NOTES
Introduction
1 how Eric thought of himself The names of all minors in this book have been altered to protect their privacy.
3 solid academic records before high school Elaine M. Allensworth and John Q. Easton, The On-Track Indicator as a Predictor of High School Graduation (Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2005), ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/p78.pdf.
3 $670,000 more C.E. Rouse, “Quantifying the Costs of Inadequate Education: Consequences of the Labor Market,” in The Price We Pay: Economic and Social Consequences of Inadequate Education, ed. C.R. Belfield and H.M. Levin (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2007), 99–124.
3 more likely to vote Sandy Baum, Jennifer Ma, and Kathleen Payea, Education Pays 2010: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society (New York: College Board, 2010), trends.collegeboard.org/files/Education_Pays_2010.pdf.
3 less likely to live in poverty or be institutionalized Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Joseph McLaughlin, and Paulo Tobar, An Assessment of the Labor Market, Income, Health, Social, and Fiscal Consequences of. Dropping Out of High School: Findings for Illinois Adults in the 21st Century (Boston: Center for Labor and Market Studies, 2007), 30, 45.
3 healthier U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Vital and Health Statistics: Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, by J.R. Pleis, B.W. Ward, and J.W. Lucas, Series 10, Number 249 (Hyattsville, MD: 2009), www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_249.pdf.
3 live longer S. Jay Olshansky, Toni Antonucci, Lisa Berkman, Robert H. Binstock, Axel Boersch-Supan, John T. Cacioppo, Bruce A. Carnes, Laura L. Carstensen, Linda P. Fried, Dana P. Goldman, James Jackson, Martin Kohli, John Rother, Yuhui Zheng, and John Rowe, “Differences in Life Expectancy Due to Race and Educational Differences Are Widening, and Many May Not Catch Up,” Health Af airs 31, no. 8 (2012): 1803–1813.
3 For many consecutive years S. Luppuescu, E.M. Allensworth, Paul Moore, Marisa de la Torre, James Murphy, and Sanja Jagesic, Trends in Chicago’s Schools across Three Eras of Reform: Summary of Key Findings (Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2011), files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED524669.pdf.
4 “the dismal state of public schooling” “Dismal School Dropout Study,” Chicago Tribune, February 11, 1985.
4 “intellectual genocide” Rudolph Unger, “Hispanic Dropout Rate Put at 57%,” Chicago Tribune, February 13, 1985.
4 “African-Americans leave” Lori Olszewski, “1 in 5 Blacks Drop Out: African-Americans Leave City’s Public Schools at Staggering Rate,” Chicago Tribune, November 3, 2003.
5 almost always dropped out Shazia Rafiullah Miller, Stuart Luppescu, Robert M. Gladden, and John Q. Easton, How Do Barton Graduates Perform in CPS High Schools? (Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, 1999), consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/how-do-barton-graduates-perform-cps-high-schools.
5 more predictive than all of those factors Allensworth and Easton, On-Track Indicator as a Predictor.
6 Since 2007 Melissa Roderick, Thomas Kelley-Kemple, David W. Johnson, and Nicole O. Beechum, Preventable Failure: Improvements in Long-Term Outcomes When High Schools Focused on the Ninth Grade Year: Research Summary (Chicago: UChicago Consortium on School Research, 2014), consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/preventable-failure-improvements-long-term-outcomes-when-high-schools-focused-ninth.
6 Freshman OnTrack efforts produced Roderick et al., Preventable Failure.
000 Rahm Emanuel, “Chicago’s Focus on Ninth Grade On-Track Triggers Climb in High School Graduation Rates,” press release (University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago Research), April 24, 2014.
17 “killer binaries” Joseph P. McDonald, American School Reform: What Works, What Fails, and Why (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2014), 21.
Chapter 1
21 It wasn’t until 1940 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 120 Years of American Education: A Statistical Portrait, ed. Thomas D. Snyder (Washington, DC: 1993), 55.
22 economic or moral necessity S. Dorn, Creating the Dropout: An Institutional and Social History of School Failure (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1996), 37.
22 the public’s expectations for high schools Dorn, Creating the Dropout.
22 reached 70 percent U.S. Department of Education, 120 Years of American Education, 55.
22 a grave national problem Dorn, Creating the Dropout, 78.
22 President Kennedy warned John F. Kennedy, Taped Remarks for Television on School Dropouts and Draft on School Dropouts for the Department of Agriculture, audio tape (Washington, DC: White House Audio Recordings, 1963), JFKWHA-209-003.
22 article lamented “Dropout Tragedies,” Life, May 2, 1960, 106–113.
23 In the popular imagination Dorn, Creating the Dropout, 65–80.
24 Royko ended his rant Mike Royko, “Drop Nonsense About Dropouts,” Chicago Tribune, August 10, 1984.
24 Studies label these factors R. Rumberger, “Why Students Drop Out of School” in Dropouts in America, ed. Gary Orfield (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2004), 131–155.
25 Fall River Public Schools Melissa Roderick, The Path to Dropping Out: Evidence for Intervention (Westport, CT: Auburn House, 1993), 47–48.
26 “early drops” Roderick, Path to Dropping Out, 62.
26 average fourth-grade GPA Roderick, Path to Dropping Out, 62–63.
27 At the time Luppuescu et al., Trends in Chicago’s Schools.
28 taught his case All the quotations from the interviews in the Student Life in High School Project come from the case studies written by Melissa Roderick and her team of researchers at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. Reprinted with permission from Melissa Roderick.
28 278 children and young people A.M. Garza, “Deadly Trend Is Cited in a Murderous Year,” Chicago Tribune, January 4, 1995.
29 “South Side High” “South Side High School” is the pseudonym Roderick assigned to the school.
30 when they entered ninth grade Melissa Roderick and Eric Camburn, “Risk and Recovery from Course Failure in the Early Years of High School,” American Educational Research Journal 36, no. 2 (1999), 303–343.
