On Chicago, School Reform, and Teachers' Unions

This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Charlie Chieppo and Mary Tamer, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, Massachusetts, speak with Paul Vallas, former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and a candidate for mayor of that city earlier this year. Vallas talks about the professional lessons he drew from public leadership, how he financed the largest infrastructure investment program in over a century in the city, and how he closed deficits and balanced budgets as head of the Chicago Public Schools. He also reflects on Chicago politics, the challenge of bargaining with teacher unions, the state of charter public schools in Chicago, and the growing political power of teachers' unions in large urban areas.