Month: January 2017

Chicago Public Schools at it Again

Chicago Public Schools often manages to get in their own way by not focusing on what’s most important (in this case the education of our children) and leaning into their values (equity, fairness, justice, and accountability). Earlier this month CPS released a request for proposals (RFP) for 40 of the school buildings they closed in 2013. As noted in several news sources (Chicago…

Chicago (and Illinois) Celebrates School Choice Week

This week is National School Choice Week.  All across America, people are celebrating the advances that we have made on creating more school options for students and families.  Even though you might not find big rallies and parades making much of this fact, don’t forget that Chicago is a school choice city. The city is home to 130 public charter…

Not everybody talking about education reform is an uninformed, billionaire racist

The Chicago Teachers Union held a protest yesterday against president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. On the one hand, nothing could have been more appropriate. But, the way the union played the message in the media made me realize that we are in for four very long years. Not only will advocates for better education opportunities for…

President Obama, We Still Need You

Hi President Obama, I heard that you are coming to Chicago this week to deliver a “farewell” address.  I can’t say that I’m not excited about that.  You have given us so many truly iconic moments over the past ten years; I’m sure this one will be amazing.  The only thing is that I can’t accept a “farewell” from you. …