31 no one seemed to notice Melissa Roderick and Eric Camburn, “Academic Difficulty during the High School Transition,” in Penny Bender Sebring, Anthony S. Bryk, Melissa Roderick, Eric Camburn, Stuart Luppescu, Yeow Meng Thum, BetsAnn Smith, and Joseph Kahne, Charting Reform in Chicago: The Students Speak (Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, 1996), 52.
31 “If you fail, you just fail” Roderick and Camburn, “Risk and Recovery,” 304.
33 Omar Melissa Roderick, Michael Arney, Michael Axelman, Kneia DaCosta, Cheryl Steiger, Susan Stone, Leticia Villarreal-Sosa, and Elaine Waxman, Habits Hard to Break: A New Look at Truancy in Chicago’s Public High Schools (Chicago: School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, 1997), 3.
33 Oscar Roderick et al., Habits Hard to Break, 9.
33 missed two or more weeks of instruction Roderick et al., Habits Hard to Break, 8.
33 at least two weeks of class Roderick et al., Habits Hard to Break, 8.
37 “West Side” A pseudonym assigned by Roderick.
43 42 percent of freshmen Roderick and Camburn, “Academic Difficulty During the High School Transition,” in Sebring et al., Charting Reform, 49.
43 At one particularly troubled high school Roderick and Camburn, “Academic Difficulty During the High School Transition,” in Sebring et al., Charting Reform, 54.
43 performing at grade level Roderick and Camburn, ““Academic Difficulty During the High School Transition,” in Sebring et al., Charting Reform, 65.
43 “The overall picture” Roderick and Camburn, “Academic Difficulty During the High School Transition,” in Sebring et al., Charting Reform, 65.
44 “North Side High” A pseudonym.
Chapter 2
48 “furnish facilities for the very best instruction” Elizabeth A. Patterson, “Edward Tilden Career Community Academy High School,” Chicago Historic Schools, last modified August 26, 2013, chicagohistoricschools.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/tilden-career-community-academy-high-school.
49 Ever since, students and visitors John Hagan, Paul Hirschfield, and Carla Shedd, “Shooting at Tilden High: Causes and Consequences” in Mark H. Moore, Carol V. Petrie, Anthony A. Braga, and Brenda L. McLaughlin, eds., Deadly Lessons: Understanding Lethal School Violence (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2003), 188, https://doi.org/10.17226/10370.
50 book on how students’ social lives Robert Crosnoe, Fitting In, Standing Out: Navigating the Social Challenges of High School to Get an Education (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 138.
50 the “linchpin” Crosnoe, Fitting In, 138.
50 believe that they do not belong Crosnoe, Fitting In, 138.
51 “school-kid identity” Nilda Flores-Gonzalez, School Kids/Street Kids: Identity Development in Latino Students (New York: Teachers College Press, 2002), 12.
51 warned St. Amant freshmen C.J. Futch, “Freshmen Get Help Dealing for ‘Year 9,’” The Advocate, August 10, 2011, www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/communities/ascension/article_dce419fe-bdb9-5cd9-a955-2f262f30754a.html.
52 he assured them Futch, “Freshmen Get Help.”
54 “portfolio approach” Paul Hill and Christine Campbell, “Growing Number of Districts Seek Bold Change with Portfolio Strategy,” CRPE at the University of Washington, June 2011, www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/GrowingNumberofDistrictsSeekBoldChangeWithPortfolioStrategy_June2011_1.pdf
55 high schools for 100,670 students Linda Lutton and Becky Vevea, “Chicago Has a High School with 13 Freshmen,” WBEZ, October 27, 2015, www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/chicago-has-a-high-school-with-13-freshmen/dd7ebcb5-c22f-4b21-be36-583d0ad8bb6f.
55 Less than one-quarter Kate Grossman, “Reviving a Hollowed-Out High School,” The Atlantic, April 8, 2016, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/reviving-a-hollowed-out-high-school/477354.
55 one clear result Brian Metzger and Linda Lutton, “The Big Sort,” WBEZ, July 16, 2014, www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/the-big-sort/d198b0c7-b490-4041-94fc-b9d10666f127.
55 citywide pecking order Metzger and Lutton, “The Big Sort.”
55 live within the school’s geographic boundary Lutton and Vevea, “Chicago Has a High School.”
56 consequence of school choice Geoff Hing and Jennifer Richards, “Data: Chicago Public High Schools’ Enrollment Crisis in Charts,” Chicago Tribune, November 3, 2015.
56 Tilden students Illinois State Board of Education, “Tilden Career Community Academy: Illinois State Report Card,” last accessed May 3, 2018, www.illinoisre-portcard.com/school.aspx?source=studentcharacteristics&Schoolid=150162990250044.
63 “dis-identification” Claude M. Steele, “Race and the Schooling of Black Americans,” Atlantic Monthly, April 1992.
Chapter 3
78 “interventions that have truly scaled” Sarah D. Sparks, “How to Find Evidence-Based Fixes for Schools That Fall Behind,” Education Week, September 27, 2016, www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/09/28/how-to-find-evidence-based-fixes-for-schools.html.
78 only twenty-nine interventions Sparks, “How to Find.”
79 “kicked from one end of the 1990s to the other” Charles M. Payne, So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2008), 8.
79 Nation at Risk report U.S. Department of Education, National Commission on Excellence in Education, “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform” (Washington, DC: 1983), files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED226006.pdf.
79 “solutionitis” Anthony S. Bryk, Louis G. Gomez, Alicia Grunow, and Paul G. LeMahieu, Learning to Improve: How America’s Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better (Cambridge: Harvard Education Publishing, 2015), 24.
79 the next “big idea” Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, and LeMahieu, Learning to Improve, 5–6.
