Gary Solomon: B3's Babysitter

It's amazing what happens when reporters are able to investigate stories instead of reviewing Bruce Rauner's talking points for inclusion in any and all editorials. Such is the case with the excellent investigations the Sun-Times continues into the ceaseless connections between City Hall and its contractors. In this week's installment, readers  learn about Gary Solomon: SUPES CEO and B3 "conduit." 

Solomon's emails to Beth Swanson, Emanuel's then-deputy chief of staff for education issues were so frequent that Swanson described him in an interview Friday as, "Barbara Byrd-Bennett's conduit--an extension of her team who pushed for her hiring."

Conduit seems like a polite word for someone who, according to the article, complained on B3's behalf that she was kept out after midnight by high-ranking CPS officials (waah!), lobbied the Mayor's office for her "Wish List" (all charters please!), and negotiated how exactly how many days B3 could be counted on to be physically present in the district (zero!) though she would be serving as the CEO. Aside from k being a "serial networker who emailed constantly," Solomon served as nanny-in-chief for Triple B.

Solomon's judgement is questionable--and kickback likely steep--for him to proclaim Bennett would "nail" the top post in CPS. She nailed it, right out of the district and into a Federal investigation as a result of SUPES. Chicago taxpayers and anyone employed by CPS is still getting nailed thanks to the $20.5M contract Bennett and Solomon are now infamous for.

CPS officials, when asked about the glaring conflicts, answered with variations on the theme of huh?

A Perk For One, A Perk For All

For those of you hired after 2011 (known in teacher pension world as Tier II), don't fret. Tony Smith, the new ISBE superintendent is getting a perk. Since we're all in this together--shared sacrifice, all about the kids, insert insipid phrase here--it should apply to all Tier II hires:

"Smith is getting a special perk: The Illinois State Board of Education is giving him a stipend each year, expected to be worth thousands of dollars annually, to make up for his reduced pension...it is intended to match retirement benefits of his predecessor, who was a member of the more generous Tier I plan." This is on top of his $225,000.00 salary, the Tribune reports.

It's almost as if by doing this, Bruce Rauner acknowledges there is such a disparity between the two tiers of the pension system, no one in their right mind would work under the Tier II system knowing they do the same work as a Tier I employee, and yet will receive a lesser benefit upon retirement.

At least this bonus could have been contingent upon Smith becoming a licensed teacher or administrator in the State of Illinois and passing all requisite tests just like every other educator must.

Should do wonders for attacting the top teaching candidates to the state, retaining teachers, and morale.

Truth Time

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Another Stupid Statement from the Trib

After the tragic shooting death of yet another Chicago child, 7-year-old Amari Brown, the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board issues yet another stupid statement: "We don't yet know the tick-tock that preceded the shooting of Amari - the swirl of bad acts and motivations that left him bleeding to death."

Yes we do.  Here's the tick-tock:

• Amari's dad, Antonio Brown, is a high-ranking member of the Four Corner Hustlers
• Antonio has a 22 page rap sheet, with 45 arrests for gun crimes, narcotics crimes, and forcible felonies
• Antonio has a 5-pointed star tattooed on his forehead and a blunt tattooed on his cheek
• Antonio was the intended victim of a gang shooting
• Antonio had his 7-year-old son outside after midnight on a historically violent night in a historically violent neighborhood

But apparently Garry McCarthy is a bully for pointing out that Antonio Brown is responsible for his son's death.

CPS Grade and Attendance Manipulation

The Atlantic recently published an essay about CPS titled What Schools Will Do to Keep Students on Track.

Highlights that outline CPS attendance manipulation:

• At Manley High School, students frequently skip first and last periods...The records show that administrators frequently change absences marked by teachers as "unexcused" to "school function." This change marks the child as present, boosting attendance data.  Even with the school function changes, nearly 60% of the students had unexcused absences from more than 100 classes each.
• At Juarez High School, one student accumulated unexcused absence marks in 381 separate classes, amounting to 54 school days.  The student's transcript showed just 21 unexcused absence days.

Highlights that outline CPS grade manipulation:

• Many teachers across Chicago fear the new grading policies - with names like "standards-based-grading" and "no zero grading" make passing too easy.
• At Manley, some students refuse to work until the very end of the quarter - in some cases just cutting class - when teachers must give them a make-up packet.

Rationalizations for data manipulation:

• "If kids get away with something in adolescence and still on on to graduate high school, that's a good thing."  -Sarah Duncan, University of Chicago's Network for College Success; Harvard grad and sister of Arne Duncan
• "When you go to elite schools, they won't let you fail.  Why don't kids in public schools, poor kids, deserve a chance?" -Liz Kirby, CPS Network 11 Chief

Ms. Duncan's rationalizations remind us of the Tribune's recent congratulations to Englewood for producing no shootings during the recent 4th of July weekend.  Of course, the lack of shootings in Englewood was a result of a massive police saturation, with CPD officers working back-to-back 12 hour shifts and days-off cancelled.

As for Ms. Kirby's claim that at elite schools "they" won't let you fail, we wonder: Which schools is she referring to?  And who are the "they"?

$100 G to Burn Down House

Less than a week after making a $634 M payment to the teachers' pension fund and then asking for $500 M back, Rahm has pledged $100 G of city money to burn down a house.  The house-burning is planned for September 26th to celebrate the 2nd Annual Great Chicago Fire Festival.

The 1st Great Chicago Fire Festival in 2014, to which Rahm gave $350 G, is now known as the "fiasco on the river," as rainy weather prevented the fire from spreading and many tourists were disappointed.

CPS teachers, keep up the begging on Donors Choose.  It looks like you're going to have wait for those dry erase markers, pencils and chairs that you need in the classroom.

CPS Waste, Exhibit D: Tim Cawley and AUSL

In response to a reader's suggestion, we've turned our attention to big league cornholer Tim Cawley, Chief Administrative Officer for CPS and former leader of AUSL turnaround schools.

• CPS Salary: $215,000.000
• Community of Residence: Winnetka
• Value of Winnetka home: $2,650,000.000
• Reason why he lives outside of Chicago: papal dispensation residency waiver
• Reason why he can afford $2 mil home: Aramark kick-backs
• Amount that Cawley's botched Aramark deal cost CPS: $7 million
• Cawley's previous ed experience: AUSL (Academy for Urban School Leadership) Managing Director; AUSL is a "non-profit [wink wink] that partners with CPS to turn around chronically-failing schools."
• Amount of $$ funneled into AUSL by Chicago Public Education Fund while Cawley has been employed by CPS: $1,080,000.00 
• Per diem fees charged by AUSL for staff members' time: $1000 - $3000 based on staff member senority

Current Donors Choose begging pleas posted by teachers AUSL Turnaround Schools (A-D only) that Tim Cawley has tran$formed:

AUSL Turnaround School:  Curtis School of Excellence

• $479: double-wide teaching easel with magnetic upper and lower-case letters

AUSL Turnaround School: Dvorak School of Excellence

• $395: pencils, filler paper, dry erase markers
• $670: document camera
• $275: desktop computer
• $334: iPad Mini

AUSL Turnaround School: Deneen School of Excellence

• $528: math games library, dry erase markers
• $469: dictionaries and thesauri

Tim Cawley's answer to the question, "What are you passionate about personally?": "Helping those less fortunate."

If you weren't schooled about Tim Cawley prior to reading, it should now be clear that his excellence lays in his duplicity.