Bringing Top Principals To Chicago
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - If you ask a person who's the most important person in a school, chances are good that the answer will be" the principal." Clearly, Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel thinks so, too. He's looking for 50 new school principals, each to take over a failing school.
Recently, Emanuel made the announcement at American University in a panel discussion along with New York's Mayor Bloomberg, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, that principals who agree and show that they know how to reach academic standards will each receive a $25,000 signing bonus.
The plan is privately funded and rests on accountability. The principal's report card will be available to parents online. All three mayors support monitoring pupils and teachers and sharing that information with parents so that they can make decisions on where to send their children.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Mayor Bloomberg summed up the approach saying, "In God we trust. Everyone else has to bring data."
