In a move aimed at countering Chicago’s crisis in K-8 truancy and absenteeism, state Sen. Kimberly Lightford has introduced legislation to lower Illinois’ compulsory school age from 7 to 5. Experts say it is critical to establish the habit of attendance in kindergarten and first grade. Yet Il... Read more...
They’ve got to be putting something in the water near Paul Robeson high school. How else does one explain 115 out of 800 girls from the high school either being pregnant or being moms? It’s a district-wide, officials say. It’s a national problem, but the numbers seem to be higher at Robeson.Â... Read more...
They’re less than five blocks apart; two Chicago public schools, each more empty than full. Now, one has been marked for closing, stirring controversy in the Washington Heights neighborhood. CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley reports Marcus Garvey Elementary School, at 10309 S. Morgan St., is one of... Read more...
State Rep. Mary Flowers is urging a community group to file a lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools for not complying with a 22-year-old state law that requires all public elementary and high schools to include black history as part of its regular curriculum. “I encourage you to file a law... Read more...
Illinois, Chicago Public Schools top national list for suspension disparity One of every 4 African-American public school students in Illinois was suspended at least once for disciplinary reasons during the 2009-10 school year, the highest rate among 47 states examined in a national study rele... Read more...
Harlan High School Principal Reginald Evans, with CTA Bus Tracker, Friday, April 20, 2012 . | John H. White~Sun-Times. The excitement of school dismissal is different in Chicago’s crime-ridden neighborhoods. Students aren’t thinking about what’s for dinner, if they’ll pass a math tes... Read more...
As Chicago Public Schools have become increasingly dependent on the police department to control student behavior on school grounds, a disproportionately high number of black juveniles are being thrust into the criminal justice system too early and too easily, according to data from a new report iss... Read more...
The majority of school teachers recently laid off by the Chicago Board of Education are people of color, and hardest hit are African teachers in schools serving African American students, according to a new analysis released today by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). An analysis of Chicago Public S... Read more...
For 20 years, the Chicago Public Schools have tried it all. High-stakes tests, decentralization, ending social promotion, shuttering failing schools and opening new ones. And through it all, reading scores in the city's weakest elementary schools largely haven't budged, an exhaustive ... Read more...