Amanda Rivera is the interim principal at Chavez Elementary. Mr. Correa has left. I don't know what's going on regarding the search for his replacement. The Local School Council is now alternating morning and afternoon meetings--I think the next morning meeting is in January. Maybe I'll be able to make that one and find out how the search for a new principal is going.
Sarah, who was having such a hard time adjusting to Orozco, has returned to Chavez. I saw her walking home from school the other day with her big sister and her nieces. She looked perfectly happy. It's a good reminder that academics aren't everything when it comes to a child's school experience.
Right before the holiday I stopped in at Chavez to let them know I still have school supplies left over from last summer's block party. The gentleman I spoke with took my name and number and said someone from school could come by and pick them up. That would be a big help. That's also how I confirmed what I had heard about the interim principal. Ms. Rivera was the founding principal at Ames Middle School in Logan Square, where she was highly regarded. I'm glad someone with strong middle school experience is at the helm at Chavez, even temporarily. I have heard negative comments from parents about the state of affairs at the upper grade center (grades 5-8). I hope Ms. Rivera can straighten that out a bit.
Showing posts with label 4747 S. Marshfield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4747 S. Marshfield. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Upcoming Events
This Saturday September 19, there will be a celebration showcasing a new mural recently completed on 49th Street east of Ashland (I have to get the exact address, sorry). Oscar Contreras and the mothers against violence worked with local youth to design and paint the mural. I'll try to get some photos if I can.
On Monday, September 21 at 6 p.m. at the Chavez Lower Grade Center (4747 S. Marshfield), the UNION Impact Center will hold registration for fall youth and parent classes. Registration is free but space is limited. Youth programming includes soccer, art, guitar, video and photography. Parent programs include aerobics (women only), women's support and leadership, and art for the whole family. For more information, contact Rafael Yañez at 773.600.1601 or email yanezr@unionimpactcenter.org. Classes begin September 22.
CORRECTION/UPDATE: Some class programming has changed slightly as of September 17. Guitar is now a family class; art has been dropped. A parent class in dance has been added.
On Monday, September 21 at 6 p.m. at the Chavez Lower Grade Center (4747 S. Marshfield), the UNION Impact Center will hold registration for fall youth and parent classes. Registration is free but space is limited. Youth programming includes soccer, art, guitar, video and photography. Parent programs include aerobics (women only), women's support and leadership, and art for the whole family. For more information, contact Rafael Yañez at 773.600.1601 or email yanezr@unionimpactcenter.org. Classes begin September 22.
CORRECTION/UPDATE: Some class programming has changed slightly as of September 17. Guitar is now a family class; art has been dropped. A parent class in dance has been added.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Maritza Seeks Help for School Phobia
Dear Readers:
This afternoon/evening, Abuela and I sat out on the step with Sarah, her neices, her mom and her big sister and had a big chat. Sarah has started at Orozco but she is having a lot of anxiety about it. The orientation went ok, but on the first day of school she got so nervous she threw up. The second day it happened again. Today her mom let her stay home and called me for advice. They're going to try to send her tomorrow but maybe she will just talk with someone and not go to class. On Monday her mom intends to speak with her teacher.
I asked Sarah to tell me about her experience. She said the building is very big and unfamiliar and they didn;t really walk around it during orientation. She made some friends during orientation and two of them are in her class, but they sit pretty far away from her. I gather on the first day the bus was late--it's supposed to pick her up from Chavez at 7:45 but it didn't arrive until 8:20, so she was late to class. Perhaps that was also a factor. She said she got nervous when the teacher gave homework, although when she got home and tried it she found it was pretty easy. She clearly misses her friends and teachers at Chavez andwants to go back there.
The problem is, as Tom Wolfe said, you can't go home again. Her mom tells me Mr. Correa has left Chavez and things are very disorganized now. She's also heard the stories about drugs and gang recruitment in the upper grade center (Sarah wouldn't be there yet, but soon) and she won't have her daughter go there. This sounds like a fairly titanic struggle of wills between mother and daughter. Sarah, like her mom, is a pretty determined person, but it's not in her long-term best interest to go back to Chavez. How to help her understand that, I'm not too sure.
If anyone has tips on dealing with school phobia, new school anxiety, etc., we are all ears here on Marshfield Avenue. Thanks!
This afternoon/evening, Abuela and I sat out on the step with Sarah, her neices, her mom and her big sister and had a big chat. Sarah has started at Orozco but she is having a lot of anxiety about it. The orientation went ok, but on the first day of school she got so nervous she threw up. The second day it happened again. Today her mom let her stay home and called me for advice. They're going to try to send her tomorrow but maybe she will just talk with someone and not go to class. On Monday her mom intends to speak with her teacher.
I asked Sarah to tell me about her experience. She said the building is very big and unfamiliar and they didn;t really walk around it during orientation. She made some friends during orientation and two of them are in her class, but they sit pretty far away from her. I gather on the first day the bus was late--it's supposed to pick her up from Chavez at 7:45 but it didn't arrive until 8:20, so she was late to class. Perhaps that was also a factor. She said she got nervous when the teacher gave homework, although when she got home and tried it she found it was pretty easy. She clearly misses her friends and teachers at Chavez andwants to go back there.
The problem is, as Tom Wolfe said, you can't go home again. Her mom tells me Mr. Correa has left Chavez and things are very disorganized now. She's also heard the stories about drugs and gang recruitment in the upper grade center (Sarah wouldn't be there yet, but soon) and she won't have her daughter go there. This sounds like a fairly titanic struggle of wills between mother and daughter. Sarah, like her mom, is a pretty determined person, but it's not in her long-term best interest to go back to Chavez. How to help her understand that, I'm not too sure.
If anyone has tips on dealing with school phobia, new school anxiety, etc., we are all ears here on Marshfield Avenue. Thanks!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Hoops on Marshfield Tomorrow Night
Hoops in the Hood will be hosting youth basketball in the newly-paved Chavez Elementary parking lot at 48th and Marshfield tomorrow night. I think game time is 6 p.m. but am not totall sure of this. Anyway, it should be a good time.
Quick notes on other upcoming events--our block will be having its block party August 1. We missed the chance to get a city jumping jack for free, but if any readers know someone who can rent us one for a couple of hours we would be interested in talking with them. We expect to have basketball, soccer (I think), a blessing of some sort from Holy Cross/IHM and perhaps an art activity. A neighbor will DJ in the evening. The kids are thinking up games they can organize among themselves.
Special thanks to a number of local groups who have donated food or school supplies. The Su Casa Catholic Worker has large numbers of frozen hamburgers and buns left from the Fourth of July, plus a new arrival of beverages. Ald. Joann Thompson will provide chips and some beverage, and we are hoping to get hot dogs again this year from Rep. Esther Golar. Her office put us in touch with the 9th District CAPS implementation office, which may also be able to help. Park Federal donated bags and pens for our school supply kits. NHS may also be able to help with that. No Manches has agreed to donate some t-shirts as game prizes and Cafe Cedahlia will also help with refreshments. Meanwhile, Jay-Z's auntie and I have been hitting the back to school sales for pencils, rulers, scissors, folders, etc. A couple of neighbors have said they would help kick in more substantial amounts toward the expenses, and we'll probably go door-to-door and ask folks for a few bucks to help with the DJ (who's a lot cheaper than the person we got last year--whew!).
We may still be looking for someone to coach soccer and could use a high school or college student to supervise kids' activities like a bicycle race, water balloon toss, etc. (I would do this but at 8+ months pregnant I'm trying to limit how much physical activity I'll have to do day-of-event.)
Quick notes on other upcoming events--our block will be having its block party August 1. We missed the chance to get a city jumping jack for free, but if any readers know someone who can rent us one for a couple of hours we would be interested in talking with them. We expect to have basketball, soccer (I think), a blessing of some sort from Holy Cross/IHM and perhaps an art activity. A neighbor will DJ in the evening. The kids are thinking up games they can organize among themselves.
Special thanks to a number of local groups who have donated food or school supplies. The Su Casa Catholic Worker has large numbers of frozen hamburgers and buns left from the Fourth of July, plus a new arrival of beverages. Ald. Joann Thompson will provide chips and some beverage, and we are hoping to get hot dogs again this year from Rep. Esther Golar. Her office put us in touch with the 9th District CAPS implementation office, which may also be able to help. Park Federal donated bags and pens for our school supply kits. NHS may also be able to help with that. No Manches has agreed to donate some t-shirts as game prizes and Cafe Cedahlia will also help with refreshments. Meanwhile, Jay-Z's auntie and I have been hitting the back to school sales for pencils, rulers, scissors, folders, etc. A couple of neighbors have said they would help kick in more substantial amounts toward the expenses, and we'll probably go door-to-door and ask folks for a few bucks to help with the DJ (who's a lot cheaper than the person we got last year--whew!).
We may still be looking for someone to coach soccer and could use a high school or college student to supervise kids' activities like a bicycle race, water balloon toss, etc. (I would do this but at 8+ months pregnant I'm trying to limit how much physical activity I'll have to do day-of-event.)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Recent Graduations: Big Picture HS and Chavez Elem
Unfortunately, my camera is having problems, so I don't have pictures of graduation ceremonies right now (I may be able to retrieve one from Big Picture), but wanted to write up a little about each of the graduations.
