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Bilingual Education

Research shows that Latinos who remain in bilingual programs long term risk falling behind in the middle grades and failing once they reach high school. CPS is taking long-awaited steps to launch dual-language programs, a strategy that is gaining steam nationally to help students become proficient in their native language and in English.

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Catalyst Notebook

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 6:30am

In the News: Neighborhood schools beat turnarounds on ISAT

By: Cassandra West
Tags: City Colleges, turnarounds

An advocacy group, Designs for Change, has analyzed ISAT scores and found that many high-poverty neighborhood elementary schools are out-performing turnaround schools.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 7:47pm

Last-ditch efforts aim to stop school closings, turnarounds

By: Sarah Karp
Tags: school closings, turnarounds

On the eve of the Board of Education vote on school closings and turnarounds, CPS leaders said they will reopen a neighborhood option in the Crane High School building, city council members questioned CPS leaders and activists and parents made final arguments that their schools have made gains and don’t need dramatic change.

Also, an advocacy organization once again raised questions about whether turnaround schools produce results.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 6:30am

In the News: CPS' parent engagement not connecting

By: Cassandra West
Tags: Mayor Emanuel, school closings, teacher evaluations

Despite a well-publicized commitment to involve parents in the city’s public education system, some of them are not happy with how Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his school team are following through. And some say they are still not familiar with the new Office of Community and Family Engagement, according to the Chicago News Cooperative.

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Monday, February 20, 2012 - 7:25am

In the News: Piccolo parents end 1-day protest

By: Cassandra West
Tags: Chicago Teachers Union, turnarounds

Community activists and parents at Brian Piccolo Elementary Specialty School in West Humboldt Park ended an overnight campus sit-in Saturday staged to protest a vote scheduled Wednesday on whether to designate Piccolo a turnaround school. (Tribune)

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Friday, February 17, 2012 - 5:56pm

For the Record: Teacher layoff and recall rights

By: Rebecca Harris
Tags: Chicago Teachers Union, CPS administration

Today’s Illinois Supreme Court ruling likely has put to rest a nearly two-year legal battle between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union over layoffs of tenured teachers.

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Friday, February 17, 2012 - 10:04am

Tougher principal selection process in the works

By: Rebecca Harris
Tags: CPS administration, principals

Chicago Public Schools is embarking on yet another revamp of its controversial principal eligibility process, based on a new set of principal skills that will also play into new state-mandated principal evaluations.

The changes could take effect as soon as this summer, but it’s not clear yet what they will be. The current process includes an application with essays and an initial interview; a scenario exam; a school data case study; a more in-depth interview; and a mock teacher observation. (Those could still be part of the revamped process.)

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