catalyst-chicago.org

The first round of negotiations between the Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union went squarely to the district, which will get its way in weighing student performance more heavily in teacher evaluations. (Tribune)

When Chicago Public Schools officials talked about closing Price Elementary School in Bronzeville and Guggenheim in Englewood, they stressed that students would transfer to better schools.

What they didn’t talk much about publicly was where future students living in the Price and Guggenheim attendance boundaries would go. In fact, most will be assigned to schools that are currently no better than Price and Guggenheim, but are slated to be turned around next year. In turnarounds, the district fires the current staff, including the principal, hires a new staff, and provides them with more resources.

Speaking at a news conference around 8 p.m. at the union’s headquarters in downtown Chicago, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis called for an elected school board to replace the current one, which is made up of appointees chosen by Mayor Rahm Emanuel or his predecessor, Richard Daley, the Tribune late Wednesday evening.