Café Society is roving next week and will meet on Tuesday (Feb 23) and Wednesday (Feb 24) at Chicago Public Radio’s West Side Bureau (see address below)! Join us for two intimate facilitated discussions featuring James Thindwa, Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers (Feb 23), and Marvin Hoffman, Urban Teacher Education Program at the University of Chicago (Feb 24), who will kick off community dialogues about education in Chicago. Space is limited – reserve your spot today!

Arguably, nothing is more important than the education of younger generations. However, for many students living in urban areas, the public school system is failing them. In June 2004, Mayor Richard Daley and former CPS CEO Arne Duncan launched Renaissance 2010, designed to “increase the number of high quality educational options in communities across Chicago by 2010.” With their goal of turning around failing schools, Chicago leaders promised to close the worst schools and open new innovative schools. In 2006, Duncan also embraced a new strategy known as the “turnaround” that replaces the staff at failing schools but leaves the children in place.

As Arne Duncan, now U.S. Secretary of Education, takes the Chicago model to a national level, this strategy for school reform has come under increasing scrutiny. Just last month, the Chicago Tribune released a report claiming that, “Renaissance 2010 has done little to improve the educational performance of the city’s school system.” According to the Tribune’s analysis of 2009 state test data, scores from the elementary schools created under Renaissance 2010 are nearly identical to the city average, and scores at the remade high schools are below the already abysmal city average. Others, including President Obama, have lauded it as the future of education in Chicago and nationally. Citing other statistics that show improvement in Chicago schools during his announcement of Duncan’s appointment, Obama pointed out that Chicago’s dropout rate “has gone down every year he’s [Duncan’s] been in charge.”

The increasing number of charter schools in Chicago as a result of Renaissance 2010 has also stirred controversy. Proponents of charter schools often site the bureaucracy of the Chicago Public School system as a hindrance to meeting the needs of students. They say that charter schools provide an independent educational model that is better able to create a community-based curriculum. According to the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS), “Charter schools help to build greater involvement between schools and the communities they serve. 80% of charter schools in Illinois have parents, community members, teachers, and civic leaders on their boards of directors. Charter schools also work to help local families find the school that best meets their needs.”

On the other hand, critics of Renaissance 2010 say that students are being hurt by charter schools. According to a report published by Parents United for Responsible Education, “Special enrollment procedures, boundaries, transportation challenges, fees, etc, which are characteristic of charters and other non-traditional schools can act as barriers to exclude students with parents who are less capable and have fewer resources.”

To complicate the matter further, some say the Chicago Teachers Union is weakened as many teachers at charter schools are prevented from joining the union. Proponents of charter schools fear unionization complicates their school designs. Linda Lutton reports for WBEZ, "Simon Hess is the CEO of Civitas Schools, the nonprofit that manages the three schools where teachers are unionizing. … [He] fears a union contract could jeopardize the longer school day and year Civitas has. And he says he needs to be able to let teachers go if they aren’t right for the job."

In June of 2009, teachers at Civtas were in fact allowed to unionize, after a 73-49 vote. And in October of 2009, in an 87 to 8 vote in favor of ratification, teachers at Civtas finalized their first union contract.  Civtas Spanish teacher and chair of the negotiations Emily Mueller said, “This contract puts students first, gives teachers a voice and a seat at the table, and makes parents and the community partners in education.”

Where do you stand on the charter school controversy, are charter schools helping or hurting Chicago’s students? How does a school closing affect the students in the neighborhood, especially when the community protests? What do students stand to gain if charter school faculty is allowed to join teachers unions? If we are going to spend federal dollars on education, should subsidies be given to charter schools run by private companies? What else can be done to improve schools?

Suggested Resources

• Data proves charter schools work
• Chicago charter schools fare well in new study but charters nationwide don’t   
• CPS Closures: Will it really improve the School System?
• Chicago schools report contradicts Obama and Duncan   
• Charter Schools are Redefining Union Contracts     
• Guggenheim Alumni Protest Proposed Turnaround   
• What’s Wrong with Ren 2010?   
• Arne Duncan and the Chicago Success Story, Myth or Reality?
• Why Parents Keep Fighting to Keep “Failing” Schools Open