Weekend Reads 8/20/2016

Each week I prepare a digest of the week’s top stories–with a focus on education–and provide it to members of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Assocation (CPAA). One of the 12 sections in the digest is called “The President’s Picks”. This week’s picks–and a few other sections–are below.

SECTION I: The President’s Picks: The Top Five Reads of the Week

#1. Stop the CPS Distractions and Raise Some Revenue for Chicago’s Students
Chicago Public Schools has a higher rate of students in poverty than the Illinois average. It enrolls a higher percentage of students in poverty than exists in the city overall, and it enrolls more English language learners. While students with these disadvantages need more resources, CPS has consistently spent less per child, has a larger student-to-teacher ratio, hires a higher percentage of inexperienced teachers, and pays less in instructional salaries than its neighboring school districts which often have far lower percentages of at-risk students. In this post, Mark Weber–a teacher, musician, and educational researcher who goes by the pseudonym “Jersey Jazzman”–combs through the data on Chicago Public Schools and calls on the district and city officials to generate the revenue needed to fund our schools adequately instead of continuing their distracting conversation about teachers needing to take pay and benefit cuts.

Mark Weber. (August 17, 2016). Teacher Pay, Student Poverty, and Inequitably Funded Schools: A Data-Driven Story From Chicago. Jersey Jazzman Blog.
Mark Weber (August 18, 2016). Inequity in Illinois School Funding: A Follow Up. Jersey Jazzman Blog.

#2. CPS Continues to Contradict itself on Spending for Instruction vs. Spending for Private Profit
While CPS continues to claim poverty when it comes to teacher (and principal) salaries and benefits, it continues to keep billions of dollars flowing to debt investors and lending institutions that profit from their unnecessary school construction and high-interest borrowing.

For Recent Historical Context:

Juan Gonzalez (May 6, 2010). Albany charter cash cow: Big banks making a bundle on new construction as schools bear the cost. Daily News.

Related Video: Big Banks Making a Bundle on New Construction as Schools Bear the Cost. Democracy Now.

Current Articles

Lauren FitzPatrick (Aug. 17, 2016). As community questions spending, CPS lays out capital plans. Chicago Sun-Times.
Sarah Karp (August 17, 2016). Chicago Public Schools Holds Hearing On Proposed Construction. WBEZ 91.5 Chicago.
Lauren FitzPatrick (August 16, 2016). CPS wants permission to borrow up to $945 million in new bonds. Chicago Sun-Times.
Juan Perez Jr. (August 17, 2016) Chicago Teachers Union leaders decry capital plans for schools. Chicago Tribune.
Matt Masterson (August 16, 2016). CPS Seeking to Issue up to $945M in Bonds for Capital Improvements. WTTW Chicago Tonight.
Lauren FitzPatrick (August 16, 2016). CPS wants permission to borrow up to $945 million in new bonds. Chicago Sun-Times.

Juan Perez Jr. (August 17, 2016). Despite CEO’s optimism, experts say CPS operating in ‘crisis mode’. Chicago Tribune.
Juan Perez Jr. (August 16, 2016). Chicago Public Schools sets hearing on another massive bond issue. Chicago Tribune.

#3. The Context of an Impending Strike

It is within the context of the series of stories above–stories that highlight CPS and City Hall’s lack of advocacy for raising appropriate revenue for schools, as well as their willingness to spend lavishly on everything but instruction–that Chicago Teachers are preparing for the possibility of a strike. The articles above provide the context, while the following articles cover the strike possibility itself.

Matt Masterson & Paris Schutz (August 17, 2016). CTU Prepping Teachers for ‘Strong Possibility’ of Strike. Chicago Tonight, WTTW.
Ted Cox (August 16, 2016). CPS Head Downplays Strike Threat, But Teachers Remain Riled. DNA Info.
Jim Cavallero (August 16, 2016). Tribune Editorial Board consistently missing the mark. Chicago Teachers Union.
Valerie Strauss (August 16, 2016). Think teachers aren’t paid enough? It’s worse than you think. The Washington Post.
Parents 4 Teachers (August 19, 2016). Don’t blame teachers. Chicago Teachers Union.

#4. CPS Policy Threatens Special Education Students
CPS claims it is spending too much on special education students and that schools are over-classifying students but the CPS special education classification rate has been consistently below the rest of Cook County. Despite this, CPS continues to take aim at students with special needs as is described in Sarah Karp’s WBEZ report (Karp is the reporter who first exposed the Bryd-Bennett SUPES no-bid contract).

Sarah Karp (August 16, 2016). Chicago Takes Aim At Expensive Special Education Program. WBEZ 91.5 Chicago.
Matt Masterson (August 19, 2016) Speakers Question TIF Dollars, Special Ed Funding at CPS Budget Hearings. WTTW Chicago Tonight.

#5. Taking Two Lives at Once

Alison Flowers (August 19, 2016). Charged with murder, but they didn’t kill anyone—police did: A Reader investigation found ten cases since 2011 where police killed a civilian in Chicago and charged an accomplice with the murder. Chicago Reader.

Honorable Mention: A Tribune reporter reflects on the three years of his life he spent covering violence in Chicago.

Peter Nickeas (August 16, 2016). Three Years of Nights. Chicago magazine, September 2016.

SECTION II: Holding Everyone Accountable for Their Part in Educational Outcomes
From lead paint exposure and access to nutritional food options, to household income and persistent segregation, the causes of low academic attainment reach far beyond schools. Educators have always been willing to do their part, but the rest of society has been slow to do theirs. This section covers the non-school factors that impact educational attainment.