Explore our content

All types | All dates | All authors
Race to the top
Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
5:53pm
Mon Sep 17, 2012

Quinn Sits Out On Chicago Teachers' Strike

With the Chicago Teachers Union strike spilling into its second week, Gov. Pat Quinn skipped across state lines today for a meeting of the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association in Minneapolis. The meeting involved Japanese business leaders “strengthening economic ties to Illinois,” according to a press release.

Despite signing into law major education bills integral to the labor standoff, Quinn has been on the sidelines for the first Chicago teachers strike in 25 years. Asked last week what the governor thought of the dispute, Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson e-mailed that, “We want the parties to negotiate in good faith and reach a resolution quickly that puts the students first.” Read more »

PI Original
by Matthew Blake
7:20pm
Tue Sep 11, 2012

Obama, Race To The Top And The Chicago Teachers Strike

Education

The CTU strike is more than a political thicket for the president. It also tests the ramifications of Race to the Top, the Obama administration’s most impactful education policy and one crafted by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the former head of Chicago Public Schools.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
3:22pm
Mon Sep 10, 2012

Community Advocates See CTU Strike As Opportunity To Highlight National Education Issues

Advocacy groups across Chicago mobilized today in support of the Chicago Teachers Union strike, setting up “freedom camps” and scheduling events for the next two weeks including a “freedom ride” to Washington, D.C.

The advocates' approach to the strike contrasts the argument being made by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. While Emanuel frames the strike as a matter of just two outstanding issues, advocates seek to elevate the dispute to a national referendum on urban education policy.

“This labor fight is much bigger than bread and butter issues for teachers,” says Amisha Patel, executive director of the Grassroots Collaborative. According to Patel, the strike is about whether CTU can halt “corporate control over schools”, saying that the business-focused approach to school reform has been going on at least since former Chicago mayor Richard Daley unveiled the pro-charter school “Renaissance 2010” program in 2004. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
12:15pm
Tue Jun 1, 2010

Second Round Of "Race To The Top" Begins Today

Today marks the deadline to submit applications for the next round of "Race to the Top" (RTTT) funding.  The brainchild of Arne Duncan, RTTT is a federal program aimed at improving the U.S. education system by offering $4.3 billion in grants to states that set certain reforms into motion.  While Illinois didn't receive any funding in the first round, the Tribune reported last week that more school districts have gotten behind the effort in anticipation of the second round:

Illinois placed fifth in the first round of the grant competition, and was dinged for the limited support its application had received from school districts and teachers. Just 42 percent of districts and about 20 percent of local teachers unions supported the application. [...]

For the second attempt, 500 school districts backed the state's reform agenda, committing to link teacher and principal pay to student exam scores, for instance. That's up from 368 districts in round one. Of them, 234 came with the backing of the local teachers union, compared with 115 before.

To learn more about the debate over the program -- and the Obama/Duncan agenda in general -- check out these recent New York Times Magazine and Wall Street Journal articles.