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Canter Middle School, Hyde Park, Chicago Presented by Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, its Schools Committee (Nancy Baum, Chair), and their website www.hydepark.org. Join the Schools Committee! Join the Conference! Please note, this is not a website of Canter School. |
Vitals. Principal
Carolyn Epps, Assistant Principal Zaneta Abdul-Ahad. 4959 S. Blackstone Avenue,
Chicago, IL 60615, phone 773 535-1410, fax 773 535-1047. E-mail Cdepps@cps.k12.8l.us.
Website: Cuip.net/schools/canter.
Theme: A Global Village. LSC meets 1st Weds. 6:30.
Dr. Carolyn Epps
was promoted to an area instructional officer. Dr. Colleen Conlan is interim
principal. A search committee was set up at the October 3 LSC meeting. (PURE
leader Julie Woestehoff may help the committee review procedures etc.
The new LSC chair is Tracy McCann. Council meetings are first Tuesdays at 6:30
pm. Current
LSC members include
Tracy McCann, Chair, Ava Marin, Vice-Chair, Zoe Mikva, Secretary, Anthony Alston,
Mitzi Baker-Wade, Robin Loving, Lori Watts-Branch, Tony Wilkins
This page. HPKCC's Schools Committee welcomes you to our new page on Canter. This fairly new middle school located at 4959 S. Blackstone next to Kenwood Academy, and devoted to serving the special needs of 7th and 8th graders, takes graduates from the Hyde Park Cluster of elementary schools and is intended to feed into Kenwood Academy. This school was a strong effort by schools and neighborhood officers and leaders to help provide continuity and participation/continuation by families in our local schools. The start was rocky, and winning buy-in by families of some of the Hyde Park schools has been difficult, although now coming along. The very look of the school, and its proximity to Kenwood Academy, which is perceived as having problems, and missing facilities in Canter were among the problems.
Success and needs of the school is a special concern to the HPKCC Schools Committee, as it is to the 53rd TIF Advisory Council and Alderman Preckwinkle. To that end, the Schools Committee is in contact with Canter and Kenwood Academy administrations and local school councils concerning such matters as working together to piggy back on afterschool opportunities width mentoring of Canter by Kenwood students, and the TIF Council (which has help for Canter as one of its principal reasons for being) in May 2007 gave Canter $150,000 for exterior renovations. The school has had some improvements but knows more are needed, especially a lunchroom separate from the gym.
June 2007:
A new action for Canter is a top purpose of the 53rd TIF. Increment from development has not come along, so the Council gave the school $150,000 for mainly exterior beautification. LSC community member Zoe Mikva, liaison to the TIF [and also a member of the HPKCC Schools Committee], has regularly set the school's needs before the TIF. Also, Tony Wilkins of the LSC is a member of the TIF.
In moving the gift, TIF Council Chairman Howard Males said, "Canter representatives have patient and gracious in waiting fro development to fund large-scale improvements to their school. I feel we must do something NOW for the school for the on the order of what we have done for CleanSlate .... additional funding for Canter will be forthcoming as new development occurs within the TIF district."
Earlier, May 8, Zoe Mikva testified forte school's needs at the Chicago Public Schools Capital Improvement Program Planning hearing, saying that "The Principal the staff and the Local School Council have all worked very hard to improve Canter and to attract community support for the school. Much has been accomplished and the school is now at the point where the most important issue remaining is the need to add space and amenities that establishes Canter as a building for 21st century education."
The HPKCC Schools Committee has also visited the school and found it needs improvements inside and out, especially to soften the "fortress" impression of the building.
Needs on which the funds may be spent include new doors, landscaping, exterior cleaning and an electric sign like that of Kenwood Academy.
Up at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell, are several suites of linoleum block prints on the themes in the curricular gathered along a set of meandering rivers. Artist Mary Teper led the students in designing the blocks. Teachers were Ms. Askevich, Ms. Collins, Mr. Fishbine, Mr. Ryan, and Ms. Washington.
Six students received City Year AmeriCorps awards and Presidential Citations: Brandi Harper, Alicia Dawson, Paisley Owens, Breia Harris, Ariam Belk, and Sterling Nelder.
Canter held Family Night May 18. Highlights were performances by students, student from Muntu Dance Theatre, and more-even a fashion show.
Canter participated in the shopping for schools programs of Target, Office Depot and Schoolpop. Call the school to get the Canter ID. You can also visit www.schoolpop.com.
Summer 207 Canter hosted a four-day Chinese day camp for students from Pershing West elementary school.
Courtesy of the school newsletter, June 2007. The newsletter is underwritten by the University of Chicago Office of Community and Government Affairs.
The LSC evaluated and recommended
the teacher for four years.
A high number of parent reps are leaving as their children are graduating: volunteers
to serve are sought. Contact the Principal. Likewise for the PTO, which puts
on most of the fun activities of the school.
In September 2006 the committee hosted its Principals and LSCs dinner at Canter to highlight the importance of this school and its needs. In the winter we did a walk through with the Principal to help identify needs, strengths, and weaknesses. In 2007, we focused on the after school programs and needs in Canter and the other schools in the area, including hosting a forum on after school and enrichment programs providers, finding contradictions on how many programs (compared to the large array of providers) really take place in schools, whether they are sufficient, do they fully cover the needed time slots, funders and funding, how many are participating, and what the awareness level is. (The Committee is compiling an information and resource database and possible publication on programs provided.)
With regard to Canter, the school has many programs for the first hour after school lets out, but wants to widen the provisions and extend their time to when parents get off work. Also, from various regulatory and funding complications, Canter is not currently in the After School Matters program. Kenwood Academy has a small ASM program with slots that go unfilled. The Committee has encouraged the schools to get together so that Canter can piggyback with Kenwood's through students of that program mentoring Canter students in a structured program.