Big Picture graduated its last class of 20 students on Friday , June 5. The vast majority of the graduates will be entering a number of two- and four-year colleges, including Northern Illinois University, Northeastern Illinois University, St. Xavier University, Chicago State University, Morton College, Daley College and Harold Washington College. The class valedictorian was Gleidy Flores, who won both a Mikva Challenge scholarship and a Big Picture scholarship toward her expenses at Northern Illinois University next fall. Salutatorian Arlet Correa won four scholarships, including one from Big Picture, and will be attending St. Xavier University in the fall.
At Big Picture graduations around the country, the tradition is for each student to say a few words upon receiving his/her diploma. Here are some quotes from the graduates:
"I didn't think I was gonna make it, and here I am." Juan Serrano
"Daddy, thank you for always pushing me to do better. Mom, gracias por apoyarme." Zuleyma Alatorre
"Big Picture has helped me discover my passions....Thanks to [College Bridge] I'm confident on attending college next fall." Jonathan Salgado
"I want to thank my son, whom I did this for, to prove no matter what, you can always make it in life." Elsa Gomez
"I never imagined myself up here. I wouldn't have made it without Alfredo [Nambo, principal]. He never gave up on me," Martha Bacilio
"I would like to thank my classmates, especially the ones who encouraged me to continue my education." Mara Jimenez
"My teachers encouraged me to pursue college. I became a responsible, organized and strong person. If it wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't be here giving this speech." Gladys Medel
"Education is the most powerful weapon in life." Mayra Banuelos
This afternoon Chavez Elementary held its 8th-grade graduation ceremony. There were four students from our block walking across the stage today: Peter Pan and his brother, the third of the four girls down the block-Meg's little sister Beth, and a girl I didn't know. (I think she's the younger sister of the boy who was sneaking into his girlfriend's window at night. She is now pregnant.) I knew a couple of other grads from nearby blocks as well. Oldest Brady Boy did not get to cross the stage today. He will be in summer school for math. I saw Mr. Correa today, who told me his test scores are OK, so all he needs to do is show up and he will graduate in August. Oldest Brady says as long as he graduates in August he is OK to go to Rauner.
Meanwhile, Beth will be going to Curie High School in the fall, and her older sister Jo is doing fine at Kennedy. Meg has moved in with a guy up in Logan Square and is expecting a baby in September. After the baby is born she is planning to go to the Northeastern Illinois University extension campus near there to get her GED and then go on to college. I hope it works out for her.
Big Picture graduated its last class of 20 students on Friday , June 5. The vast majority of the graduates will be entering a number of two- and four-year colleges, including Northern Illinois University, Northeastern Illinois University, St. Xavier University, Chicago State University, Morton College, Daley College and Harold Washington College. The class valedictorian was Gleidy Flores, who won both a Mikva Challenge scholarship and a Big Picture scholarship toward her expenses at Northern Illinois University next fall. Salutatorian Arlet Correa won four scholarships, including one from Big Picture, and will be attending St. Xavier University in the fall.
At Big Picture graduations around the country, the tradition is for each student to say a few words upon receiving his/her diploma. Here are some quotes from the graduates:
"I didn't think I was gonna make it, and here I am." Juan Serrano
"Daddy, thank you for always pushing me to do better. Mom, gracias por apoyarme." Zuleyma Alatorre
"Big Picture has helped me discover my passions....Thanks to [College Bridge] I'm confident on attending college next fall." Jonathan Salgado
"I want to thank my son, whom I did this for, to prove no matter what, you can always make it in life." Elsa Gomez
"I never imagined myself up here. I wouldn't have made it without Alfredo [Nambo, principal]. He never gave up on me," Martha Bacilio
"I would like to thank my classmates, especially the ones who encouraged me to continue my education." Mara Jimenez
"My teachers encouraged me to pursue college. I became a responsible, organized and strong person. If it wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't be here giving this speech." Gladys Medel
"Education is the most powerful weapon in life." Mayra Banuelos
This afternoon Chavez Elementary held its 8th-grade graduation ceremony. There were four students from our block walking across the stage today: Peter Pan and his brother, the third of the four girls down the block-Meg's little sister Beth, and a girl I didn't know. (I think she's the younger sister of the boy who was sneaking into his girlfriend's window at night. She is now pregnant.) I knew a couple of other grads from nearby blocks as well. Oldest Brady Boy did not get to cross the stage today. He will be in summer school for math. I saw Mr. Correa today, who told me his test scores are OK, so all he needs to do is show up and he will graduate in August. Oldest Brady says as long as he graduates in August he is OK to go to Rauner.
Meanwhile, Beth will be going to Curie High School in the fall, and her older sister Jo is doing fine at Kennedy. Meg has moved in with a guy up in Logan Square and is expecting a baby in September. After the baby is born she is planning to go to the Northeastern Illinois University extension campus near there to get her GED and then go on to college. I hope it works out for her.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Nitty-Gritty Midterm Exam for Local Aldermen
This week's print edition of the Chicago Reader has hit the streets. Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke review the city's nine freshmen aldermen, three of whose wards contain slices of Back of the Yards. Their yardstick was pretty straightforward: "Are our representatives up to the task of telling the mayor 'no' once in a while?" The answer is a resounding no.
I'm not surprised that that's what Ben and Mick care about, but I can tell you very few people, especially in the South Side wards that have long been neglected and lack basic city services, give a good gol dang about that yardstick. In fact, I suspect most voters here would prefer their aldermen have a good relationship with City Hall (even a bootlicking one), if it means they can get city services to work and get access to dollars for ward improvements. They also care about whether they ever see their aldermen and whether they feel like their aldermen are paying any attention to local needs. It all comes down to "who will get me a garbage can?"
By that standard, here's my take on the freshmen aldermen I've had contact with since the were elected, starting with the one who runs my ward.
Joann Thompson, 16th Ward--Ben and Mick lump her together with Toni Foulkes of the 15th Ward, noting the similarities in how they were elected--both were backed by organized labor, SEIU to be specific--and as the gentlemen put it, "both have had their hands full just trying to set up an office and confront some of the problems in their long-neglected communities." Both, the guys tell us, have been quiet, reliable yes votes.
What this doesn't tell us is the important difference between them on the ground. I've only seen Foulkes in action once, but last summer she got herself out to an NHS block beautification event, clearly knew the block club members, and spent a good half hour or more talking with them about safety and street improvements that could be done on their block. I don't know the extent to which she followed through, but she was out there.
As for Thompson, she has sent out one newsletter, which I grant had the dates of her monthly ward meetings. I haven't been present at any yet but I have heard back from others who've been there. They weren't very impressed. A while back some of our local leading lights, including Rep. Esther Golar, went out with petitions for street resurfacing here on Marshfield Avenue. I heard a rumor that the street will be resurfaced from 51st to 47th, which includes parts of both Thompson's and Willie Cochran's ward. My guess is that it's Cochran and Golar who are really making this happen. My impression thus far in Thompson's term is that she concentrates very hard on the Englewood portion of the ward, leaving Back of the Yards and Gage Park to their own devices. My impression of Foulkes is that she has made broader and more effective outreach across her ward as a whole, but if any readers know more than I do about this, please fill us in.
In short, if I were Jimmy the Greek, I put money on Foulkes getting re-elected and not on Thompson. Stay tuned.
Willie Cochran 20th, and Pat Dowell, 3rd Ward. Ben and Mick discuss them separately and at length, giving Dowell credit both for her presence in the community and for thoughtful and occasionally-gasp-independent votes. However, they give Cochran short shrift: "He's not exactly a disappointment, since we never expected him to stand up to the mayor anyway." By contrast, the view from the ground here would lump them much more closely together because of their strong commitment to constituent service. To me, Cochran gets extra points because it would be easy for him to concentrate on Woodlawn redevelopment, especially amid the Olympic furor. Yet I saw 48th Street get plowed this winter and we've seen the long-awaited sidewalk improvements on the 4800 block of South Marshfield. There's almost always a 20th ward staffer at the local CAPS beat meeting; I think the 16th ward superintendent came once.
Just as a side note Ben and Mick join the chorus of critics who've ripped the Olympics community benefits agreement for being toothless. For reasons I won't go into here, I can say just getting the words publicly on the table in the face of City Hall opposition is not an achievement to be sneezed at. For a couple of aldermen whose wards heavily depend on city services to pull this off is worthy of a lot more respect than they're getting.
I'm not surprised that that's what Ben and Mick care about, but I can tell you very few people, especially in the South Side wards that have long been neglected and lack basic city services, give a good gol dang about that yardstick. In fact, I suspect most voters here would prefer their aldermen have a good relationship with City Hall (even a bootlicking one), if it means they can get city services to work and get access to dollars for ward improvements. They also care about whether they ever see their aldermen and whether they feel like their aldermen are paying any attention to local needs. It all comes down to "who will get me a garbage can?"
By that standard, here's my take on the freshmen aldermen I've had contact with since the were elected, starting with the one who runs my ward.
