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Catalyst Chicago

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Catalyst Chicago is an independent newsmagazine created in 1990 to document, analyze and support school-improvement efforts in the Chicago Public Schools. It is published by the Community Renewal Society (CRS), a nonprofit organization founded in 1882 that works to create racially and economically just communities. CRS also publishes The Chicago Reporter, an award-winning newsletter created in 1972 to investigate issues of race and poverty. Both publications are editorially independent of CRS.

Recent Articles

As school closings vote nears, questions remain on money, academics, safety

By Sarah Karp, 2 days 8 hours ago.

When Margarita Miranda moved to Old Town in 2000, the area looked much different. The Cabrini Green public housing projects cast a long shadow, and neighborhood elementary schools were located on...

Map: 40 percent of closed schools now privately run

By Becky Vevea (WBEZ), Linda Lutton (WBEZ) and Sarah Karp (Catalyst), 4 months 1 week ago.

Even though CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has pledged that no charter schools will go into school buildings vacated this year, the concern over the possibility has been raised so much in some quarters...

New performance tasks show promise, but also problems

By Rebecca Harris, 5 months 3 weeks ago.

This fall, CPS launched “performance tasks” – short assessments for nearly every subject and grade level that will be used in teacher evaluations. The new tests are part of a state law requiring that...

Union goes on the offensive against charters

By Rebecca Harris, 5 months 3 weeks ago.

Now that CPS has its school closings deadline extension in hand, the Chicago Teachers Union has fired another volley in the battle over school closings. In a report embargoed until today, “The Black...

Most under-utilized schools in black neighborhoods: map

By Sarah Karp, 5 months 3 weeks ago.

CPS officials have said that 140 schools are more than 50 percent underutilized—the benchmark it seems they are looking at for closure. But they have not yet put out the list of schools that are in...

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@CatalystChicago

CatalystChicago: RT @bylaurenfitz: Energy has left the #CPSboard chambers. Folks trickling out now.