Meetings
The
next meeting of the HPKCC Schools Committee is March 1, Monday, 7
pm, United Church of Hyde Park, 1448 E. 53rd St., Blackstone entry.
The
next HPKCC Schools Committee public event is our Biennial
Recognition Ceremony for LSC and other school volunteers and
principals, and program (including public drum-up for participation
in upcoming LSC elections), speaker Jacqueline Edelberg, school turnaround
expert, who with Ruth Kurland wrote How to Walk to School about the
turnaround of Nettelhorst School in Chicago (http://www.howtowalktoschool.com)
and Kenwood Jazz Band. February 23 6-8 p.m. at Kenwood Academy Little
Theater, 5015 S. Blackstone (use flagpole entry).
MORE
INFORMATION: VISIT FEBRUARY
23 2010 CEREMONY AND FORUM page.
Open
houses etc.
Ray
school December 9, 9:30-10:30 am. 5631 S. Kimbark
KAM
nursery Wed Nov 18, Mon Dec 14, Wed Jan 20 9:30-11, 12-1.
Next
visits to invite by UC Charter to its schools: Jan. 12 Woodson,
Feb. 10 North Kenwood-Oakland, March 23 Donoghue, April 17, Woodlawn,
May 12 Woodson. Contact Thomas Wick, twick@uchicago.edu
if you are interested.
Save
the Date for the biennial awards ceremony for members of LSCs, PTAs
and PACs and other parent groups, sponsored by the Schools Committee
of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference:
Date: February 23, 2010
Place: Kenwood Academy Little Theater
Time: 6:30-8:30
Entertainment will be provided by the Kenwood jazz ensemble.
Speaker will be announced soon.
Nancy B. Baum
2008
wrap up. From
a year-end wrap up by Gary Ossewaarde, whose views it expresses.
Arne
Duncan, CPS CEO was chosen for Education Secretary by President-Elect
Barack Obama. Duncan is a life-long Hyde Parker and long active
in both public and private education. The response was enthusiastic
although with reservations about the policies of CPS toward support
or closings of schools, especially in low-income neighborhoods and
hostility toward Local School Councils and other forms of local
input or control.
Concern was expressed about local schools lagging in repairs and
upkeep. The 53rd TIF joined with CPS in funding major repairs to
Canter Middle School, although the needed expansion is still not
in sight. Kenwood Academy received a very extensive Disabilities
upgrade. Award-winning Ray School remained uncertain as to when
repairs will be made. CPS is sending teams around to all the schools.
UC Laboratory Schools launched major planning and fundraising for
the schools and their expansion, nursery to high.
Kenwood Academy: lunch privileges now depend on performance, about
350 of 1700 can go off campus. There is still controversy as to
whether Kenwood is turning around and the strong parts maintaining
position or improving.
Akiba-Schechter dedicated a new playground sponsored by Bill Coleman
and Carol Groover and Jewish Funders.
Principal changes: Gregory Mason succeeded Michael Keno as Principal
at Murray Language Academy.
Ongoing concerns for schools and their supporters are continued
devolution of responsibilities upon them by CPS to raise funds for
everything from supplies, to after school programs, to training,
to repairs.
Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference Schools Committee put on
line a comprehensive listing of after school and related activity
providers. The Committee also held banquets with speakers for outgoing
and incoming local school councils and their principals. Among information
furnished was that on grant writing and finding funds and donations
and how to improve further as LSCs.
_________________________________
Shorts
and briefs.
Principals. Ray
Parents,
the road is hard for child drop off, but the law is clear on not blocking
school entrances or streets. Some parents have been so rude and such
terrible drivers as to drive off other parents volunteering for traffic
control at various schools such as Ray, Harte, and Shoesmith.
Murray
seeks to return 7th and 8th grade to the school. See in School
News.
The
HPKCC Schools Committee was disheartened to learn that as of November
2009 Shoesmith School has been placed on academic probation. Reasons
include low attendance ratio and poor scores on one test. The HPKCC
Schools Committee has been in conversation with the school on how
we and the community can help. 77% of Shoesmith students are at or
below poverty level. 80% of the student live within the Shoesmith
district.
Fall
2009: Kenwood Academy Brotherhood mentoring project turns students
into published authors of manual, gets national attention and emulation
From the Hyde
Park Herald December 2 2009. By Daschell M. Phillips
Supporters
and members of Kenwood Academy High School's male mentor program,
the Brotherhood, gathered to celebrate its newly published book,
"The Brotherhood," a mentoring manual, last Tuesday at
a book signing at the school.
