News & Issues

Host school contingency sites if Chicago teachers strike

By Paul Katula •
The Chicago Public Schools have released a contingency plan to make sure students are accommodated in the event of a teachers strike on Monday. The plan includes 144 "host schools" or "contingency centers" as well as several faith-based organizations, mostly churches.

Singer, color guard member dies in motorcycle crash

By Paul Katula •
Alyssa Ludovice, a high school junior, member of Elgin High School's color guard and, from what we hear, an excellent singer and writer, died Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 5, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident Tuesday in Lakewood. She was 16.

Teacher merit pay & new research in Chicago Heights

By Paul Katula •
A new study says there IS a way to make merit pay for teachers work, producing higher test scores by students if their teachers receive bonuses. But there are conditions on how they should receive those bonuses—and a few problems with the study itself.

Another superintendent out at North Chicago

By Paul Katula •
It's a revolving door at the superintendent's office for North Chicago Unit School District 187, now in takeover by the Illinois State Board of Education. The latest leader, the 15th since 1991, is Ben Martindale.

Links for resources on bullying, cyberbullying

By Paul Katula •
We list here some good resources to recognize, reduce, and help the victims of cyberbullying, a 21st-century version of schoolyard teasing that affects between 20 and 40 percent of schoolchildren in the US, depending on which survey you read. In any case, many, many children are the victims of cyberbullying, and here's what you can do about it.

Are flexbooks the answer to college textbook costs?

By Paul Katula •
College textbook costs are about $1,000 per year for the average undergraduate student, but there are options to reduce the cost, not all of which are available to every student. But they should be.

In the aftermath of a school shooting

By Paul Katula •
The Perry Hall (Md.) community will move on, for better or worse, in the wake of a school shooting tragedy at Baltimore's County largest high school.

California schools to train very young Netizens

By Paul Katula •
As more children are going online, encouraged by parents, teachers, and so on, the topic of cyberbullying is in the news more and more. And a new curriculum from a California nonprofit can help navigate the online world of 8-year-olds.