81 1995 overhaul This move toward mayoral control largely reversed the landmark 1988 school-reform law. The law had radically decentralized the country’s third largest school system and placed each school in the control of a locally elected council made up of parents, teachers, and community members. The idea was that local schools, led by principals who served at the pleasure of elected school councils, would be far more nimble and attuned to the needs of the community than schools run by Central Office, which was viewed as bloated and inefficient. Seven years later, mayoral control recentralized power, radically swinging the reform pendulum back away from the more grassroots approach of the late 1980s.
81 buffer schools from the back-scratching Larry Cuban and Michael Usdan, eds., Powerful Reforms with Shallow Roots: Improving America’s Urban Schools (New York: Teachers College Press, 2003), 1.
82 He called on them Caroline Hendrie, “Chicago Board to Consider Plan to Overhaul High Schools,” Education Week, March 5, 1997.
82 The task force included Michael Martinez and Janita Poe, “Chicago Grade Schools Pull Off Test Turnaround High Schools Perform Poorly,” Chicago Tribune, June 4, 1996.
82 Vallas added Elizabeth Duffrin, “Reform Groups In, Teachers Out at First,” Catalyst, March 1997, 10.
82 only slightly mollified Duffrin, “Reform Groups In,” 1.
82 concrete recommendations and sketchy aspirations Elizabeth Duffrin, “Board Downshifts on High School Plan,” Catalyst, March 1997, 1.
83 “It was a joke” Duffrin, “Reform Groups In,” 10.
83 Vallas and his team trumpeted Michael Martinez, “Chicago Might Open 6 More High Schools,” Chicago Tribune, March 27, 1997.
83 plan had two key tenets Alfred G. Hess and Solomon Cytrynbaum, “The Effort to Redesign Chicago High Schools: Effects on Schools and Achievement,” in Valerie E. Lee, ed., Reforming Chicago’s High Schools (Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2002), 19–20.
83 “try something” Veronica Anderson, “High Schools Told: Get Goin’ on Freshmen,” Catalyst, February 1997.
83 long-standing program Janita Poe and Michael Martinez, “It’s Back to Basics for City High School Reform,” Chicago Tribune, December 6, 1996.
83 electives and remedial courses Poe and Martinez, “It’s Back to Basics.”
83 now be required Hess and Cytrynbaum, “Effort to Redesign,” 33.
84 Vallas declared Janita Poe and Michael Martinez, “School Reform to Enter Key Year, Time for Students to Show Benefits from the Changes,” Chicago Tribune, August 28, 1997.
84 complained—publicly and privately Hess and Cytrynbaum, “Effort to Redesign,” 38.
85 implementation of a single advisory period Maureen Kelleher, “Probation Program Sluggish, Advisory Proposal Rejected,” Catalyst, September 1997.
85 Sharon Rae Bender called a meeting Kelleher, “Probation Program Sluggish.”
86 “a sense of compliance” Hess and Cytrynbaum, “Effort to Redesign,” 26.
86 little time to plan Anderson, “High Schools Told.”
86 simply paid lip service Hess and Cytrynbaum, “Effort to Redesign,” 97.
87 the promotion gate Hess and Cytrynbaum, “Effort to Redesign,” 29.
87 test’s ambiguity Ben Joravsky, “Getting Testy,” Chicago Reader, February 18, 1999.
87 intended to reuse the test Joravsky, “Getting Testy.”
87 legal battle dragged on Ben Joravsky, “Before Mayor Rahm There Was a Big Boss Man at CPS Called Paul Vallas,” Chicago Reader, July 10, 2013, www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/07/10/before-mayor-rahm-there-was-a-big-boss-man-at-cps-called-paul-vallas.
87 the conclusion of the lawsuit Ben Joravsky, “Test CASE/The Schmidt Report,” Chicago Reader, October 24, 2002, www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/test-casethe-schniidt-report/Content?oid=910126.
87 a model for the nation “Chicago Schools Elated by Praise,” Chicago Tribune, January 20, 1999.
87 significant gains on state tests Chicago Tribune Editorial, “A Light at the End of the Tunnel,” Chicago Tribune, May 21, 1999.
88 a damning report Michael Martinez and Ray Quintanilla, “Despite Reforms, City’s High Schools Failing, Study Says,” Chicago Tribune, March 10, 2001.
88 at high schools on probation Martinez and Quintanilla, “Despite Reforms.”
88 initially attempted Martinez and Quintanilla, “Despite Reforms.”
88 “wouldn’t want to use Chicago as a model” Greg Hinz, “New Student Dropout Report Shakes Up Biz,” Crain’s Chicago Business, March 17, 2001.
88 “champion of the previous school reform agenda” Hinz, “New Student Dropout Report.”
88 “get away from that box entirely” Hinz, “New Student Dropout Report.”
89 “Six years is enough” Jodi Wilgoren, “Chief Executive of Chicago Schools Resigns,” New York Times, June 7, 2001.
89 “The biggest thing” Wilgoren, “Chief Executive.”
94 correctly identified Elaine M. Allensworth and John Q. Easton, The On-Track Indicator as a Predictor of High School Graduation (Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2005), ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/p78.pdf.
95 “dropout factory” Lisa Watts, “Number of ‘Dropout Factories’ Declines,” Johns Hopkins Magazine, February 28, 2011, archive.magazine.jhu.edu/2011/02/number-of-“dropout-factories”-declines.
96 two different and powerful ways Elaine Allensworth and John Easton, What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public High Schools (Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2007), 2.
96 “we’ve missed the boat” Karoun Demirjian, “Freshmen Schooled on Need to Attend; Report Links Early No-Shows, Dropout Rates in Chicago’s Public System,” Chicago Tribune, August 15, 2007.
