The following article was selected from the Internet Edition of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser to http://chicagotribune.com/. ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding---------------- Article forwarded by: Cayata Dixon Return e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://chicagotribune.com/news/local/article/0,1051,SAV-0106080394,00.html ---Forwarded article---------------- Vallas gets positive sendoff By Ray Quintanilla and Gary Washburn Crediting Paul Vallas' years of leadership with re-energizing the Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Richard Daley accepted his school chief's resignation Thursday, signaling the beginning of a new chapter in Chicago's nationally watched school reform movement. Vallas' resignation came a day after he began discussing it with the media and follows by two weeks the resignation of Gery Chico, president of the Board of Education. Daley declined to say when he would name a new schools team, though City Hall sources said Michael W. Scott, chairman of the Park District Board, will be named to replace Chico on Friday. Chicago Library Commissioner Mary A. Dempsey is believed to be a front-runner to replace Vallas. During Thursday's announcement, Daley's face was flushed as he read a statement praising Vallas and his accomplishments. "Teachers, students and principals will tell you there's a new spirit in the Chicago Public Schools," Daley said. "The old sense of defeatism and failure is a thing of the past." Minutes after the news conference, one of the nation's leading bond-rating agencies issued a statement suggesting Daley must ensure a smooth transition of leadership in the system, which holds more than $2 billion in construction bonds. The New York office of Standard & Poor's said the system's A-plus rating was based largely on "strong faith in the abilities and achievements of the CPS management team led by Paul Vallas." In his remarks, Vallas said he's leaving a 435,000-student system that's headed in the right direction, both academically and financially. "This system is much better off than before Gery Chico and I got here," Vallas said. "The schools are in great financial shape, and the children are rising to the challenge." Vallas said he will make himself available to whoever replaces him, though he plans to spend much of the summer with his wife and children. After that, Vallas said he will begin seriously considering his next job. Board of Education sources said some inquiries have already surfaced, including the public schools in Philadelphia. Vallas is largely credited with injecting accountability by ending social promotions, requiring summer school for underachieving students, restoring the system's financial stability and easing tensions with the teachers union. The result has been rising standardized test scores in reading and math. When the Vallas-Chico team arrived in 1995, about one in four students read at grade level. Today, that number has risen to slightly more than one in three. Math scores have increased as well, with two of every five children at grade level. When the duo arrived, that number was about one in three at grade level. As Daley's news conference concluded, a group from the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group gathered outside Daley's office, seeking to have a "homework assignment" given to the next CEO to ensure a fair distribution of resources for additional physical improvements to the city's schools. "What's been done is great so far as it went, but there are still schools falling between the cracks. Overcrowding is as bad as it ever was, not because they didn't make an effort to address it, but because the demographics of the city have caught up with them," said Jacqueline Leavy, the group's executive director. "The more open the new administration is about all of the challenges they still face for their crumbling and overcrowded schools, the better our chances are of keeping a commitment from the state and getting a commitment from the feds to help rebuild all of our schools for all of our kids," Leavy said. ---------------------------------------------------- This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