Joann Thompson, 16th Ward--Ben and Mick lump her together with Toni Foulkes of the 15th Ward, noting the similarities in how they were elected--both were backed by organized labor, SEIU to be specific--and as the gentlemen put it, "both have had their hands full just trying to set up an office and confront some of the problems in their long-neglected communities." Both, the guys tell us, have been quiet, reliable yes votes.
What this doesn't tell us is the important difference between them on the ground. I've only seen Foulkes in action once, but last summer she got herself out to an NHS block beautification event, clearly knew the block club members, and spent a good half hour or more talking with them about safety and street improvements that could be done on their block. I don't know the extent to which she followed through, but she was out there.
As for Thompson, she has sent out one newsletter, which I grant had the dates of her monthly ward meetings. I haven't been present at any yet but I have heard back from others who've been there. They weren't very impressed. A while back some of our local leading lights, including Rep. Esther Golar, went out with petitions for street resurfacing here on Marshfield Avenue. I heard a rumor that the street will be resurfaced from 51st to 47th, which includes parts of both Thompson's and Willie Cochran's ward. My guess is that it's Cochran and Golar who are really making this happen. My impression thus far in Thompson's term is that she concentrates very hard on the Englewood portion of the ward, leaving Back of the Yards and Gage Park to their own devices. My impression of Foulkes is that she has made broader and more effective outreach across her ward as a whole, but if any readers know more than I do about this, please fill us in.
In short, if I were Jimmy the Greek, I put money on Foulkes getting re-elected and not on Thompson. Stay tuned.
Willie Cochran 20th, and Pat Dowell, 3rd Ward. Ben and Mick discuss them separately and at length, giving Dowell credit both for her presence in the community and for thoughtful and occasionally-gasp-independent votes. However, they give Cochran short shrift: "He's not exactly a disappointment, since we never expected him to stand up to the mayor anyway." By contrast, the view from the ground here would lump them much more closely together because of their strong commitment to constituent service. To me, Cochran gets extra points because it would be easy for him to concentrate on Woodlawn redevelopment, especially amid the Olympic furor. Yet I saw 48th Street get plowed this winter and we've seen the long-awaited sidewalk improvements on the 4800 block of South Marshfield. There's almost always a 20th ward staffer at the local CAPS beat meeting; I think the 16th ward superintendent came once.
Just as a side note Ben and Mick join the chorus of critics who've ripped the Olympics community benefits agreement for being toothless. For reasons I won't go into here, I can say just getting the words publicly on the table in the face of City Hall opposition is not an achievement to be sneezed at. For a couple of aldermen whose wards heavily depend on city services to pull this off is worthy of a lot more respect than they're getting.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Safe Halloween Planned for Back of the Yards
This morning the Peace and Education Coalition of Back of the Yards announced plans for a safe Halloween in the neighborhood, one year after the murder of mother Leticia Barrera while trick-or-treating with her children.
The Chicago Police Department's 9th District will have extra officers on duty that day, and police are already warning gang members who are stopped or picked up now that a quiet Halloween this year will be very much in their best interests. "Stay home, have a pizza and watch Rambo if that's what you have to do," said Officer Tony Mejia.
The Coalition will pilot safe Halloween trick-or-treating hours this year, encouraging families and businesses to limit their trick-or-treating to the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. Flyers with this information will be distributed to local schools, churches and businesses.
The 12th Ward will host a Halloween party for families at 35th and Western from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be plenty of candy and a costume contest.
"In 1997, when we [the Coalition] started, nobody trick-or-treated," noted Sandy Traback, a Coalition co-founder and former principal of Chavez Elementary. "When people started going door-to-door it was a sign the community felt safer."
This year, noted Mike Anderer-McClelland, principal of San Miguel School, parents and students have expressed concerns about their safety if they choose to go trick-or-treating. The area around San Miguel and Hedges Elementary is very close to where Barrera was shot. At the end of the meeting two ideas had been proposed for that area: parent patrols and a Halloween party in the St. Michael's gym, but it was not clear whether either or both of these activities would be pursued.
This meeting fired me up to do the haunted basement the kids have been bugging me to do for years. And yes, I too have heard concerns about going trick-or-treating this year. I'm glad Coalition members are stepping up to address the issue.
The Chicago Police Department's 9th District will have extra officers on duty that day, and police are already warning gang members who are stopped or picked up now that a quiet Halloween this year will be very much in their best interests. "Stay home, have a pizza and watch Rambo if that's what you have to do," said Officer Tony Mejia.
The Coalition will pilot safe Halloween trick-or-treating hours this year, encouraging families and businesses to limit their trick-or-treating to the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. Flyers with this information will be distributed to local schools, churches and businesses.
The 12th Ward will host a Halloween party for families at 35th and Western from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be plenty of candy and a costume contest.
"In 1997, when we [the Coalition] started, nobody trick-or-treated," noted Sandy Traback, a Coalition co-founder and former principal of Chavez Elementary. "When people started going door-to-door it was a sign the community felt safer."
This year, noted Mike Anderer-McClelland, principal of San Miguel School, parents and students have expressed concerns about their safety if they choose to go trick-or-treating. The area around San Miguel and Hedges Elementary is very close to where Barrera was shot. At the end of the meeting two ideas had been proposed for that area: parent patrols and a Halloween party in the St. Michael's gym, but it was not clear whether either or both of these activities would be pursued.
This meeting fired me up to do the haunted basement the kids have been bugging me to do for years. And yes, I too have heard concerns about going trick-or-treating this year. I'm glad Coalition members are stepping up to address the issue.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Peace and Education Coalition Launches New Web Site
The new Peace and Education Coalition of Back of the Yards web site features many more photos, a signup for email alerts and links to schools, parishes and social service agencies here in the neighborhoods.
The new site was announced at today's Peace and Education Coalition meeting, the first of the new school year. About 50 people attended, including many new faces. 9th District Commander Eugene Roy noted it was the best turnout he had yet seen.
Some key news about neighborhood services:
The University of Illinois Mile Square health center at 47th and Loomis is now offering shots and physicals for back to school to all families whether or not they have insurance. The clinic is open until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and hopes to start Saturday hours soon.
Neighborhood Housing Services has relocated to the new Park Federal Bank building at 47th and Honore. The building has a large community room where NHS will hold homebuyer education classes in Spanish. Foreclosure prevention counseling is also available.
All three Peace and Education Alternative High School campuses have space for new students. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council is providing free shuttle service for students who have to cross gang lines to get to the campus of their choice. The Irene Dugan campus is now dedicated to service 15 and 16 year olds who are at risk of dropping out or have stopped attending their assigned high school. Dugan now has about 16 students on the books and has space for up to 30. Application forms are available from the Dugan website.
At Second Chance, 46 students are currently enrolled and there is space for 80. Second Chance continue to serve students ages 17 or older who have dropped out and want to finish high school. Call 773-535-1450 for more information and to obtain an application.
This fall, the Peace and Education Alternative High School is opening its third campus at 4946 S. Paulina. (They will be sharing space with Big Picture High School.) Right now 38 students are enrolled and they can take up to 50.
Last year, 36 students graduated from the alternative high school campuses. The school counselor contacted 32 of those graduates over the summer. One is attending Eastern Illinois University. A dozen are attending two-year schools, mostly City Colleges: Daley, Kennedy-King, Harold Washington and Wright. Two of those 12 students already have plans to transfer to four-year schools: one to the UIC College of Nursing and another to Chicago State. Three are in job training programs and one is working full-time, so just over half of the recent graduates are living out concrete postsecondary plans, most of them in some kind of college.
The new site was announced at today's Peace and Education Coalition meeting, the first of the new school year. About 50 people attended, including many new faces. 9th District Commander Eugene Roy noted it was the best turnout he had yet seen.
Some key news about neighborhood services:
The University of Illinois Mile Square health center at 47th and Loomis is now offering shots and physicals for back to school to all families whether or not they have insurance. The clinic is open until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and hopes to start Saturday hours soon.
Neighborhood Housing Services has relocated to the new Park Federal Bank building at 47th and Honore. The building has a large community room where NHS will hold homebuyer education classes in Spanish. Foreclosure prevention counseling is also available.
All three Peace and Education Alternative High School campuses have space for new students. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council is providing free shuttle service for students who have to cross gang lines to get to the campus of their choice. The Irene Dugan campus is now dedicated to service 15 and 16 year olds who are at risk of dropping out or have stopped attending their assigned high school. Dugan now has about 16 students on the books and has space for up to 30. Application forms are available from the Dugan website.
At Second Chance, 46 students are currently enrolled and there is space for 80. Second Chance continue to serve students ages 17 or older who have dropped out and want to finish high school. Call 773-535-1450 for more information and to obtain an application.
This fall, the Peace and Education Alternative High School is opening its third campus at 4946 S. Paulina. (They will be sharing space with Big Picture High School.) Right now 38 students are enrolled and they can take up to 50.
