By September of 1957, however, teaching guides had been developed. They contained sequential outlines of what should be taught in each grade from kindergarten through grade 14 for language arts, social studies, mathematics, science, art, music, and physical education (including health and safety). It was in 1957 that the Tentative Report on Secondary Education was presented and approved. As a result, the years of study required for graduation in a number of subject areas were increased, and curriculum provisions for diverse abilities and needs of students were developed. To retain a sequential program from kindergarten through grade 12, as well as to comply with the approved recommendations in the Tentative Report on Secondary Education, the content of all teaching guides was reviewed and analyzed by Curriculum Council committees during the school year 1957-58. Thus beyond complying with specific recommendations, the goal of each committee was to make its curriculum guide as useful as possible to teachers and to make the educational program provided of the highest possible quality in relation to the subject and the students for whom it was planned. Membership on each Curriculum Council committee included teacher and staff representatives of the various grade levels and of the range of teaching-learning situations. Included also were representatives of the universities and lay organizations which were members of the council. Outstanding teachers did the writing during the summer; outstanding university scholars reviewed the materials before they were printed. The first of the revised guides for the academic subject areas was available in the fall of 1958; the last was in teachers' hands by 1960. During that same period of time, curriculum guides were developed for subject areas for which there had been none: industrial arts, grades K-12; home economics, grades 7-12; and foreign language guides (Spanish, French, German, and Italian), grades K-12. A number of courses of study in specific areas of business education were developed including shorthand, basic business training, bookkeeping, office practice, and distributive education. A handbook for guidance counselors and a guide for group guidance in grades 7 and 8 and another for grades 9-12 were written. The first teaching outline for the program for the educable mentally handicapped was distributed as were such special units as those for the Urban Youth Program and that for a comparative study of the U. S. A. and the U. S. S. R. A great many leaflets and brochures of an informational nature were produced. Some were primarily for parents; some, primarily for teachers and principals; others, for pupils and parents. bility Levels cational and hnical High ools The objectives for each unit in all curriculum guides are expressed as generalizations or concepts to be understood and as skills, attitudes, appreciations, and interests to be developed. Included in each unit is an outline of the content to be studied. All curriculum guides for the elementary school provide for individual needs, interests, and abilities. A wide range in difficulty and types of suggested learning experiences and a considerable range in the vocabulary grade level of the books listed for use with each unit make it possible for the teacher to select the appropriate learning experiences and appropriate books for the needs of each child. A similar plan is used for most of the high school guides; thus in U. S. history, for example, work may be selected for the less able, the average, and the honors student from the work provided in the U. S. history curriculum guide. Special curriculum guides, however, are provided for various achievement levels for mathematics and English, and some science courses are written to provide for special needs. Thus in high school English and mathematics, for example, we have "basic" guides for the student with less than sixth grade achievement and "essential" guides for the student with achievement of sixth grade or better but less than eighth grade. Regular, honors, and advanced placement programs are provided, all of which prepare the student for college but each, respectively, at a level which requires progressively greater academic talent, the advanced placement program being a college level course. In science we have courses in general science and physical science developed especially for the less academically able and a second year of biology, of physics, and of chemistry developed especially for academically talented students in these areas. The first-year program in biology has material ranging from the basic level through the honors level from which the teacher may select that which is appropriate for the students in his classes. In addition to changes in academic subject areas, many other changes were made in the vocational, technical, practical arts, and business education programs. Vocational high schools increased in number from 5 in 1953 to 9 in 1963. New programs include data processing and aviation electronics. Manpower development and training classes in business education, practical nursing, machinist training, restaurant work, and auto mechanics have been established. Technical EDUCATION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS Supplementary Book Allowances Supplementary Supply Allowan Special Elementary "Master" Teachers Non-Teaching Assistant Principals Special Curriculum Provisions Those 16 to 21 Years Old After-School Reading Clinics programs were modified and expanded and subject matter was brought up to date; post-high school technical courses are now available. The trade and apprentice program was relocated in excellent quarters, in a part of a large building acquired in 1958 at 31st and Kedzie. Business education classes have been streamlined for today's world. Distributive education, which was provided in only 5 schools in 1953 is now offered in 42 high schools. The site has been purchased and plans approved for a beautiful and modern structure to house Jones Commercial High School, which is now in a very old and obsolete building. Since 1953, the junior college program was strengthened and the associate in arts degree was introduced. Through TV college, through an expansion of branches from three to eight (including a new Loop Branch), and through several other additional facilities, Chicagoans throughout the city may obtain the first two years of a four-year liberal arts program or a complete two-year terminal program. The program for educating tomorrow's teachers for Chicago has been the subject of a careful study in which some of the nation's outstanding scholars in the liberal arts disciplines and some of the best qualified professors of education participated. As a result of their suggestions, a new teacher education program was developed in 1959. The program consists of more than 80 percent academic courses and less than 20 percent