CPS Seeks Private Funding

By Sean Corbett in News on Oct 3, 2006 3:19AM

Several members of the Chicagoist staff are proud graduates of the Chicago Public Schools system, K-12, the whole 9 yards. We also dream of some day being super wealthy so the Tribune’s look at private donations to CPS really hits home. Private grants are up to a total of $23 million last year from $2 million five years ago. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation even gave $9 million! We wonder if they count the money Chicagoist gave to those kids selling candy into that figure? We are sure this money is going to great uses, but it’s kind of a drop in the bucket compared to the $5.3 billion CPS yearly budget.

For those who did not have the pleasure of attending the Chicago Public Schools, the CPS experience really gives you an intimate perspective on this city and what makes it the way it is. Compared to, say, suburban schools, the education at CPS is less about expanding the minds of young people, or creating the next generation of intellectuals, than it is about life experience. Sometimes people got shot, drugs were relatively easy to come by, police officers were assigned to specific schools to keep an eye on things, classrooms were overcrowded, and the education was often completely impersonal. The diversity of the city was well represented, especially in some magnet schools where the percentages of each race enrolled had to match the racial makeup of Chicago. This of course leads to the same self-imposed segregation we see in the majority of Chicago neighborhoods. The gamut of teaching styles ran from totally involved and motivating, to teachers who read directly from the textbook each and every day. Finishing high school is an accomplishment for anyone, but making it out of CPS shows you ran the gauntlet and survived.

In related news, TeacherX fills us in on the strangeness that results when a bureaucracy pretends we don’t live in a segregated city.

Thanks to letsread for the photo!