Detroit Public Schools (DPS) "Emergency Manager" Roy Roberts stepped down from his position on May 2. During his announcement, Roberts said that his instructions when he took the job were to "blow up the district and dismantle it."

"Emergency managers" were tasked with fixing local governments...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a strange habit of hiring people from outside Chicago to run the city of Chicago.

His police chief was from New York.

Both of his appointed schools chiefs were also from New York.

In the days of...

An email surfaced recently from a Chicago principal informing his staff that the graphic novel Persepolis has to be pulled from bookshelves per Chicago Public Schools directive. He gave no reason and even admitted that he did not know the reason.

The rhetorical question I heard thrown...

Illinois State Superintendent of Education Chris Koch wants to repeal class size limits for special education students. This policy change runs counter to the prevailing research that shows class size truly does matter. Koch stated, "Class size is an issue that is best addressed locally."

Although I...

Chicago's First Ward Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno was publicly jeered during a school closing hearing in the Logan Square neighborhood. These sham hearings, underwritten by the Walton Family Foundation (a foundation run by the founders of Wal-Mart), are a tool for Chicago Public Schools to sell school closings...

I initially wanted to congratulate Chicago Public Schools on its social media campaign celebrated by Crain's Chicago Business. After a slow start, I was happy to see that my tax dollars were being used to reach out to the community. CPS used Twitter and other web-based tools to...

On the campaign trail in 2000, Texas Governor George W. Bush offered his thoughts on education reform, advocating for more emphasis on assessment. Governor Bush, who later as president signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) came out hard against the status quo with his...

I am a resident of the Chicago's First Ward, which means my representative on City Council is "Hipster" Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno. I was quite disappointed early this week to read an email sent from his office admonishing members of Chicago Teachers Union in their fight for better...

Slick politicians know very well that it is best to use "proxies" to divide a community. Proxies are people who can say the things leaders cannot say. Remember the "Swiftboat Veterans for Truth" campaign that was launched during the 2004 presidential election? The GOP used a group of...

In a recently released video, Chicago Teachers Union shows the games played by wealthy elites to smear the Union in the midst of heated contract negotiations. Chicago Teachers Union has maintained that it will not bargain in the press over a fair contract, but associates of Mayor Rahm...

My years as a Chicago Public Schools teacher gave me a very unique view of the system. I plan on sending my child to CPS schools, but with some reservation. I know how abusive the system can be to its employees and how that can affect the overall school climate....

Before you read on, I have to warn you. This piece is not a critique of Teach for America. It's merely a question.

The two-year program that places recent college graduates into teaching positions at urban schools was initially started to fix a teaching shortage....

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Chicago cannot afford to give its public school teachers an 18.2 percent pay raise, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday, dismissing a fact finder's report as "not tethered to reality."

Emanuel all but dismissed the work of arbitrator of Edwin H. Benn and...

Each injustice, however small, must be confronted. That's how we change history. That's really what the "progress" in "progressive" should mean.

Chicago Public Schools history teacher Jennifer Johnson was tired of watching her colleagues being bashed by out-of-state special interest groups and opportunistic politicians. Many of these groups...

How many big city mayors are in our family?

How many of your friends are executive directors of Astroturf organizations?

Are you on a bowling league with any members of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board?

Some of you reading this may have a few of these elites...

Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel does not have to explain himself. He doesn't have to, to parents, students or any taxpayer. When he said he wanted to extend the school day, he was literally under no obligation to consult with anyone he did not appoint. State law allows him to extend...

I began my teaching career at Wendell Phillips High School, a school with a student population that is almost entirely African American and living in poverty. Although I had good liberal intentions, my experiences as a middle class Asian American made it a challenge to relate to my students. I...

I blogged about the December 14th takeover of the Chicago Board of Education meeting by parents and educators where I described the feeling of being dismissed by powerful people while presenting cold, hard facts. This was the first Board meeting after Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced its desire...

This weekend, I felt like I had the same conversation every 15 minutes regarding the Chicago Sun-Times and Better Government Association report on CPS employee unused sick days. Knowing that I was a teacher, over and over again, many of my friends and acquaintances told me, "You know,...

The phrase "education reform" has been co-opted to mean a narrow party program advocated by the reform establishment (mainly billionaires and their designees) that includes a barrage of testing, charter schools, and taking experienced educators out of the classroom.