Chicago School Reform Case Study

The effects of these teachers’ strikes only fueled the city’s fiscal crisis and made necessary the establishment of the Chicago School Finance Authority to address the situation. Along with negative reports by Chicago United and disappointing reported standardized test scores from students, the situation reached a point of severe distress. In 1986, Mayor Washington had called for a summit on education reform in which many Chicago leaders were brought together to think of ways to solve issues surrounding CPS. Following the 1987 strike and protests by local organizations, Washington organizes an emergency gathering of near 1,000 people to appoint a community council and expand the education summit. These efforts showed promise of reform but the image of the system was still far from encouraging. The push for immediate reform is what encouraged Chicago united to invite the secretary of education to a closed-door meeting to offer direction that day in early November. Bennett, an appointee of then president Ronald Reagan, spared no sympathy for Washington’s efforts up until this point when he addressed the abysmal reality of CPS. He called attention to Chicago United’s past reports of test sores and dropout rates, referring to CPS as “an educational meltdown” (Banas). While Bennett never specifically said
that Chicago was the absolute worst in the nation, his intent was clear. He encouraged the use of performance evaluations and school vouchers so that parents can have a say in where their children attend school and the issue of segregation schools can be relived. He also pointed to the history of corruption within the school board and the city administration. Immediate reactions to Bennett’s comments included those of the president of the board of education, Frank Gardner, and Mayor Washington himself, both stated disappointment in Bennett’s rash evaluations of CPS. Washington pointed to the political implications of Bennett’s association to President Reagan who, in his opinion, had “literally dismantled public education”. Gardner had similar grievances expressing concern that the comments would “demoralized teachers”. However more controversial was Gardner’s acknowledgement that there was some truth to Bennett’s observations. He confirmed the information the secretary cited regarding the most recent ACT scores and the dropout rate. Many schools located in the problem areas on the city reported scores in the bottom 1% of schools in the nation and the dropout rate had reached 43%. Gardner promised that the issue would not be ignored and proposed that the recent enthusiasm expressed by parents would encourage involvement in the reform effort. Many other prominent Chicago names echoed Gardner and Washington’s defenses, pointing out the issues of other major cities’ school systems and accomplishments that CPS had made in recent years. Despite their sentiments, Bennett’s statements gathered national attention and soon Chicago’s reputation suffered. At the end of that November Mayor Washington suffered from a fatal heart attack. Even though his death was a sudden and unexpected tragedy for the city, it did not derail the reform efforts that would come to be his legacy. William Bennett’s remarks and Washington’s untimely death were a source of inspiration for the education summit’s attempt to craft a reform bill. After months of lobbying, the Chicago School Reform Act is passed in the Illinois legislature, permitting the creation of local councils with the ability to control school budgets and hire principles. These councils would have the power to propose and authorize improvement plans for CPS, and give parents and community members the power to influence CPS policy. In 1989 the first Local School Council (LSC) members are elected and an era of reform begins in Chicago. A renewed sense of hope begins to emerge in the public’s assessment of CPS and donations to reform efforts increase considerably. Some schools see improvements due to the changes including higher test scores, but the population of white students in Chicago schools continues to decline and some schools see an even further decline in scores than before the reform bill was passed. In the following years there is a decrease in voting participation in LSC elections and financial contributions lower again. In 1994 republicans assume a majority in the state senate and in 1995 the Chicago School Reform Amendatory act is passed, reversing the decentralization that was created in the 1988 reform bill. The new bill returned the power of appointing school board members back to the mayor and introduced new programs. It also permits a new rehabilitation program that leads to school and student accountability initiatives, as Bennett had suggested in 87’. The most influential outcome of this reform era is the methods of evaluation introduced in the early 90s to support the changes made in the 1988 reform bill.
The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research is formed to conduct regular evaluations of school reform effects and provide insight into ways in which schools can improve. A magazine called Catalyst Chicago is founded as a source of relevant information about school and citywide initiatives and news for LSC members to stay informed. These groups have offered significant advancements in the ability of school leaders to identify problem schools and review how CPS policies help or harm
schools. Despite William Bennett’s comments about CPS being damaging to Chicago’s reputation and creating a negative stigma of Chicago schools, he launched Chicago into an era of reform that was badly needed. Washington may have initiated the effort and established the necessary footwork for reform but Bennett gave it the push it needed to begin real change. CPS still suffers from troubling issues like below average test scores, financial issues, and teacher dissatisfaction but improvements have been made. Graduation rates have increased and the standards set for students are much higher than in past decades. Overall, CPS now has the tools to create substantial improvements in years to come. Considering it’s sordid history, CPS might actually be experiencing its best years yet.