ERIC Number: ED337879
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1988
Pages: 23
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Chicago Business Leadership and School Reform. Supporting Leaders for Tomorrow, Occasional Paper #3.
Bednarik, David
Chicago's city leaders, unlike other city leaders, are going after fundamental and radical restructuring of the nation's third largest school system, but have found that it is hard to achieve. This paper provides a snapshot of the growing political involvement of Chicago's business leadership with the city's troubled school system. The need for business to become involved in public education is examined, and the hard political lessons learned by business, traditional alliances that didn't work, what reform legislation would do, and proposed new powers for principals are described. Reasons why business got involved include a teacher strike in 1987, dismal annual report cards, and large class sizes. The influence of Republican Governor James Thompson in the process is scrutinized and the unprecedented role of business in the reform process is described. Discussions of the future of the reform bill, the school reform authority, and the optimism of business despite discouragements conclude the main paper. An addendum reviews the highlights of the reform bill that was eventually passed with an effective date of July 1989. The bill establishes school councils, replaces the Board of Education, gives the Chicago School Finance Authority the power to oversee reform legislation, and guarantees jobs to the approximately 200 teachers who lose their positions each year. (RR)
Descriptors: Corporate Support, Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Public Schools, School Business Relationship, School District Autonomy, School Effectiveness, School Organization, School Restructuring
Publications Department, Institute for Educational Leadership, Inc., 1001 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036 ($6.00).
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Institute for Educational Leadership, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A