OK, it’s time for another quickie. George Schmidt over at the superb Substance newspaper and website loves to bemoan the state of journalism on the Chicago Public Schools and he’s got a point. The Tribune has been against teachers since the Colonel was in short pants and the Sun-Times is owned by friends of the mayor. However, this is the best I’ve seen it in a long time. Ben Jovarksy and Curtis Black are hitting it out of the park with consistency. George and the Substance gang are tremendous. DNAInfo has been a godsend even if it is owned by the Rickets Family. WBEZ and even the Sun-Times have shown that they can do good reporting on education too occasionally. You have to dig for the good information, but it’s out there like it hasn’t been in a long time.
Engaging Communities and Counting Classrooms
““It is not community engagement to invite people to come and beg to keep their schools open,” she said. “Maybe some schools need to be closed, but there has to be a much more serious process, not just giving people two minutes to literally beg to keep their schools open.”
Breaking: Action in the Illinois House on Teacher Pensions
“Limits/freezes pensionable salary of TRS employees to the greater of the Social Security base for the previous year (currently $113,700), or the annual salary of the member in the previous year – does not apply to salaries determined by contracts or collective bargaining agreements currently in place on the effective date of the bill.Amendment passed 65-7.“
Mayor Denies Discrimination in School Closing Plan
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel seemed unfazed Thursday by a newspaper report showing nine out of ten students attending the Chicago public schools targeted for closure are African Americans.
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports the mayor acknowledged population changes in Chicago have contributed to the situation in which most of the public schools slated for closing have predominantly black populations.”
CTU Blasts Closing Commission Report
“The president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) said the “Final Report,” issued by the school district’s Commission on School Utilization further illustrates the need for a full moratorium on school closings, turnarounds and other actions until an independent body can study the impact of these policy decisions on Chicago students, neighborhoods and their families.”
CPS CHATTER 
At least get his name right. It’s “Joravsky”, not “Jovarksy”.
The write up states, “Mayor Rahm Emanuel seemed unfazed Thursday by a newspaper report showing nine out of ten students attending the Chicago public schools targeted for closure are African Americans.”
My reply is ‘Just suck it up. You get what you vote for! How does it feel to be a sheeple?’
You will find very few CPS teachers who voted for Mayor Emanuel. I personally voted for Miguel DeValle.
This neighborhood school CPS mom also voted for del Valle … as I often mention when I tell my friends I am sickened by Emmanuel.
This page needs a ‘like’ option on the comments section.