On Chicago graduation rates. They're dizzy with success.

Crain's

 "This is a moment to celebrate." -- Consortium senior researcher Kaleen Healey, lead author of the report.

According to a study by the U. of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research, CPS' graduation rate is up 4 points this year and more of those grads are enrolling in college and graduating (14%). Last year, 57.2% of CPS graduates enrolled into college, which was an increase of 1.2% from 2012. That's good, isn't it? It's an estimated rise of 6% over 8 years (Wow!). If that is, you have faith in the transparency of the system and faith that the researchers are measuring the same thing. I don't. But that's for another blog post.

Rahm and Byrd-Bennett are dizzy with delight, as is the Sun-Times editorial board. The Mayor bristles at the suggestion that the rising high school graduation rate might be the result of changes put in place under former Mayor Daley, saying his administration has “doubled down on that strategy” (what ever that strategy was).

While he may give a perfunctory nod to teachers and school administrators in his CPS press releases, it is clear from all the photo ops around the release of the report that he's happy to take credit. And Rahm deserves it, say the pundits (especially in an election year), for all the extra time he and BBB have put in, teaching and coaxing kids who might have otherwise dropped out or abandoned hope of going to a 4-year university after catching sight of the state tuition rates.

The Consortium gives credit to its own research, which they say has led to successful early interventions on the part of BBB and the school district. There may be some truth in the claim. But the way it's being spun -- good data trumps poverty -- makes me leery. I'm not exaggerating. Here's a quote from U of C's Tim Knowles:

Suddenly, addressing the dropout problem was not about the host of factors over which educators have no control — neighborhoods, poverty, violence or prior academic achievement. There was a single, manageable intervention point: ninth grade course performance.

So wait. Let's not pop the cork on the bubbly quite yet, Kaleen and Tim.

A closer look reveals lots of spin and cherry picking of the data to cover over the continued widening of the racial gap on grad rates Take the rates among African-American male students for example. It's true that their grad rate went up slightly over past years. But the rate of degree attainment remains in the single digits for black boys, at 6%. It was only 4% 6 years ago so you could say that's an amazing increase, percentage wise. Yes, you could say that if you're the incumbent mayor, running for re-election and in charge of the entire school system.

Or you might compare it to the grad and degree attainment rate of white males which improved from 17% to 27% over the past 6 years, or a 62% increase, nearly double the rate of black student improvement.

Of course, one can spin these numbers any which way. And since school data has become little more than political fodder, one will. But here's the essentials, at least the way I see them.

• Talking about percent increase is meaningless here. Grad and college degree rates of CPS students are still dreadfully low, especially for black and Latino students. 
• There is a trend upward, here and in most urban districts. But it's relatively small and uneven.
• The Consortium Report gives no indication of any causal relationship between the mayor's imposed education policies and any of the gains in graduation or degree attainment. 
• While most racial, ethnic and gender groups have shown slight increases in grad and college-going rates over the past decade, the gap continues to widen and educational inequities continue to grow.
• All this may have more to do with demographic changes in the city and nationally over the past decade than anything going on inside of school classrooms, ie. a decline in the black student population (200,000 black people have left Chicago) or the worsening of living conditions for families on the south and west sides of the city while post-recession economic conditions improve on the north side.
• Whenever we talk about quality of life statistics or chances of success or survival statistics (crime, shootings and murder rates, unemployment), we really need to examine them from the "two-cities"-- increasingly separate and unequal-- perspective. This, rather than averaging them all in together, which tells us little about what's really going on in the schools. 

It's my opinion and many others in the field that educational inequality, not school, teacher, or parent "failure" is the central problem facing CPS and other urban districts. It's the issue that Rahm, as well as his two main contenders need to address directly as we approach election time in February. We should be happy about any upswings in reported graduation rates. But we should keep a critical eye on the research and on early calls for celebration. 

Common Core tests designed for failure

Regardless of what goes on in the classroom, the new Common Core tests have cut-off scores designed to anticipate the failure of more than half of those tested. It's all too predictable.

Because the tests are high-stakes, the arbitrary cut-off scores set by the two main state consortia could have devastating effects on graduation rates, college admissions, teacher evaluations, and even the survival of neighborhood schools.

Edweek's Catherine Gewertz reports:

In a move likely to cause political and academic stress in many states, a consortium that is designing assessments for the Common Core State Standards released data Monday projecting that more than half of students will fall short of the marks that connote grade-level skills on its tests of English/language arts and mathematics.

One participant said that when the standard-setting panelists saw the data projecting how many students would fall short of proficiency marks with their recommended cut scores, “there were some pretty large concerns. And it was very evident that this was going to be a problem from a political perspective.”

I hope so.

Needed -- 'Body cameras on bankers'

Some NBA hoopers wearing “I Can’t Breathe” shirts: LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Kevin Garnett, Kyrie Irving, Deron Williams, Jarrett Jack, Alan Anderson.

Matt Yglesias Tweets: "If your big worry is that water is too clean and children too well-nourished, here's some good news."

Yes, Republicans, threatening to shut down the government again, are preparing to roll back the school meal rules, phased in since 2012 and championed by first lady Michelle Obama, that require more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in the lunch line. The standards also limit sodium, sugar and fat.

