Well, things did not go so well for Junior tonight in the UIC College Prep admissions lottery. He got pulled out of the golden raffle bin at number 96 of 198. Another 230 kids got pulled ahead of the wait list and won admission on the spot. Ouch.
To save you doing the math, that meant there were 428 applicants for 230 spaces, or almost two kids for every slot.
Goint there, it was snowing hard and even under long johns my legs stung from the cold while walking over to the Behavioral Sciences building from the Ashland bus. I was glad Junior and his mom had not come. She just got off bed rest-she didn't need to be out in that weather.
About 200 people showed up--on a rough head count, 80 percent were Latino, 20 percent African American. I saw two white families in the crowd and one other white lady by herself, like me. She picked up a letter for a winning student with a Latino name, so I wondered whether she was his mother or just another do-gooder like yours truly.
They showed some stats on a projector before the lottery started. Significantly more girls than boys applied, though I no longer remember the exact numbers.
If I were a parent, I could not have stood the agony of waiting to see whether my kid got picked, nor the disappointment when he didn't. This is a very strong impetus to get involved with the plans for a new neighborhood high school, I'll tell you.
There are two possibilities still on the table. First, it looked like many applicants, and many of those chosen, were from magnets and gifted centers, so this may have been their insurance policy in case they didn't get into a selective enrollment school. So some number of those admitted probably won't take the offer, which means some wait-list kids will get in. However, I doubt that will get us to number 96.
More encouraging is Noble Network's promise that the kids on the UIC College Prep wait list will be invited to take open slots at other Noble Network Schools. They have a couple of schools that don't have a full 9-12 grade complement yet, and I'm not sure if they are opening any other schools besides UIC. The things is, this still may not help Junior that much, because his mom is really worried that he will struggle to manage a complicated commute, and most of the other buildings I know of will be further away and more trouble to get to.
He still has one more chance--the Perspectives Math & Science Academy is Friday, and he's in that one. Someone else on the block got her application to me but too late for the lottery--she'll go straight to the waiting list.
Showing posts with label 60607. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 60607. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
UIC/Noble Today
Yesterday I tried to work the block. I called Junior's house and his dad answered the phone. They sounded interested, but his dad said they would call me back to confirm yes for sure. Then I went to Christina's house, but nobody was home. Then I went to see School Lady and her 8th grader. Her little sister and her dad were home, so I gave them the time and address for today.
I RSVP-d to UIC College Prep to say I had one family for sure and possibly two more. But I only got the answering machine, so I was a little worried maybe they had already left (it was 4:30 on Friday when I called) and they had given up. But I figured I should just try to get as many people to go as I could, and just show up.
Later, I went to the Brady's and knocked upstairs. Their younger daughter/sister, now in 8th grade, had Christina's number. Her mom said they would go--she'd drive. I was really happy about that. They had been at the session yesterday morning. One of the older girls, who goes to Rauner, helped explain the school. They got a family on Paulina to apply.
Junior called me last night to say they would go, but my cell phone ran out of battery so I got the message this morning. I called and they said Junior and his mom could drive me over with them. (Whew!--Medicine Man's not here so I couldn't use the car.)
We got there early, about 9:30. Fortunately someone was there working, and let us in. (Thanks, Marty! Afterwards, Junior and his mom were surprised and pleased you spoke Spanish with them.) They held the meeting in a UIC office building on Halsted just south of Roosevelt. The school will be near UIC Medical Center, by Ashland and Polk, which would make it reasonably easy to get to from here--hopefully it would be an easy walk from the Ashland bus.
The principal, Mr. Sicat, arrived at 10. He was great, very energetic and personable, and didn't seem to mind we only had one family present. He spoke a little Spanish, and I translated summary versions of things for Junior's mom. He explained how Noble Network schools work in terms of uniform and discipline--Junior's mom really liked that. Junior got interested in the idea of learning more about medical careers. He actually helped translate at the hospital for his mom when she had to go to the emergency room for the ruptured placenta.
Mr. Sicat gave me a tip--it's possible to get students on the wait list for Noble Network schools through their main office. I'll have to try to do that for the kids who missed the session today, especially Danny and Christina.
I RSVP-d to UIC College Prep to say I had one family for sure and possibly two more. But I only got the answering machine, so I was a little worried maybe they had already left (it was 4:30 on Friday when I called) and they had given up. But I figured I should just try to get as many people to go as I could, and just show up.
