Latest News
REGISTER NOW for DFC’s June & July 2010 workshops and attend important meetings!
Mark your calendar and prepare to attend workshops throughout June and July! Register for any of DFC’s workshops by calling 312.236.7252, ext. 232. Leave a message with your name, your school, a phone number where you can be reached, and the date and title of the workshop. Or you may email us.
VOTE! In your school’s LSC election—April 21 and April 22, 2010
LSC elections will be held during report card pickup at elementary schools on Wednesday, April 21, and at high schools on Thursday, April 22, 2010.
6,178 LSC Candidates Registered by 1:25 p.m. March 22!
The deadline for registering to run for your LSC has been extended to 3:00 p.m. March 24, 2010. All parents, community members, and teachers who want to strengthen their school and positively impact student achievement should exercise the unique opportunity that Chicagoans have to lead their schools. No experience or formal education is required to be on the LSC. Candidates do not need to be U.S. citizens. READ MORE»
Click here to see the numbers of registrants by school (Excel document).
For more information contact Valencia Rias at 312.236.7252, ext. 241, or Elena Rios at 312.236.7252, ext. 234. For the forms you need to register, visit the Chicago Public Schools Web site. If you'd like to be kept informed about the number of people who have registered, please send us an email.
Senator Meeks’ Bill (SB 3063) Will Eliminate All Authority from Chicago’s Local School Councils
Bill Would Make Elected Educational Leadership in Illinois 93% White
Research proves that LSC members have improved academic achievement and safety in our schools. African American, Asian, and Latino LSC members whose children make up the majority of Chicago Public Schools will be directly affected.
Call and fax letters to Senate President John J. Cullerton, your State Senator, and members of the Senate Executive Committee. Tell them NOT TO SUPPORT SB 3063 because research has shown that LSCs have made a major contribution to improving Chicago schools.
A list and contact numbers of senators on the Senate Executive Committee is available here. Follow this link to find your State Senator.
High Schools at Which Chicago’s Central Board Appointed Principals Have Shown Virtually No Academic Progress
Twenty high schools at which the Chicago Board of Education has a taken direct control of principal selection, school improvement planning, and budget have shown virtually no academic progress and remain at very low achievement levels. READ MORE»
Multiple Studies Indicate that Local Initiative Is the Key to Improved Student Achievement in Chicago
Four research reports indicate that Five Essential Supports for Student Learning (which require Local School Councils and schools to take advantage of the opportunities for local initiative granted by the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988) have been critical in schools that were low-achieving in 1990 by subsequently made substantial sustained improvements in educational quality and students’ tested achievement.
These studies include What Makes These Schools Stand Out (1998) and The Big Picture (1995) (full report, summary) by Designs for Change, and “The Essential Supports for School Improvement” (1996, Consortium on Chicago School Research), which has now been expanded into a major book called Organizing for School Improvement: Lessons from Chicago—published by The University of Chicago Press.