The Brotherhood
is an intensive school-based male mentoring program created at Kenwood
Academy, 5015 S. Blackstone ave., in 2004. Its purpose is to increase
the graduation rate of African and Latino males. The group has grown
from 25 members at Kenwood in 2004 to more than 300 members as the
program has established Brotherhood groups at several schools in
the Chicago Public School system, including Phillips High, 244 E.
Pershing Road.
The idea for
the group, which was once called Knights of the Round Table, was
formed by students Kyle McGhee and Howard Stokes, who wanted "to
help freshmen stay out of trouble and focused on education,"
McGhee said. McGhee and Stokes took the idea to Dr. Shelby Wyatt,
counselor at Kenwood, and he agreed to be the advisor for the group.
The Brotherhood
meets weekly after school for group discussions and activities
include leadership retreats and college tours. All of the boys who
have participated in the Brotherhood so far have graduated from
high school, according to CPS.
The Brotherhood
class of 2005 wrote "The Brother's Key" from a student's
perspective, according to Wyatt. Wyatt said his proposal to teh
group in 2005 to write "The Brother's Key," which was
part of an assignment to receive a grant, wasn't well received in
the beginning because it took the boys away from their regular activities.
he said after awhile the boys dedicated themselves to the assignment,
and,once they were done, he took it to one of the English teachers
to have it edited, and she returned it with a note saying, "The
boys corrected it themselves, adn it didn't need editing."
The American
School of Counselors Association, or ASCA, asked the Brotherhood
to expound on "The Brother's Key," which was
a mentoring manual tailored to the Kenwood group, and write
a book that explains how to create a school-based male mentoring
program using the ASCA model of academic, social and career development.
ASCA published the book this year [2009] so that counselors
across the Untied States could implement similar programs.
Derrick Smith,
teacher at the Northern Illinois University, Center for Black Studies,
said when Wyatt called him several years ago looking for a place
for the Brotherhood's leadership retreat, he predicted that the
group would make a great impact on school systems across the country.
At the book signing, Smith told Shelby that the group would
now impact another population of boys. "This is going to the
juvenile system," Smith said.
Smith
said that lack of guidance for African American and Latino boys
"is not just a problem in schools, it's also in the streets,
so we're going to have to take this to the streets.."
The Brotherhood
is not new to outreach work. At the book signing they showed a video
clip from Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. The school asked
for help from the Brotherhood with building unity and increasing
the graduation rates of its African American and Latino boys.
The Brotherhood
has also presented at the ASCA conference each year since 2006 attending
meetings in Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Dallas, and has been asked
by the group to present a 3-hour workshop in Boston in 2010.
Juan Flores,
freshman at Kenwood, said that by being a part of the Brotherhood
he has already learned a lot about becoming a responsible man. "I
was interested in the group because of its diversity," Flores
said. "I've learned to respect my elders and show courtesy
no matter what the circumstances."
For more information
about the Brotherhood at Kenwood, visit kenwoodbrotherhood.org.
A
testimonial from Jay Mulberry June 11, 2009
I
want to tell my Good Neighbors how wonderful I feel about Ray School.
I go
there every day with a kindergarten student in the morning and because
my wife teaches (taught!) there I spend an extraordinary amount of
time inside. And, since I am a retired teacher and principal, I kinda
can tell when a school is good.
Ray
is good. Ray is great. Every day I walk through I say "this is
a real school where real learning takes place and where there is real
love of children." I have been in scores of schools and very
few give off those vibes.
I am
crazy about the teachers, I am crazy about the administration and
I am even crazier about the parents who not only form a uniquely wonderful
support group for the school exude a contagiously positive spirit.
If you've never been to the Ray Cafe you have really missed something.
What
brought out this sudden motherload of enthusiasm from a proud pessimist
like myself? Years' of experience coming to a head yesterday at Ray
when I spent the whole day and saw nothing but quiet, order, learning
and good feeling the whole time.
So
what's the big deal? In case you missed it, yesterday was the last
day of regular school, the day before parties and picnics and report
cards and vacation. No school is quiet and orderly and filled with
learning and good feeling on the day before the end. But Ray was.
