CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett is transparent. She loves children. She knows education. She is here to make a difference. When she was a part of the negotiations during the Chicago Teacher’s Strike, she was adamant that she meant business and is working for the children. In her role as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, she [...]
Nate is a 12 year old 7th grade Honor Student at Dodge Academy on Chicago’s West Side. His “Ma” is our very own Chicago Mom, Natasha Nicholes of House Full Of Nicholes. Today, my mom decided to “interview” me about the strike that the teachers have been on since last week. I don’t have too [...]
The following is a Chicago Public School Father’s perspective. Craig Johnson, a native Chicagoan, is a father and former Chicago Public School student. For two weeks, Chicago’s public education landscape became a national case study on unions, politics, and education reform. The issues were lifted from the pages of reports and spreadsheets and escaped beyond [...]
On Sunday, I was blissfully celebrating turning the great age of 32, and while I was finishing my birthday dinner out with my husband, a hush fell over the restaurant as those out at 10 that night were greeted with a 42″ image of Karen Lewis’ face at a podium. For those of you who [...]
As a union member within my capacity as a law enforcement officer, I applaud negotiations. I am all for fair wages, healthcare and accountability in the workplace. I am all for getting a raise! What I am angry about, involving this Chicago Teacher Union Strike, is the claim that this “is for the kids“. It [...]
The new calendars for the Chicago Public School year has come out and I noticed something a little bit irritating. There will be 10 more days of school next year. *let’s allow that to sink in for a moment* Four of those days, I’m not too upset about – basically, there will be attendance on [...]
It’s hard to believe my youngest son is now on his fourth week of kindergarten today. The first day was a little bumpy as I juggled both of my children’s needs. Plus in the eyes of my kindergartener, I made the vital mistake of leaving him with his dad while I walked my oldest son [...]
I was casually chatting with our girls’ first grade teacher about their assessment scores. There seemed to be a discrepancy between the three different assessment tests they take each semester, with one test lower than the others. It wasn’t terrible, but it was different enough that I wondered why she thought it happened. She said, [...]
One of my favorite parts of being a parent is introducing my children to the books and movies that I loved as a kid. Now that my daughter, Zuzu, is almost 8, she is ready for some of the longer children’s books that I remember so fondly from my elementary school days. She and I just finished reading [...]
A story I read in my old-fashioned, printed newspaper really made me think about how many big, traditional corporations are still struggling to find a profitable business model in the digital world. The Chicago Tribune story “Publisher puts new limits on library e-book” outlined Harper Collins’ new policy of allowing 26 downloads and then charging [...]
What did we do before the Internet? I’m not being facetious; sometimes it’s hard to remember what life was like before we could find three disparate ingredients left in our kitchens, enter them into a search engine and come up with a dozen possible recipes. Every day there are new wonders to be discovered. I [...]
I know as a mom, I should feel outrage for the woman convicted of fraudulently sending her kids to a safer school. I know I should be up-in-arms screaming about how unfair it is that she just did what she thought was best for her children. I read the story several times trying to work up [...]
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