Last year, 36 students graduated from the alternative high school campuses. The school counselor contacted 32 of those graduates over the summer. One is attending Eastern Illinois University. A dozen are attending two-year schools, mostly City Colleges: Daley, Kennedy-King, Harold Washington and Wright. Two of those 12 students already have plans to transfer to four-year schools: one to the UIC College of Nursing and another to Chicago State. Three are in job training programs and one is working full-time, so just over half of the recent graduates are living out concrete postsecondary plans, most of them in some kind of college.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Joey's IEP
Well, it's only taken the better part of a year, but this afternoon Joey's mom told me she had gone to Chavez today and then produced a copy of his IEP.
It's a rather faint copy and not always easy to read the handwriting. Worse, it really doesn't tell me a whole lot I didn't already know. They gave him reading and math tests in English and a reading test in Spanish. On the English-language reading tests he scored on a beginning first grade level in letter and word recognition and a late first-grade level in reading comprehension and spelling. (I'm shocked he did that well in spelling, to tell you the truth.) In Spanish he scored early second grade in reading comprehension.
On the math tests (given in English) he scored in the third grade range, higher in computation than in "concepts and applications," which is probably a fancy way of saying "word problems."
There's a short paragraph under the heading "General Intelligence" which appears to have something to say about testing but I'm not sure if it refers to the same tests or to others not described in detail here. At the end it says a bit about his strengths and weaknesses as observed by the psychologist who gave the tests (I gather). "Strengths were noted in visual motor and perceptual organization (drawing/artistic). Deficits were observed in short-term auditory recall, verbal abstract reasoning, word and general knowledge."
No s--t, Sherlock. How much did they pay you to figure that out? I got that far without a degree in psychology, just by hanging out with him and not even for very long before this sort of thing became apparent. I expect more from someone who makes a living at writing IEPs, like what's at the root of this? Dyslexia? Something else?
Of course, as a friend of mine who's written a good bit about reading and has seen her fair share of CPS IEPs says, "It's a pretty standard CPS IEP: it doesn't diagnose anything and it doesn't tell you how to fix it."
It sure doesn't. It doesn't even tell you whether or not he met the academic targets they set up for him last fall--I wonder if anyone has bothered to check up. (I mean, besides the fact I'm pretty sure he didn't meet them. Somehow he got out of 6th grade, but I'm not totally for sure how. Not that holding him back would have been a better option--he'd probably have just felt dumber, been mad about being separated from his classmates and acted out more than he already is.) He's supposed to spend nearly half his week in a self-contained special ed classroom. Last year he told me there were fights all the time in there, he wasn't learning anything and he kept getting pulled out of his English class to go, then he'd miss the homework back in the regular class. (His last year's English teacher was smart and nice, too. She seemed genuinely concerned for his academic welfare and we tried to work together on some of his assignments.)
All right, enough already. After she gave this to me earlier tonight and I read it, I biked out to Bridgeport's Scoops for an ice cream cone. You could call it a consolation prize, I suppose.
It's a rather faint copy and not always easy to read the handwriting. Worse, it really doesn't tell me a whole lot I didn't already know. They gave him reading and math tests in English and a reading test in Spanish. On the English-language reading tests he scored on a beginning first grade level in letter and word recognition and a late first-grade level in reading comprehension and spelling. (I'm shocked he did that well in spelling, to tell you the truth.) In Spanish he scored early second grade in reading comprehension.
On the math tests (given in English) he scored in the third grade range, higher in computation than in "concepts and applications," which is probably a fancy way of saying "word problems."
There's a short paragraph under the heading "General Intelligence" which appears to have something to say about testing but I'm not sure if it refers to the same tests or to others not described in detail here. At the end it says a bit about his strengths and weaknesses as observed by the psychologist who gave the tests (I gather). "Strengths were noted in visual motor and perceptual organization (drawing/artistic). Deficits were observed in short-term auditory recall, verbal abstract reasoning, word and general knowledge."
No s--t, Sherlock. How much did they pay you to figure that out? I got that far without a degree in psychology, just by hanging out with him and not even for very long before this sort of thing became apparent. I expect more from someone who makes a living at writing IEPs, like what's at the root of this? Dyslexia? Something else?
Of course, as a friend of mine who's written a good bit about reading and has seen her fair share of CPS IEPs says, "It's a pretty standard CPS IEP: it doesn't diagnose anything and it doesn't tell you how to fix it."
It sure doesn't. It doesn't even tell you whether or not he met the academic targets they set up for him last fall--I wonder if anyone has bothered to check up. (I mean, besides the fact I'm pretty sure he didn't meet them. Somehow he got out of 6th grade, but I'm not totally for sure how. Not that holding him back would have been a better option--he'd probably have just felt dumber, been mad about being separated from his classmates and acted out more than he already is.) He's supposed to spend nearly half his week in a self-contained special ed classroom. Last year he told me there were fights all the time in there, he wasn't learning anything and he kept getting pulled out of his English class to go, then he'd miss the homework back in the regular class. (His last year's English teacher was smart and nice, too. She seemed genuinely concerned for his academic welfare and we tried to work together on some of his assignments.)
All right, enough already. After she gave this to me earlier tonight and I read it, I biked out to Bridgeport's Scoops for an ice cream cone. You could call it a consolation prize, I suppose.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Chavez Class of 2008
So here are just a few photos from today's 8th grade graduation at Chavez. After the ceremony, Junior's parents invited me out for dinner with them and with their neighbors and their graduating son. We went to the new China Buffet in the 47th & Damen shopping center and ran into lots of other graduates and their families. Quite a chunk of our block was celebrating at the buffet.
Junior was really sweet--after we got back home I shook his hand one more time and he said, "Thank you for all the support. I was going to call your name out when I got up there for my diploma today to say thank you, but they didn't let us."
I talked to two or three of the girl grads briefly after the ceremony about doing a book club, and they seem game.
Two of the younger Bradys rang my doorbell after I got home from the post-grad buffet. They said, "We want to talk about the camping thing." They meant Camp Marshfield, as I am referring to my half-baked attempt to provide some things to do on the block this summer. We talked about books--they haven't read The House on Mango Street and they thought it looked interesting--and they already know how to swim, so we could go up to Davis Square. They want to do some arts and crafts, too. We didn't have time to look at all the books I got over the weekend, so we'll do that sometime soon.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Professional Development Day
Today is a professional development day in the Chicago Public Schools, so all the students have a day off. By about 10 this morning I could hear Peter Pan and some of the Brady Boys playing soccer. At about noon I took a lunch break and as a result, my neighbor Daniel got a little pre-high school professional development, too.
It was beautiful outside--a little breezy, noticeably warmer and sunnier, with bright blue patches of sky showing between shining clouds. The boys were playing soccer in the street, most of them in t-shirts. Joey had even rolled up his jeans into shorts.
Some Brady girls and the youngest Brady boys were on the sidewalk, and their mom, Peter Pan's mom and Joey's mom were out watching the scene. Mom Brady was with her kids; Peter Pan's and Joey's moms were chatting in front of Peter's house. Danny was talking with his dad in front of their house. His dad waved to me as he left, and I went across the street for a chat.
Danny went to Curie recently to register and begin the orientation process. This summer, all freshmen in CPS will spend four weeks at their new high schools, getting to know their teachers and classmates and doing a mix of teambuilding exercises and academic work. I asked Danny what he thought of the idea, expecting "yuck, summer school," but he surprised me. He said he was glad to get the chance to learn the building and get to know people before school started. "Otherwise, I might get lost," he said.
In a less happy surprise, Danny also 'fessed up today that his grades went down this quarter to all Cs. Since he got into Curie, he's been slacking off. He thinks he's in regular English for next year and I know he is smart enough to be in honors, even if his grades right now don't show it. I told him he needs to pull up his grades fourth quarter so he can make a case to Curie to put him in honors next year, especially in English. We strategized about how he could talk with his homeroom/English teacher about what happened in there. He thought he was getting a B. I told him when I taught high school, kids would come up to me and say, "Why didn't I get a B?" in a whiny tone and it got on my nerves. But when a kid said to me, "I don't understand what happened, and I want to do better next quarter," I would bust my butt to explain why they got the grade they did and talk about how to improve next time.
Danny wants to know what high school is like. We talked about honors and how it leads to AP classes and how AP classes can save you time and money in college. We also talked about Marwen, since Danny is a pretty accomplished graffiti artist. His ears perked up when he heard they help you think about colleges with arts programs and careers in art. I don't know whether their summer offering will conflict with the new CPS high school orientation--they probably will--but in the fall he'll be old enough to get around by himself so maybe that would be the time to get him signed up for an after-school class.
Then I asked him if he was reading anything for fun on his own, and he said no. "It's a really good idea to read on your own if you want to go to college," I told him. Then I went in the house and looked to see whether I had any good books. I had two contenders--one young adult novel written by a guy and left over from the book giveaway, the other Frank McCourt's Teacher Man. Danny wants to know what high school is like, and McCourt captures the feel of a high school classroom from the teacher's point of view better than just about anyone I know. So I brought it out.
