In previous years, the program has been credited with successfully cutting back on the number of retained students. Parents United for Responsible Education agrees that the checklists are problematic and may even be seen as invasive. Good teachers already call parents if a child is failing to wear glasses or skipping class, she says, and five weeks is too long to wait to report problems such as these. You have to have a relationship with the teacher. It has to be face to face and personal.
Teachers unions have yet to take a stand on the idea.
But some are questioning whether the plan will even be implemented. Participation in the checklist program is not mandatory for schools, although Vallas says he will require schools to include some form of community outreach. Parent organizations are also anxious to see how the plan unfolds. The Chicago school system has been lauded nationwide for its innovative school-reform experiments under Vallas, and other cities may be weighing similar proposals. So I wouldn't be in the least surprised if the other cities didn't sit up and take notice at what is going on here.