Father Pfleger has a point

“Our justice system is broken. Body cameras don’t make a difference if we can see it and still don’t convict anybody.” -- Sun-Times

Rev. Jackson has a point--put cameras on bankers

The official reaction to police immunity for the killing of unarmed black boys and men Ferguson and Staten Island and Cleveland and Brooklyn has focused, not surprisingly, on the police. The president has created a Task Force on 21st Century Policy, with instructions to report in 90 days. He’s committed millions to put cameras on police. But he might be better advised to put cameras on bankers. Reckless, unaccountable and murderous police behavior must end, but the police are simply the gatekeepers assigned to keep order. -- Sun-Times

Tim Black's birthday party at Room 43.

Happy 96th to the great Professor Timuel Black. His birthday celebration Sunday night at Room 43 was over the top. And happy birthday to my favorite grandson, Oscar. The Big O turned 15 yesterday. Damn, that must make me...

CESJ STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY

We, the Executive Board (Rita Kohli, Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Keisha Green, La Mont Terry, Katy Swalwell, Bianca J. Baldridge, Nicholas Daniel Hartlep, Cleveland Hayes) of the Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) special interest group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), stand in solidarity with communities working to challenge racism.

Based on recent grand jury decisions not to indict the officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and as educators committed to equity and justice, we feel a responsibility to take a formal stance against the anti-blackness that plagues our schools, justice system, and society. The events in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York provide two examples of blatant racial injustice woven into the fabric of the United States. Even since the killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, we have seen multiple cases of unarmed Black youth shot and killed by the police, including twelve-year-old Tamir Rice.

Our SIG has, at its heart and in our mission, a commitment to “the struggle for social justice, human rights, and democracy in education for diverse communities.” This includes a challenge to the ongoing and systemic racial oppression that we see in Ferguson and beyond. As critical education scholars, we must recognize the socializing message of this callous disregard of Black lives. We have a responsibility to reframe the discussion and illuminate that ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter. We cannot afford to stay silent.

Please see our full statement (linked below and here:http://bit.ly/1u57w8l) and share with your communities. You will see that we have committed to a dialogue about #BlackLivesMatter and its implications for the academy at AERA's annual meeting in Chicago in April 2015.
bit.ly/1u57w8l

RAHM'S “PAY-FOR-SUCCESS” PRE-K PROGRAM. WHO GETS PAID? WHO GETS SCREWED?

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Warren Buffett 

Ben Joravsky wrote a devastating Sun-Times expose of Rahm Emanuel's promised expansion of Pre-K to about 2,600 new students. Melissa Sanchez at Catalyst also has an excellent piece.  Still more must be asked about this curious program, which transfers about $17 million in public school money over to the big banks.

By guest blogger Susan Klonsky

Rahm's shiny new pre-K program contains a recipe for civil rights violations--especially against children with special needs. Buried within the loan agreement is an insidious incentive aimed at reducing the number of children who receive special-education services after pre-kindergarten.

The new CPS pre-K program will be funded with loans from Goldman Sachs, the Pritzkers, and other hedge funders and financial Houdinis. They're calling these loans “Social Impact Bonds” (aka SIBS). 

The Mayor boasted that the new pre-K program is chock-full of incentives for the lenders. Not just the unusually high rate of interest on the loan, which in itself is quite a tidy sum. My grandson will  be paying for this loan when he’s a grandpa himself.

No, there’s still more money to be made in the promised BONUSES for "success." In fact, this is called a Pay-For-Success loan.  No bonuses to the schools or to the educators (as in so-called “merit pay” for high test scores). These are bonuses for the LENDERS themselves…on top of the interest they will receive.

The bonuses are promised for supposedly measurable improvements in or reductions in certain outcomes. The announcement  described them as follows:

The SIB targets would be met with payments for each pupil who, after pre-K, does not get placed in a special education program ($9,100 per pupil), is deemed ready for kindergarten after pre-K ($2,900), and scores above the national average for third-grade reading ($750).

The most egregious incentive is the one that reduces the number of special-needs students. For any child who, after attending one of these funded pre-K’s, does NOT receive an IEP or special education services, the lenders will rake in an additional $9100 per student.   

This deal brazenly incentivizes civil rights violations—indeed,  it is all but a conspiracy to deprive young children of essential services to address special needs. For every kid who does NOT get a speech therapist or a classroom aide in elementary school—Ka-ching! 9100 bucks goes into the hopper for Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Chicago’s own Penny Pritzker. 

So whatever fast move Rahm thinks he’s pulling here to score some bread for his Wall Street friends, he’d better set something aside to defend against the lawsuits for civil rights violations against children with disabilities. They’re coming.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Charles Blow

There seems to be a new age of activism rising. From Occupy Wall Street, to the “Stop Watching Us” march against government surveillance, to the Moral Monday protests, to the People’s Climate March, to the recent nationwide protests over the killings of men and boys of color by police, there is obviously a discontent in this country that is pouring into the streets. -- New York Times

Jesus "Chuy" Garcia

“I’m hoping we’ll be successful. And if we weren’t, I would go to federal court to change that because I think the right to elect a school board is a constitutional right that comes from the right to elect those who govern an institution so vital to our city. Schools systems are, perhaps, the main government body that affects the lives of a majority of our citizens, especially minorities in Chicago.” -- E & O

S.W.A.T. teams in schools

Ron Avi Astor, a professor of social work and education at USC

 “There’s an illusion that having all these video cameras, metal detectors, sensors, SWAT kinds of people on campus makes the place safer. The problem is from an educational perspective: It doesn’t feel safer. It feels like a prison.” -- New York Times

General Michael V. Hayden

 “We’re not here to defend torture. We’re here to defend history.” -- New York Times

From Twitter

Drones are a popular Christmas present among American kids this year. It's a sign that they want to grow up to be president.
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) December 7, 2014

Duncan's Race To Top & Dante's Circles of Hell

 

In yesterday's post about Barbara Byrd-Bennett's Level 1-5, school rate-and-punish system, I compared it metaphorically to Dante's 9 Circles of Hell. Then I kept staring at the circles in the Divine Comedy painting, trying to remember where I had seen that image before. Aha! Race To The Top.

