Results tagged “publicschool”

Eight Chicago Public School students were shot this weekend, three of whom died. So far, 17 CPS students have died from gun violence this school year; last year, 27 students died as a result of gunshots. That was a tragic high, and this year is on pace for the same number of young people dying--Mayor Daley? How's that gun control stuff going? Mr. Governor? We know you want to build a new building at NIU, and that's great and everything, but children in Chicago are being murdered. Frequently. Maybe there's something we could do about that, too.

A new study released today says that 44 percent of CPS freshman don't graduate, and 73 percent of those drop-outs were "over age" when they started high school. While there's no one reason students drop out, there are a lot of factors that indicate how at-risk a kid is. From the Sun-Times:

Last October the Healthy Schools Campaign hosted its "Cooking Up Change Healthy Cooking Contest" on a stormy night at Salvage One. Today, the winning entrée from students at Chicago Vocational Career Academy will be served at all high schools in the Chicago Public School system.

Chicago hosted some of the world's top marathoners last weekend and is awaiting the arrival of boxers from 120 countries to compete in the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championship later this month. What you might have missed is that the world's top squash players are in town for MetroSquash with Sue at the Field Museum. Today and tomorrow, squashers (as we like to call them) from Egypt, Scotland and the UK will be competing in...

As the week winds down, here are some things of note while we go out and find a fuck lion. Mayor Daley presses Springfield to approve a sales tax increase for the Chicago area to stave off the proposed Doomsday scenarios of CTA and Pace. Bank of America’s pending acquisition of LaSalle Bank could cost the metropolitan Chicago area over 10,000 jobs over the next two years when completed. Chicago Public School teachers voted...

- As the CTA moves along with its Doomsday Scenario, Mayor Daley raised the possibility of dedicated bus lanes on Lake Shore Drive. - Dick Devine's current term as Cook County State's Attorney will be his last. - The city is placing the search for a new Police Superintendent in the hands of a highly respected D.C. think-tank. - Good news and bad news on the historic preservation front. - Four men are charged...

- Our Litigious Society: Cook County resident Jose Trujillo files a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the company and exclusive wireless carrier AT&T misled iPhone buyers by not clearly informing them that the iPhone battery was sealed, and could only be professionally replaced. - It's Called the Hippocratic Oath: Atheist and agnostic doctors are as likely to provide care for the poor as religious physicians. - A Chicago firefighter is accused of criminal sexual...

He had to promise them one of his lovely TIFs, but Daley did manage to convince mapmakers Navteq to stay in Chicago rather than relocating back to the Silicon Valley in California. It's the City of Chicago vs. Harry's Hot Dogs and the Showmen's League of America and a Giordano's restaurant. And throw in a travel agency too. City Hall wants the buildings at 300-308 W. Randolph torn down to make a small park...

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.

Some people have really tough jobs. Really tough. For example, we regular wonder how Chicago's public school teachers, police officers and sanitation workers get up day after day to do what we imagine are incredibly difficult and often thankless jobs that are non-the-less important. You know who Chicagoist doesn't worry about? Tribune dining critic Phil Vettel who had the taxing job of visiting 70 brunch spots over the past two months (with the help of some of his Tribune colleagues) in order to find the best brunches in town. And just in time for Mother's Day too!

"thumb" by The Imperfect Parent

"hailclouds" via curve my flight.

Quick, name the top five chefs in Chicago. Now name the five most famous chefs in the country. While the cuisines may vary from Grant Achatz's "molecular gastronomy" to Mario Batali's classic Italian, the one thing that most — or all — of these chefs have in common is the pale, pale, color of their skin. As Maureen Jenkins writes in today's Sun-Times, "the shortage of chefs of African descent is noteworthy if only by...

So, today is Presidents' Day. All you lucky financiers, government employees, library workers and Chicago Public School kids have the day off. We're pretty sure when we were kids, we got both Lincoln and Washington's birthdays off as separate holidays! Sweet. Talk about a short month. We don't really get it so much anymore, though. What exactly are you supposed to do on Presidents' Day? Have someone recite the Gettysburg Address? Think about all presidents...