97 distributed highlights Karoun Demirjian, “Freshmen Schooled on Need to Attend; Report Links Early No-Shows, Dropout Rates in Chicago’s Public System,” Chicago Tribune, August 15, 2007.
98 Steve Gering, a CPS educational consultant All quotations attributed to Steve Gerring come from author interview on April 27, 2017.
98 “If you were a principal or an area officer” Author interview with Paige Ponder, July 2, 2015.
98 served as James Janega and Carlos Sadovi, “Duncan to Join Obama Cabinet,” Chicago Tribune, December 16, 2008.
98 need to build the professional capacity Joseph P. McDonald, American School Reform: What Works, What Fails, and Why (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014), 36.
98 tapped into private funds McDonald, American School Reform, 37.
99 reputation as a pragmatist Sam Dillon, “Schools Chief from Chicago Is Cabinet Pick,” New York Times, December 15, 2008.
99 “I started tracking through my experiences” Author interview with Sean Stalling, April 26, 2017.
102 “there were weird fissures in most systems” Author interview with Robert Balfanz, December 4, 2017. These data reports were part of a national movement in education around “early warning indicators”: data points like Freshman OnTrack that could predict students’ likelihood of later academic success or failure. The goal was to use early warning indicators to systematically address the dropout problem and historic achievement gaps between white and minority students. Chicago, with its focus on Freshman OnTrack, was at the forefront of that movement.
The EWI movement picked up steam around 2008, after the Consortium released its What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating report, and Ruth Neild, Robert Balfanz, and Liza Herzog from Johns Hopkins released a similar report from Philadelphia (2007). Balfanz and Neild had followed a cohort of 14,000 Philadelphia students from sixth grade through high school graduation. They found that a sixth grader with any one of four signals had a 75 percent chance of dropping out of high school: a final grade of F in math, a final grade of F in English, attendance below 80 percent for the year, or significant behavior issues in at least one class. Balfanz began promoting the use of the ABCs (Attendance, Behavior, and Course Performance) to predict dropout.
103 fixation on these unproven fixes John Hattie, “What Works Best in Education: The Politics of Collaborative Expertise,” Pearson, June 2015, www.pearson.com/content/dam/corporate/global/pearson-dot-com/files/hattie/150526_ExpertiseWEB_V1.pdf.
104 work together effectively Hattie, “What Works Best.”
104 politics of collective action Hattie, “What Works Best.”
Chapter 4
109 “a picture postcard” Charles Kouri, “Domestic Tranquility: West Elsdon Preserves Americana of the ’40s,” Chicago Tribune, September 20, 1991.
109 one-third of them never made it Chicago Public Schools five-year cohort graduation rate data, 2008.
109 fewer than half enrolled University of Chicago Urban Education Insitute To & Through project, toandthrough.uchicago.edu/tool/cps/2017/school/1200/details/#/college-enrollment/breakdown?igr_qual=qual-any.
109 failed to show up to class Chicago Public Schools attendance data 2008.
110 Iles had told a reporter Janita Poe, “A Magnet School Fails to Attract: Neighbors Repel Hancock High Plan,” Chicago Tribune, June 30, 1998.
111 “solid students” Poe, “Magnet School Fails.”
111 became a “surprising success story” Poe, “Magnet School Fails.”
112 “It was so crushing” All quotes in book from Hernandez come from author interview, December 11, 2015.
121 he phrased it more charitably Author interview, December 23, 2015.
121 “my background as opposed to hers” Author interview, December 23, 2015.
122 the instructional “core” Richard F. Elmore, Getting to Scale with Good Educational Practice: School Reform from the Inside Out (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2004), 8.
122 “They tend to be places” Charles M. Payne, So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2008), 23.
123 “think about demoralized schools” Payne, So Much Reform, 61.
125 “No one’s going to check on you” All quotations attributed to Castillo come from author interview on October 20, 2015.
126 “rate buster” Payne, So Much Reform, 22, 76.
129 debate around the issue M.A. Mac Iver, “When Minimum Grading Policies Backfire: Who Decides Whether to Let Students Fail?” in M. Gottfried and G. Conchas, eds., When School Policies Backfire (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2016), 69–84.
130 had filed a lawsuit Mac Iver, “When Minimum Grading Policies,” 69–84.
130 hard-line grading practices Mac Iver, “When Minimum Grading Policies,” 69–84.
132 linked students’ responses Thomas J. Kane, “Ask the Students,” Brookings Institution, April 10, 2013, www.brookings.edu/research/ask-the-students.
Chapter 5
139 practices and systems might be contributing Roderick and Camburn, “Risk and Recovery,” 337.
139 transitions generally John W. Alspaugh, “Achievement Loss Associated with the Transition to Middle School and High School,” Journal of Educational Research 92, no. 1 (1998): 20–25; J.S. Eccles and C. Midgley, “What Are We Doing to Early Adolescents? The Impact of Educational Contexts on Early Adolescents,” American Journal of Education 99, no. 4 (1991): 521–542; Roderick and Camburn, “Risk and Recovery.”
139 “risk of getting stuck” R.C. Neild, “Falling Off Track During the Transition to High School: What We Know and What Can Be Done,” The Future of Children 19, no. 1 (2009): 56.
140 as eighth graders Aprile D. Benner and Sandra Graham, “The Transition to High School as a Developmental Process Among Multiethnic Urban Youth,” Child Development 80, no. 2 (2009): 356–376; Todd Rosenkranz, Marisa de la Torre, David W. Stevens, and Elaine M. Allensworth, Free to Fail or On-Track to College: Why Grades Drop When Students Enter High School and What Adults Can Do About It (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2014).
140 ninth-grade “bottleneck” Neild, “Falling Off rack.”
140 teachers decrease Rosenkranz et al., Free to Fail, 5.
140 but barely noticed Rosenkranz et al., Free to Fail, 6.
140 “Teachers in eighth grade pushed us” Rosenkranz et al., Free to Fail, 6.