A SmallTalk Salute goes out to AFT Pres. Randi Weingarten who was arrested in N.Y. yesterday for blocking traffic to protest a grand jury’s decision not to indict the New York police officer who choked Staten Island resident Eric Garner to death.

Last night in Chicago: CHICAGO (WLS) -- Hundreds of protestors marched in downtown Chicago for several hours on Thursday - and even briefly shut down Lake Shore Drive - in the wake of a grand jury decision to not indict a New York police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

Selma, AL 1965

From CNN --  If the color were removed from the boundless images of protests on America's streets over the last two days, they might be mistaken for black-and-white photos of the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. 

Civil Rights, not corporate-style reform, remains "the civil rights issue of our time".

A good question: Why did Mike Madigan block the state minimum wage bill? Isn't he a "Democrat"? Who benefited from his move?

Can't keep Karen down...Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis says she’s eager to campaign for mayoral challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia — but isn’t quite ready. In a rare appearance since her October diagnosis, Lewis had stepped out Wednesday night to introduce Garcia at the union’s House of Delegates meeting. She said by telephone Thursday that she’s not yet campaigning for the Cook County commissioner set to take on Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"I will be, but not right now," Lewis said. "It won't be behind the scenes. I’ll be out front."

Chicago schools no longer on 'probation'. Language of criminality.

Dante's 9 Circles of Hell

Finally, Chicago schools will no longer be placed on "probation", says Byrd-Bennett. 

A school’s rating determines how much support — or punishment — it receives and is now based on a several weighted factors including growth on test scores, attendance and results from the My Voice, My School 5Essentials Survey from the 2013-14 school year. College enrollment and dropout rates also factor into a high school’s rating.

According to the Sun-Times:

Gone, too, is the term “probation,” which Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis had long complained had a criminal connotation. About 200 schools used to be on academic probation.

“I had lots of conversations with the CTU very specifically with Karen, and we both agreed that that language that I inherited here in Chicago and she had lived with — ‘probationary’ is not a good term, not a good descriptor about what we think about our children and think about our schools,” CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said in a conference call.

Instead they will just be called, Level 1-5 schools. You know, like Dante's Limbo, Purgatory, Upper Hell, etc...

Remember, Rahm & Byrd-Bennett promised big cost savings from closed schools?

They lied about closing costs.

In March, 2013, our CReATE research group issued a Research Brief  which focused on the threatened mass school closings in Chicago.

In that brief, we warned that CPS was greatly exaggerating promised cost-savings resulting from its school-closing plan. Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and her team were telling the media that they would save between $500,000 to $800,000 annually for each school closed and that their closure of 50 schools would result in the savings of millions of dollars that would be "reinvested in the classroom."

We had looked at the impact of closings in other districts like Washington, D.C. where then-Chancellor Michelle Rhee had predicted a $30 million savings. In fact her schools closings had ended up costing the district over $40 million  after factoring in the expense of demolishing buildings, removing furnishings, and transporting students.

We knew that BBB and Rahm were pulling cost-saving numbers out of their ear.

Our research was ignored by Byrd-Bennett and the board, just like the voices of thousands of protesting parents, the Chicago Teachers Union, and community activists were ignored.

From the moment the school-closings were announced in the spring of 2013, critics – including the Chicago Teachers Union – challenged the claims by CPS officials that the closings would free up hundreds of millions of dollars that could then be used to bolster surviving schools.

Now come more news reports showing that more than a year after 49 schools were closed by the Chicago Board of Education, taxpayers are still paying millions of dollars in utilities to heat and light the shuttered buildings. In fact, the utility bills are almost as much as they were when all of those school buildings were open.

NBC5 Investigates has obtained photos taken inside one of those vacant schools, showing extensive vandalism which – according to an internal Chicago Public Schools report – will add at least $12 million more onto the cost to refurbish or repurpose just that one building.

NBC5 reports that,

Chicago taxpayers paid more than $2.2 million throughout the 2013-2014 school year just to provide gas and electricity to dozens of vacant CPS buildings. That compares to the little more than $2.7 million taxpayers paid for those same buildings the previous school year when they were still open.

Vandalism at Ross Elememtary. 

Their investigators also found that theft and vandalism to the boarded-up buildings, further blighting many black and Latino communities, was also costing taxpayers millions. NBC5 Investigates obtained more than 40 photos which reveal a disturbing amount of damage and vandalism at Ross Elementary.

In fact, an internal CPS appraisal of the Ross building -- obtained by NBC5 Investigates in the aftermath of the vandalism – notes that, because of the new damage, "the building … requires extensive renovation and replacement to make it once again operational."

CTU Pres. Jesse Sharkey tells the board,

"Now you essentially own a derelict property."

When reporters asked CPS school-closing chief, (former Marine Col.) Tom Tyrell about vandalized and boarded up school buildings, he basically told them that they were mixing him up with someone who cared or took responsibility for the added expense or further community blight.

