CPS Claims that 40 students in a classroom is OK with a "high quality teacher"
BY BOB SECTER, NOREEN S. AHMED-ULLAH, AND ALEX RICHARDS - CHICAGO TRIBUNE | 03/06/2013
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push to close dozens of schools hinges on a vision of the "ideal" size for kindergarten through eighth-grade classes as 30 students, far 
larger than is the case now in the typical Chicago classroom.
That round number — little mentioned despite months of public debate — provides the simplest explanation yet for parents, students and teachers trying to understand why their schools are among 129 that could face closing.
A Tribune examination of that figure amid a blizzard of data offers new clarity about how Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett are framing their case for improving the school system and wrestling with a budget deficit they peg at $1 billion next year. The implications are significant.
Setting a benchmark higher than what records indicate is reality across Chicago — and far higher than in many suburbs — indicates to some that Emanuel is willing to buck the popular notion that smaller
larger than is the case now in the typical Chicago classroom.That round number — little mentioned despite months of public debate — provides the simplest explanation yet for parents, students and teachers trying to understand why their schools are among 129 that could face closing.
A Tribune examination of that figure amid a blizzard of data offers new clarity about how Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett are framing their case for improving the school system and wrestling with a budget deficit they peg at $1 billion next year. The implications are significant.
Setting a benchmark higher than what records indicate is reality across Chicago — and far higher than in many suburbs — indicates to some that Emanuel is willing to buck the popular notion that smaller