Here are a a few notes from the information I gained at the Chicago Public School Board Meeting today.

• There are 283 schools on probation – 207 elementary schools and 76 high schools. That’s more than half of the high schools in the city.
• 72 schools have been on probation for 5 years in a row and 16 have been on probation for 15 years in a row. #Fail
• The average ACT score is 17.2 in Chicago; the benchmark score is 21.
• Over a 20- year period, there has been no improvement in African American and Hispanic reading. There has been an incremental improvement in math.
• There is a widening gap in reading and math scores between white and black and Hispanic students.
• The talent shortage in the principal and chief positions with the ability to address diverse students needs is being addressed.
• Only 7.9% of Chicago’s 11th graders are college ready.
• Parents will receive school progress reports during report card pick-up.
• Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teacher Union, noted that Chicago has the largest class sizes of any major district in the country
• Arguments for and against the extended school day were made. I guess I’d like to know what is going to be done during that extra time and will teachers get paid for the extra time?
• And are charter schools actually better than traditional schools?

Do you have any thoughts about the things listed above?

Image: technotraits