NACSA | For Members | Member Spotlight
Chicago Public Schools
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March, 2009
Member Spotlight
Chicago Public Schools
Interview by David T. Kindler
Location: Chicago, IL
Type of Authorizer: Local Education Agency
Number of Charter Schools Currently Authorized: 30
Number of Charter School Campuses: 67
Website: www.ren2010.cps.k12.il.us
Contact: Josh Edelman – Executive Officer, Office of New Schools;
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(773)553-1530.
CPS Profile:
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of New Schools (ONS) has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of charter schools to urban districts and is effectively using the lessons learned from charters to turn around failing schools. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley launched the ambitious Renaissance 2010 initiative in 2004. The effort seeks to increase the number of high quality educational options in communities across Chicago by the year 2010. Through Renaissance 2010, new charter schools are a key part of a school portfolio created through a competitive, community-based selection process.
ONS manages a portfolio of 104 schools that consists of schools developed through Renaissance 2010 and all charter and professional development schools created before Renaissance 2010. Its Executive Officer is Josh Edelman. A former teacher and school principal in Washington, DC, Josh has acted on the strong support for charters shown by Mayor Daley and former CPS CEO Arne Duncan. During the past year, CPS grew its Renaissance 2010 portfolio by 18 schools, 11 of which were new charter schools or campuses of existing charters.
What is your vision for charter schools?
Our vision for charter schools in the City of Chicago is to create high-quality school options for every family, especially those who have not had those options in the past.
We are working with operators, principals, and school staff to do their best work. These successes are pushing the whole system to improve. We are trying to create opportunities for talented entrepreneurs to do outstanding work and then learn about their best practices to help the whole district to improve.
How did you get involved in authorizing?
The history of Chicago’s involvement in charters is well known. My own path was non-linear. I worked as a teacher and principal for fifteen years and was quite happy in DC. I met Arne Duncan and was very impressed with his leadership and vision. I was given the opportunity to work in a progressive system for a strong leader. I never imagined myself in this role in Chicago.
How do you describe a “quality authorizer”?
Authorizing is primarily about creating a great school. A quality authorizer is an active recruiter who is able to get great people to come into a system. They must also be able to honor autonomy while holding operators accountable and helping them flourish. A quality authorizer, especially within a school district, can personalize the experience and help operators and schools to navigate the process.
It is really important to be present and visible. To that end, I visit schools every single week. These visits are not evaluative in any way; rather they are about understanding how it is going for the school. What are they proud of? What is challenging them? How can we help? It is easy to lose perspective if you are sitting in an office. I encourage all members of my team to do this so that the relationships and this approach go beyond one person.
What are the major challenges your office faces annually; how do you address them?
One of the biggest challenges is the paucity of talent nationally for urban education. Given the nature of local funding challenges, finding people willing to come to Chicago is very difficult. Building that case for why a charter operator should open schools in Chicago can be difficult.
Another challenge is getting the balance of autonomy and accountability right. We work very hard with individual schools to find a balance. Our office is on two teams at once. We are there for the schools to be supportive, but we also have to hold schools accountable to standards of achievement.
Communication and creating an atmosphere of partnership can be challenging. We have to work hard at promoting wins and progress. Strong partnerships with communities and organizations are also essential to local school improvement successes. We are building a culture of service. We are working hard to show care and concern to our operators and schools, while being proactive, transparent, and focused on helping them grow and succeed.
Finally, we are constantly looking at the big picture. We have to move toward outcomes and the broader tasks that allow for sustainable growth and that allow us to be advocates as well as regulators. This has to be done artfully.
What inspires you?
The leadership being shown in Chicago inspires me. There is a clear focus on creating quality options. There is strong support from the top for Renaissance 2010 and charter options. Having such a great political alignment of the Mayor, school district CEO and School Board is huge and really empowers us to do our work. Inspirational leaders in the schools motivate us to go out and recruit more folks with those skills and talents.
What is the most pressing issue that authorizers must tackle in the next 5 years if we are to grow a high quality charter sector?
Authorizers need to address the financial challenges. Quality people make all the difference, and right now it is harder to attract them because we do not have a broad enough financial frame. For us in Chicago, the charter cap and funding equity issues are huge barriers we have to work against.
Authorizers also need to make sure that our charters can make a go of it long term with sustainable models. We need to develop sustainable relationships between new schools and the districts. As we go to scale in Chicago, for instance, we have a huge opportunity for structuring services in the district to make them friendlier environments for charter schools and ensure that district services flow to charters.
How do you determine if your authorizing office is successful?
First and foremost, with Renaissance 2010, we look at who is coming into the district, their track record, and the location of schools we authorize, in order to ensure that we are supporting communities that have a demonstrated need. We also look at schools that have been authorized and how they are doing. How are the test scores? What are their attendance and graduation rates? How are they doing with college matriculation rates? How are the financials looking? Should the charter be renewed?
There are also softer metrics to consider as well when evaluating our own work. Are people satisfied with the job we are doing? What kind of reaction are we engendering by our efforts?
