Rebecca Vevea & Crystal Yednak:

The almost complete overhaul of the Chicago Public Schools’ leadership team announced by Rahm Emanuel Monday sets a tone for the district and aligns with his education agenda to increase the number of charter schools, turn around failing schools, implement merit pay and lengthen the city’s school day.
“It’s a really comprehensive set of appointments,” said Barbara Radner, director of the Center for Urban Education at DePaul University. While his top choices, Jean-Claude Brizard and Noemi Donoso, have no previous ties to the city’s schools, the rest of Emanuel’s pics are strategic and, as he put it, share his “thirst for reform.”