There was no lingering in the halls, no running, no teachers screaming
to keep order, no principal's office full of miscreants, no madness
in the lunchroom, no teachers just "letting things slide",
no calls for security, no principal glowering through the halls and
playgrounds. It was another positive, productive day at Ray and there
was probably not another school in Chicago that could claim that.
I think
that says a lot about our neighborhood school.
Does
your school seem to be slighted? Is only the worst side shown in the
media? First
find out what could be better, make sure you're involved and part
of the solutions. But our friend Rod Sawyer goes beyond this and gives
principles for making sure that what's in the media about your school
is (not his phrase) the caviar, not the carp. Basically, you have
to be proactive and feed media your material--the positive and what's
being done about the negative--and that these are the real scoop,
not someone's spin.
Adapted
from the Herald, November 17, 2004:
- Know
what you want your school to be known for and try to have it unique.
- Know
the local paper's education editor and her or him give material--they
can't write about nothing.
- Don't
be discouraged if not all your material gets in--keep trying to
make it appealing.
- Have
parents send in letters, prizes and favorable citations, etc.
- Take
the bad in stride, and if you're going to spin it, do it honestly
and sensibly
Top
Some
independent websites of schools:
Bret
Harte: http://www.cuip.net/schools/harte
Canter:
http:// cuip.net/schools/canter/
Kenwood:
http://www.kenwoodacademy.org
Kozminski:
http://cuip.uchicago.edu/schools/kozminski/
Murray:
http://
www.murray.cps.k12.il.us/
http://
www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=8033
Ray:
http://www.ray.cps.k12.il.us/
Shoesmith:
http://
cuip.uchicago.edu/schools/shoesmith/
Akiba-Schechter:
http://home.earthlink.net/~akibaschechter/
Ancona
Montessori School.: http://www.anconaschool.org
____________________________
Ray
School narrows in on first principal selection in 17 years, chooses
Bernadette Butler.
Beloved
Principal Cydney Fields is retiring this year (a year early) after
17 years as principal of Ray School. While schools seeking principals
are not having an easy time this year due the high number of baby
boomers taking retirement, Ray has a great and enriched program, among
the higher scores, a great citywide reputation, and an anchor relationship
with the University of Chicago, especially the Neighborhood Schools
program and Students Teaching at Ray School (STARS) which together
provide 25 student teachers.
Ray School
has a new principal as of July 2007. 30-year-plus Hyde Parker Bernadette
Butler, the highly praised principal of Agassiz Elementary in Lincoln
Park since 1999. Her
mentor during training for that position was current Ray Principal
Cydney Fields. LSC chair Michael Scott told the Herald, "Ms.
Butler is an experienced, instructional leaders with enormous energy
and a clear vision that resonates with both teachers and parents."
Building and blending the arts curriculum is a major objective of
Ms. Butler and the LSC. Visit ray-school.org.
At
the forums, most parents and candidates stressed building on the school's
great assets and parental and community involvement. Duel Richardson
of the University stressed the importance of partnerships.
Searching
for school namesakes; for whom were local schools named?
Who
are they? From
the Herald, January 26, 2005, with additions
[CPS
seeks living relatives of persons for whom schools are named to serve
as Principal for a day and help build connections to schools over
the generations. Much new information has already been supplied by
Hyde Parkers-and the Murray Principal.]
- Miriam
G. Canter. Wife of well-known area ultra liberal politico
and publisher David Canter, Miriam worked tirelessly in earlier
decades to keep the old Kenwood School going after students moved
to new Kenwood Academy and make it viable as Louis Wirth elementary
and middle school and with her husband were leading supporters of
its conversion into the middle school for the Hyde Park Cluster
of schools. She also worked for establishment and success of Kenwood
Academy. (Louis B. Wirth was a pioneering sociology researcher and
thinker at the University of Chicago who strongly influenced policy,
including as reflected (or ignored) in Hyde Park Urban Renewal.)
Miriam and David are survived by son Evan, who has served as Principal
for a Day.
- Walter
H. Dyett. A
highly popular and influential African American band teacher in
such high schools as Wendell Phillips and DuSable.
- Bret
Harte. Famed short story writer of mid-19th Century California,
probably best remembered for a famous jumping frog of Calaveras
County. At least on living relative is known and is being contacted.