Danny looked at the young adult novel first, read the jacket and handed it back. I wasn't surprised--it's kind of a white kid slacker-novel and I didn't like the writing style much either. While he looked that book over, I searched for a good scene in Teacher Man. I found the one where McCourt talks with Nancy, a Chinese student, about learning English, then segues into a scene when he worked in a restaurant kitchen and his fellow kitchen staff pressed him into teaching English. Danny thought that scene was pretty funny and guessed it must have taken place in the 50s based on how much money they were making. He was in the ballpark on that, for sure.
Then I let him in on a big secret. "You know, when you read a book for fun, you don't have to read it from the beginning to the end."
"You don't?"
"No. You can just skip around and look for things that seem interesting and skip the boring parts." He agreed to take Teacher Man back to his house and poke around in it for a week while I'm out of town. We'll talk about what he finds when I get back.
It was beautiful outside--a little breezy, noticeably warmer and sunnier, with bright blue patches of sky showing between shining clouds. The boys were playing soccer in the street, most of them in t-shirts. Joey had even rolled up his jeans into shorts.
Some Brady girls and the youngest Brady boys were on the sidewalk, and their mom, Peter Pan's mom and Joey's mom were out watching the scene. Mom Brady was with her kids; Peter Pan's and Joey's moms were chatting in front of Peter's house. Danny was talking with his dad in front of their house. His dad waved to me as he left, and I went across the street for a chat.
Danny went to Curie recently to register and begin the orientation process. This summer, all freshmen in CPS will spend four weeks at their new high schools, getting to know their teachers and classmates and doing a mix of teambuilding exercises and academic work. I asked Danny what he thought of the idea, expecting "yuck, summer school," but he surprised me. He said he was glad to get the chance to learn the building and get to know people before school started. "Otherwise, I might get lost," he said.
In a less happy surprise, Danny also 'fessed up today that his grades went down this quarter to all Cs. Since he got into Curie, he's been slacking off. He thinks he's in regular English for next year and I know he is smart enough to be in honors, even if his grades right now don't show it. I told him he needs to pull up his grades fourth quarter so he can make a case to Curie to put him in honors next year, especially in English. We strategized about how he could talk with his homeroom/English teacher about what happened in there. He thought he was getting a B. I told him when I taught high school, kids would come up to me and say, "Why didn't I get a B?" in a whiny tone and it got on my nerves. But when a kid said to me, "I don't understand what happened, and I want to do better next quarter," I would bust my butt to explain why they got the grade they did and talk about how to improve next time.
Danny wants to know what high school is like. We talked about honors and how it leads to AP classes and how AP classes can save you time and money in college. We also talked about Marwen, since Danny is a pretty accomplished graffiti artist. His ears perked up when he heard they help you think about colleges with arts programs and careers in art. I don't know whether their summer offering will conflict with the new CPS high school orientation--they probably will--but in the fall he'll be old enough to get around by himself so maybe that would be the time to get him signed up for an after-school class.
Then I asked him if he was reading anything for fun on his own, and he said no. "It's a really good idea to read on your own if you want to go to college," I told him. Then I went in the house and looked to see whether I had any good books. I had two contenders--one young adult novel written by a guy and left over from the book giveaway, the other Frank McCourt's Teacher Man. Danny wants to know what high school is like, and McCourt captures the feel of a high school classroom from the teacher's point of view better than just about anyone I know. So I brought it out.
Danny looked at the young adult novel first, read the jacket and handed it back. I wasn't surprised--it's kind of a white kid slacker-novel and I didn't like the writing style much either. While he looked that book over, I searched for a good scene in Teacher Man. I found the one where McCourt talks with Nancy, a Chinese student, about learning English, then segues into a scene when he worked in a restaurant kitchen and his fellow kitchen staff pressed him into teaching English. Danny thought that scene was pretty funny and guessed it must have taken place in the 50s based on how much money they were making. He was in the ballpark on that, for sure.
Then I let him in on a big secret. "You know, when you read a book for fun, you don't have to read it from the beginning to the end."
"You don't?"
"No. You can just skip around and look for things that seem interesting and skip the boring parts." He agreed to take Teacher Man back to his house and poke around in it for a week while I'm out of town. We'll talk about what he finds when I get back.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
LiveBlogging: Medicine Man Helps with Homework
Thank God for Medicine Man! Junior has to do some science homework about the periodic table and atomic numbers. I have a deadline and I don't remember a thing about this stuff, so Medicine Mas has stepped up to the plate.
MM:What is that one?
J: 17
What's the name?
J:Curine?
MM: Chlorine.
[Another one.]
Oscar: Chromium?
MM: Chromium. It's a heavy metal.
MM: What would the next one be?
Oscar: Cu?
Yeah, copper.
[later]
MM: Chemical symbol is just another way to say abbreviation.
MM: What if I told you alumnium is a metal? [He picks up a Coke can.] It's made of a very very light metal.
All these boxes, all these elements can be found in nature every day. We're made of elements.
Oscar: You said that's made of metal. Gold..that's kind of hard to squish. How come this is easier.
MM: Not all metals are hard. Some metals are harder than others. If this were made out of steel, it would be hard to crush. Aluminum is a softer, more pliable metal.
OK, now I have to get to work. Big props and a big shout out to Medicine Man!
MM:What is that one?
J: 17
What's the name?
J:Curine?
MM: Chlorine.
[Another one.]
Oscar: Chromium?
MM: Chromium. It's a heavy metal.
MM: What would the next one be?
Oscar: Cu?
Yeah, copper.
[later]
MM: Chemical symbol is just another way to say abbreviation.
MM: What if I told you alumnium is a metal? [He picks up a Coke can.] It's made of a very very light metal.
All these boxes, all these elements can be found in nature every day. We're made of elements.
Oscar: You said that's made of metal. Gold..that's kind of hard to squish. How come this is easier.
MM: Not all metals are hard. Some metals are harder than others. If this were made out of steel, it would be hard to crush. Aluminum is a softer, more pliable metal.
OK, now I have to get to work. Big props and a big shout out to Medicine Man!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Chavez History Fair II
Let's go back in time to last Saturday morning for the Chavez History Fair. This was the first time Chavez has had all its 8th-graders take on a History Fair project. The school's theme was World War II, and every student or team of students sliced off a small subtopic related to the war and researched it.
My favorite presentation was about women spies of World War II. School Lady's second-oldest daughter was part of a four-girl team. They read about Julia McWilliams Child and her work for the OSS. They also discovered that Hedy Lamarr had helped invent an early version of frequency-hopping and tried to convince the U.S. government to use the technology to protect radio-guided torpedoes from enemy attempts to jam their guide signals.
The one I noticed that had a real thesis attached was a young man named Emannuel's argument that the U.S. nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unjustified. Though he agreed with the U.S. military's assessment at the time, that Japan would not surrender without either a nuclear attack or a prolonged ground war, he argued that the nuclear option harmed such large numbers of civilians and created so much long-term environmental damage that even a bloody ground war would have been better. I asked him where he was going and he said "probably Kelly." If you're a Kelly staff member reading this, he might be a good candidate for your IB program, or a replacement when somebody you already admitted wipes out.
One of the Brady girls worked with a partner on a presentation about the invasion of Poland as the beginning of World War II. She knew that Germany had conceded territory to Poland after World War I, but she didn't know the argument that the harsh reprisals against Germany and the high cost of reparations were factors in German popular support for Hitler's warmongering.
And Junior, who came over a while ago to work on his project about Latino heroes of World War II, had his board, photos and a popsicle-stick model of the little concrete structure in which a sniper would sit. Now I can't remember the name of it. Though his project was no great shakes as a piece of historical research, his photos were all from the right time period. And he worked hard on it--yay, Junior.
Some other kid's board actually had a Civil War battle scene with Abe Lincoln's face superimposed up in the top right corner. Ouch. Hope we don't see any anachronistic wonders like that next year. On the bright side, they had enough judges they didn't even ask me to do it.
On the even brighter side, Joey's whole 6th-grade teacher team wants to come out to his exhibit next week. That is really cool of them to make time for him over their own spring break (Chavez has two weeks since it is year-round).
My favorite presentation was about women spies of World War II. School Lady's second-oldest daughter was part of a four-girl team. They read about Julia McWilliams Child and her work for the OSS. They also discovered that Hedy Lamarr had helped invent an early version of frequency-hopping and tried to convince the U.S. government to use the technology to protect radio-guided torpedoes from enemy attempts to jam their guide signals.
The one I noticed that had a real thesis attached was a young man named Emannuel's argument that the U.S. nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unjustified. Though he agreed with the U.S. military's assessment at the time, that Japan would not surrender without either a nuclear attack or a prolonged ground war, he argued that the nuclear option harmed such large numbers of civilians and created so much long-term environmental damage that even a bloody ground war would have been better. I asked him where he was going and he said "probably Kelly." If you're a Kelly staff member reading this, he might be a good candidate for your IB program, or a replacement when somebody you already admitted wipes out.
One of the Brady girls worked with a partner on a presentation about the invasion of Poland as the beginning of World War II. She knew that Germany had conceded territory to Poland after World War I, but she didn't know the argument that the harsh reprisals against Germany and the high cost of reparations were factors in German popular support for Hitler's warmongering.