141 “that’s your choice” Rosenkranz et al., Free to Fail, 7.
141 a “work in progress” “Teenage Brain: A Work in Progress (Fact Sheet),” National Institute of Mental Health, last modified September 10, 2010, www2.isu.edu/irh/projects/better_todays/B2T2VirtualPacket/BrainFunction/NIMH-Teenage%20Brain%20-%20A%20Work%20in%20Progress.pdf.
141 major changes to the limbic system Laurence Steinberg, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence (New York: First Mariner Books, 2015), 72.
141 conundrum for teens Frances Jensen and Amy Ellis Nutt, The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adult (New York: Harper Collins, 2015), 37.
142 proliferation of dopamine receptors Steinberg, Age of Opportunity, 72.
142 brain chemical intimately tied to motivation Jensen and Nutt, Teenage Brain, 54.
142 “feel better during adolescence” Steinberg, Age of Opportunity, 73.
142 cravings can be overwhelming Steinberg, Age of Opportunity, 74.
142 “starting the engines” Steinberg, Age of Opportunity, 70.
142 Even during late adolescence Steinberg, Age of Opportunity, 71.
143 “split-second decision making” Carolyn Gregoire, “Why Are Teens So Moody and Impulsive? This Neuroscientist Has the Answer,” Huffi ton Post, December 6, 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/14/teenage-brain-neuroscience_n_7537188.html.
143 “he could do them without even thinking” Author interview, May 3, 2016.
143 heat of the moment Gregoire, “Why Are Teens?”
143 the mental calculus Steinberg, Age of Opportunity, 92–95.
149 fatally shot in the back Steve Schmadeke, “Friend Describes Slaying of Endia Martin at Trial of Shooting Suspect’s Uncle,” Chicago Tribune, January 26, 2016.
155 Steinberg calls adolescence Steinberg, Age of Opportunity, 95.
Chapter 6
163 guy with a heart Ryan Blitstein, “Numbers Man,” Chicago Magazine, July 21, 2009, www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2009/Numbers-Man.
163 well-run system of data analysis and measurement Blitstein, “Numbers Man.”
163 Results were color-coded Greg Marietta, Performance Management in Chicago Public Schools (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2012), 5.
164 Marilyn Stewart argued Carlos Sadovi and Dan Mihalopoulos, “Daley Standing by School Chief Choice: Huberman Appointment Called Political,” Chicago Tribune, January 28, 2009.
164 Huberman acknowledged Rebecca Harris, “Huberman to Chicago Principals: Do Performance Management, School Improvement Will Follow,” Catalyst, February 5, 2010, chicagoreporter.com/huberman-chicago-principals-do-performance-management-school-improvement-will.
164 unveiled his education plan Ron Huberman, Ron Huberman, CEO, Chicago Public Schools, audiovisual tape (Chicago: City Club of Chicago, 2009), www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae5mTSxJW4g.
164 “Let’s pretend” Huberman, Ron Huberman, CEO.
165 how much he cares Linda Lutton, “Huberman Named CPS Chief,” WBEZ, January 28, 2009, www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/huberman-named-cps-chief/4e48eb4d-8c57–4558-b6b0-d2b735930d27.
166 Huberman explained Marietta, Performance Management, 5.
166 “you have a plan” Marietta, Performance Management, 6.
168 “we had to do something” Carol Felsenthal, “CTU President Karen Lewis: Race, Class at Center of Education Debate,” Chicago Magazine, November 2011, www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Felsenthal-Files/November-2011/CTU-President-Karen-Lewis-Race-Class-at-Center-of-Education-Debate.
169 blast Huberman and previous administrations Steven K. Ashby and Robert Bruno, A Fight for the Soul of Public Education: ILR Press, 2016, 69.
169 teachers admitted Rosalind Rossi and Art Golab, “Grades: I’m Giving Them; Students Aren’t Earning Them,” Chicago Sun-Times, August 30, 2009.
169 “how many kids are learning” Rossi and Golab, “Grades: I’m Giving Them.”
169 “The Mayor should know” CORE Press Release—March 2010, www.coreteachers.org/2452–2.
170 “principals have been left high and dry” Noreen Ahmed-Ullah, Tara Malone, and Rex Huppke, “Chicago Schools Chief to Leave Post This Month,” Chicago Tribune, November 3, 2010.
170 “a real superintendent” Ahmed-Ullah, Malone, and Huppke, “Chicago Schools Chief.”
170 “loss in a unifying vision” Whet Moser, “The Chicago Teachers Union Strike Has Been Building for Awhile,” Chicago Magazine, September 6, 2012, www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/September-2012/The-Chicago-Teachers-Union-Strike-Has-Been-Building-For-Awhile.
170 average tenure of an urban superintendent Madeline Will, “Average Urban School Superintendent Tenure Decreases, Survey Shows,” District Dossier blog, Education Week, November 6, 2014, blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2014/11/urban_school_superintendent_te.html.
170 “I think the challenge in CPS” Author interview, October 19, 2017.
171 “When I talked to principals” Unless otherwise specified, all quotations from Brizard come from author interview, October 5, 2017.
172 “We were all searching for system change” Author interview, March 30, 2016.
175 identification of “bright spots” Bryk et al., “Learning to Improve,” 145.
175 “create a sense of moral urgency” Bryk et al., “Learning to Improve,” 148.
176 “these kids deserve a spot in the middle class” Author interview, September 10, 2015.
177 “It created a demand for help.” Author interview, May 9, 2017.
177 NCS and Area 21 began Mary Ann Pitcher, Sarah J. Duncan, Jenny Nagaoka, Eliza Moeller, Latesha Dickerson, and Nicole O. Bechum, The Network for College Success: A Capacity-Building Model for School Improvement (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2016), 14.