- Kenwood
Academy. OK, it's a stretch, but Kenwood was named for
the Scottish estate of Jonathan Asa Kennicott's mother's family
(to "ken" is to see or divine). They pioneered and built
in Kenwood in 1856. Jonathan's brother John Albert was a horticulturist
and founder of University of Illinois and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. His son Robert founded the Chicago Academy of Sciences
and explored newly-purchased Alaska with the vim of Louis and Clark
but not the luck. Relatives founded and engaged in the school (then
elementary) and Illinois Foundation for Education. Kenwood Academy
high school was built in the 1960s (designer Aero Saarinen) in part
as a split-off by people who did not want to send their kids to
troubled and crowded large Hyde Park High--actually in Woodlawn.
Hyde Park, once one of the best schools in the country, was originally
at what is now Ray School.
- Charles
Kozminski. When on the School Board in the late 19th Century,
this leading Chicago businessman insisted that a truancy department
be established to enforce the school attendance laws. Highly regarded
by today's principal! Locals in the late 19th century were miffed
that the new school was not named Egandale, after the estate-area
of Dr. Egan. No relatives found.
- Philip
A. Murray. Led the United Steel Workers and United Mine
Workers until 1952. Widow found, hopes are she can come for principal
for a day.
- William
H. Ray. The "Horace Mann of the Middle West,"
this leading educational thinker and principal of the old Hyde Park
High School in the 1880s, died in mid-career. HP Presbyterian Church,
where he was very active, hosted over 700 at his funeral. No relatives
found.
- William
Claude Reavis. Reavis was a leading thinker in the Education
Department of the University of Chicago, his career spanning over
50 years and his bride of the early 1900s dying at nearly 100 in
the early 1970s. Relatives found.
- Beulah
Shoesmith. A
highly revered math teacher at Hyde Park High who inspired many
to become scientists and mathematicians, left her money to CPS for
a school. No relatives found.
By Kiratiana
E. Freelon
Hyde
Park's oldest elementary school, Charles Kozminski Community Academy,
is named after a man who registers only one hit in a Google search.
But that one hit is enough to explain why every Hyde Parker, and Chicagoan
for that matter, should know him. A 19th century state law required
all children in Chicago to attend school for 12 weeks out of the year.
But without anyone to enforce the law, hundreds of thousands of children
still never saw the inside of a classroom by 1888.
It was
then when immigrant businessman and Chicago Public Schools board member
Charles Kozminski requested that a committee be formed to enforce
the mandatory attendance law. Three "truancy officers" were
later appointed to investigate children found on the streets during
school hours.
Lionel
Bordelon, principal of Kozminski Community Academy, 936 E. 54th St.,
recognizes the importance of his school's namesake, even if his students
don't appreciate it. "Right now everybody is [honoring] Martin
Luther King, but we should also include Charles Kozminski," Bordelon
said.
Cynthia
Greenleaf, CPS director of external affairs and research [position
now of Mae Jefferson], wants all CPS students to understand how those
Chicagoans or Illinoisan's with a school names in their honor made
a difference in the city's history. "We want our students to
be curious," Greenleaf said. "We want them to appreciate
that one person can make a difference."
Greenleaf
began to develop a CPS family tree three years
ago, hoping to find a living relative for each of the approximately
300 schools named after significant Chicago business people, public
officials, teachers and superintendents. By October, 2004, Greenleaf
had found the relatives of four Hyde Park area schools: Kenwood Academy,
William Claude Reavis Elementary, Dyett Academic Center, and Miriam
G. Canter [Middle School[. She used resources from each school as
well as the internet. She has yet to find a living relative of Charles
Kozminski.
Once
Greenleaf finds the relatives, she only expects them to do one thing--serve
as a principal for a day of their respective school. "Schools
think it is good to have people come from the outside and talk about
their experience," Greenleaf said.
Kenwood
Academy, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave., bears the name of the neighborhood,
not a person. So Greenleaf decided to search for the neighborhood's
founder Jonathan Asa Kennicott. A simple Google search led her to
www.kennicott.com, Jonathan's great-great-nephew Harrison Kennicott.
The
Kennicott family prove to be pioneers in several areas of Chicago
history. Jonathan Asa Kennicott built a house in a [fledgling] south
lakeshore suburb in 1856 and named it Kenwood, after the home of his
mother's family in Scotland. Asa's brother John Albert Kennicott,
a horticulturist, helped establish the University of Illinois and
the U.S. department of Agriculture. John Albert's son Robert Kennicott
founded the Chicago Academy of Sciences and explored Alaska in the
mid 1800s. "they keep popping up," said Harrison's wife
Katie Kennicott of her husband's distinguished ancestors. "That
family was instrumental in settling Illinois. Mine came over on the
potato bus."
