Progress Illinois

Lewis Elementary teachers agreed to have their school turned around but only if Strategic Learning Initiatives (SLI) is leading the action, they said at a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) hearing Thursday night.

Under CPS' proposal, Lewis' teachers and staff are slated to be fired and the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) would take over the school in the fall.

But teachers at Lewis say they have been used as "guinea pigs" for various programs that begin to show improvement after a few years, such as the Teacher Advancement Program, but are then abruptly ended by the district. 

"We all know that when you introduce a new program it takes time for the staff and students to adjust," said Corliss Wade, a first-grade teacher at Lewis. Read more »

A plethora of teachers, parents and students attempted to counter Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) claim that Thomas Chalmers Specialty Elementary is “chronically underperforming” Thursday night at the school’s final public hearing.

Attributed to “low performance” and “insufficient progress”, a proposal by CPS has suggested replacing Chalmers’ entire staff with the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL), a school turnaround contractor, by next year.

But since school Principal Kent Nolen was hired in 2010, Chalmers has seen significant growth, according to Thursday’s speakers. If the West Side school were permitted to continue on its current course, presenters said it would surely close achievement gaps.

“We pray that this hearing officer holds the current faculty, staff and administration accountable for the work they’ve accomplished, not penalizing them for work under the former administration,” said W. T. Harris, a parent of one Chalmers student, member of the local school council (LSC) and one of approximately 75 attendees.

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