More from NBC5:

Even these increased costs of repairing a vandalized building don’t seem to worry Tyrrell. "If we can sell it 'as-is,' then it saves us from having to go back in and do a lot of work to a school to repair vandalism damage," he said. "If … a buyer is going to gut the building anyway …. They don’t really care if it’s been vandalized or not."

But we care, Col. Tyrell. We care.

SEIU leaders threaten own union over Chuy contribution: 'The violation will be addressed..."

"Chuy" Garcia finally getting some union money. Gaining momentum. 

In a sign that Chicago may have a mayoral race worth watching after all, Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia has received a major donation from a labor union for his race against Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with another gift well into six figures reportedly on the way. -- Crain's

While Rahm continues to pile up millions in campaign contributions from his wealthy pals and corporate cronies, SEIU leaders are locked in internal power squabbles that effectively aid the mayor and weaken his progressive opposition. 

This as latest poll numbers show Rahm's opposition candidates still keeping him from votes needed to avoid a runoff. That means, in a head-to-head runoff election, the combined anti-Rahm forces could put Garcia or Ald. Fioretti over the top. 

The last time I wrote about SEIU's sell-out leaders they threatened me with law suits. It came after SEIU local prez Christine Boardman contributed $25K in union money to Rahm Emanuel's already over-stuffed campaign war chest. 

But now, they have turned their guns inward after SEIU Healthcare pledged to contribute $250,000 to "Chuy" Garcia’s campaign, a significant amount which could get the fund-raising ball rolling and put Garcia in real contention.

 “SEIU Locals in Illinois took a formal vote last week at an Illinois State Council meeting to remain neutral in the Chicago's mayoral race,” said Tom Balanoff, president of SEIU Illinois State Council.  The violation will be addressed through SEIU’s official internal processes.” -- Sun-Times

The "violation will be addressed..."? Sounds pretty sinister to me. Will nurses find a horse head in their beds?

We already know what neutrality means to Balanoff and Boardman -- hardly saying a word about the super-exploitation and mass firing of their own members by Aramark after Rahm privatized CPS custodial services.

Plus, I wonder if Boardman has to put a stop on her check to Rahm's campaign.  Neutrality? Really?

Well, at least they're not suing me this time.

Ooops, I think I'll stop now.

If you want to improve learning outcomes, raise the minimum wage

Ald. John Arena speaking at a Raise Chicago Coalition news conference on a minimum wage proposal expected to be approved Tuesday by the Chicago City Council | Brian Jackson/ Sun-Times

One way to really improve student learning outcomes and lower dropout rates is to raise the minimum wage. A bill to do just that comes up today before the Chicago City Council and is likely to pass since it has the support of the mayor and many community organizations and unions in town.

Rahm's bill, which would gradually raise Chicago’s minimum wage to $13 an hour over the next five years, was approved by a key City Council committee Monday evening, clearing the way for it to be brought before the full Council today.

It's not the bill we wanted -- $15/hour, like San Francisco -- but still a partial victory if it stands. It preempted a minimum wage bill in the IL State Legislature that would have raised the MW only to $11/hour and might have exempted Chicago altogether. One issue for progressives is the fact that the mayor’s plan only raises the hourly wage for tip workers by a dollar, to $5.95.

I liked the way the S-T's Spielman and Slodysco described Rahm's opportunism and his motivation for pushing the bill through the council:

Passage of the minimum wage hike is a cornerstone of Emanuel's shift to the political left — a move that will help him undercut the progressive base of his two strongest challengers: Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) and Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.

If that's the case, thanks to the left flank for pushing Rahm to act, if only to buy some political credibility.

 On Emanuel’s left flank, progressives argued the wage hike, which will be phased in over several years, doesn’t go far enough. Indeed, members of the Council’s progressive caucus were pushing for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. 

“It’s not enough. Clearly, it’s not enough. $15 an hour… is what we’re going to continue to fight for,” Fioretti said.

Does Rahm deserve the credit for bump in grad rates? Uh uh.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett claim credit for a reported 4% bump in CPS grad rates. 

Rahm Emanuel has rankled the Pilsen and Little Village communities with a new campaign ad — one in which, anti-coal activists say. he attempts to grab full credit for closing two area coal plants, when in fact it had taken years of work. Community response has been quick and angry.

But I'm wondering why there isn't the same angry response from parents and educators as Rahm and CEO Byrd-Bennett try and take credit for the reported steady rise in CPS graduation rates which began more than 5 years ago when Daley was the mayor and the likes of Ron Huberman and J.C. Brizard were running the schools for him and all claiming credit for improved graduation rates? This is also part of a national trend that began about the same time as in Chicago.

Perhaps Rahm and BBB will claim credit for the upward national trend as well.

It's my hunch that few even know how graduation rates are determined or how much credibility goes with the latest calculations, let alone what's driving them.

University of Chicago researchers report that grad rates have increased by 15% since 2008. But given a 2011 change (see below) in the way graduation rates are measured, it's hard to know how they got that figure. They attribute the increases in large part to the power of their own research, which shows a strong correlation between freshmen being on-track and graduating on time.

A TIME Magazine report points to studies released in 2005 and 2007 by researchers at UC's Urban Education Institute’s Consortium on Chicago School Research which "made a simple but powerful finding: Graduation is mostly determined in the ninth grade year."

