Thousands of students improperly won seats in CPS schools a 'pervasive problem ' inspector general says
Nicholas Schuler
Some schools used âcherry-pickingâ to favor certain students  according to a district audit analyzed by  Inspector General Nicholas Schulerâs office . Nonselective schools improperly used academic benchmarks such as test scores and grades to evaluate prospective students   Schulerâs office  said  and some schools âspecifically weeded out kids with histories of poor attendance.â
A principal with a rare tuition-based prekindergarten program described an âunwritten agreementâ with former CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett that allowed the school to admit pre-K students from outside the neighborhood into kindergarten. That arrangement   Schuler  said  raises the troubling prospect that people are essentially allowed to buy their way into schools.
The district audit  requested by  Schuler âs office  marks the official debut of an IG âperformance analysis unitâ intended to broadly evaluate how CPS policies are carried out.
 Schuler  isnât recommending the district pursue discipline or termination for unnamed elementary school employees in the report  as  his  office has in past cases involving criminal or ethical lapses.
âCertain cases were unfair  and thereâs certainly a real danger that things are manifestly unfair in key regards â  Schuler  said of situations highlighted in the enrollment report. âBut they might not all be unfair. Some of them just failed to follow the rules.â
Those problems were heavily concentrated in neighborhood schools. So much so   Schuler âs office said  that more than half the students who enrolled in neighborhood schools outside their home areas last year âimproperly bypassedâ the districtâs enrollment office to do so.
Some schools used âcherry-pickingâ to favor certain students  according to a district audit analyzed by  Inspector General  [TGT] âs office . Nonselective schools improperly used academic benchmarks such as test scores and grades to evaluate prospective students   Schulerâs office  said  and some schools âspecifically weeded out kids with histories of poor attendance.â
A principal with a rare tuition-based prekindergarten program described an âunwritten agreementâ with former CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett that allowed the school to admit pre-K students from outside the neighborhood into kindergarten. That arrangement   Schuler  said  raises the troubling prospect that people are essentially allowed to buy their way into schools.
The district audit  requested by  Schuler âs office  marks the official debut of an IG âperformance analysis unitâ intended to broadly evaluate how CPS policies are carried out.
 Schuler  isnât recommending the district pursue discipline or termination for unnamed elementary school employees in the report  as  his  office has in past cases involving criminal or ethical lapses.
âCertain cases were unfair  and thereâs certainly a real danger that things are manifestly unfair in key regards â  Schuler  said of situations highlighted in the enrollment report. âBut they might not all be unfair. Some of them just failed to follow the rules.â
Those problems were heavily concentrated in neighborhood schools. So much so   Schuler âs office said  that more than half the students who enrolled in neighborhood schools outside their home areas last year âimproperly bypassedâ the districtâs enrollment office to do so.