Monday, September 27, 2010

Catalyst Notebook :: In the News: Charter students get more class time; Texas limits Islam references in textbooks

Catalyst Notebook :: In the News: Charter students get more class time; Texas limits Islam references in textbooks
Catalyst Notebook Blog
Catalyst writers and editors share their perspectives, analyses and the news behind the news on improving Chicago area public schools. Our on-the-ground reports will tell you what’s happening in schools and education circles here and elsewhere. Our views will tell you what to make of it.

In the News: Charter students get more class time; Texas limits Islam references in textbooksAlthough students from other countries are in school longer — South Korea (204 days), Japan (200 days) and Australia (197 days) — the U.S. remains at about 180 days a year, five days a week, six hours a day. Illinois requires 176 days of "actual pupil attendance," but most districts shave off a couple of days, with permission, for teacher training or parent conferences, the Chicago Tribune reported last week.

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In the News: Field house sit-in continues; laid-off teachers complainThe sit-in at Whittier school’s field house in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood is into its second week. A group of parents and their supporters refuse to leave the building. They say they want to keep Chicago Public Schools from tearing it down. The protesters say a building inspection they commissioned refutes the district’s conclusion that the building is unsound. But WBEZ reporter Hunter Clauss has found the parents’ own inspector says the building might not be legally safe to occupy.

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