professional education courses. Chicago Teachers College North, occupied in 1961, was designed for this forward-looking program. Similarly, the program of Chicago Teachers College South has been modified. Educational programs provided in the Chicago public schools have been extended to serve a greater spread of ages and a wider range of needs. Programs are planned to provide for an age span extending from the teaching of reading to those kindergarteners who are ready to read to courses leading to the master's degree in teacher education, as well as to others for the upgrading of the skills of adults. Programs also serve a diversity of needs, including hospital instruction for the ill, college courses via television for the homebound and employed, and urbanization programs for those new to city life. Ten years of an earnest search for quality in education for a wide range of people has had good results. One segment of the total group served, a group with special needs, has been the focus for many special programs in the Chicago public schools. Programs of education for the physically and mentally handicapped and for the socially maladjusted have been carefully studied and, as a result, have been both greatly modified and expanded. The first classes for trainable mentally handicapped children in the Chicago public schools Business Education College Programs Range of Programs Education for School Units (Boys and girls, all ages) 2+ branches 3+ branches Programs for the Programs for were established as pilot schools in the fall of 1953. This educational program has proved its worth; in May of 1963, there were 19 TMH classes. These children have such limited mental capacity to learn that they cannot be educated. However, they can be trained to provide for their own personal needs, when taught by specially prepared teachers and in very small groups. Curriculum designed for the primary division (children under 12 years of age) of the program for the educable mentally handicapped has been developed and that for the advanced division is being developed. The number of EMH students for whom special provision is made has increased from 4,121 in 278 classes in 1953 to 5,720 in 388 classes in May 1963. Expansion has been considerable but it has been limited by the lack of space. The program for socially maladjusted boys is located in two buildings both of which are new within the last ten years; the program for the girls is in a school which was remodeled recently for this special purpose. The program of education for these boys and girls was reviewed and revised prior to building construction; the schools were designed to provide for the revised, modern educational program. A new school for the physically handicapped was built to serve the far south section of the city. This eliminated long hours of daily travel for these children. A school for the physically handicapped is now located in each major section of the city. A basic advance in the handling of these handicapped children was made during the last ten years; those who are well enough (especially children with heart defects, the blind and partially sighted, and the deaf and hard of hearing) spend a part of each day in a classroom with nonhandicapped children. Hospital instruction is provided for children who are hospitalized with long-term illnesses, and telephone instruction is provided for children who have long-term illnesses that confine them to their homes. Those with special needs also include recent newcomers to the city, both children and adults. These people need to understand the urban way of life and to adjust to living in Chicago. "Standard" American language patterns and pronunciation are major needs, as is the mastery of the tool subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Literacy and occupational skills for adults are of prime concern. Belief in themselves and raised goals for all are acutely needed. Special provisions of many kinds have been made. Special programs have been developed for schools in 'As of December 31, 1963, there were 446 EMH classes operating for 6,272 pupils and 35 TMH classes for 250 pupils. ers, neighborhoods where many children have special needs. Experienced superior teachers, called "master teach," have been assigned on a basis of one to each six to ten inexperienced teachers to assist them in any and every way needed. While additional school space is being built, "special service" teachers have been assigned to work with small groups of children where the existing number of classrooms will not permit the city-wide average class size. Nonteaching assistant principals have been provided to assist with administrative duties so that the principal may use more of his time to help new and inexperienced teachers. Every school is allowed a minimum flat grant of $4.30 per child per year for books. Every elementary school is allowed $2.70 per child for supplies; a sliding range is provided at the high school level with reference to the varying supply needs for different subjects. Schools with many children with special needs and with a high mobility of pupils are allowed a considerable amount of additional funds. For every additional pupil enrolled beyond the number on which the budget is based, a school receives $15.00 to equip the pupil with books. Some money is set aside for much-needed educational and cultural field trips for children who might otherwise have no such opportunities. Speech therapists, attendance officers, psychologists, teacher-nurses, and other specialists are provided in relation to the extent of special needs in the school. Thus some schools have a psychologist two or three days a week while others have service only a day each month. Some schools have a full-time teacher-nurse while others share a nurse with all schools in a district. Beginning in 1960, special summer schools for grades 1-6 were designed with conditions that we would like to have in every school but which we feel are crucial for children with special needs. School size is limited to 600, grade size to 100, and class size to 25. Children are grouped chiefly on the basis of their reading achievement. There is a full complement of auxiliary staff including a librarian, an adjustment teacher, a teacher-nurse, an instructional materials teacher, and consultants in the academic subjects. There is an hour of in-service training daily for the teachers. Forty percent of the day is spent in language arts activities; the unit method of teaching is used. Parents confer with the teacher at least twice during the eight-week summer term. The results as measured by an accelerated rate of achievement in reading and in arithmetic in the special summer schools have been even better than had been anticipated. Experiences with these special summer schools have been such that they provide the framework for a plan approved by our Board of Education in Special Sum |