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/metro/chicago/article/0,2669,ART-52340,FF.html ---Forwarded article---------------- Test scores main school goal By Ray Quintanilla<BR> and Gary Washburn As Michael W. Scott took the reins as president of the Chicago Board of Education on Friday, he pledged to immediately begin a search for the new ideas that Mayor Richard Daley wants as the new centerpiece of Chicago's school reform. He said his principal goal is to find a way to improve student reading and math scores on standardized tests. Scott said he didn't have any clear blueprint how to achieve that. But it must start by scouring the minds of his administrators and principals. "We will take a sensible and intelligent approach, taking advantage of the gains and successes that have already been made and then moving forward," Scott said. "This is about the children." Scott's appointment sets into place one piece of the mayor's new schools team and comes a day after Daley accepted schools chief executive Paul Vallas' resignation. "Michael is a tested and proven consensus-builder," Daley said during a City Hall news conference to announce the appointment of Scott, 51, who has been the city's parks chief. "Michael will continue to work with parents, local school councils, teachers and principals to make sure we continue to improve [academic] performance." Scott said he plans to meet with Vallas regularly over the next two weeks to "learn more about everything that's going on and be ready for when school opens in the fall." He said wholesale changes are not needed right away at the board. But he left open the door for changes, saying he wants only the "best and the brightest" on his team. While Daley was announcing Scott's appointment, the details of a severance package for Vallas were quietly being addressed at the Board of Education. How much he will receive was unresolved. But board officials said Vallas, who served six years without a contract, could receive six months' to a year's pay in severance. There is precedent for offering a severance package. Former Chicago Supts. Ted Kimbrough and Argie Johnson were awarded such sweeteners in negotiated departures. The board is still making payments for Kimbrough's pension, officials said. Scott, an AT&T Corp. executive, has been involved in Chicago politics for more than two decades, getting his start as a housing activist in the West Side's Lawndale neighborhood, where he was born and raised. He also served in various capacities under Mayors Jane Byrne and Harold Washington. He will need those political skills to manage a school system that has enjoyed early success in education reform but is undergoing a leadership overhaul as Daley's impatience over stagnating reading scores reaches a breaking point. Replacing Chico took two weeks. Daley said appointing Vallas' replacement may not occur until the mayor returns from Europe on June 27. Mary Dempsey, the city's library commissioner, is high on Daley's list, despite reports that she has expressed reservations about the $180,000-a-year post. ---------------------------------------------------- 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/>