Over the past year, it seemed as though a story about a car crash involving teens was on the Tribune’s Web site nearly every week. Apparently Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White noticed it, too, and will propose legislation to enhance the state's Graduated Licensing Program, aimed at curbing teen accidents later this week. Under White’s recommendations, a learner’s permit will no longer be the speedy ticket to a driver’s license, but would triple the...

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into...

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend...

When we were kids, we used to think Kalamazoo would be an awesome place to live, largely thanks to Dr. Seuss. But now that we are “grown-ups,” living and working in one of the finest cities in the country, such aspirations have waned.

Growing up in the big, bad northwest suburbs, Chicagoist had a bit of a rivalry with the North Shore high schoolers at New Trier. Not only did they have oodles of money and one of the most gorgeous public school campuses we've ever seen, they were just so damn smart. At least their Scholastic Bowl entrants were. Not that we were in Scholastic Bowl or anything like that. What kind of trivia nerds do you take us for? ... Don't answer that.

One of Chicagoist's favorite movies of 2005 was the adorable documentary, Mad Hot Ballroom, which told the story of New York Public School students who cha-cha-cha-ed and fox-trotted in a local competition with training they received in extra-curricular dance programs. We were apparently not the only fans of the film, as former Chicago School Board President Michael Scott brought a similar program to Chicago Public Schools after seeing the film. Current Board President Rufus Williams...

It's October, which means Chicago’s arts community is once again collaborating with the City to promote its glorious self during Chicago Artists Month. Through Halloween, you may discover (or be reminded) how accessible and downright friendly that community is and, if they have their way, you'll spend the frigid months touring galleries instead of watching shameful TV. There's simply not enough time for us to visit every event in every corner of the city, but we'll try to make time for these:

"an american dream" via D.James

Labor Day weekend usually finds Chicagoist dashing on our bike between Jazz Fest and the African Festival of the Arts. So we have to pick between Charlie Hunter at Grant Park or Slick Rick at Washington Park tonight; or Jason Moran and the Bandwagon versus Rhymefest tomorrow. At both festivals we're guaranteed of some good living, whether it's a picnic with friends at Jazz Fest, or sampling the best delicacies of the African diaspora at...

Tibetan Mozart's Requiem by MagnaWave

Chicago's First Lady, Maggie Daley, was diagnosed with breast cancer almost four years ago. Since that time she has quietly fought her disease and lended her name and support to various breast cancer charities and events. Yesterday she opened up ever so slightly about her ongoing fight against the disease.

Apparently out of the blue, the principal of Clemente High School resigned from her position. Also unexpectedly, she did so via email while on vacation in Brazil.

CPS is on fire when it comes to making the news lately. Today they announced that they are closing three underperforming grade schools and one high school. The roughly 1,000 students at Farren, Frazier, and Morse grade schools will be shifted to other, better-off schools in their respective areas, while Collins High School will stop accepting incoming freshmen and close its doors in three years. The closings are part of the CPS Renaissance 2010 Program,...

Deeming it unfair that the students get to have all the fun during Standardized Testing Season, the Illinois State Board of Education's Rules Committee will consider new guidelines today that would require some teachers to pass up to 10 exams to keep their jobs. The rules have been proposed to meet requirements of No Child Left Behind law demand that all teachers be "highly qualified" by the end of the year. The rest of the...

Running a successful school, let alone an entire school system, is a complicated thing. For centuries the best and brightest have wrestled with the issue. Over the years we've been told that the Chicago public school system is in worse shape than we thought (in February the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research reported that in 2004 only 54 percent of students at Chicago's public high schools graduated).

This Friday the Inter-American Magnet School is hosting their first annual spring benefit, Noche Cultural, from 6pm - 8:30pm.