CPS plan to turn neighborhood school over to charter company meets angry protest

Chicago CEO Terry Mazany's plan to turn Beidler over to charter company draws anger and resistance at a community meeting. "Appalling," "dangerous" says Rev. Jakes. Board of Ed emmissary Jose Alvarez was hit with hoots, hollers and hostility when he showed up Thursday evening at Beidler to gather input on plans to move more than 400 Beidler students into nearby Cather Elementary.

Jakes threatened to rouse “thousands” into marches to oppose the “chaos” the proposal would bring. One such march is planned Thursday from Beidler, at Walnut and Kedzie, to the Garfield Workforce Center, 10 S. Kedzie. Though “it’s been a while since we’ve taken to the streets,” Jakes told Board of Ed officials, “we’ll start marching on institutions such as yours — even if we have to march on some of your houses. You walk all over us, so we’ll walk all over you.” -- Sun Times

Civil rights advocate Payne appointed CPS chief educator

Interim Chicago schools chief executive Terry Mazany has appointed Charles Payne, a University of Chicago sociology professor and author of “So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools.” to the position of Chief Education Officer. Payne is a long-time social-justice advocate who also authored one of the best histories of the Civil Right Movement, I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle.

The post has been vacant since the departure of Barbara Eason-Watkins, in June. There has been a strong community demand, especially in the midst of the mayoral campaign, for the appointment of educators to leading positions within CPS. Both Mazany and Payne are educators as well as local foundation favorites. They are both critical of the testing madness of the previous administration. 

Payne's appointment will put even more pressure on whoever is elected mayor to keep educators in place. 

Predictable

I need to get one of these red power ties.

Now sooner had I finished posting about Daley's likely interim pick and gone off to teach my class, than one of my students informed me that the Mayor appointed Terry Mazany as his new schools CEO. Shows you how plugged in I am.

No surprises here. Daley played it safe. Mazany will likely keep the seat warm until May, 2011 when a new mayor will pick what amounts to the district's third CEO in 6 months. Mazany is currently president and CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, the city's second largest foundation and one of the district's biggest outside funders. The Trust served as the conduit for the Gates Foundation grant that supported the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative (CHSRI).

Mazany says he has no plans to become the permanent CEO. He told FOX that he will work on a briefing book for the next mayor and next chief of CPS so they can begin to work on the CPS budget and improving the system. His salary is being picked up by the Trust. Here's Mazany's corporate connections displayed graphically on his Mukety Map.

Unlike previous mayor-appointed CEO's, Mazany does has some school administration experience in California and Michigan. But it would be a stretch to call him an educator.

“We need a schools superintendent whose loyalties are to the students — not to the mayor," said  Julie Woestehoff of PURE. "We need a leader who will put an end to policies like retention and school closings that have been hurting our children. … We need someone who cares more about making parents, teachers, staff and students feel respected, rather than making the business community feel comfortable.” (Sun-Times)

Well put, Julie.