Institute leader Tim Knowles touted this research back in April:

Freshmen who are on track to graduate in the ninth grade (earning no more than one semester F in a core course and accumulating sufficient credits) are four times more likely to graduate than students who are off track. Researchers found that being on track in the ninth grade is a better predictor of high school graduation than a student's race, family income, the neighborhood they come from and prior test scores, combined.

 Suddenly, addressing the dropout problem was not about the host of factors over which educators have no control — neighborhoods, poverty, violence or prior academic achievement. There was a single, manageable intervention point: ninth grade course performance.

There! claims Knowles. Finally, a magic bullet. Just examine the Institute's data. Forget about all those silly distractions like race, poverty, gun violence, family circumstances and the decimation of neighborhoods (including the mass closing of neighborhood schools), over which we supposedly "have no control". Then implement a few early interventions in the freshman year -- not a bad idea but certainly not a new one -- and voila!

When I say it's not a new one, I'm thinking back to the small-schools movement of the early '90s in Chicago, where early interventions like freshman academies were short-lived. As for 9th-grade on-track rates, you can go back earlier than that. There are tons of early intervention studies showing, for example, that 3rd-grade reading proficiency drives future academic success and that retaining (failing) elementary grade students increases the probability of them dropping out by 5X.

This is not to say that there's no value in the U of C study. Consortium researchers like Melissa Roderick have been pointing to the need for early intervention to reduce high school dropouts for years, and without overstating the power of good data, she and they deserve lots of credit for their focus on urban schools and students.

But research aside, whenever there is reported progress in public education, you can bet your last buck that teachers will be the last ones to receive the credit. First in line are glory-grubbing politicians like Rahm Emanuel who are quick to claim all the credit for last year's bump in grad rates. This, even though his current approach drains these very schools of badly-needed resources and shifts them instead to crony-run charter networks like UNO as well as to pet selective-enrollment schools.

An all-too-compliant media is quick to play along, either rendering unto Caesar... or trying to be "balanced" (OMG, even my pal, the usually critical-thinking Ben Joravsky).

But whether you buy all of the U of C research or not, there is little evidence that the current mayor's top-down, imposed education policies; i.e., more seat time, mass school closures, replacing neighborhood public schools with privately-run charters, whitenizing the teaching corps, cutting community-based health clinics, etc... have anything to do with improved graduation rates.

Other factors to consider

• Has anyone considered the possibility that CPS' shrinking student population along with the mass exodus of nearly a quarter of a million African-Americans, including thousands of school-aged children, has impacted graduation rates?

• In 2011 new federal guidelines set up a single, uniform standard that all states must follow when calculating these rates. Now, the rate will be based on a strict measurement of what is called a “four-year adjusted cohort.” The formula divides the number of students who earn a diploma in four years or less by the number of students who formed the original cohort—that is, the number of students who entered 9th grade together—of the graduating class. So the question is -- how much of the small 4% increase should be attributed to the way dropouts and grads are counted? I'm thinking back a few years to 2006, when this same Consortium found that  only 6.5% of CPS freshmen went on to earn four-year college degrees by their mid-20s, and among African-American and Latino males, only 3%. I'd be curious to see how that number has changed.

• I still haven't seen how newly-reported graduation rates break out by school, neighborhood, race and poverty. As I reported before, I am concerned that the rate increase may be more reflective of the changing demographics in the city than any single school intervention. 

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

St. Louis Rams protest Ferguson before Sunday's game with Oakland

Cook County Clerk, David Orr

“The mayor, with millions, has a hard time getting signatures on his petitions. Chuy Garcia in three weeks time, spending no money — all volunteers — got 60-some thousand. In another week, they probably would have gotten 90,000.”  -- Early & Often

Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown University. Started #FergusonSyllabus

 Every school isn’t the same.  Every school doesn’t want to delve into this issue in the same way.  And so for younger kids, I think we really needed to focus on feelings, what is it like when people are anxious or afraid or scared, and a lot of resources on children’s books that talk about emotions during times that are overwhelming.

For slightly older kids, I think that the paradigm of fairness, what happens when people feel like something is unfair, what happens when people feel like their rights aren’t being respected, you can engage in that conversation.  And for older kids, I think that this is an amazing civic lesson about the various responsibilities people have in a community and what happens when that trust is broken.  -- PBS News Hour

Rich Lowry, National Review

"The lessons of Ferguson are quite basic. Don't rob a convenience store..." -- NBC Meet the Press

Hillary: The sounds of silence

Hillary Clinton on Ferguson

"                         " -- New York Observer

Deval Patrick

"When democrats do stand for something, or as I have said in the past, grow a backbone ... we win." -- MSNBC

"Nor shall any state deprive any person of life . . . without due process of law." US Constitution, 14th Amendment
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 29, 2014

The upcoming battle for the Latino vote in Chicago

Former UNO CEO Juan Rangel, Rahm Emanuel, and Rep. Luis Gutierrez at a news conference at Little Village High School

The Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki tries her best to assess the upcoming battle for the "Latino vote" (Is there only one?) between Rahm Emanuel and "Chuy" Garcia.

Korecki seems to give the edge to the mayor because he's wrangled some opportunist support from Rep. Luis Gutierrez. But Luis' record of political support is tattered. It certainly didn't do much for Gery Chico in the 2010 race. And wasn't Luis the one blasting Rahm not so long ago, for his key role in the Obama administration’s failure to move ahead on immigration reform. Remember, Rahm was the one who called immigration "the third rail of American politics," warning that Democrats who tried to work on the issue would suffer heavy political losses.