178 checklists for all their routine procedures Atul Gawande, “The Checklist: If Something So Simple Can Transform Intensive Care, What Else Can It Do?” New Yorker, December 10, 2007.
179 “obsessed at the network with systems and structures” Carl Vogel, “Learning a New Way,” SSA Magazine 19, no. 1 (2012), ssa.uchicago.edu/ssa_magazine/learning-new-way.
180 Jackson had attended Lauren Fitzpatrick, “How Janice Jackson Rose from Chicago Public Schools Student to Its CEO,” Chicago Sun-Times, December 11, 2017.
180 later named her the founding principal Fitzpatrick, “How Janice Jackson Rose.”
180 hoped someday to lead Fitzpatrick, “How Janice Jackson Rose.”
182 networks have gained attention Anthony S. Bryk, Louis G. Gomez, Alicia Grunow, and Paul G. LeMahieu, Learning to Improve: How America’s Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better (Cambridge: Harvard Education Publishing, 2015), 5–6.
182 “‘lateral capacity building’” Michael Fullan, “Change Theory: A Force for School Improvement” Center for Strategic Education Seminar Series Paper No. 157, November 2006, 7, michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/13396072630.pdf.
182 “weak on capacity building” Fullan, “Change Theory,” 7.
183 “schools compete with each other” Michael Fullan, “The Big Ideas Behind Whole System Reform,” Education Canada 50, no. 3 (2010), 26.
183 “So much of what we were looking at” Author interview, October 25, 2017.
184 highest Freshman OnTrack rate Network for College Success, Lead Partner Application for School Improvement Grants, www.isbe.net/Documents/univ_chgo_lead.pdf.
184 rechristened them “networks” Sarah Karp, “As Part of District Shakeup, Brizard to Hire Schools Portfolio Office,” Catalyst, July 27, 2011.
184 CPS’s policy for years had been pushing Karp, “Part of District Shakeup.”
184 “share what they’ve learned” Vogel, “Learning a New Way.”
186 two sticking points Dana Liebelson, “What Happened with the Chicago Teacher Strike, Explained,” Mother Jones, September 11, 2012, www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/teachers-strike-chicago-explained.
186 Karen Lewis said Monica Davey, “Teachers’ Leader in Chicago Strike Shows Her Edge,” New York Times, September 11, 2012.
186 “agenda of blaming teachers” Ben Goldberger, “Karen Lewis, Street Fighter,” Chicago Magazine, October 2, 2012, www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/November-2012/Karen-Lewis-Street-Fighter.
186 He had pushed Valerie Strauss, “The Problem with Rahm’s School Reforms in Chicago,” Washington Post, September 11, 2012.
187 “reinvigorated a national teachers movement” Ashby and Bruno, “Fight for the Soul,” 1–2.
187 longer school day and more leeway Greg McCune, “Chicago Teachers Union Ratifies Deal That Ended Strike,” Chicago Tribune, October 4, 2012.
188 Reflecting later “Interview with Jean-Claude Brizard,” Flypaper Blog, August 23, 2013, edexcellence.net/by-the-company-it-keeps-jean-claude-brizard.
188 Kotlowitz argued Alex Kotlowitz, “Are We Asking Too Much from Our Teachers?” New York Times, September 14, 2012.
189 “but teachers can’t do it alone” Kotlowitz, “Are We Asking?”
190 “Quality schools and quality teaching” Kotlowitz, “Are We Asking?”
Chapter 7
196 a clear link Carol Goodenow, “Strengthening the Links Between Educational Psychology and the Study of Social Contexts,” Educational Psychologist 27, no. 2 (1992): 177–196.
197 “whether or not a teacher was supportive” Rosenkranz et al., Free to Fail, 9.
201 non-cognitive factors Paul Tough documented some of the efforts to improve non-cognitive skills in his bestselling book How Children Succeed, which brought the academic literature on non-cognitive factors into the mainstream.
201 Researchers define Camille A. Farrington, Melissa Roderick, Elaine Allensworth, Jenny Nagaoka, Tasha Seneca Keyes, David W. Johnson, and Nicole O. Beechum, Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners: The Role of Noncognitive Factors in Shaping School Performance: A Critical Literature Review (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2012), 2–8.
202 how well students will fare later W.G. Bowen, M.M. Chingos, and M.S. McPherson, Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009); Melissa Roderick, Jenny Nagaoka, Elaine Allensworth, Vanessa Coca, M. Correa, and G. Stoker, From High School to the Future: A First Look at Chicago Public Schools Graduates’ College Enrollment, College Preparation, and Graduation from Four-Year Colleges (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2006).
202 grades clearly capture S.M. Brookhart, T.R. Guskey, A.J. Bowers, J.H. McMillan, J.K. Smith, L.F. Smith, M.T. Stevens, and M.E. Welsh, “A Century of Grading Research: Meaning and Value in the Most Common Educational Measure,” Review of Educational Research 86, no. 4 (2016): 32.
202 failure to exercise self-discipline Angela L. Duckworth and M.E.P. Seligman, “Self-discipline Outdoes IQ in Predicting Academic Performance of Adolescents,” Psychological Science 16, no. 12 (2005): 939.
203 “growth mindset” C.S. Dweck, G.M. Walton, and G.L. Cohen, “Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills That Promote Long-term Learning” White Paper (Gates Foundation, 2011).
203 classroom and school contexts Farrington et al., Teaching Adolescents, 32.
203 “Positive academic mindsets” Farrington et al., Teaching Adolescents, 9.
204 four specific mindsets Farrington, et al., Teaching Adolescents, 10.
205 evidence linking students’ self-efficacy Dweck, Walton, and Cohen, “Academic Tenacity,” 5.
205 When students think they will fail Farrington et al., Teaching Adolescents, 29.
210 “there’s not going to be a conversation every time” Author interview, June 10, 2016.
