Results tagged “arneduncan”

Chicago Public School head Arne Duncan paid a visit to the Education Department in Washington, D.C. today, setting tongues wagging about the implications as Duncan is a close Obama friend and has long been rumored to be a potential candidate for the Obama cabinet, whether the Mayor likes it or not. Duncan, however, says it was just a friendly drop-in, saying, "I was just meeting with Secretary Spellings; we're hoping she comes to Chicago next week to talk about some of the work that she supports in Chicago." Duncan is known for being one of Obama's hoops buddies and has thorough knowledge of the President-Elect's education plan, saying, "He has an unbelievably thoughtful, comprehensive plan, and there's a real opportunity to do something special going forward." As Hawk would say, "He gone!"

This weekend, Chicago Public Schools head Arne Duncan met with one of the families of the three boys who drowned last week in the Fox River during a leadership camp. Duncan sat down with the family of Jimmy Avant, who drowned attempting to rescue two of his friends whose paddleboat capsized; the boys were partaking in what one sheriff deemed "shenanigans" late last Thursday night when the incident occurred. Avant's mother, Sharon Gowdy, said:

They were all working hard. They all had great dreams…dreams are shattered now. He'll never drive a car. He'll never have a child. He'll never walk across a stage. He'll never go to college...They shouldn't have been allowed to sneak out there -- you know kids will be kids.

David Axelrod, the man who laid out the plan to get Sen. Barack Obama to the White House, is following Obama as Senior Advisor in the White House. Axlerod has his own consulting firm, AKP&D, and also worked for Deval Patrick, who became the first black governor of Massachusetts. Axelrod is a University of Chicago graduate and a former reporter for the Trib.

CPS unveiled a pilot program today that would give freshman and sophomores at 20 schools a cash incentive to earn good grades: As are worth $50, Bs $35, and Cs $20. Students are graded every five weeks in math, English, social sciences, science and physical education, and they get half the money up front and half upon graduation. Wait, you can get $20 for getting a C in gym?

In separate announcements yesterday, the city unveiled two new programs that use text messaging to communicate city services.

Citing the poor economy, Daley announced yesterday that the city wouldn't raise property taxes to fund education, in spite of his threats to the contrary. "Does this plan mean that we are able to expand all the programs we'd like to next year? No. Like every student and parent, I had hoped we'd be able to do more next year," Daley said. "But Chicago taxpayers have been generous and supported our school improvements, and they deserve a break."

With tensions running high downstate over passage of the state budget and capital spending bills, Mayor Daley and schools chief Arne Duncan chimed in Tuesday, warning that a "lack of trust" in Springfield could endanger the quality of life in Chicago. "It's like the Hatfields and McCoys down there, unfortunately. Lack of trust," said the mayor. "I hope they can get around that." Daley and Duncan are hoping the state comes through with an additional $180 million to expand kindergarten, evening classes and foreign-language instruction, as well as other programs in the public schools. Duncan also announced that the school board was canceling its regular meeting this week so that he and other school leaders can head to Springfield to lobby.

Two teenagers have been charged as adults in the weekend killing of 18-year-old Chavez Clarke, who was shot on his way out of Saturday classes at Simeon Career Academy. Samuel Hill, 17 (far left), and Roland Little, 19 (left), were charged with first-degree murder; police say Clarke and Hill, the shooter, had on-going beef. Students from Simeon are planning a rally at the State of Illinois building downtown tomorrow to protest against gun violence.

Last weekend we were at Bridgeport Coffee House restocking on their "Stockyard" blend when we noticed a blend we hadn't seen before, "Ravenswood Roast." We asked owner Mike Pilkington when he started making blends honoring north side neighborhoods. "I'm not" was his answer. He then explained that the "Ravenswood Roast" was part of a new fundraising arm of his wholesale business. The idea began in spring, when a customer came into the shop inquiring about...

Here are some other newsworthy items on the day the earth stole Heaven. A Southern Baptist Church in Romeoville had problems with their divorced pastor remarrying, but turned the other cheek when they allowed another preacher/convicted sex offender to become more involved in church business. Both resigned last week. A local plastic surgeon was reprimanded by North Carolina authorities for unprofessional conduct when a woman seeking laser hair removal died undergoing treatment at a...

When we went to school, we didn't have any fancy phones to text on all day, we couldn't have any unexcused absences without threat of Saturday school and our shorts and skirts had to come down to our knees. That's why we were absolutely shocked to read the results of a survey of Chicago Public Schools found that the average freshman missed 19 (!) days in an academic year and had 2.6 F's. F's! Is...

Faced with declining revenues, the Tribune plans on placing advertisements on the bottom of its front page. Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons isn't the only person charged with running a dog-fighting ring. So is 29-year-old South Holland resident Kevin Taylor. Like he needs the money: Oprah's throwing a fundraiser for Barack Obama at her California estate. Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan makes his case for money from Springfield. Oak Park supports same-sex...

Just as Arne Duncan announced that Chicago Public Schools has to delay decisions about its budget until the cracker jacks in Springfield stop embarrassing the hell out of their constituents, he got some bad news: The Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Board of Education is recommending that the state board of education pay back $16.8 million in federal funds CPS may have misused. The feds aren't really saying that CPS didn't need...

Last Friday, 775 teachers in the Chicago Public School system were given the ol' heave-ho. All involved are Probationary Appointed Teachers, or PATs, those who have been in the system less than five years. Unlike last year, these firings are not budget-related; they were let go for "various reasons," with the emphasis on teachers that were not performing well.

"Kershaw Tie Crane in Repose @ Belmont Under a Full Moon" via TheeErin.