Chicago's Local School Councils

Last vestige of democratic school reform threatened

The deadline for Chicago's Local School Council candidates to register to run this spring is one week from today, March 11. But you'd never know if from anything the district is putting out.

Don Moore at Designs For Change reports that to date, there are only 1,627 candidates officially registered to run and unless there is an extension of the candidate deadline, we are headed for a record low number of candidates, which will inevitably be followed by a call to eliminate LSCs.

Aside from the conscious neglect of LSC recruitment on the part of the board, there has been lots of misleading and discouraging information coming out of Clark Street, says Moore. It's all designed to make potential candidates feel they're not needed. On top of this, half of all CPS schools have been placed on academic probation. This status robs LSC's of some of their most important decision-making powers and there's no evidence that probationary status has ever improved student learning outcomes.

If you're a Chicagoan interested in running for your school's LSC, there's still time. Find information here or contact Designs For Change at donmoore@designsforchange.org or call 312/236-7252 ext. 236.