The stars are aligning at CPS. Seize the moment!
April 17, 2011
Nothing is more critical to Chicago's future than our children's education. And yet for years we have cheated them. From kindergarten through 12th grade, a child in Houston goes to school more than three years longer than a student in Chicago. It's no wonder only half of Chicago Public Schools' students graduate from high school.
We are at a turning point.
The education reform legislation that passed the Illinois Senate last week provides a model for action and a window for change. While some leaders across the country have frozen out stakeholders in order to advance a partisan agenda, elected officials and stakeholders in Illinois embraced the public's demand for reform and passed a unanimous agreement. If the House passes the bill and Gov. Pat Quinnsigns it into law, Chicago students will be able to compete and win on an even playing field against others from around the country and the world.
The results will be meaningful:
• A longer school day and year on par with those of students in other major cities.
Nothing is more critical to Chicago's future than our children's education. And yet for years we have cheated them. From kindergarten through 12th grade, a child in Houston goes to school more than three years longer than a student in Chicago. It's no wonder only half of Chicago Public Schools' students graduate from high school.
We are at a turning point.
The education reform legislation that passed the Illinois Senate last week provides a model for action and a window for change. While some leaders across the country have frozen out stakeholders in order to advance a partisan agenda, elected officials and stakeholders in Illinois embraced the public's demand for reform and passed a unanimous agreement. If the House passes the bill and Gov. Pat Quinnsigns it into law, Chicago students will be able to compete and win on an even playing field against others from around the country and the world.
The results will be meaningful:
• A longer school day and year on par with those of students in other major cities.
Nothing is more critical to Chicago's future than our children's education. And yet for years we have cheated them. From kindergarten through 12th grade, a child in Houston goes to school more than three years longer than a student in Chicago. It's no wonder only half of Chicago Public Schools' students graduate from high school.
We are at a turning point.
The education reform legislation that passed the Illinois Senate last week provides a model for action and a window for change. While some leaders across the country have frozen out stakeholders in order to advance a partisan agenda, elected officials and stakeholders in Illinois embraced the public's demand for reform and passed a unanimous agreement. If the House passes the bill and Gov. Pat Quinnsigns it into law, Chicago students will be able to compete and win on an even playing field against others from around the country and the world.
The results will be meaningful:
• A longer school day and year on par with those of students in other major cities.
Nothing is more critical to Chicago's future than our children's education. And yet for years we have cheated them. From kindergarten through 12th grade, a child in Houston goes to school more than three years longer than a student in Chicago. It's no wonder only half of Chicago Public Schools' students graduate from high school.
We are at a turning point.
The education reform legislation that passed the Illinois Senate last week provides a model for action and a window for change. While some leaders across the country have frozen out stakeholders in order to advance a partisan agenda, elected officials and stakeholders in Illinois embraced the public's demand for reform and passed a unanimous agreement. If the House passes the bill and Gov. Pat Quinn signs it into law, Chicago students will be able to compete and win on an even playing field against others from around the country and the world.
The results will be meaningful:
• A longer school day and year on par with those of students in other major cities.
• Compensating teachers like the professionals they are.
• Reforming tenure to ensure that teachers are retained based on their quality.
• Raising the threshold on the number of teachers who would have to vote for a strike to ensure that students aren't held hostage.
Technology and resources can enhance a child's education, but they can't make up for missing fundamentals: well-trained teachers, accountable principals, involved parents. Springfield can deliver the tools CPS needs to succeed. But it's up to Chicago to advance those reforms that will put our students first.
Rewarding teachers for success is a good first step. We also need to train new teachers and better train the ones we have. We should grow the ranks of top-flight educators by expanding our urban teacher residency program. This will add 160 highly qualified teachers to the corps each year, each of them committed to teaching for a minimum of five years in Chicago Public Schools.
At the helm of every school, we need a principal who is driven, innovative and accountable. Adopting performance contracts between each principal and the CPS will help us achieve that goal. These performance contracts would set clear expectations for student achievement and hold the principal accountable for results. Principals who achieve their performance goals should be recognized and rewarded with bonuses, just as we reward teacher excellence.
Our teachers and principals can't succeed without parents as their partners in education. But if we expect parents to be partners, we should treat them like partners. Parents should have access to the same information about school performance that principals receive. And if a school fails to educate students year after year, parents should have the right to change that school. Implementing a "parent trigger" would give a majority of parents the ability to shut down a consistently failing school and bring in a new operator capable of meeting the needs of their children.
Parental involvement means more accountability and responsibility.
Chicago should institute parent-teacher contracts at the beginning of the school year. Parents will be asked to limit TV and video game time and to read with their children regularly. Parents will be empowered with knowledge and control over the education their children receive; in return, they will be asked to become full partners in the process of giving their kids a quality education.
We now have the tools to bring a culture of accountability to the Chicago Public Schools, something that has been missing for years. Principals have the power to reward and promote teachers based on their performance, not just their seniority. Teachers have the right incentives to focus on our children rather than the bureaucracy. And parents will be held accountable and rewarded for being involved in their child's educational success.
Let's seize this moment. I've seen many a policy battle, and I know how rarely the stars align. The public has demanded reform, stakeholders are off the sidelines, and all parties are working together. Springfield is on the verge of giving Chicago the building blocks we have spent years waiting for.
Let's finish the job.
Rahm Emanuel is the mayor-elect of Chicago.
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