And Junior, who came over a while ago to work on his project about Latino heroes of World War II, had his board, photos and a popsicle-stick model of the little concrete structure in which a sniper would sit. Now I can't remember the name of it. Though his project was no great shakes as a piece of historical research, his photos were all from the right time period. And he worked hard on it--yay, Junior.
Some other kid's board actually had a Civil War battle scene with Abe Lincoln's face superimposed up in the top right corner. Ouch. Hope we don't see any anachronistic wonders like that next year. On the bright side, they had enough judges they didn't even ask me to do it.
On the even brighter side, Joey's whole 6th-grade teacher team wants to come out to his exhibit next week. That is really cool of them to make time for him over their own spring break (Chavez has two weeks since it is year-round).
Thursday, March 06, 2008
New Books for the Hood
Thanks to Alexander Russo at District 299 for posting about a group called First Book, which gets brand-new books into kids' hands that they can take home and keep. Here's what Alexander had to say about them, via a tip from the Community Media Workshop:
"First Book recently established a Chicagoland advisory board, which is now reaching out to teachers and directors of early education and afterschool programs -- along with teen groups, tutoring programs, and ESL classes (some bilingual books are available) -- to participate in the program."
To reach their new Chicagoland advisory board, email chicagolandreads@firstbook.org
or call Peter Gray at 312-953-2894.
I just called and they are emailing me the application for a book grant. I'll see whether Chavez and Su Casa are interested. If you're interested, email me at marshfieldtattler@hotmail.com and I'll forward you the application form. Established nonprofits are eligible to apply.
The tip from Community Media Workshop included a memorable statistic: while middle income neighborhoods have about 13 books for every child, poor neighborhoods may have only one age-appropriate book for every 300 children.
If other neighborhood folks are reading, don't be shy about contacting them or me for the application. My recent experience giving away books around here indicates our kids are hungry for them. And just yesterday after school, one little boy from up the street told me he's been reading the book about basketball he picked out from the stack a couple of weeks ago.
"First Book recently established a Chicagoland advisory board, which is now reaching out to teachers and directors of early education and afterschool programs -- along with teen groups, tutoring programs, and ESL classes (some bilingual books are available) -- to participate in the program."
To reach their new Chicagoland advisory board, email chicagolandreads@firstbook.org
or call Peter Gray at 312-953-2894.
I just called and they are emailing me the application for a book grant. I'll see whether Chavez and Su Casa are interested. If you're interested, email me at marshfieldtattler@hotmail.com and I'll forward you the application form. Established nonprofits are eligible to apply.
The tip from Community Media Workshop included a memorable statistic: while middle income neighborhoods have about 13 books for every child, poor neighborhoods may have only one age-appropriate book for every 300 children.
If other neighborhood folks are reading, don't be shy about contacting them or me for the application. My recent experience giving away books around here indicates our kids are hungry for them. And just yesterday after school, one little boy from up the street told me he's been reading the book about basketball he picked out from the stack a couple of weeks ago.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The ISAT Is Coming
This year's ISAT testing will run March 3-14. Make that March 4 here in Chicago, since we all love Pulaski Day.
I just realized that might have something to do with why two parents I don't know so well approached me in the last week about tutoring their kids. They seemed like they wanted to set up regular gigs, and I'm not able to be very regular about homework help. I gave one mom a couple of numbers to programs I know of in the neighborhood: The Mantle and Holy Cross.
The dad seemed like he wanted to look for some counseling for his son, too. UIC's Mile Square Health Center will be opening a clinic here in the neighborhood very soon, and it will have mental health services, I understand. When I know more, I'll post more. I know his kid better, so we'll see if he wants to bring homework over some time when I am more free than I am this week.
If either of these parents thought I could work a miracle for their kids on the ISAT, they are sadly mistaken. One of them is in danger of failing, apparently. The parent was just up at school recently and got the word.
I know the board has material for parents of kids in 3rd, 6th and 8th grade about testing, and I know some schools and some neighborhoods break it down for parents at least a little earlier in the year than this. I'll have to remember this for next year. Maybe this would be a way to get people together for coffee--here's what you need to know about school this year.
I just realized that might have something to do with why two parents I don't know so well approached me in the last week about tutoring their kids. They seemed like they wanted to set up regular gigs, and I'm not able to be very regular about homework help. I gave one mom a couple of numbers to programs I know of in the neighborhood: The Mantle and Holy Cross.
The dad seemed like he wanted to look for some counseling for his son, too. UIC's Mile Square Health Center will be opening a clinic here in the neighborhood very soon, and it will have mental health services, I understand. When I know more, I'll post more. I know his kid better, so we'll see if he wants to bring homework over some time when I am more free than I am this week.
If either of these parents thought I could work a miracle for their kids on the ISAT, they are sadly mistaken. One of them is in danger of failing, apparently. The parent was just up at school recently and got the word.
I know the board has material for parents of kids in 3rd, 6th and 8th grade about testing, and I know some schools and some neighborhoods break it down for parents at least a little earlier in the year than this. I'll have to remember this for next year. Maybe this would be a way to get people together for coffee--here's what you need to know about school this year.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Free Books!
Thanks to Rebecca Janowitz for donating four boxes of leftover books from the Hyde Park Children's Book Fair for distribution around the neighborhood. Yes, the Bradys eagerly picked up a few. So did Ms. Ribs' grandson, who is an avid reader in second grade. Grandma Ribs suggested he write a paragraph for her when he finishes each book so she'll know what it's about, too. (Grandma was on the LSC at Gage Park High School back in the day, can you tell?)
Little Grandbaby Ribs informed me he is cutting his video game time back to just 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night. He heard too much gaming messes up your hands.
The Ribs' next-door neighbors have two grandsons, who happened to be out front of their grandparents' house when I was about to ring the Ribs' bell. Those boys picked out some books for themselves, too.
Of course the Bradys have had an initial raid, but when they stopped by yesterday I had only brought the first box in. Junior and his brother were here then, too. They all picked out books and the younger kids played a version of Memory with really pretty animal cards while I worked with Junior on his history fair report. Junior and bro came back today for more report research, and they both picked out more books. There was even a baby book in Spanish for their soon-to-arrive little brother.
I'll save some for the Bradys, School Lady's kids, a couple more kids on the next block up, and the little guy a couple of houses north. His aunt is worried about him. She saw me on Ashland last night and told me, "He's not learning anything in school." Looks like we'll talk on Wednesday, when she's off work.
The rest I think can be split up among Chavez, Big Picture, San Miguel and Second Chance. I think there's enough books for people of all different ages and reading levels to go around.
Little Grandbaby Ribs informed me he is cutting his video game time back to just 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night. He heard too much gaming messes up your hands.
The Ribs' next-door neighbors have two grandsons, who happened to be out front of their grandparents' house when I was about to ring the Ribs' bell. Those boys picked out some books for themselves, too.
Of course the Bradys have had an initial raid, but when they stopped by yesterday I had only brought the first box in. Junior and his brother were here then, too. They all picked out books and the younger kids played a version of Memory with really pretty animal cards while I worked with Junior on his history fair report. Junior and bro came back today for more report research, and they both picked out more books. There was even a baby book in Spanish for their soon-to-arrive little brother.
I'll save some for the Bradys, School Lady's kids, a couple more kids on the next block up, and the little guy a couple of houses north. His aunt is worried about him. She saw me on Ashland last night and told me, "He's not learning anything in school." Looks like we'll talk on Wednesday, when she's off work.
The rest I think can be split up among Chavez, Big Picture, San Miguel and Second Chance. I think there's enough books for people of all different ages and reading levels to go around.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
High School Sweepstakes Update
In the interests of transparency, I thought I'd let you all know how things have gone with the 8th graders on my block in the high school sweepstakes so far.
8th graders I know here: Junior, Danny, School Lady's daughter, former Noble Neighborhood daughter, a Brady, and F., a guy I barely know and have to knock on the basement window of his family's apartment to talk to. I feel like there are a couple more 8th-graders on this block that I'm forgetting. So we'll say I've had some contact with 6 out of 8.
Five of the six went with me to the high school fair and at least got some information and exposure there. Four of the six got applications from me for Perspectives Math & Science Academy. Two got them back--one in time for the lottery (coming on Friday) and one got it back to me too late and will go straight to the wait list.
One, Junior, actually got an application for UIC College Prep (Noble) and went in the lottery. He is now wait listed. The Brady girl has older sisters at another Noble school, so she gets automatic admit to a Noble. I'm not sure if she's planning to go to UIC or to the same school her sisters attend (it's farther away). Former Noble Neighborhood daughter and her mom tried to come to the UIC College prep info session but they got lost and we didn't connect by phone. Danny is still waiting to hear from Curie and Whitney Young.
Results; one of six is for sure in a school to which I'd send my own kid if I had one. One more is waitlisted at one charter and still has a shot at another. One more is waitlisted at one charter and waiting to hear about a public school she might be OK at (Kennedy). One more might get into Curie if we're damn lucky. Two are AWOL--one of them I might be able to get waitlisted at Noble and Perspectives, but who knows how much good that will do. So the block is one for eight, and that's one I certainly can't claim my efforts had any effect on.
