Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Three ward schools are targeted for turnaround

According to the Sun-Times:
  • Ruggles Elementary, 7831 S. Prairie
  • Gillespie Elementary, 9301 S. State
  • Deneen Elementary, 7257 S. State
You'll see that in the left column of the article along with other schools around the city that are either being closed, turned around,consolidated or otherwise phased out!

Let's get to the article itself!
Storied Phillips High -- where Nat "King" Cole once walked the halls -- and basketball powerhouse Marshall High School are among 14 Chicago public schools expected to face massive shakeups, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Fewer than 4 percent of students at both schools passed their state exams last year, putting both Phillips and Marshall on the radar for a "turnaround'' in which schools are re-staffed but kids stay in place.

Both predominately black schools have faced major overhauls in the past, with little academic success.
...
The shakeup plan under discussion Monday called for the closure of Las Casas and three other schools, whose children would be sent elsewhere. Four others would consolidate with other schools; one would stop accepting new kids and phase out over time, and five would experience staffing "turnarounds." However, the plan was still being tweaked late Monday, when four small high schools in one building were spared from turnaround.

Schools CEO Ron Huberman is expected to announce the list of school closures and other shakeups today, but he does so after proposing a new "Student Bill of Rights'' intended to ease the transition for kids switching to new schools.

For the first time, kids in schools closed for either academic reasons or for lack of enrollment have been promised they will be sent to higher-performing schools. Some receiving schools will get longer school days and some transferred kids will get summer school classes to guard against academic loss.
I wonder why these major overhauls, haven't been met with much success at these underperforming schools?

1 comment:

  1. I wonder what role that survey UC conducted played in this decision?

    ReplyDelete

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