According to an article from the Chicago Sun-Times , Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has released a statement about the district stance regarding the fatal shooting that occurred at a high school basketball game just over a week ago. In her statement, Byrd-Bennett warns CPS coaches that their sports programs could be put in jeopardy if they fail to follow sportsmanship rules and appropriate conduct…
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More Illinois teacher strikes?
The school board and teachers union in Evergreen Park School District 124 met Wednesday night in an effort to negotiate an end to a strike that began Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. According to NBC Chicago, teachers left the session after midnight, claiming they felt disrespected by the district and were being treated poorly. A statement from the group said the school board rejected the union’s most recent proposal despite progress made on the health care front. Illinois Federation of Teachers spokesman Dave Comerford says there was an outburst from the district’s attorneys during Wednesday night’s talks, and that teachers will no longer be sitting down with the board face-to-face. The union instead wants a mediator to oversee negotiations by communicating with both sides in separate rooms, NBC Chicago reports…
…Read MoreCPS, CTU agree to hire more teachers for longer school day
According to the Chicago Sun-Times , the city of Chicago and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) have reached an agreement that will put more teachers in the classroom in order to work the 20 percent longer school day. The agreement between the two parties comes in light of the threat of a CTU strike loomed on the horizon, specifically a 90 percent strike authorization vote and months of discussion on how the lengthened school day would be staffed and funded…
…Read MoreWatch: Chicago teacher sues for the right to say N-word in class
Lincoln Brown, a 48-year-old Chicago Public Schools teacher, has filed a federal lawsuit against the district after being suspended without pay for five days for using the “n-word” as a part of a lesson highlighting the “perils of racism,” the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The incident occurred last October when Brown said he used the n-word after two of his students were passing notes with rap lyrics that included it, according to the Sun-Times. The lawsuit alleges Brown used the word during a “teachable moment” in the context of the book Huckleberry Finn in order to show how such language can hurt. But as the words left Brown’s lips, the school’s principal walked in to the Murray Language Academy classroom. Murray Principal George Mason charged Brown with “using verbally abusive language to or in front of students” as well as “cruel, immoral, negligent, or criminal conduct or communication to a student, that causes psychological or physical harm.”
…Read MoreChicago Public School system announces guidelines for longer school days
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Public School system has issued guidelines that detail what the longer school days are to consist of. The plan includes mandatory recess for all elementary schools, as well as an additional 54 minutes of instructional classroom time for elementary students and 46 minutes of instructional time for high school students. WGN News added most grade schools will devote two hours to reading and writing, 60 to 80 minutes on math, 40 to 60 minutes on science and 30 to 40 minutes on social studies…
…Read MoreNumber of homeless students surges, putting strain on schools
At 15, Jarvis Nelson should be in high school and even thinking about college. Yet Jarvis is in seventh grade, and doesn’t know where he’ll go to high school — or even where he will be living — when he graduates from junior high, hopefully next year, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. That’s because Jarvis has attended three different schools in the past four months. He’s lived in three different places on the North and South Sides of the city — including his most recent home, a temporary shelter in Lake View. Jarvis, like thousands of other students in Chicago Public Schools, is homeless. He is just one of more than 10,660 students who were homeless at the beginning of the school year. That’s 1,466 more than at the same point in the previous school year, according to a CPS tally…
…Read MoreSome Illinois public school teachers earning six-figure salaries
Want to wind up making at least six figures as a public school teacher? Asks the Chicago Sun-Times. Send your resume to Highland Park or Deerfield High School, both in Township High School District 113. The district–which has no teachers union–boasted the highest average teacher pay in the state last school year, at $104,737…
…Read MoreChicago Public Schools crack down on cyber bullies
Digitally placing classmates’ heads onto other people’s bodies, leaving abusive messages on Facebook profiles, eMailing X-rated images, and inciting violence via text message are all part of the modern school bully’s arsenal, Chicago Public School officials say. But now new district rules mean “cyber bullies” caught using cell phones or social networking web sites to pick on classmates face mandatory suspension, possible expulsion, and a police investigation, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Officials say the tough stance — which regulates student behavior off campus and outside school hours, as well as during the school day — is necessary to tackle a growing trend of cyber bullying. Studies suggest as many as four in 10 kids are targeted by bullies online. Under the new Student Code of Conduct, passed by the Chicago Board of Education on July 28, cyber bullying will be considered as serious an offense as burglary, aggravated assault, gang activity, drug use, or more traditional forms of bullying. Students who use computers or phones to “stalk, harass, bully, or otherwise intimidate others” will be suspended for five to 10 days and could be referred for expulsion. The details automatically will be referred to Chicago Police, who could hit students with criminal charges. Students caught using district computers to harass others also could lose their computer privileges…
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