest%3A__The_Cell Following up on his Wrigley Field protest where they were pushed off to the area just in front of the McDonalds, Rev Meeks says he's headed South next: No more 'wait til next year' (Chicago Reader). Curious about how it went? See some video clips here, including a New Trier student named Matt who talks about the luck of the zip code. One of Meeks' best lines was something like this: "The Mayor had the nerve to suggest that we were going to ruin the Cubs' day. What... Thu, 2 Oct 2008 11:00:00 CST