Katie
Kennicott's dedication to foundations like the Chicago Foundation
for Education led her to jump at the opportunity to serve as Kenwood
Academy High School's principal on principal-for-a-day in October,
1004.
Ten
blocks west of Kenwood Academy sits the Walter H. Dyett Academic Center,
555 E. 51st St. which pays homage of one of the most prominent high
school band teachers. The perfectionist taught music to students at
Phillips High School and DuSable High School. His students included
saxophonists like Gene Ammons, Von Freeman, and Johnny Griffith, violinist
Leroy Jenkins, pianist Nat King Cole, bass player Wilbur Ware and
vocalist Dinah Washington. His wife, Gwendolyn Dyett Burkes still
lives in Chicago. Last year the 89 year old participated in the principal-for-a-day
event at Dyett Academic Center. She said she did not expect the board
of education to name a school after her husband in 1972, three years
after his death. "I guess they wanted to reward him for all his
years of service to the board," Burkes said.
Greenleaf
had no trouble finding the relatives of Miriam G. Canter, namesake
of Miriam Canter Middle School, 4959 S. Blackstone Ave. Canter's husband
David remained active in the school as a local school board member
and supporter up until his death late last year. Miriam's son Evan
Canter wants to continue the active participation of the family.
Miriam
Canter helped save the school building from demolition when Kenwood
students moved into their new high school next door. Miriam Canter
and the local school council convinced the school board to preserve
the building for six through eighth-grade students at Shoesmith. Evan
Canter participated in the October 2004 principal-for-a-day ceremony
along with Michelle Obama, wife of U.S. Sen Barack Obama.
He's
quick to brush off the importance of his mother's legacy. "The
legacy should be that it become an excellent school that happens to
have my mother's name on it, he said." In the future Evan Canter
hopes to assist the school in the use of computers and help with fundraising.
But he is willing to do anything to help the school achieve its goals.
"I'll do anything from sweeping the floor to cleaning the windows
to help the school," he said.
These
days local school councils choose the name of their schools,
and Canter Middle School is the only school in Hyde Park whose local
council chose to rename [its] school [-] from Louis Wirth. Miriam
Canter died in 1999 and a her memorial service, [now] former principal
Jimmy Johnson announced that he would initiate the name change from
Louis Wirth to Miriam G. Canter. The council voted to change the name
in 2000. [Wirth was a noted sociologist and social planner at U of
C who challenged many then-accepted notions.]
Greenleaf
hopes that the CPS History Fair Challenge will encourage more students
to learn about their school names. Students who complete a history
fair project on their school namesake for the Chicago Metro History
Fair will receive a certificate and the best project will receive
an award.
The
students are not required to find the relatives of
their school namesakes. It would just be a bonus, Greenleaf said.
"Learning how to research should be more important",
she added. "Finding the relatives is just a little bonus of taking
advantage of important history.."
But
in the meantime, Greenleaf will continue to search for as relative
of Charles Kozminski.
Students
or adults who find living relative for whom schools are named should
contact Cynthia Greenleaf at the CPS Office of External Partnerships
at [773] 553-1547 or email cgrealeaf@cps.k12.il.us.
To
History Fair Page Top
____________________
News
from the schools by alpha listing. Public then nonpublic
Ariel
Charter
The
boys Storm basketball team on the 2009 first annual Kenwood Oakland
Bronzeville Conference Tournament. This is a conference of charter schools
including Cambridge, UC KNO and UC Donoghue. Cambridge won the cheerleading.
Canter
Middle School. Cuip.net/schools/canter
Canter
is forging ahead in 2006-07. students will prizes and contests, a very
wide array of extracurriculars, and scores have doubled at Canter.
A
TIF gift helped give Canter Middle School a makeover
Dyett
High School has a lot
of problems being tackled by a new principal.
New
Dyett Principal Robert M. McMiller evaluating ways to change the campus
culture. From Herald article July 22,
2009
McMiller
started in early 2009. His first priority is to bring a mature high
school culture: in many ways it still acts like a junior high. One physical
indicator is that the lockers are all on the 1st floor, like in elementary
schools. Another was that graduations were held outside the school;
graduation has now been made to work in the gym, which has been refurbished
and is becoming a large-activity/performance center. A new orientation
is planned for freshmen. Having students focus on ongoing skill sets
is another change coming, including a music arts program and a medical
technician program, taking advantage of proximate institutions. Also,
school-based afterschool programs led or started by teachers are also
under consideration. It's sad, he said that kids at Dyett go home at
2:30 instead of 7:30 as at King (where he was assistant principal).
