For years, Chicago parents and community groups have complained that the Chicago Board of Education makes decisions in secret, withholds information from the public and shuts out community participation and input. Today, the newly-appointed board, led by Miguel del Valle, announced a set of sweeping changes that will give communities more knowledge and possible input into policy. It’s a huge…
“Hard Work Is Paying Off” for Shoesmith and Principal Sabrina Gates
Sabrina Gates’ long career as a reading coach prepared her well for the work of leading Shoesmith Elementary.
At Columbia Explorers, Mentoring Keeps Excellence Consistent
For Principal Eileen Considine, leading Columbia Explorers has been a chance to come full circle. The story starts all the way back in 1994, when she taught at nearby Shields Elementary with a colleague, Jose Barrera, who was working as the bilingual coordinator. The two educators forged a deep friendship and working partnership. In 2001, when Barrera opened the brand-new…
Sandoval Elementary Steps Up Bilingualism and Gets Results
When Wilma David became principal of Sandoval Elementary School three years ago, she knew she needed to make some improvements. The neighborhood school in Gage Park had fallen to a Level 2+ — a mid-tier rating in Chicago Public Schools — so David and her staff got to work. Teachers were asked to look more closely at how individual students…
Principal Lindsey Robinson of CICS Avalon Wins Ryan Award for Closing Achievement Gaps
On Monday, Lindsey Robinson, K-4 Principal at Chicago International Charter School Avalon/South Shore, received the Accelerate Institute’s Ryan Award for exceptional school leadership. Robinson’s recognition comes with a $25,000 honorarium and the opportunity to share the secrets of her success with other school leaders. At CICS Avalon-South Shore, students have outperformed city and state averages on PARCC reading and math…
How Ryder Elementary Went “From the Bottom to the Top”
A commitment to supporting his teachers with everything he’s got has helped Aaron Rucker take Ryder Elementary to remarkable heights of student achievement.
“We Keep Moving:” How Faraday Elementary Went from Probation to Top-Rated
Principal Tawana Williams knows how people in the East Garfield Park community used to perceive Faraday Elementary School. “They felt that Faraday was the dumping school,” she said. “They thought, for a very long time, that this was a ‘bad’ school.” For many years, Faraday was on academic probation. The school struggled to deal with student fights and gang involvement.…
Time for A Deeper Look at Personalized Learning
Chalkbeat Chicago recently published this article on personalized learning in CPS. For folks who aren’t familiar with the topic, it was a good starting point. It gave a sense of the footprint personalized learning efforts have built in Chicago–about 100 of the district’s 600 schools are experimenting with it in some way–and noted the costs, challenges to conventional teaching practice…