State officials pursue private support for public school reform initiatives
 Elgin kindergarten teacher Kristin Meredith works with students on a math unit, using rhythm and stomping to get her point across. An early learning readiness measure proposed by state education officials might require kindergarten teachers to evaluate a child’s ability to focus or play nicely with classmates. (Stacey Wescott, Tribune photo / January 27, 2011) |
For months, Illinois education officials have courted private support for public education reforms that would test every kindergartner and revamp how teenagers study science and technology.
In scale and ambition, the pitch to philanthropic foundations and businesses is without precedent.
It is also without many alternatives: Illinois narrowly lost in its bid for the federal Race to the Top competition last fall, missing a shot at $400 million intended to improve public schools at a time when the state's financial woes render an infusion of new cash unlikely.
So, the state's top educator, Illinois School Superintendent Christopher Koch, hopes to raise about $80 million in private support and grants in the next four years to support reforms that include student performance in teacher evaluations and prepare principals to work in schools plagued by poverty, state records show.
In scale and ambition, the pitch to philanthropic foundations and businesses is without precedent.
It is also without many alternatives: Illinois narrowly lost in its bid for the federal Race to the Top competition last fall, missing a shot at $400 million intended to improve public schools at a time when the state's financial woes render an infusion of new cash unlikely.
So, the state's top educator, Illinois School Superintendent Christopher Koch, hopes to raise about $80 million in private support and grants in the next four years to support reforms that include student performance in teacher evaluations and prepare principals to work in schools plagued by poverty, state records show.