McMiller
said the ACT scores (average is only 17) have to come up--the school
is on probation with one year to come up. Teachers have had to be moved
around, and there are vacancies in Spanish, physics, and social studies.
He also wants teachers to have better relations with students.
Bret
Harte.
Harte is a strong school that knows it has to get better. Its
LSC and PAC are very savvy and active.
In
2009, Bret Harte special education teacher Nichole Gaynor was named
one of 13 teachers citywide finalists for Kohl McCormick Early Childhood
Awards for teachers working with children from infancy through 3rd grade.
About 10 autistic children attend her class part time. The
skills start with the most basic and stress communication-- without
which behavior can descend from frustration into tantrum.
Kenwood Academy. To
the page on Kenwood Academy. Kenwood's
website.
Kozminski
Community Academy.
Kozminski
is the first HP school to adopt CPS's new year-round program.
In late
2009, Kozminski joined two other Hyde Park schools in probationary status.
The
criteria are highly problematic, but bottom line is that each school
has to show school and student growth. Kozminski has many programs and
partners in place and is addressing problems, from attendance to parental
engagement to score growth.
Murray Language Academy.
Murray's
newsletter is online in its website, http://www.murray.cps.k12.il.us/
.
MurrayMagnet
School is a "School of Distinction." More than 90
percent score at or above. Murray in recent years tripled the
size of its facility including new cafeteria, gym media center and arts
room. Population grew by 90 and by 30 new employees. Student-computer
ratio is 3-1 with a new website. Murray is a magnet that also draws
from the community. It excels in academic fairs. It shares its nice
gym with Chicago Park District and has a modern computer lab.
North
Kenwood Oakland Charter School has
an active parents organization that is seeking a 501 status. It recently
raised $20,000 for the after school program, which is magnificent (and
charges a lot)-there is real paid professional as well as volunteer
teaching and tutoring.
Ray
Elementary
Visit ray-school.org.
Ray School
is slated for fix-up, remediation in 2009. Dangerous
tiles have been repaired, the walls (shedding lead-based paint chips)
are to be scraped again then repainted this spring. Furniture has been
replaced. Still on tap is stained ceiling tiles.
Ray is one of the
very strongest schools in Hyde Park, with much support from the University
of Chicago and UC student groups and tutors and strong partners.
Reavis
Elementary
In
late 2009, Reavis joined two other Hyde Park schools in probationary
status. The
criteria are highly problematic, but bottom line is that each school
has to show school and student growth. Reavis has many programs and
partners in place including an enormous grant that moves toward the
school becoming a wrap-asround center. The school is addressing problems,
from attendance to parental engagement to score growth.
Reavis
had been on probation for 2005-06 (when probation had more dire consequences
and definitions), having again failed to make "adequate yearly
progress" despite valiant efforts and now faces possible sanctions.
The new principal, Michael Johnson, marshalled additional resources
and methods change, including vertical and horizontal planning and communication
among teachers (which has helped in many other schools). Johnson says
his goal, beyond major scores improvement, is to make Reavis be seen
not as a school of last resort, but as a place were people are because
they see Reavis as a good place for their children.
Reavis
has already begun to receive additional resources due a probationary
school. Reavis is the most extreme example of a dichotomy between a
succeeding set of schools and a struggling set of schools in Hyde Park
and also illustrates a serious drawback for low income schools and residents:
students are largely brought in from other neighborhoods and the families
move around a lot, making progress hard for students and retaining students
and providing continuity and consistency hard for schools.
Reavis
adds parent center, recruits City Year volunteers, seeks to be family-friendly
Herald,
September 30, 2009. By Daschell M. Phillips
Reavis
Elementary School has launched a parent program, part of a recent push
to improve student services that has included extending after-school
and summer program hours,and creating an in-school health center in
partnership with Near North Health Service Corp. The goal of the parent
program is to make Reavis, 834 E. 50th St., more of a community school
and increase commitment in school, said Heather Ireland, program manager
for elev8, and organization that seeks to improve educational outcomes
for disadvantaged students in five Chicago schools.
