Wanted--a new brand name for Daley school closings

What ever happened to accountability?

As I have been pointing out for the past few months, the words Renaissance 2010 are rarely even uttered these days, either by Mayor Daley, his appointed schools chief Ron Huberman, or by Ed Sec. Duncan, who rode the myth of the "Chicago miracle" all the way to Washington. The parents of the failed school reform plan, Chicago's Civic Committee, haven't been heard from since their report last June ("Kids Left Behind") which called the Daley/Duncan reform, "abysmal."

Listen to WBEZ's Linda Lutton's latest report, Renaissance 2010: A Tainted Brand? which pretty much confirms what I've been saying. Interesting--Linda has one of the plan's architects, Greg Richmond, currently head of the National Assoc. of Charter School Authorizers, complaining that Ren10 was never supposed to be about massive school closings, but rather a new small-schools creation program. Was he naive? Misled?

Now that Ren10 is being seen for what it is; now that study after study is confirming the "abysmal" verdict; now that the current upsurge in student violence is being laid directly on Ren10's doorstep; now that the brand name has become a bloody flag for a growing community protest movement, Daley and Huberman still say they will continue with the plan, only this time under a different brand name.

What happened to accountability?