Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

I hoped to have Show Notes ready for this post, but I don’t. And it’s a lot rougher than even I expected – we had issues in post-production, meaning the rough spots didn’t get smoothed out. And the levels and stuff. Still, you can see what we’re trying to do here with The Beachwood Radio Hour.
And don’t forget the rebranded Beachwood International Hour With The Angry Aussie. This week we discuss the Fort Hood shooting; the amazing, outrageous story of the fake Cuban Twitter, secretly founded and funded by the U.S. government; and the latest missteps of Chicagoland.


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Charters Not Smarter
“[T]here’s little evidence in standardized test results that charters are performing better than traditional schools operated by the Chicago Public Schools system, an examination by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Medill Data Project at Northwestern University has found,” the paper reports.
Add it to the pile of research compiled over 30 years showing the same thing that our data mayor chooses to ignore.
“In fact, in 2013, CPS schools had a higher percentage of elementary students who exceeded the standards for state tests for reading and math than the schools that are privately run with Chicago taxpayer funds.”
And that includes the worst of the worst CPS schools, who take in students charters keep out.
Chicagoland!
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The results are all the more detrimental to the charter cause when you consider that the evaluation is based on standardized test scores, which charters emphasize far more intensely than traditional public schools.
It’s a massive failure.
But a lot of folks are making bank.
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And just think how much better regular CPS schools would be doing if charters weren’t sucking resources away from them.
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I would also argue that neighborhood schools help create community. The civic penalty to charters, combined with mass school closings, is enormous.
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“The analysis of the 2013 test results was similar to what CPS officials found in a 2010 study ordered by Terry Mazany, who was interim schools chief during the last six months of the Daley administration.
“According to previously unreleased records, that internal review found that charter students did far worse on the ISAT than students at CPS-run magnet schools and only slightly better than students at neighborhood schools.”
What kind of grade do we give to Rahm Emanuel, his school board and Barbara Byrd-Bennett for making policy that ignores the evidence?
That’s Not All!
“Earlier this year, Chicago Public Schools released statistics showing that charter schools, including those run by Noble, expel students at a rate dramatically higher than district-run schools,” the Tribune reports.
“At Noble, which runs 14 campuses throughout the city and is often praised by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, students are issued demerits for misdeeds like not sitting up straight or not wearing a full school uniform – minor issues that would be overlooked in district-run schools. They receive demerits for being as little as a minute or less late to school, having a permanent marker in their possession, or ‘rowdy or loud behavior.’
“And unlike district schools and most other charters, Noble charges fines for disciplinary infractions. Demerits for minor misbehavior can add up quickly – after four, students get a detention, which comes with a $5 fine.
“Noble officials and many parents defend the tough disciplinary code, saying it keeps their schools safe and keeps students focused in the classroom.

“You hear the phrase ‘sweat the small stuff’ or ‘the broken window theory,’ ” said Noble Superintendent Michael Milkie. “We absolutely live by that. If you allow a lot of windows to be broken, soon that house is going to turn into one where lots of damage is going on.”

“But the disciplinary policies at Noble run counter to district and national efforts to find ways to keep students in the classroom.”
Also, broken windows theory was debunked years ago.
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Replays vs. Rhubarbs
Will baseball’s new review system spell the end of manager outbursts?
Our very own Roger Wallenstein laments the possibility in The White Sox Report.
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See also: White Sox Games Are Eeerily Empty.
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Note: SportsMonday and The Cub Factor will both appear on Tuesday this week.
The Weekend In Chicago Rock
Featuring: St. Vincent, Carcass, Tinariwen, Midwest Hype feat. The Palmer Squares, David Guetta, Chick Corea & Bela Fleck, Dream Theater, Kirko Bangz & Bun B, Dax Riggs, London Grammar, The Screamin’ End, Communist Daughter, and Adam Faucett.
Ad Note
Our Amazon ads are back! Check out the left rails of our Music, TV, Politics, Books and People, Places & Things pages. Gonna add more and/or switch some new options in this week.
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BeachBook
* A Data Visualization Of Barack Obama Perpetrating War Crimes.
* Britons Guilty Of U.S. Terror Charges Denied Access To Secret Files.
* Milwaukee Wants Its PBR Back.
* 13-Year-Old Perfectly Blasts Surf Mag For How They Depict Women.
* McDonald’s Shuts Down In Crimea, Offers Workers Jobs In Ukraine.
* How To Get Beyond The Parasite Economy – Starting With Guitar Center.
* Edgewater Lounge Closed By City.
* Is Whistleblower Advocate For Nation’s Spies Under Attack?
* Senate Report: Torture Failed To Produce Evidence For Finding Bin Laden.
* UNICEF Report: U.S. Ranks 34th Out Of 35 In Childhood Poverty. But first in American exceptionalism.
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TweetWood


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The Beachwood Tip Line: Unsweetened.

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Posted on April 7, 2014