Chicago School News:
The school closing scam
Nation's future under NCLB: Chicago has closed more than 40 schools since 2001…
When Arne Duncan, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, announced in 2005 that he was going to close Morse Elementary School for “underperformance”, teachers and other staff at the school mobilized and pointed out how unfair the characterization was. Continue story...
All-Saints Day anti-war protest results in 35 suspensions, threats of expulsion
“Boneheaded” was the word heard most often from parents, students, and anti-war activists who turned out, nearly 200 strong, for the November 7 meeting of the Board of Education of J. Sterling Morton High School District 201 in Cicero, Illinois. Continue story...
Recess and physical education are essential to children's development
Advocate continues to speak out at October 24 Chicago Board of education meeting…
On October 24 I made the following presentation to the Chicago Board of Education.
“Physical activity and play have a vital role in the development of an emotionally balanced child,” I said. “Chicago public schools are not providing children daily physical education, as required by the Illinois School Code. Continue story...
Austin Freedom Riders continue demand for high school for all Austin area kids
They call themselves the “Freedom Riders.” Every Saturday for the past four months, they’ve fanned out across Chicago’s West Side with petitions and leaflets, demanding that the Chicago Board of Education reverse its discrimination against their community and create a general high school that any Austin child can attend. Continue story...
SDS tries 'militancy' in separate October 27 march against Middle East wars
Opposition to collaboration with Democrats beginning, amidst confusion
There were actually two marches in Chicago on October 27, and I spent most of my time at the smaller one, organized by the new “Students for a Democratic Society” (SDS) to see what was being organized as an alternative to the Democratic Party. Continue story...
October 27 march against the wars spirited, small
Fewer than 10,000 people from several cities in the Midwest marched from Chicago's Union Park to the federal plaza in downtown Chicago on October 27 to express their demand that the War in Iraq end now. Continue story...
Hooked on Phonics gunmen violated CPS policy on private security gunmen
'There's a man with a gun over there…'
The placing of armed private security guards on school grounds during a media event to promote the controversial “Hooked on Phonics” program on August 31, 2007, was a violation of CPS weapons policies, according to officials in the CPS Department of School Security and Safety. Continue story...
Mayor Daley, Congressman Emmanuel lambaste anti-war people at Marine Military High School commissioning in Chicago
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley used the opportunity of the dedication of the nation’s first Marine Corps military academy public high school on October 15, 2007, to attack critics of militarization of the Chicago public schools during the 11:00 a.m. dedication ceremony at the former Grant Elementary School at 145 S. Campbell in Chicago today. Continue story...
Teacher cuts, 'position closings' hit Chicago's general high schools hardest
Public protests hit three Chicago high schools in early October after the Board of Education fired teachers from those schools because of what the Board said was an insufficient number of students in the schools to justify the teachers’ position. Continue story...
BoardWatch: October 24, 2007: Chicago Board of Education meeting continues orgy of charter expansion while problems in regular public schools grow worse
There were 88 people signed up to speak at the October 24, 2007, meeting of the Chicago Board of Education. Continue story...
