Though Chicago has far fewer charters than many districts and they are all authorized by the district as opposed to the state or a local university or nonprofit, opposition to charters is pretty strong and Mayor Daley's "Renaissance 2010" initiative raises the hackles of many folks who want to retain not only union schools but also local control. So it was an interesting event earlier this week featuring an unlikely trio: the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, the head of the Illinois Education Federation, and Steve Barr, who were all guests of National-Louis University, the Small Schools Workshop, and Catalyst Magazine. You can find audio of the event
here. There's a local NPR segment on the meeting (and the current contract negotiations
here. You can read some of the attendees' reactions
here. Mike Klonsky recaps the event
here. Unionized charters would likely meet the opposition of some reformers, and the contract that Green Dot offers would be a problem for some unions, but who knows.