Now Luis claims Rahm has "evolved" on the issue. Evolution works in mysterious ways in an election year. Doesn't it? We may never know what kind of deal was cut between the two back in May.

It's also worth considering whether or not the so-called "Latino vote" only swings on the immigration reform issue. What about education? Gun violence? Neglected city services in the community? Environmental racism? All weak spots for Rahm.

UNO tied to Madigan

For example, in his first big media ad buy, Rahm tries to take sole credit for closing two area coal plants in the Pilsen/Little Village neighborhoods, when in fact it had taken years of work by community activists.

"Rahm is a thief," said Gloria Fallon of Rising Tide Chicago. "He stole our photograph and our hard work for political gain." -- Chicago Tribune

Korecki doesn't even mention UNO in her analysis. Particularly in the Mexican community, UNO's support for Rahm may be a much more the lynch pin than the Gutierrez endorsement or support from proven losers like machine-boss Joe Berrios. But UNO support is a double-edged sword and the ongoing UNO charter school scandal, with direct ties to Rahm, Gov. Quinn and Speaker Madigan, may end up damaging the mayor, depending on how and whether or not his opponents raise it.

Chuy Garcia and his wife Evelyn

On the other hand, "Chuy Garcia" has a lot going for him (if you don't count money). For one thing, he speaks Spanish and can communicate directly with community residence.

More from Korecki:

Garcia already has the backing of Karen Lewis and the Chicago Teachers Union, which immediately helped put him into contention in a race where he will be significantly outspent by Emanuel.

“If Chuy can’t do it, I don’t know who can,” says Don Rose, a political adviser on Garcia’s campaign. “The guy is just extremely popular. North, south, east, west, he’s been around long enough, and maintained enough relationships. He’s got all of these relationships that really make him a citywide candidate who happens to be Latino. I’m sure he’s going to get a substantial Latino vote.”

Rose said Garcia can put together a coalition of support from Latinos, progressive whites and African-Americans. Garcia, a Cook County commissioner, is Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s floor leader. Garcia’s ties to the black community date back to the days of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington.

The 63,000 petition signatures Chuy amassed in just 3 weeks is evidence of a strong ground game. He has a long, progressive history in the community and a successful track record as a politician. And polls show that together with Ald. Bob Fioretti, the two have a good chance on forcing Rahm into a runoff, where an edge for Garcia in the Latino community could push him over the top.

At least that's my most hopeful scenario.

'The language of the unheard'

I contend that the cry of "black power" is, at bottom, a reaction to the reluctance of white power to make the kind of changes necessary to make justice a reality for the Negro. I think that we've got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard. -- Dr. Martin Luther King 

Obama: "Stay calm and accept..."

Obama in Chicago yesterday
He tells us again to stay calm and accept the grand jury's decision:

"Don't take the short-term easy route and just engage in destructive behavior. Take the long-term hard but lasting route of working with me, governors, officials to bring about some real change."

But who is the president talking to?

This hasn't been an "easy route," and we haven't engaged in "destructive behavior." Yes, there are lots of disaffected youth--many without jobs, education or hope for their future--rioting in anger over the events in Ferguson, speaking the language of the unheard. But Obama's scold means nothing to them. Speaking at the Copernicus Community Center on the north side of Chicago, the President is a hundred times removed from them and their experiences.

Here in Chicago, we had thousands of mostly young people in the streets demanding justice for Mike Brown and calling for respect for black lives. There were over a million people in the streets nationally yesterday, engaging in mainly peaceful protests. 

What "real change" is the president talking about? Who are these governors and officials we are supposed to be working with? What exactly have he and these officials done over the past 6 years to push this "real change"? And where is Holder and the Justice Department?

Six plus years and still waiting to hear, Mr. Obama.
 

And if you want to talk about 'destructive behavior'... 
Along with the decline in the standard of living for millions and the widening U.S. wealth gap, has come the militarization of local police forces in preparation for an anticipated rise in civil unrest.

According to yesterday's Washington Post, several federal programs are helping local law enforcement to acquire heavy weapons, either by making funds available or by providing the equipment directly. One program at the Pentagon transferred surplus military equipment worth nearly half a billion dollars to local police departments last year. Grants provided by the Department of Homeland Security total another $1 billion, and Holder's department provides hundreds of millions more.

"We do not condition that money on requiring real change in policing," said Sherrilynn Ifill of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in a press conference on Tuesday. "Taxpayer money to local police departments should come with the condition that the police take responsibility for improving."

The education piece
We need to replace Ownership Society education, testing madness and Racing to the Top with democratic education. Preparing children to think critically and act powerfully to shape the world they are entering and become agents of change.

For example, check out this curriculum piece from Rethinking Schools.

The events in and around Ferguson are a good place to start. Why? Because our students are interested. They are watching.

Where's Holder and the Justice Dept. in all of this?

Jesus Mary, this Bob McCulloch guy may be the single greasiest public servant I've ever encountered. -- Esquire's Charles P. Pierce

 Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, wept after learning the grand jury’s decision.“They still don’t care. They ain’t never going to care.” -- CBS Chicago

 The father of Michael Brown appeared at a news conference Tuesday wearing a T-shirt with the slogan, “No Justice No Peace.” -- NBC News

Smirking McCulloch

Woke up this morning still sickened by faux-prosecutor Robert McCulloch's smirking, racist, interminable "explanation" of the Ferguson grand jury whitewash of Michael Brown's murder.