Later, I went to the Brady's and knocked upstairs. Their younger daughter/sister, now in 8th grade, had Christina's number. Her mom said they would go--she'd drive. I was really happy about that. They had been at the session yesterday morning. One of the older girls, who goes to Rauner, helped explain the school. They got a family on Paulina to apply.
Junior called me last night to say they would go, but my cell phone ran out of battery so I got the message this morning. I called and they said Junior and his mom could drive me over with them. (Whew!--Medicine Man's not here so I couldn't use the car.)
We got there early, about 9:30. Fortunately someone was there working, and let us in. (Thanks, Marty! Afterwards, Junior and his mom were surprised and pleased you spoke Spanish with them.) They held the meeting in a UIC office building on Halsted just south of Roosevelt. The school will be near UIC Medical Center, by Ashland and Polk, which would make it reasonably easy to get to from here--hopefully it would be an easy walk from the Ashland bus.
The principal, Mr. Sicat, arrived at 10. He was great, very energetic and personable, and didn't seem to mind we only had one family present. He spoke a little Spanish, and I translated summary versions of things for Junior's mom. He explained how Noble Network schools work in terms of uniform and discipline--Junior's mom really liked that. Junior got interested in the idea of learning more about medical careers. He actually helped translate at the hospital for his mom when she had to go to the emergency room for the ruptured placenta.
Mr. Sicat gave me a tip--it's possible to get students on the wait list for Noble Network schools through their main office. I'll have to try to do that for the kids who missed the session today, especially Danny and Christina.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
UIC/Noble Applicant Info This Saturday
If you are reading this blog and are an 8th grader/8th grade parent from Back of the Yards, or know someone who is, or even if you are in a different neighborhood but you are interested in applying to the UIC/Noble charter high school that will open next September, you're invited to this event:
Saturday 1/26, 10 a.m.
1253 S. Halsted
Metered parking and a garage that costs $2 for less than two hours are nearby.
Information will be presented in Spanish and English.
It is very hard to get applications for this school. You must attend the session to obtain an application, and this is the last chance to do that.
If you are reading this and plan to attend, could you email me at marshfieldtattler.hotmail.com? I am supposed to call them Friday at 5 p.m. with a head count.
I muscled UIC/Noble into doing one more Saturday session--their last scheduled session is Friday at 10 a.m. in the same location, but I'm out of town and I knew my neighbors couldn't make it at that time due to work schedules. Danny's taking the selective enrollment test that morning, so he can't go, but I'm going to get an application for him if it kills me. I left a message for Junior--he'd have to miss CCD, but I think his mom would go for it--she's really worried about high school for him. I need to get Peter Pan's mom's number--they used to live near the original Noble Street in West Town and Peter Pan is interested. If his older sister applies and gets in this year, he'd have sibling preference next year. Peter Pan is a bright kid with leadership potential, but his teachers agree with me that he could go either way really easily, so a good school to keep him on track will be important. Noble is pretty strict, which would be good for him, I think.
Saturday 1/26, 10 a.m.
1253 S. Halsted
Metered parking and a garage that costs $2 for less than two hours are nearby.
Information will be presented in Spanish and English.
It is very hard to get applications for this school. You must attend the session to obtain an application, and this is the last chance to do that.
If you are reading this and plan to attend, could you email me at marshfieldtattler.hotmail.com? I am supposed to call them Friday at 5 p.m. with a head count.
I muscled UIC/Noble into doing one more Saturday session--their last scheduled session is Friday at 10 a.m. in the same location, but I'm out of town and I knew my neighbors couldn't make it at that time due to work schedules. Danny's taking the selective enrollment test that morning, so he can't go, but I'm going to get an application for him if it kills me. I left a message for Junior--he'd have to miss CCD, but I think his mom would go for it--she's really worried about high school for him. I need to get Peter Pan's mom's number--they used to live near the original Noble Street in West Town and Peter Pan is interested. If his older sister applies and gets in this year, he'd have sibling preference next year. Peter Pan is a bright kid with leadership potential, but his teachers agree with me that he could go either way really easily, so a good school to keep him on track will be important. Noble is pretty strict, which would be good for him, I think.
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