"The
parent program will help match parents to resources such as finding
jobs, getting food and other issues that affect home life, so students
can be successful in school, Ireland said. Since eleve8 began its work
at Reavis in the summer of 2008, funded by a $3.6 million Integrated
Services in Schools grant, parent participation has steadily increased,
she said. "In the past we've had two or three parents come out
to events," Ireland said. "This year we had 50 parents at
our open house and we had 350 parents come out to our end of teh summer
program."
The
parent program was added in an attempt to keep parent participation
going strong. It offers workshops including fitness and healthy cooking,
a book club and GED preparation classes. The program has a meeting room
where parents will have access to media materials including magazines
and computers. The program also offers family field trip outings and
specialty groups for fathers including the Big-man Little-man Basketball
Tournament and the the Brotherhood Roundtable.
It's
important to the families' well being to have parents more involved
in the school system, Ireland said, adding, "If a child sees his
parents at school, they will feel this is a safe place and will attend
more." She said parents will also benefit because they are likely
to find the school less intimidating, boosting the chances that they
will feel more comfortable talking to teachers and asking their children
about school and homework.
In
2007-2008, Reavis received ISS (CPS Integrated Services in Schools)
grant utilizing $18 million for five schools from Atlantic
Philanthropies. LISC New Communities is also partnering in the project
and is in a 4-year partnership with Reavis. . The funds will be used
for longer hours, more school days, and services to families.
Part of the money is used for a winter art project and show
in the spring, Elev8.
Reavis
has an active Parent Group, part of System of Care-Chicago Parents United
(?). As a result of their effort, the school now has a parent
resource room and the group is working on getting strong social services
in the school.
In
spring 2009, reps from US Dept. of Agriculture and Illinois Dept. of
Ed. came to celebrate the school breakfast week. Parents were reminded
of the links between nutrition, school performance, and a safe atmosphere.
Life choices are at stake.
Shoesmith.
The
HPKCC Schools Committee was disheartened to learn that as of November
2009 Shoesmith School has been placed on academic probation. Reasons
include low attendance ratio and poor scores on one test. The criteria
are highly problematic. The HPKCC Schools Committee has been in conversation
with the school on how we and the community can help. 77% of Shoesmith
students are at or below poverty level. 80% of the student live within
the Shoesmith district.
The
lsc is working hard to raise parental involvement; there are many weekend
family activities. A story program has parents reading to their kids.
The former principal, Ms. Bedar, and the new principal Pat Watson, were
said to have very good rapport with students and parents. A new cafeteria
is needed. It has a fairly new playground and good gym.
Nonpublic:
Ancona
School (private,
Montessori)
Five students and a guest from Galileo Math and Science academy finished
8th in the U.S. Open chess Championships in May 2007. and did well in
the Chicago championships. Hired coach is Wayne Smith of the Hyde Park
Academy of Scholastic Chess. The kids started playing at very early
ages, with parents for the most part.
Hales
Franciscan. In addition
to its outstanding academic and college placement record, Hales Franciscan
is actively raising funds to refurbish the whole
building and more ($15 M is needed) , with help from Michael Jordan,
who recently gave $5 million to bring the total to $8 million, enough
to get started whether or not a bond issue can be worked out.
U
of C Laboratory Schools.
Summer Lab returns for 2008. 773
834-7766, http://summberlab.org
Physics teacher David Derbies won a 2007 A Golden Apple teaching award.
In 2008 the track team excelled in the regional's. And one of their
projects was to send letters and donations to the wounded soldiers,
recovering in hospitals in Germany.
The High
School has a new principal, Matthew Horvat.
St.
Thomas the Apostle School principal,
Dorothy Murphy, who has reached out to surrounding schools, parks, museums,
and businesses and seeks to make the school more a part of the community.
Murphy is past principal of St. Felicia, which the Archdiocese has closed.
Open House March 26 9-2.
Woodlawn
Community Academy had
the distinction of leading the Rising Star Chicago public schools (79)
that excelled in test gains. Woodlawn officials attributed its double-digit
gains to redoubled use of Direct Instruction a "scripted"
program. Even kindergartners are reading at the low-income charter school.
Top
News
about some advocacy groups
Parents
United for Responsible Education (www.pureparents.org)
has now established a Chicago Parents Union in conjunction with Kenwood
Oakland Community Organization (jutubrown@yahoo.com?).
It's based on a LA model. |
