Education facts:

01.Frustrated with the performance of Chicago’s public schools, Mr. Daley obtained unprecedented control over the schools from the Illinois General Assembly in 1995. His new ma-nagement team, composed of experienced political, business, and academic leaders, closed a $1,8 billion dollar deficit by imposing fiscal discipline.

02.Under Mr. Daley’s leadership, the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, the Board of Education, and the Public Building Commission have invested more than $7 billion in capital improvements since 1989. This includes 1,500 new classrooms serving 45,000 students. 41 branch libraries were built or renovated.

03.Student scores on standardized tests have risen consistently since 1995 and passed national norms in some areas in 2002.

04.15 new Renaissance 2010 schools are planned to open in fall 2006 to expand the number of innovative and high-quality school options for students in their communities, bringing the total number of Renaissance schools to 62.

05.The High School Transformation Project, funded by the Gates Foundation, will set a special curriculum for 14 high schools.

06.Chicago students scored an all-time high on the 2006 Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) administered to grades third through eighth. The Composite ISAT Score rose 15.2 percentage points to reach a new high of 62.5 percent of students meeting or exceeding the state standards.

07.The National Student Clearinghouse showed that of the 8,130 Chicago High School graduates in 2005 who enrolled in college, 5,207 – or 64 percent – enrolled in four-year colleges and universities.

08.Mayor Daley and 7-Eleven, Inc. announced the “Education is Freedom - Mayor Richard M. Daley Scholarship Program.” Through this initiative, 7-Eleven pledged 100 college scholarships to graduating seniors in the city of Chicago to be awarded over the next four years through the Education is Freedom Foundation (EIF). Through this innovative program, 100 scholarships will be awarded to Chicago high-school seniors over four years. Each scholarship, is worth $2000 a year. The scholarships are targeted to B-average high school seniors - hardworking students who might not qualify for traditional merit-based awards, but who demonstrate leadership and have a strong desire to attend college.

09.This month Mayor Richard Daley announced a new goal to have 10 percent of the city’s public school teachers qualify for the National Board Certification, “the gold standard in teaching.” Six years ago, only 11 teachers in Chicago’s system successfully underwent the intensive training necessary for the certification, a figure that has since risen to 474. By 2008, Daley hopes to have 1,200 with the credentials, and the new goal is to double that number to 2,400, or 10 percent of all teachers, by 2011. This would put Chicago first among big-city school districts.