School Closings in Chicago
Moderated by Catalyst Chicago's Linda Lenz
Featuring Carlos Azcoitia, Carol Caref, Valerie Leonard, Tom Tyrrell, & Andrea Zopp
Thursday, Oct 23, 2014
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Speakers
Linda Lenz
Linda Lenz is the founder and publisher of Catalyst Chicago, a print and online news organization that has covered the progress, problems, and politics of school reform in Chicago since 1990. Serving as a watchdog and resource, Catalyst Chicago has won numerous local and national awards, including three national public service awards from the Society for Professional Journalists. Lenz is a former president of the national Education Writers Association, a journalism organization that promotes informed coverage of education. She also is a recipient of the Studs Terkel Community Media Award, and has won awards for reporting, editing, and opinion writing. Before launching Catalyst in 1990, Lenz was the education writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and before that an editorial writer for the Chicago Daily News. Following graduation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she was the political writer and columnist for Pioneer Press, North Shore. Catalyst is an editorially independent publication of the Community Renewal Society, a non-profit founded in 1882 that fights for racial and economic justice. Catalyst can be found online at www.catalyst-chicago.org.
Carlos Azcoitia
Carlos Azcoitia has worked in the Chicago Public Schools for more than 34 years, serving as a teacher, principal, and administrator. Mayor Emanuel named him to the Chicago Board of Education in November, 2012 In 2003, Mr. Azcoitia left central office to become the founding principal of John Spry/Community Links High School, a unique comprehensive community school in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. The school was the first in Chicago with a program that spanned pre-school through high school, with internships a major a focus for high school students. As a community school, Spry offers extended learning opportunities and leadership development for students, teachers, parents, and community members. Mr. Azcoitia received his doctorate in leadership and educational policy from Northern Illinois University, and he now serves as Distinguished Professor of Practice at National Louis University. He also is chair of the board of trustees of Northeastern Illinois University. A strong advocate for community schools, he is a member of the steering committee of the national Coalition of Community Schools.
Carol Caref
Carol Caref, research director for the Chicago Teachers Union, is the lead author of "Twelve Months Later: The Impact of School Closings in Chicago". This report analyzed a wide variety of data and concluded that the closure of 50 Chicago public schools in 2013 was a continuation of CPS’s failed “portfolio” policy, which features closings, turnarounds, and the proliferation of charter schools. Ms. Caref also co-authored "The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve", which highlights well-researched, effective school policies. CTU advocates, through this report, policies such as smaller class sizes, adequate social service providers, and equitable funding, and identifies revenue sources. Before coming to the Chicago Teachers Union in 2010 to start its new Research Department, Ms. Caref taught high school mathematics in Chicago for more than 25 years. She is passionate about teaching and achieved National Board Certification in Adolescent/Young Adult Mathematics in 2003. She earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from Illinois Institute of Technology in 2010. Ms. Caref has presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Lesson Study Institute, and CTU teacher evaluation workshops. Her three sons attended CPS schools, as do her school-aged grandchildren.
Valerie F. Leonard
Valerie F. Leonard is a community development consultant with a mission of strengthening the capacity of organizations to make a positive impact on the communities they serve through technical assistance, specialized workshops, resource and organizational development, and project management. She also teaches online courses in nonprofit management with the University of Illinois Great Cities Institute. Ms. Leonard has a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Spelman College and a master of management degree in finance and marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Ms. Leonard is actively engaged in the North Lawndale community as the convener of the Lawndale Alliance, a group of concerned residents who have come together to address some of North Lawndale’s most pressing problems. The Lawndale Alliance has tackled a number of issues, including TIFs, the Olympics, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the generally poor performance of North Lawndale schools. As a result of the Lawndale Alliance’s advocacy, for example, the Ogden Pulaski TIF Redevelopment Plan was revised to minimize the potential for displacement of local residents. Ms. Leonard’s other community engagement includes organizing North Lawndale Votes, a voter registration and education initiative involving a broad cross section of community based organizations, schools, and churches.
Tom Tyrrell
Tom Tyrrell is the chief operating officer who headed up the District’s Transition Team on the school closings. He joined CPS in the spring of 2012, serving first as Deputy Facilities Officer and then as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer before assuming his current role Tyrrell brings over 30 years’ experience in strategic development and operational management for large public sector organizations. His broad-ranging career includes 26 years in the US Marine Corps and 10 years as an executive in the private sector. He began his military career as an infantry officer and was privileged to serve as a Commanding Officer at every organizational level from platoon through regiment. As a senior officer he was assigned as the Director of Strategy for the United Nations Mission to Kosovo and special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Transformation. In the private sector, Tyrrell was engaged as the CEO of the Intrepid Sea-Air Space Museum in New York City and as the Cantor-Fitzgerald Chief Administrative Officer for Europe and Asia based in London. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Texas A&M University (Kingsville) as well as master’s degrees in Contracting and Acquisition from the Naval Postgraduate School and in Strategic Resource Management from the National Defense University (Industrial College of the Armed Forces).
Andrea Zopp
Andrea Zopp, a member of the Chicago Board of Education, has been president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League for four years. Before that, she held leadership positions with a number of major corporations, including Exelon, Sears Holdings, and Sara Lee. Ms. Zopp also was a partner in the litigation department of the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, specializing in the areas of commercial, employment, and white-collar criminal litigation. She also served as the First Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the nation’s second largest prosecutor’s office. She was the first woman and African American to serve in this role. Active in civic affairs, Ms. Zopp served as chair of the board of directors of the Chicago Area Project, a community-based delinquency prevention program. She was president of the board of Leadership Greater Chicago and a member of the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors. Ms. Zopp spent several years on the board of trustees for the National Urban League and the board of directors for the Cook County Health and Hospitals Systems. Ms. Zopp received a bachelor’s degree in history and science and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University.
