student achievement
I Was a Misfit in School, Then I Was Homeless, Now I'm Helping Kids Avoid That Same Fate
I went to Chicago Agricultural High School. It’s known as one of the best high schools in the Chicagoland area. Everyone told me it was an honor and privilege to be there. But for me, every day was a...
Teaching
True Confession: I Care About My Students’ Test Score. You Should Too.
I care about my students’ test scores. That sentiment is a bit taboo nowadays, especially in “progressive” and “liberal” circles, where I run. But it’s the truth: I care about how my students do on...
Charter Schools
In Chicago, Charter Schools Are Helping the ‘Underdog’ Kids Get to College
If you’re an underdog kind of kid in Chicago, and you want to go to college and graduate, your chances of success are better now than they were 20 years ago. Much of the credit for that change goes...
School Choice
Why Are We Complaining About Common Funding a Charter School? It’s a Good Thing
Last week, the Chicago Sun-Times released an article announcing that Chicago native, rapper and actor, Common, was financially backing an arts-focused charter school. And as the link views and...
student achievement
Could This Teacher and Leadership Program Be Part of the 'Secret Sauce' for Chicago Schools?
In most urban school districts, "turnaround" is a dirty word. Turnaround schools are first identified as failing and left to languish for some time in obscurity. Then, when the student test scores...
Poverty
Coffee Break: Sarah Duncan on How Chicago Is Solving the Dropout Problem
In a recent speech to the Council of Great City Schools, Bill Gates singled out Chicago’s Network for College Success (NCS) as an example of a network of schools using data and research to solve...