The churning in the pit of my stomach lasted all night, as I watched the exclusive club of seated, nearly all-white "journalists" softball McCulloch and play along with the charade. Then to top it all off, there was President Obama on one side of a split screen, giving what could only be called an exercise in uninspired acquiescence, while on the other side of the screen, the tear gas was flowing.

Never was the disconnect between Obama and the young black men and women in the streets of Ferguson, victims of relentless police mistreatment and violence, more obvious. The president's professorial (I mean that in a bad way) ramblings were never more out of place. Never were his calls for "calm" more hollow sounding.

Two things McCulloch said last night stayed with me through the morning. They were his insinuations that both the Brown family and Eric Holder's Justice Department were complicit in the whitewash.

The first was easily dispelled by the family's own denunciation of the process. As for Holder and the J.D., it's not so clear.

Holder insists the federal probe of the policeman is ongoing and independent of St. Louis prosecutors. But since his initial trip to Ferguson, which was little more than an administration photo op, we have heard nothing about the department's investigation.

Holder visits Ferguson

Here's what McCulloch said:

As Attorney General Holder and I both pledged our separate investigations follow that trail of facts with no preconceived notion of where that journey would take us. Our only goal was that our investigation would be thorough and complete to give the grand jury, the department of justice and ultimately the public all available evidence to make an informed decision.

 I detail this for two reasons. First, so that everyone will know that, as promised by me and Attorney General Holder, there was a full investigation and presentation of all evidence and appropriate instruction of the law to the jury, to the grand jury.

According to McCulloch,  Holder was involved directly in gathering and presenting "evidence" (of what?) to the sham grand jury, where Michael Brown and family obviously had no advocate.

So, since neither Holder nor anyone from the Justice Dept. has responded to or rebutted McCulloch's claims, we're left with the obvious questions:  To what degree, if any, were the U.S. Justice Dept. and Attorney General Holder complicit with this travesty of justice? And what are they going to do now, if anything, to intervene and help bring at least a semblance of justice to the Brown family and the Ferguson community?

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Parents tell IL State Board to suspend implementation of the PARCC test for the 2014-2015 school year.

Wendy Katten, Raise Your Hand Coalition

 “Illinois is not ready for the PARCC and the PARCC is not ready for Illinois.” -- Early & Often

Jawanza Malone, of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization

“When they look at us and say, ‘We don’t need an elected school board because that just puts politics in education’ — what do they think is there now? … You have one person controlling the lives of millions.” -- S-T,  Coalition pushing advisory vote for elected CPS board

Chuy Garcia

Jesus "Chuy" Garcia

 "Instead of closing that many schools, you should have looked at other options. I’m not saying none of those schools should have been closed. But that was too many. It was too drastic. And you obviously didn’t heed the advice of many parents and students who said, `Please don’t do this to us. This will snuff the life out of many neighborhoods.’"  -- S-T, Garcia Blasts Emanuel

Miguel del Valle

 It’s a big job just getting him [Chuy Garcia] on the ballot but I’m hoping some labor groups get behind him, that teachers and others will get behind him. The dynamics are always different. Their personalities are different. Karen had a different kind of base than Chuy does. How those two meld has yet to be determined. -- Catalyst interview

Rahm's campaign army of losers, low-lifes and crooks

Rahm Emanuel has enlisted an army of machine cronies, low-lifes, losers and thugs to help run his re-election campaign. This political rogues gallery includes state Democratic machine boss Mike Madigan, County party boss Joe Berrios and Patrick J. Ward, a former Metra employee at the center of the agency’s patronage scandal last year.

The Sun-Times reports that Madigan political workers who gathered signatures for Emanuel include:

◆ Ward, a key figure in the scandal that led to Alex Clifford getting a $718,000 severance package and leaving his post as Metra’s chief executive. Clifford accused Metra board members of forcing him out after he rebuffed Madigan about giving Ward a raise and refused to hire another Madigan loyalist. Ward left Metra and got a state job as a labor administrator after Madigan recommended him to Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration. Ward is paid $69,996 a year. As a retired city of Chicago employee, he also gets a $57,591-a-year city pension.

◆ Hugo Chavez (no, not that one) and William E. Nambo, who were hired as “staff assistants” for the Illinois Department of Transportation under Quinn — a job class the state’s executive inspector general determined was designed to skirt anti-patronage hiring rules. Chavez resigned in May after a reprimand for an “unauthorized” absence from work in 2012 and for “insubordination” for bringing his dog to work last year against his boss’ orders, records show. Nambo gave $600 to Madigan’s ward organization four months after being hired at IDOT in April 2011. He now works in Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka’s office.

◆ August A. Olivo, who has given $8,100 to the speaker’s ward organization and is the younger brother of former 13th Ward Ald. Frank Olivo. August Olivo, 52, is retired from the Cook County Highway Department and gets a pension of $81,204 a year. Since 2011, he’s been working for the CTA, where he makes $80,194 a year.

But there's a couple of problems with Rahm's crew (aside from whatever STDs the mayor might catch from them). First and foremost, they are losers. Remember, Joe Berrios couldn't even turn out his own precinct to support daughter Toni in her failed run against Will Guzzardi for state rep.  Toni also had the support of Madigan's machine army -- such as it is.

Remember also, that this was the same gaggle of cronies who mostly backed Gery Chico is the 2011 mayor's race. The most powerful ward organizations from the South Side — including Madigan’s — stayed out of the 2011 race or backed Chico.