What can I say about what has worked? Parents who are on top of education (i.e. the Bradys) do have more success. Some parents can be worried into it--like Junior's mom, who is worried sick about him. Despite all the crises in her life right now, she made it a priority to get his stuff done, and I was able to help (like getting Junior to write his application essay, which was no small feat). But other parents want to be on top of the process and I am the flaky one--the former Noble neighborhood people, School Lady. I wasn't as organized or consistent about getting them timely information as one could be, and they suffered as a result.
Now let's talk about the schools and the process. It is abundantly clear that some charter schools are much easier to access than others. If you want an application for Perspectives, you go to their web site, download one and fill it out. That can be a stretch for parents who lack Internet access or the knowledge to go there, but with a helping hand from somebody (a friend/neighbor, ideally the school counselor--hello!) that could be figured out.
Noble, by contrast, makes it much harder to get an application--the kid and a parent have to show up in person at a meeting, some of which were held during regular working hours. It was pretty hard to find the schedule of meetings, too--at least it took me a while and I like to think I'm pretty savvy. Then the application required an essay with a word length, and they checked. So anybody who gets in that lottery has already shown a pretty high level of both persistence and intellectual skill (this goes for both the kid and the parent). At the lottery last night, they passed out the entire list of eligible applicants by name and current elementary school. No surprise, many were from magnets, classical & gifted schools and some from Catholic and other private schools. I've heard rumors that charters get a list of high achieving 8th graders from which to recruit, but I frankly doubt that is necessary. All those parents know how the game is played and are playing 100 percent for their kid. That's enough.
Now for what the elementary schools here are doing. At the UIC lottery last night I counted 30 kids from Seward on the list. Junior was the only one from Chavez. I know that both the Seward counselor and a teacher over there have worked really hard to make sure kids know their options. The teacher even drove kids and parents to UIC info sessions so they could get applications. I'll have to try to deepen relationships at Chavez for next year so our kids have a better chance.
8th graders I know here: Junior, Danny, School Lady's daughter, former Noble Neighborhood daughter, a Brady, and F., a guy I barely know and have to knock on the basement window of his family's apartment to talk to. I feel like there are a couple more 8th-graders on this block that I'm forgetting. So we'll say I've had some contact with 6 out of 8.
Five of the six went with me to the high school fair and at least got some information and exposure there. Four of the six got applications from me for Perspectives Math & Science Academy. Two got them back--one in time for the lottery (coming on Friday) and one got it back to me too late and will go straight to the wait list.
One, Junior, actually got an application for UIC College Prep (Noble) and went in the lottery. He is now wait listed. The Brady girl has older sisters at another Noble school, so she gets automatic admit to a Noble. I'm not sure if she's planning to go to UIC or to the same school her sisters attend (it's farther away). Former Noble Neighborhood daughter and her mom tried to come to the UIC College prep info session but they got lost and we didn't connect by phone. Danny is still waiting to hear from Curie and Whitney Young.
Results; one of six is for sure in a school to which I'd send my own kid if I had one. One more is waitlisted at one charter and still has a shot at another. One more is waitlisted at one charter and waiting to hear about a public school she might be OK at (Kennedy). One more might get into Curie if we're damn lucky. Two are AWOL--one of them I might be able to get waitlisted at Noble and Perspectives, but who knows how much good that will do. So the block is one for eight, and that's one I certainly can't claim my efforts had any effect on.
What can I say about what has worked? Parents who are on top of education (i.e. the Bradys) do have more success. Some parents can be worried into it--like Junior's mom, who is worried sick about him. Despite all the crises in her life right now, she made it a priority to get his stuff done, and I was able to help (like getting Junior to write his application essay, which was no small feat). But other parents want to be on top of the process and I am the flaky one--the former Noble neighborhood people, School Lady. I wasn't as organized or consistent about getting them timely information as one could be, and they suffered as a result.
Now let's talk about the schools and the process. It is abundantly clear that some charter schools are much easier to access than others. If you want an application for Perspectives, you go to their web site, download one and fill it out. That can be a stretch for parents who lack Internet access or the knowledge to go there, but with a helping hand from somebody (a friend/neighbor, ideally the school counselor--hello!) that could be figured out.
Noble, by contrast, makes it much harder to get an application--the kid and a parent have to show up in person at a meeting, some of which were held during regular working hours. It was pretty hard to find the schedule of meetings, too--at least it took me a while and I like to think I'm pretty savvy. Then the application required an essay with a word length, and they checked. So anybody who gets in that lottery has already shown a pretty high level of both persistence and intellectual skill (this goes for both the kid and the parent). At the lottery last night, they passed out the entire list of eligible applicants by name and current elementary school. No surprise, many were from magnets, classical & gifted schools and some from Catholic and other private schools. I've heard rumors that charters get a list of high achieving 8th graders from which to recruit, but I frankly doubt that is necessary. All those parents know how the game is played and are playing 100 percent for their kid. That's enough.
Now for what the elementary schools here are doing. At the UIC lottery last night I counted 30 kids from Seward on the list. Junior was the only one from Chavez. I know that both the Seward counselor and a teacher over there have worked really hard to make sure kids know their options. The teacher even drove kids and parents to UIC info sessions so they could get applications. I'll have to try to deepen relationships at Chavez for next year so our kids have a better chance.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
More Fun with Science
My three friends from across the street came over yesterday. Junior needed to get his homework done. He had to describe various kinds of indicators you use in science, like pH paper, or litmus paper as I knew it back in the day. This got us talking about acids and bases, so of course I decided it was time to drag out the baking soda and vinegar. Fortunately we had some white vinegar in the house. I wonder if you could do a science fair project about the reactivity of different kinds of vinegar with baking soda--white vinegar, wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar, for example. I think I just wrote them in order of decreasing acidity, so less reactivity with baking soda, one would imagine. But how would you measure less reactivity? Less fizz? hmmm...
Anyway, the guys liked watching the baking soda fizz when I poured vinegar on it. We all tasted it afterwards. The youngest one was the first to try after I demonstrated. "Just try it--you'll see it doesn't taste as sour now."
The littlest one went for it. "Yeah, you're right," he said. He didn't get grossed out or anything, unlike Junior or Junior's buddy, who really made a face after his taste.
I called my mom, the retired chemist, before we started, just to make sure we wouldn't blow anything up. I hadn't done this in ages so I didn't remember if it was just a little fizzy or if it got hot or anything. Mom Chemist suggested putting the bowl in the sink just to be sure it wouldn't fizz up and hit somebody in the eye, since I don't have goggles. It was fine, quite tame, of course. Now if I knew how to make one of those volcanoes....
Joey was kind of into volcanoes a couple of years ago. We made a volcano in the snow, but just kinds of drew on some lava trails. It would be cool to make a model volcano that fizzed thanks to baking soda and vinegar. I think I saw that on the Brady Bunch years ago.
Anyway, there are way cool things you can make yourself at Tinkering School, like this cool bottleboat submarine. Thanks to Alexander Russo at District 299 and the Science After School blog for linking to a video talk by the founder of Tinkering School, which led me to his site.
Anyway, the guys liked watching the baking soda fizz when I poured vinegar on it. We all tasted it afterwards. The youngest one was the first to try after I demonstrated. "Just try it--you'll see it doesn't taste as sour now."
The littlest one went for it. "Yeah, you're right," he said. He didn't get grossed out or anything, unlike Junior or Junior's buddy, who really made a face after his taste.
I called my mom, the retired chemist, before we started, just to make sure we wouldn't blow anything up. I hadn't done this in ages so I didn't remember if it was just a little fizzy or if it got hot or anything. Mom Chemist suggested putting the bowl in the sink just to be sure it wouldn't fizz up and hit somebody in the eye, since I don't have goggles. It was fine, quite tame, of course. Now if I knew how to make one of those volcanoes....
Joey was kind of into volcanoes a couple of years ago. We made a volcano in the snow, but just kinds of drew on some lava trails. It would be cool to make a model volcano that fizzed thanks to baking soda and vinegar. I think I saw that on the Brady Bunch years ago.
Anyway, there are way cool things you can make yourself at Tinkering School, like this cool bottleboat submarine. Thanks to Alexander Russo at District 299 and the Science After School blog for linking to a video talk by the founder of Tinkering School, which led me to his site.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Joey's New Year's Resolution
...appears to be to do his homework. I am not arguing. (I do wonder if his folks took away his game until he gets his project done, like they did when we were trying to get another book read last year. It is an effective motivator.)
Last night I was at Joey's house and his mom had been nagging him about his homework. "He's mad," she told me (with a little of that wry parental amusement I'm beginning to understand).
"I've been working on it," he told me. I went over to his room to see what he had. He had a folded up piece of orange posterboard, the book, Bone #5, which he had barely started (not surprising, since we know he can't read worth a lick yet), and some practice writing the title in cool-looking script letters. I asked if he wanted to come read the story at my house later this week and he said yes. He was on my doorstep this afternoon. I dropped my deadline writing project instantly and started reading the book to him.
