MOVING IN/ON Ken McNeil has resigned as executive director of the CityWide Coalition for School Reform to start a private legal practice with a specialty in family law. Lafayette Ford, co-chair of the organization, has been named executive director. … Susan Klonsky, formerly with the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, has been retained by Lynn St. James, chief educational officer, for writing and editing on an as-needed basis. … John Frantz, principal of Sutherland School, has been named director of teacher accountability. … Ruby Ford, principal of Libby Elementary, has been named Region 6 administrator.
PRINCIPALS The following people have been named interim principals: Norma Iris Cortez, the new Hedges; previously, she was principal of McAuliffe. Jerry Mandujano, McAuliffe; previously he was assistant principal at McAuliffe. Fredrick Arana, the new Burns/Cardenas; previously, he was assistant principal at Chavez. Beverly Blake, Libby; previously, she was principal of Owens. Faye Terrell-Perkins, Tilton; previously, she was acting principal at Tilton. … Warner B. Birts, removed as principal of Englewood High, has resigned. … Lillian R. Stawicki, principal of LeMoyne Elementary, has retired.
NEW NAMES The new Hammond/Spry Elementary School has been named the William F. Finkl Academy School after the son of the founder of the Finkl Steel Company, who also was a co-founder of the Washburne Trade School. The company has adopted the new school, as it had principal Elizabeth Elizondo’s former school, Drummond. … The Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School has been renamed the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Paideia Community Academy.
CTU INCUMBENTS WIN BIG Chicago Teachers Union President Thomas Reece and his slate easily deflected a challenge lead by Deborah Walsh, former director of the CTU’s Quest Center. (See CATALYST, November 1995.) Walsh garnered only 27 percent of the roughly 19,000 votes cast—the union has 29,500 voting members. In recent elections, the best performance by a challenger to the ruling caucus came in 1988, seven months after the union’s longest strike; that year, George Schmidt took 37 percent in his bid to unseat Jacqueline Vaughn.
MORE ADVISORS The School Reform Board has created a Parent Teacher Association Advisory Committee that will meet monthly with a board representative and the chief executive officer to share information on school improvement issues and offer advice on how local school councils and PTAs can work more cohesively. By law, the board also has a Local School Council Advisory Board.
THEY’RE WATCHING The School Board has voted to install the Kronos time-keeping system at 22 after-school drivers’ education sites to monitor instructors’ work time. Cost: $27,090. … It also announced that surveillance cameras will be installed in 100 school buses by September as part of a pilot program to monitor drivers and deter vandalism. The move comes in the wake of a board audit showing that some bus companies overbilled and failed to comply with certain safety regulations and reporting requirements.
AWARDS The High School for Agricultural Sciences is one of 10 high schools from across the country that has been designated a “New American High School” by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Research in Vocational Education. The school seeks to prepare its some 470 students for careers in agriculture that require college credentials. The New American Schools Program promotes the restructuring of high schools to prepare all students for both college and careers, emphasize learning by doing and increase one-on-one attention from adults.
WINNERS The Academic Decathlon Team at Whitney Young Magnet High School placed eighth in the 1996 national competition; it was the 10th year in a row that Whitney Young’s team placed in the top 10 nationwide. … The chess team at Orr Community Academy High School tied for first place in the novice and elementary division of a nationwide invitational contest. In state competition, Lane Tech placed 13th, Foreman High 14th and Orr 24th.
PEACE CORPS TEACHERS The National Peace Corps Association is searching for former Peace Corps volunteers who now are teaching. With funding from the Knight Foundation, the association is creating a network to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the people, cultures and nations of the world. Locally, the Chicago Foundation for Education is gathering names. Phone: (312) 670-2323. Fax: (312) 670-2029. E-mail: CFEoffice@AOL.com. Address: 400 N. Michigan Ave., Room 311 Chicago, IL 60611.
SCHOOL LAW BOOK Copies of the 1996 Illinois School Code and the fourth edition of the Illinois School Law Survey are available from the Illinois Association of School Boards. The former includes a number of related acts, including the Open Meetings Act, the Freedom of Information Act and the School Visitation Rights Act. The cost is $18 plus $4 for shipping per order. The survey addresses school law in a question-and-answer format, providing answers to more than 1,000 questions about laws governing Illinois school boards, teachers, students and parents, as well as dozens of other matters. The cost is $20 plus $4 shipping per order. For orders, call (212&0 528-9679, ext. 108; fax (217) 528-2831, or write IASB Publications, 430 E. Vine St., Springfield, IL 62703.
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING The June 26 meeting of the School Reform Board will be held at Ray Elementary School, 5631 S. Kimbark. Public presentation will from 4 to 5:30 p.m. with registration from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The business portion of the meeting will immediately follow public presentation.
OOPS In our May issue, we failed to report that Pauline Addison Jackson was among the winners of the 1996 Kohl/ McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards. Jackson teaches at the Columbus-Maryville Children’s Reception Center, which is a branch of Brennemann School.