Renaissance 2010, Round 2: The Sweet Sixteen

11/07 UPDATE: There are at least two loud voices questioning the new list of recommended schools, including the CTU and Mike Klonsky. His Monday morning post (Chicago's new patronage system) highlights the fact that some of those who are proposing schools -- and being approved -- sit on the committees evaluating Ren10 proposals, and that the school chosen for Austin HS was not the strongest candidate.

Is this sour grapes or are there real conflicts of interest here? I don't know.
________

The recommendations for Ren-10, Round 2 are out. Time to read the tea leaves.

In the set of 16 recommended schools, there are lots of predictable choices, including proposals from CPS favorites like the UofC, Noble Street (x2), and Perspectives (one next year, another in 2007), CICS (x 2), and Aspira (2007).

There are also some interesting choices that will almost certainly get a lot of attention in upcoming days and weeks, including an all-boys school in Englewood HS by the former president of Hales Franciscan (City plans all-boys high school (Tribune), a virtual (online) school, and -- my favorite concept -- a public version of the West Side's Providence-St. Mel to be started in Bunche*. I just wish they weren't going to require a test for admission. (City proposes daring school firsts Sun Times).

But that's not the whole story of what's going on with Ren10 this year. Read between the lines and you'll notice that (a) there are a passel of charters (11) but eight of them spinoffs of pre-existing charters, (b) there are no national models like KIPP, Big Picture, or Mosaica (they likely want charter status and can't get it because of the cap), (c) there apparently was no Ujamaa/Manley proposal (like the one that was rebuffed last year at Lucy Flower), and (d) there's not going to be a second or third school in the Lucy Flower building in Garfield Park (Al Raby is there now).

There are at least a few remaining questions: It's not clear exactly who *almost* made it to the round of 16. (Does anyone have a full list of the 21?) It is not yet clear whether the CPS recommendations entirely follow the TAC/CET recommendations or not. (The CETs process is a murky addition to the process this year, as if the TACs weren't murky enough.) Last year, CPS staff over-rode TAC recommendations in a handful of circumstances. It’s also not a done deal that all 16 of the recommended openings will go through. Last year, most but not all of the recommendations to the Board were approved.

In the meantime, check out a trio of articles in the November Catalyst: Backers fall short with money, disclosure (overview of the Ren10/New Schools process), Uptown: Home-grown school aims to beat odds (an updated look at Uplift). Or, look back at the CPS announcements: initial submission, round of 21.

*Come on, private and parochial schools (Ignatius, Cristo Rey, Parker, Latin, Near North Montessori) -- time to put your money where your "greater good" talk and educational expertise are. You too, DePaul and Northwestern.