YouTube co-founder Steve Chen has made a $1 million gift to his alma mater, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, to help build a $1.9 million “Innovation Hub” modeled in part after the startup collaborative workspace at the Merchandise Mart, called 1871, the Chicago Tribune reports. School officials announced the donation Thursday, saying they hope to open the 6,400-square-foot center by late 2015 or early 2016. It will be an open space to house workshops, events for the Fox Valley business community, startup pitch contests and the academy’s Total Applied Learning for Entrepreneurs program, which teaches students about entrepreneurship…
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32,000 Chicago students were chronically absent in 2010-11
Nearly 32,000 — or approximately 1 in 8 — Chicago public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade missed four weeks of class or more during the 2010-11 school year, according to a Chicago Tribune investigation. The paper analyzed internal attendance data for about 247,000 elementary school students from 2010-11, the most recent figures available. It examined both excused and unexcused absences, as well as gaps in enrollment for students who remained in the district. Among the report’s findings: the trend of missed classroom time tends to begin early. During the 2010-11 school year, 19 percent of the city’s kindergartners were officially listed as chronic truants because they recorded nine or more unexcused absences. According to the Tribune, the extent of the problem is often masked by school policies that dictate a child only be counted as absent if he or she is actively enrolled…
…Read MoreMilitary leaders point to schools in U.S. fat fight
Former U.S military leaders have identified a latent threat to the potential for a leaner, more agile fighting force: the school vending machine, the Chicago Tribune reports. In a report to be released on Tuesday, a group of 300 retired military officers said school-age children are eating 400 billion excess calories a year – the equivalent of 2 billion candy bars – from junk food sold in such machines as well as in snack bars and cafeterias that should be off-limits. Those extra calories from candy, chips and sugary drinks amount to about 130 calories a day, which over a student’s school years can lead to extra pounds…
…Read MoreSchool employees accused of lying for free, reduced lunches
A dozen Chicago Public Schools principals and assistant principals have been removed from their posts following allegations that they lied on forms to get their children free or reduced lunches, the Chicago Tribune reports. They are among 26 current or former CPS employees accused of lying on federal school lunch forms that allowed their combined 45 children to receive free or reduced-price lunches at 40 schools across the district, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The school officials, whose names have not been released since they have yet to participate in due process hearings on the allegations, would face disciplinary action, including termination…
…Read MoreCPS mulls deal to expand virtual education
With an eye toward expanding Chicago Public Schools’ online education offerings, the school board will consider awarding a share of a three-year, $1.9 million contract Wednesday to K-12 Virtual Schools LLC, a lucrative, publicly traded company that educators warn has a history of poor academic performance, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Virginia-based K-12 has been a forerunner in virtual classrooms since its creation a decade ago. It is now the nation’s largest for-profit education management organization, with more than 39,000 students in two dozen schools across the U.S. K-12 opened Chicago’s Virtual Charter High School to much fanfare in 2006, part of a push under former CPS chief Arne Duncan to expand alternative education options for parents seeking tougher curriculum for their children or safer learning environments outside of traditional neighborhood schools…
…Read MoreLawsuit accuses security guard of handcuffing first-graders for talking in class
The attorney for a family suing Chicago Public Schools over the alleged handcuffing of a first-grader in 2010 said Tuesday that the boy was among several 6- and 7-year-olds who were detained and handcuffed for hours for talking in class, reports the Chicago Tribune. In an email to the Tribune, attorney Michael Carin said school officials at Carver Primary School on the Far South Side authorized the on-campus security guard in March 2010 to discipline some first-graders who were being disruptive…
…Read MorePublic high school grads struggle at college
New data show GPAs decline markedly, raising questions about whether students are prepared for demands of higher education, the Chicago Tribune reports. Ariana Taylor thought she was ready for college after taking Advanced Placement physics and English at her Chicago public high school and graduating with a 3.2 GPA. Instead, at Illinois State University, she was overwhelmed by her course load and the demands of college. Her GPA freshman year dropped to 2.7—and that was significantly better than other graduates from Morgan Park High School, who averaged a 1.75 at Illinois State…
…Read MoreInd. schools chief suggests grades for districts
Indiana’s state schools superintendent wants to start giving school districts letter grades on an A-to-F scale to hold them accountable for how their schools perform, the Chicago Tribune reports. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett made the suggestion Wednesday to the State Board of Education, which is expected this month to decide whether to back the first state takeover of troubled schools…
…Read MoreBrizard to realign ‘mini-superintendents’
Two months into his new role overseeing Chicago Public Schools, CEO Jean-Claude Brizard has begun reorganizing a school system he calls “fragmented,” reports the Chicago Tribune. Brizard will tell Chicago Board of Education members Wednesday that the district will change the structure of its middle managers, whom some in the system call “mini-superintendents.”
…Read MoreIowa’s education system needs overhaul
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned Monday that Iowa’s education system, once among the nation’s best is slowly sinking into mediocrity and needs a dramatic overhaul, reports the Chicago Tribune.
“Iowa at that time was absolutely at the mountaintop,” said Duncan. “Today, the picture is quite different.”
Duncan spoke Monday morning at an education summit organized by Gov. Terry Branstad, who also told the 1,700 people in attendance that Iowa’s education standards need to be toughened……Read More