Mayor Daley on Tuesday rang in the new academic year for about 427,000 Chicago Public Schools students.
“This is the first day of school,” Daley said as he rang a golden bell at Harvard School of Excellence, 7525 S. Harvard Ave. “The highest priority and the best gift I could give to any child here in the city of Chicago is a good quality education. It’s up to the parents, it’s up to the community.”
Daley, accompanied by schools chief Arne Duncan, chose Harvard for the school year reopening for a symbolic reason: Harvard is the school system’s second “turnaround” school, with a new principal and all but two of its teaching staff replaced in an effort to improve student performance and teacher accountability.
“We want to do things dramatically,” Duncan said, citing Harvard and Sherman School of Excellence as examples.
He also noted that the system this year has instituted a merit-pay pilot program at 10 schools at which staff potentially can earn more money for raising student performance. And he said that a record 171 city schools are going into their new year with new principals.
“We are really excited about their caliber and commitment,” he said.
Duncan also said the system aims to extend its six years of rising student test scores. “We have a much higher level of expectation,” he said.
Duncan and other school officials were striving for 100 percent attendance on the first day of school because they said it was important to get children used to coming to school.
State and federal funding also is tied to school attendance. It was unclear exactly when Tuesday’s attendance figures would be available.
Teacher Jem Betson was outside greeting children.
“I’m new here, so you’re going to have to show me around,” she told 3rd grader Draven Hagerman, 8. “The first day of school I get jitterbugs, just like the students.”