214 “He knew” Author interview, May 3, 2016.
Chapter 8
223 “SMART” goal SMART is an acronym designed to guide the creation of targeted goals. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Measurable, and Time-bound.
225 seeking out challenge Camille Farrington, “Sweating the Soft Stuff: Qualities Needed for Learning and How to Nurture Them,” Q&A (Chicago School Policy Forum Series, Chicago, October 30, 2012).
227 “Yeah, I was guilty of that” Author interview, December 11, 2015.
227 this motley crew came together Author interview, July 22, 2016.
229 “We understand that you are frustrated” Author interview, July 22, 2016.
Chapter 9
241 the district had contributed “Chicago Public Schools Fiscal Year 2017 Budget: Pensions,” Chicago Public Schools, last modified May 26, 2017, cps.edu/fy17budget/Pages/pensions.aspx.
242 “it would be on” Juan Perez Jr., “Chicago Public Schools Making Contingency Plans for Possible Strike,” Chicago Tribune, April 27, 2016.
248 budget had been slashed Kate Grossman, “Reviving a Hollowed-Out High School,” The Atlantic, April 8, 2016.
250 As ACEs accumulate, so does the risk “About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last modified June 14, 2016, www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html.
250 learning or behavior issues in school David Brooks, “The Psych Approach,” New York Times, September 27, 2012.
265 “Having those sorts of resources helped him” Author interview, May 12, 2016.
276 “she may have framed that joint” Author interview, May 24, 2016.
Chapter 10
282 “Of 100 Chicago Public School Freshmen” Jodi S. Cohen and Darnell Little, “Of 100 Chicago Public School Freshmen, Six Will Get a College Degree,” Chicago Tribune, April 21, 2006, www.metrosquash.org/docs/CPS_Article.pdf.
283 graduation rates improved Roderick et al., Preventable Failure.
283 that might have accounted Roderick et al., Preventable Failure.
284 researchers wrote Roderick et al., Preventable Failure.
284 to 77 percent Roderick et al., Preventable Failure.
286 the longer school day Sara Neufeld, “A Longer School Day in Chicago, but with What Missing?,” Hechinger Report, January 21, 2014, hechingerreport.org/a-longer-school-day-in-chicago-but-with-what-missing.
286 now contractually obligated Sara Neufeld, “More Time in School, with a Drain on Chicago’s Teachers,” Hechinger Report, January 22, 2014, hechingerreport.org/more-time-in-school-with-a-drain-on-chicagos-teachers.
288 “She came in right after the teacher strike” Author interview, October 25, 2017.
288 single largest school closure Marisa de la Torre, Molly F. Gordon, Paul Clark, and Jennifer Cowhy, School Closings in Chicago: Understanding Families’ Choices and Constraints for New School Enrollment (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2015), 5
289 open letter to Byrd-Bennett Valerie Strauss, “Questions About School Closings,” Washington Post, January 3, 2013.
289 primary factor contributing to the underutilization Becky Vevea and Linda Lutton, “Fact Check: Chicago School Closings,” WBEZ, January 3, 2013, www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/fact-check-chicago-school-closings/81734980-e9fb-4c05-8605-af207b43d8c9.
290 did make significant academic progress Marisa de la Torre and Julia Gwynne, When Schools Close: Ef ects on Displaced Students in Chicago Public Schools (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2009).
290 just six were in the top quartile Vevea and Lutton, “Fact Check.”
290 difference “varied substantially” De la Torre et al., School Closings.
291 replaced it with a new one De la Torre et al., School Closings.
291 “corporate-driven school reform nonsense” Karen Lewis, “CTU President Karen Lewis Statement on CPS School Closings” press release (Chicago Teachers Union, March 21, 2013), www.ctunet.com/media/press-releases/ctu-president-karen-lewis-statement-on-cps-school-closings.
291 disapproved of Emanuel’s handling Rick Pearson, “Tribune Poll: Voters Give Emanuel Low Marks on his School Policies,” Chicago Tribune, August 15, 2014.
291 “they’re on track to a life of possibility” Rahm Emanuel, “Chicago’s Focus on Ninth Grade On-Track Triggers Climb in High School Graduation Rates,” press release (University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago Research, April 24, 2014).
292 Economist article “Rahmbo’s Toughest Mission,” The Economist, June 14, 2014.
292 Chicago Tribune article Juan Perez Jr., Bob Secter, and Bill Ruthhart, “Differences over Chicago Schools Stir Mayor’s Race for Emanuel, Garcia,” Chicago Tribune, March 28, 2015.
292 “But the mayor also cared about” Author interview, October 5, 2017.
293 Donald T. Campbell D.T. Campbell, “Assessing the Impact of Planned Social Change,” Evaluation and Program Planning 2, no. 1(1979): 67–90.
293 “Nothing really happened besides compliance” Author interview, August 6, 2015.
294 “deserve a chance” Kate Grossman, “What Schools Will Do to Keep Students on Track,” The Atlantic, July 6, 2015, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/chicago-graduation-rates/397736.
294 according to a report Nicholas Schuler, Office of Inspector General Chicago Board of Education Annual Report FY 2016, 12, www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-public-schools-inspector-general-report-20161214-htmlstory.html.
294 told the inspector general Schuler, Annual Report, Appendix A, 5–6.
294 “broad concerns about the accuracy” Kate Grossman, “4 CPS High Schools Dramatically Inflated Student Attendance: IG,” Chicago Sun-Times, October 6, 2016.
295 “whatever they can do” Grossman, “4 CPS High Schools.”
296 one article explained Sarah Karp, “Tinkering with the High School Graduation Rate,” Catalyst, February 26, 2015, chicagoreporter.com/tinkering-with-the-high-school-graduation-rate.