Finally, taking a cue from major league sports -- you don't want to build a team where most of your members are likely to be in prison or on their way before season's end.

'Don't worry. I'll talk to the mayor' -- Ka ching!

Lucas and Mayor 1%

David Sirota at IBT continues with his great exposures of the "dark side" of Chicago politics. Is there any other? Nothing captures it better than Melody Hobson telling billionaire husband George Lucas, "Don't worry, I'll talk to the mayor. I'm sure he'll love it," referring to the plan to give Lucas publicly owned lakefront land. for his wacky blob of a Star Wars museum. Of course there was nothing to worry about. Lucas and Hobson had just deposited another $50K into Rahm's campaign bank account.

Keep 'em coming David.

Huffington Post reports that progressive City Councilmen Bob Fioretti, John Arena, Scott Waguespack  are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conduct a full investigation of Rahm's accepting illegal campaign contributions from financial firms that manage the city’s pension funds.

Says Dick Simpson, a political science professor for the University of Illinois at Chicago, the allegations against the well-funded incumbent have the potential to cast a longer shadow over his campaign.

Simpson told The Huffington Post that Emanuel's fortunes may shift if his opponents decide to make the campaign cash allegations a bigger issue. First, however, Emanuel's opponents have to make the problem crystal clear to voters.

At last night's Chicago school board meeting...

Much of the heat from the audience was directed at Vitale, who previously served as CPS' chief administrative officer from 2003 to 2008. Vitale is also the former president and CEO of the Chicago Board of Trade and the former vice chairman and director of Bank One Corp.

"Responsibility for pursuing such a risking financial course rests squarely on David Vitale," reads the city council resolution calling for hearings into CPS' borrowing practices.

Speaker after speaker, meanwhile, noted that the CTU and activists have been sounding the alarm on these deals for the past three years. -- Progress Illinois

MORE POLLS -- THIS ONE BY RAHM'S $1M/DAY Super PAC

This poll, commissioned by Rahm's own super-dooper PAC, Chicago Forward, which raises about $1million/day and sub-contracted to the Global Strategy Group (impressive name for a bunch of national Democratic Party hacks), still shows Rahm heading towards a runoff. Chicago Forward is headed up by former Obama bundler, Joe Gutman from Grosvenor's Capital Management.

While S-T's Fran Spielman puts the best possible face on Rahm's poll numbers, in fact they aren't that much different from last week's CTU poll which showed the incumbent mayor running at about 36%. Rahm's own super-PAC poll has him at 40% with a plus or minus 4% margin of error.

Neither poll tells us all that much, since Rahm has only begun shelling out some of the millions in his over-stuffed campaign war chest for TV ads and latecomer Chuy Garcia's campaign has barely gotten off the ground. He's already leading Rahm among potential Latino voters and close among African-Americans.

All this is encouraging news for Garcia/Fioretti since all polls show them both as viable opponents, especially if they can somehow combine forces in a runoff.

Spielman writes:

Emanuel has alienated African-American voters who helped put him in office by instigating Chicago’s first teachers strike in 25 years, closing 50 public schools, opening new charter schools and unveiling plans to build new schools and school additions, with the educational largesse heavily concentrated on the North Side.

 Neither candidate, nor any of us supporters and organizers, can afford to sit back and hope that Rahm stumbles or is beaten solely on his negative numbers.

Try not to step in it. Rahm's first big ad campaign buy.

First, a SmallTalk Salute to the young guy who just rang my doorbell with a petition for an elected school board in his hand. I mean it's got to be 20 below out there with the wind chill. Signed it gladly and thanked him.

Just when you thought it was safe to turn the TV on again... S-T reports that Rahm is tapping into his $9M war chest for his first big ad campaign buy. Roll up your pant legs.

According to a new order, the campaign, working through AKPD Media, Chicago is buying a flight to run Wednesday through Nov. 23 throughout Chicago markets and through various cable networks. Longtime Democratic strategist David Axelrod founded AKPD.

Vitale

Maybe one of the mayor's new T.V. ads can answer Ben Joravsky's question: Why did Mayor Emanuel stonewall the Tribune?

According to the Trib, the architect of the borrowing plan was David Vitale, former CEO of the Chicago Board of Trade, who went to work as the chief administrative officer for CPS in 2003, back in the go-go days of Mayor Daley's reign.

Mayor Emanuel was obviously so impressed with Vitale's money-managing acumen that he gave him a promotion, naming Vitale president of the school board.

Now Vitale is the guy who sits in his leather swivel chair at board meetings and tells parents—outraged over cuts and closings—that they don't understand the intricate nuances of running a big and complicated public school system.

Or how about this one by the Ward Room's Mark Anderson?

Isn’t it ironic that when it comes to pensions, two of the state’s most powerful politicians—Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Rauner—are claiming to be reformers even as they continue to rake in campaign contributions from the very firms currently making millions by managing the public’s money in the first place? No? Well, I didn't think so either.

Me neither.

But I would like to see the Mayor in one of his ads being asked by a constituent, why he won't do anything to undo Vitale's disastrous "rate swap" which is costing the schools $100M in payments to Rahm's banker friends? The ad could have Rahm answering (as he did): “There’s a thing called a contract.”

An ad like that would bring great echoes of laughter from all the viewers who have watched him piss all over labor contracts and pension agreements.

We probably won't see that one either.