For a kid with signs of dyslexia, he's sure into the alphabet. (Maybe that makes sense, actually. Apparently he can look at each letter lots of different ways, and that's the problem when it comes time to read something. See The Gift of Dyslexia, which I still have to read.) For Christmas I got him a book on calligraphy and a cool set of pens, paints and inks to do illustrated manuscripts. He had just the book until today, and he had already started learning one of the alphabets with just a pencil. This afternoon, after we got a couple of chapters into Bone, we took a break and opened up the calligraphy set. He tried writing my name and adding some flowers. It looks cool.
He took the set home and in the few hours between 3 and 8:30 p.m. (some of which he was bowling and eating pizza), he figured out how to use both nibs in the set and used them to write Bone in this incredibly fancy black lettering with gold trim. If his first try looks cool, the second looks truly amazing.
So we read the entire book in one day--I got hooked and couldn't stop reading in the middle myself--the chapter endings are classic cliffhangers and you always want to know what happens next. I did manage to stop before the last chapter and take a little more time for business before starting the pizza and bowling fest mentioned above.
When we got back, I took myself out to dinner at La Cecina. Just as I was wrapping up, my cell rang. It was Joey. "Maritza, are you home? Can I come read the book?" He had to wait for me to come home, but within half an hour we back into it, immersed in the last chapter. As a graphic novel, it probably had fewer words than Goosebumps and went faster, but the ideas were more complex: is war the answer? is power the only good? Stuff like that. We didn't talk too deeply about those issues--I mostly kind of checked in with him as we went along, asking comprehension and prediction questions, sometimes asking how he thought characters felt and why they were doing what they were doing. We'll talk about the bigger ideas on Saturday.
For now, he can draw the picture of the pivotal part of the book for the main part of the posterboard, and do a box of characters along the side. We'll do the more writing-oriented stuff together on Saturday after we get back from signing him up for a class at Marwen.
It just kills me--he totally gets stories when they are read to him--he loves movies--he just spent most of this break watching and re-watching Stomp the Yard--but whatever inner glitch is in there between his eyes and his brain is keeping his nose out of books. Dang. Do I have to get a master's in reading to help him out or what???
Oh, and he brought me a DVD of the DaVinci Code. "I thought you'd like it," he said.
"I read the book," I told him. "I've been kinda wanting to see the movie."
Last night I was at Joey's house and his mom had been nagging him about his homework. "He's mad," she told me (with a little of that wry parental amusement I'm beginning to understand).
"I've been working on it," he told me. I went over to his room to see what he had. He had a folded up piece of orange posterboard, the book, Bone #5, which he had barely started (not surprising, since we know he can't read worth a lick yet), and some practice writing the title in cool-looking script letters. I asked if he wanted to come read the story at my house later this week and he said yes. He was on my doorstep this afternoon. I dropped my deadline writing project instantly and started reading the book to him.
For a kid with signs of dyslexia, he's sure into the alphabet. (Maybe that makes sense, actually. Apparently he can look at each letter lots of different ways, and that's the problem when it comes time to read something. See The Gift of Dyslexia, which I still have to read.) For Christmas I got him a book on calligraphy and a cool set of pens, paints and inks to do illustrated manuscripts. He had just the book until today, and he had already started learning one of the alphabets with just a pencil. This afternoon, after we got a couple of chapters into Bone, we took a break and opened up the calligraphy set. He tried writing my name and adding some flowers. It looks cool.
He took the set home and in the few hours between 3 and 8:30 p.m. (some of which he was bowling and eating pizza), he figured out how to use both nibs in the set and used them to write Bone in this incredibly fancy black lettering with gold trim. If his first try looks cool, the second looks truly amazing.
So we read the entire book in one day--I got hooked and couldn't stop reading in the middle myself--the chapter endings are classic cliffhangers and you always want to know what happens next. I did manage to stop before the last chapter and take a little more time for business before starting the pizza and bowling fest mentioned above.
When we got back, I took myself out to dinner at La Cecina. Just as I was wrapping up, my cell rang. It was Joey. "Maritza, are you home? Can I come read the book?" He had to wait for me to come home, but within half an hour we back into it, immersed in the last chapter. As a graphic novel, it probably had fewer words than Goosebumps and went faster, but the ideas were more complex: is war the answer? is power the only good? Stuff like that. We didn't talk too deeply about those issues--I mostly kind of checked in with him as we went along, asking comprehension and prediction questions, sometimes asking how he thought characters felt and why they were doing what they were doing. We'll talk about the bigger ideas on Saturday.
For now, he can draw the picture of the pivotal part of the book for the main part of the posterboard, and do a box of characters along the side. We'll do the more writing-oriented stuff together on Saturday after we get back from signing him up for a class at Marwen.
It just kills me--he totally gets stories when they are read to him--he loves movies--he just spent most of this break watching and re-watching Stomp the Yard--but whatever inner glitch is in there between his eyes and his brain is keeping his nose out of books. Dang. Do I have to get a master's in reading to help him out or what???
Oh, and he brought me a DVD of the DaVinci Code. "I thought you'd like it," he said.
"I read the book," I told him. "I've been kinda wanting to see the movie."
Saturday, December 29, 2007
2007 Year in Review
It seems very unlikely I'll have another chance to post again before 2008 arrives, so here's a quick review of the best and worst moments of 2007 on Marshfield Avenue and beyond, from this limited perspective.
Block/neighborhood highlights
Big Picture successes: the play with Teatro Vista, first graduating class, Day of the Dead show
New neighbors--the Bradys
The Peace & Education Scholarship fundraiser, which I believe raised $80,000 for scholarships for local youth regardless of immigration status
The barbecue, despite its aftermath.
Five moms for coffee-I'm sorry I haven't followed up, but I hope it was a good bridge-builder for the moms to get to know each other.
The High School Fair van! I can't find a post about getting eight kids from the block to the high school fair, but we did it.
Getting the abandoned house resealed--thanks to help from Neighborhood Housing Services.
Our whole side of the block shoveling the sidewalk right away after the December big snow! Even if Yup-yup was part of it.
Block/neighborhood heartbreakers
The fight to save Big Picture--no one seems to know what next year holds, but it doesn't look good.
Chris Pineda's murder. Let's remember the outpouring of love and support at his funeral here.
Shots on our block, and on the next block up
The Halloween murder of Leticia Barrera
Dorothy's disappearance--I haven't written about this, hoping she'll come back, but since the house got boarded up she's been gone. It hasn't stopped Yup-yup. He doesn't talk about her; he has that new bucktoothed girl to hang out with. Unlike before with Priscilla, I don't know that Dorothy's disappearance means good things for her. Let's hope and pray it does.
While you're hoping and praying, keep my favorite next door neighbors in there, too. Dawn, Julian, Jr., Joey and their parents are all having big ups and downs right now. Let's hope 2008 brings good tidings and peace to them, and to all of us here in Back of the Yards.
Oh, and one last thing that made 2007 special--the arrival of a roommate who hasn't caused any tropical storms, so I don't write about him here. We'll call him Medicine Man, since he's an aspiring doctor, staying with me for a year while he serves as an Americorps volunteer in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood. On top of his day job and med school applications/interviews, Medicine Man has quietly paid his rent on time, loaned me his car, made coffee for moms, and helped schlep the 8th-graders to the high school fair. You rock!
Block/neighborhood highlights
Big Picture successes: the play with Teatro Vista, first graduating class, Day of the Dead show
New neighbors--the Bradys
The Peace & Education Scholarship fundraiser, which I believe raised $80,000 for scholarships for local youth regardless of immigration status
The barbecue, despite its aftermath.
Five moms for coffee-I'm sorry I haven't followed up, but I hope it was a good bridge-builder for the moms to get to know each other.
The High School Fair van! I can't find a post about getting eight kids from the block to the high school fair, but we did it.
Getting the abandoned house resealed--thanks to help from Neighborhood Housing Services.
Our whole side of the block shoveling the sidewalk right away after the December big snow! Even if Yup-yup was part of it.
Block/neighborhood heartbreakers
The fight to save Big Picture--no one seems to know what next year holds, but it doesn't look good.
Chris Pineda's murder. Let's remember the outpouring of love and support at his funeral here.
Shots on our block, and on the next block up
The Halloween murder of Leticia Barrera
Dorothy's disappearance--I haven't written about this, hoping she'll come back, but since the house got boarded up she's been gone. It hasn't stopped Yup-yup. He doesn't talk about her; he has that new bucktoothed girl to hang out with. Unlike before with Priscilla, I don't know that Dorothy's disappearance means good things for her. Let's hope and pray it does.
While you're hoping and praying, keep my favorite next door neighbors in there, too. Dawn, Julian, Jr., Joey and their parents are all having big ups and downs right now. Let's hope 2008 brings good tidings and peace to them, and to all of us here in Back of the Yards.
Oh, and one last thing that made 2007 special--the arrival of a roommate who hasn't caused any tropical storms, so I don't write about him here. We'll call him Medicine Man, since he's an aspiring doctor, staying with me for a year while he serves as an Americorps volunteer in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood. On top of his day job and med school applications/interviews, Medicine Man has quietly paid his rent on time, loaned me his car, made coffee for moms, and helped schlep the 8th-graders to the high school fair. You rock!
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