Even by Windy City standards, the month of May closed with a bluster of activity around the schools.
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Chicago school board President Gery J. Chico resigned, and school board sources speculated that Paul G. Vallas, the district鈥檚 chief executive officer, might not be far behind.
Local newspapers published leaked reports of declining high school test scores鈥攏ews likely to rankle Mayor Richard M. Daley, whose public support for both men has waned of late.
Meanwhile, the teachers鈥� union voted out its incumbent leader for a more combative president.
After an era of stable leadership and nationally watched improvement efforts, the combination of events could move the nation鈥檚 third-largest school district onto a new course鈥攐ne that might diverge from the direction set six years ago, when Mayor Daley installed the Chico-Vallas team.
鈥淎s I read the overt signals, it seems that a complete turnover at the top is in the offing,鈥� said Anne C. Hallett, the executive director of the Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform, a Chicago-based network of urban school activists. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always been that speculation around Mr. Vallas, but it seems stronger than ever now.鈥�
A spokesman for Mr. Daley said last week that the mayor was reviewing candidates for Mr. Chico鈥檚 post, and that selection of a new board president could come early this month.
Mixed Emotions
Mr. Chico, whose tenure as president has been longer than that of any predecessor in more than a century, announced his plans May 24. He said he wants to spend more time with his three young daughters and return to full-time status at the law firm where he is a chairman.
鈥淚 have a strong passion for [education]. I know the importance of education to society, the state, and to the city,鈥� he said. 鈥淥f course, I have mixed emotions. I loved working to make progress.鈥�
Former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett once called the Chicago school district the worst in the nation. But that was in the 1980s. Since then, the 432,000-student system has gained new respect in many quarters and landed at the front of some national trends.
Mayor Daley鈥檚 1995 takeover of the district, which was mandated by the Illinois legislature, has been replicated in a handful of other cities, such as Cleveland. Chicago has also provided blueprints for ending the automatic promotion of students to the next grade level, requiring low-performing students to attend summer school, and writing daily scripts for teacher lessons.
Critics, however, fault the Chicago approach as too centralized and overly focused on test scores. They charge that the district relies too heavily on threats of punitive action and intervention in its efforts to raise the achievement of low-performing schools and students.
鈥淲e could get new people, but if these policies are not changed, children are not going to be any better off,鈥� said Donald R. Moore, the executive director of Designs for Change. That Chicago advocacy group promotes local control of schools, the philosophy behind an earlier push to improve the school system.
鈥淟et鈥檚 research what鈥檚 worked and what hasn鈥檛 worked,鈥� Mr. Moore said, 鈥渁nd move ahead.鈥�
Mr. Chico defended the district鈥檚 use of tests. Acknowledging some recent drops and stagnation, he noted that, in general, those scores have risen over the past six years.
鈥淧eople are not going to believe that you have a good system or an uptick just because you tell them,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, you have to be believable and credible, and the best way to show that is through objective data.鈥�
His successor as school board president should keep that in mind, he added. 鈥淲hoever takes over must have a passion to support progress,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nyone who feels there鈥檚 no platform for progress hasn鈥檛 been paying attention.鈥�
There are many signs, however, that satisfaction with the direction and pace of improvement under the current administration, including Mr. Vallas, the CEO, may have run its course.
To many observers, the most ominous signs have come from Mayor Daley himself.
On the eve of Mr. Vallas鈥� May 30 state-of-the-schools address, the mayor told local reporters that the schools chief 鈥渃an stay if he wants to,鈥� but no one鈥檚 鈥渋rreplaceable,鈥� the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Mr. Daley in recent months also has urged school leaders find new ways to raise reading scores.
鈥淚s the mayor getting Vallas to resign? Well, he has a tradition of turning over top leadership every three years. Vallas has doubled that,鈥� said G. Alfred Hess, the director of the Center for Urban School Policy at Northwestern University. 鈥淒aley probably feels it鈥檚 time to make changes. It鈥檚 his style.鈥�
Mr. Vallas said in an interview last week that he was not ready to talk about his future in the district. 鈥淚鈥檒l decide that at the end of the school year,鈥� he said. The last official school day in Chicago is June 12.
Meanwhile, Mr. Vallas has had plenty to keep him busy.
He鈥檚 focused on getting the school board to pass a $4.3 billion budget this month for fiscal 2002. His plan seeks to close or cut about 400 central-office and nonteaching jobs to make room for new teachers. The budget plan is his seventh balanced budget in as many years.
The district鈥檚 top administration is not the only power center in flux.
In a major shakeup for the teacher workforce late last month, former 8th grade teacher Deborah Lynch-Walsh ousted Chicago Teachers Union President Thomas Reece, who was first elected to the post in 1994.
Local news organizations, meanwhile, reported that soon-to-be released test data would show that scores in some elite high schools had dropped.
Mr. Vallas downplayed the reports. Not only is the exam the students took being phased out, he said, but the scores were high to begin with. 鈥淭hese are scores that are already in the stratosphere,鈥� he said.
