Chicago Mayor Wants $1 Billion More For Schools Even Though 43% Of Teachers Are Chronically Absent
By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner of Wirepoints
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson recently traveled to Springfield with a big wish list of stuff he wants from state lawmakers. Among them, $1 billion in extra funding for Chicago Public Schools.
We have a host of reasons why his demand should be categorically rejected. Among them, CPS already spends $29,000 per student, Chicago teachers are already among the nation’s highest paid in big cities and the Chicago Teachers Union refuses to close the many empty, failing schools across the district. Not to mention that both CPS and CTU refuse to hold themselves accountable to students. Just 20% of minority CPS children can read at grade level and in math it’s even worse.
Now add to that the growing rate of teachers simply not showing up to school. The U.S. Department of Education’s definition of chronic teacher absenteeism is 10 or more absences in a school year.
In CPS, the share of teachers who are chronically absent has jumped to 43% from 28% just seven years ago. The jump can’t be blamed on the pandemic, as the rate of absenteeism was rising (from 28% to 36%) even before covid hit.
Teacher attendance has a heavy impact on student outcomes. From the Illinois State Board of Education’s Report Card:
“Teacher attendance is a “leading indicator” of student achievement, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Teachers with regular attendance provide continuity of instruction and attention to individual students. The National Bureau of Economic Research has shown that when teachers are absent for 10 days or more, student outcomes decrease significantly.”
Instead of asking for more money, Mayor Johnson should make sure his CTU brethren are actually in the classroom. He should then set dramatically higher reading and math proficiency targets that both he and teachers are held accountable for.
And then the mayor should make those targets public.
Those 43% are also functionally illiterate
ReplyDeleteIt is true that students are not up to desired standards in reading and math because of problems like parents who are not available to help their children at home. Many students are arriving to school unfed because parents leave home early for their jobs while students are left alone to prepare inadequate meals. Unsupervised children are not completing homework assignments, and so on.
ReplyDeleteJobs????
DeleteStudents are spending too much time socializing on cell phones and less time completing assigned lessons.
ReplyDeleteParents are the child’s first teachers who are responsible for the education of their children. If my child is illiterate, it is my fault because I should have taught my child at home and hired a tutor if necessary. Parents are expected to work with the teachers by helping their children at home.
ReplyDeleteThe world has changed since mothers decided to enter the world of work and leave children home alone to raise themselves. Unfortunately the burden of parenting and educating neglected children has been placed on teachers and the school system.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask students what did they eat for breakfast, many will tell you they don’t eat breakfast or that they had donuts and sweet drinks. You cannot solve mathematical equations nor comprehend reading material with a brain filled with donuts and sugar.
The mayor has to find ways to solve the educational crisis with additional funds in order to meet the nutritional needs of children and recruit the necessary personnel to get the job done.
The mayor can get as much money as he desires, the problem is that too many minority teachers have not been taught programming languages, nor adequate preparation in teaching math and science courses. Therefore it is difficult to teach what you don’t know.
ReplyDeleteHis job is to require teachers to receive the necessary training in order to receive increased income because it is unprofessional to hire incompetent teachers to cripple minority students while wealthy white students receive highly trained teachers and qualify for the best jobs. All teachers should be required to pass certification tests in order to have an educated society.