296 incorrectly coded Sarah Karp and Becky Vevea, “Emanuel Touts Bogus Graduation Rate,” WBEZ, June 10, 2015, www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/emanuel-touts-bogus-graduation-rate/7891382c-6069-4bdb-ad7c-a34fd67895e2.
296 force a runoff Bob Secter, “Political Dynamics Change as Emanuel, Garcia Move into Runoff ampaign,” Chicago Tribune, February 25, 2015.
296 often imprecise Bill Ruthhart, “Fact-Checking Garcia Education Attack Ad Against Emanuel,” Chicago Tribune, February 25, 2015.
296 Garcia was backed Julie Bosman, “Rahm Emanuel Wins Runoff Election to Secure 2nd Term as Chicago Mayor,” New York Times, April 7, 2015.
297 Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty Jason Meisner, “Ex-CPS Chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett Pleads Guilty, Tearfully Apologizes to Students,” Chicago Tribune, October 14, 2015.
297 “tuition to pay and casinos to visit” Sun-Times Staff, “Feds: Byrd-Bennett Said ‘Tuition to Pay and Casinos to Visit’ Led to Kickbacks,” Chicago Sun-Times, June 24, 2016.
297 Rates were adjusted downward Becky Vevea, “Admitting Dropouts Were Miscounted, Chicago Lowers Graduation Rates,” NPR, October 2, 2015, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/10/02/445152363/admitting-dropouts-were-miscounted-chicago-lowers-graduation-rates.
297 adjustment of the district’s Freshman OnTrack rates Juan Perez Jr., “Chicago Public Schools Downgrades Four Years of Inflated Graduation Rates,” Chicago Tribune, October 2, 2015.
297 John Kass wrote John Kass, “Rahm Emanuel Should Hire Auditor to Dig Deep at Chicago Public Schools,” Chicago Tribune, October 10, 2015.
299 researchers found Elaine M. Allensworth, Kaleen Healey, Julia A. Gwynne, and René Crespin, High School Graduation Rates Through Two Decades of District Change: The Influence of Policies, Data Records, and Demographic Shifts (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2016), 3.
299 “schools have improved so much” Whet Moser, “Are CPS Schools ‘Crumbling Prisons’? The Data Say Otherwise,” Chicago Magazine, June 2016, www.chicagomag.com/city-life/June-2016/Are-CPS-Schools-Crumbling-Prisons-The-Data-Says-Otherwise.
300 Rauner was arguing Tina Sfondeles and Fran Spielman, “Rauner Delivers One School Message in Chicago, Another Downstate,” Chicago Sun-Times, June 7, 2016.
300 Allensworth’s report Sfondeles and Spielman, “Rauner Delivers One School Message.”
300 “hitting remarkable highs” Sfondeles and Spielman, “Rauner Delivers One School Message.”
301 “they actually learn” Grossman, “4 CPS High Schools.”
301 “It put a lot of pressure on me” Author interview, November 10, 2015.
301 “believing in ourselves can also be our greatest accomplishment” Fatima Salgado, quoted in “Words of Wisdom: 10 Inspirational Graduation Speeches,” Education Week, July 11, 2012.
Epilogue
304 shooting victims under the age of seventeen Alex Bordens and Abraham Epton, “Young victims of violence in Chicago” chart, Chicago Tribune, http://apps.chicagotribune.com/news/local/young_victims.
305 dominated the past two decades Bill Gates, Keynote Speech at the Council of the Great City Schools Annual Conference video, Cleveland.com, 41:39, October 19, 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEWsCWaQBHg.
306 an explicit pivot away Gates, Keynote Speech.
306 more impactful and durable systemic changes Gates, Keynote Speech.
307 Freshman OnTrack in their states’ accountability systems “ESSA Plans: Explainer and Key Takeaways from Each State,” Education Week, last updated April 28, 2018, www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/key-takeaways-state-essa-plans.html.
308 “cycles of learning to improve” A.S. Bryk, “2014 AERA Distinguished Lecture: Accelerating How We Learn to Improve,” Educational Researcher 44, no. 9 (2015): 473.
308 Bryk characterizes this approach Bryk, “Accelerating,” 473.
308 It is the opposite of the type of reforms Bryk, “Accelerating,” 468.
309 “picking the right things to do” Author interview, December 4, 2017.
309 nation’s school districts reported U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Policy and Program Studies Service, “Issue Brief: Early Warning Systems” (Washington, DC, 2016), www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/high-school/early-warning-systems-brief.pdf.
309 “It’s really a fascinating story” Author interview, December 4, 2017.
309 early warning systems through networked communities Author interview, December 4, 2017.
310 inspector general accused him Lauren Fitzpatrick, “Under Fire, CPS’ Forrest Claypool Quits; Janice Jackson Replaces Him,” Chicago Sun-Times, December 8, 2017.
310 becoming the ninth CEO Fitzpatrick, “Under Fire.”
311 Sarah Duncan said Melissa Sanchez, “Hancock to Become a Selective Admissions School,” Catalyst, October 1, 2014, chicagoreporter.com/hancock-become-selective-admissions-school.
312 enrolled just 250 students Juan Perez Jr. and Jennifer Smith Richards, “Can These Chicago High Schools Survive? Students Offered Fewer Choices, Resources in More Than a Dozen Near-Empty Schools,” Chicago Tribune, November 29, 2017.
312 to 147 different schools Perez and Smith Richards, “Can These Chicago High Schools Survive?”
312 cut by about $2.6 million Perez and Smith Richards, “Can These Chicago High Schools Survive?”
313 “design something to ensure” Perez and Smith Richards, “Can These Chicago High Schools Survive?”
313 average Chicago student actually learns more S.F. Reardon, “Educational Opportunity in Early and Middle Childhood: Variation by Place and Age,” Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, March 2018, cepa.stanford.edu/content/educational-opportunity-early-and-middle-childhood-variation-place-and-age.