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Showing posts with label local school council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label local school council. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

WBEZ: Vote Leaves Black Students Far More Likely To Have Police In School Than Other Teens

For a second we're going back to the latest in having Chicago Police in CPS schools. In the news a good number of schools have voted to have police taken out of the schools. However this WBEZ report is interesting:
After weeks of voting by elected school councils on whether to keep police in schools, only about 24% of 72 Chicago public schools with officers will be removed, leaving the vast majority of school police officers in place after a summer of intense protests advocating for their removal.

The Board of Education considered ending the school resource officer program in June, but the measure was narrowly defeated. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the schools chief and some board members said the decision should be left up to local councils, made up of parents, teachers and community members.
...
The result: The percentage of white and Latino students at schools with police officers will drop significantly in the coming school year. Now, about 48% of white students and 54% of Latino students at traditional city high schools will go to schools with police.

Meanwhile, about 73% of Black students will continue to be at schools with police. (The school district’s SRO program does not include charter schools.) Last school year, about 85% of students — regardless of race — went to a school with police officers.
After what happened at the end of May it's suspicious that this issues is getting attention. It's correct that schools should decide whether or not they should have police officers posted. It also should be up to school what other personnel needs to be at the schools for the students. 

Friday, May 30, 2014

Mechanics: I Ran for Local School Council and Maybe I Even Won!

The author of this article - Phil Huckleberry - discusses his experience as a candidate for his neighborhood school's LSC. He apparently won the election, but discovered at a recent meeting that the results have been challenged. That school's LSC won't meeting until next year after new elections, and the school's LSC functions would be governed instead by CPS' central office. Something pertinent Mr. Huckleberry said in his piece:
Now, this story isn't about me and my awe-inspiring 21 votes. It's not about whether or not there was some sort of problem with the election.

This is a story about bureaucracy.

I can rail against charter schools or say negative things about the mayor just like a lot of people who write words that get put on the Internet. I can talk about how great Karen Lewis is just like the next cherished Chicago journalist.

But here is the crux of the situation: Bureaucracies put bureaucracy first. And the reality is that Chicago Public Schools is a horrifically clunky bureaucracy, steeped in nonsensical inefficiencies, ultimately overseen by an unelected board who are themselves nothing more than hand-picked highly privileged bureaucrats. The system is failing its students because the system is more important than the students.

There are a lot of smart and dedicated administrators within CPS. But things are never truly going to turn around so long as everything is about CPS and not about the actual students.
I suggest you read the whole thing, and of course we hope to hear your thoughts on this.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

LSC elections & thoughts on the state of education


Monday and Tuesday are days for LSC Elections. Monday was LSC election for elementary schools and Tuesday are such days for the high schools.
It was my intention to post the above flyer over the weekend unfortunately it seems I kept running into a snag with regards to posting it online whether through Blogger or the FB page. Anyway if you're living at least in the Roseland Heights or West Chesterfield area you may have found this in your screendoors or mailboxes. Sharon Banks-Pincham represents the community on the LSCs for both Gillespie Elementary and Harlan Community Academy.

Hopefully you were able to be informed of the LSC elections on Monday and were able to vote. Hopefully you're able to vote on Tuesday for LSC members at your local high schools.

Speaking of education, on Monday Rich Miller of the Capitol Fax ranted about the state of education in Illinois. Many of us are concerned about the state of education in Chicago especially for the K-12 set. So he starts out with a piece comparing charter schools with the neighborhood public schools and states:
Obviously, there’s very little difference here, which will cause some to scream “Then why do we need charter schools at all?”

I make no apologies for disliking the industrial education model. I prefer choice. I think people ought to have choices.

And, like with neighborhood schools, not all charter schools are meh. Some are quite good. Sometimes, experiments fail. We shouldn’t be afraid to experiment. What’s needed is an overall improvement in all schools.
 And then more food for thought. Miller opines about CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett stated aim of ensuring 100% of graduating CPS students to be college-ready or college-bound:
First of all, that’s just not true or else lots, lots more would be done to improve the schools. Secondly, this over-emphasis on taking tests (with the resultant uproar over what are likely quite meaningless results) and driving kids to attend college is philosophically wrong-headed, whether in Chicago or the suburbs or Downstate.

* Don’t get me wrong here. I do not think kids should be discouraged from attending college, but why saddle a student with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just for the sake of having a so-so degree from a so-so university?

Why not foster the development of more high schools, charter or otherwise, that focus on tech/trade careers? Do you know how much operating engineers make?

* When a system’s entire focus is “100 percent college-bound” you’re not giving students nearly enough choices. Period.
...
Teach them to be good citizens. Teach them how to comprehend language and to do math. But give them choices in how to get there.
What direction do you think education policy should go?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Meeting schedule for the Bennett Shedd LSC

Just got a copy at the latest meeting but if anything should change refer to the about page and get in touch with the school. For Bennett School the phone no. is (773) 535.5460.

As per the most recent LSC meeting on Oct. 12, there is now a Parent Representative vacancy on the LSC. If you're the parent of a Bennett-Shedd student this is one way to get involved!
Bennett Shedd LSC 2011-12 Schedule

Monday, June 13, 2011

It's graduation season at Bennett-Shedd...

Today Bennett's 8th graders had their commencement. Tommorrow - June 14th - there will be a ceremony for Bennet-Shedd's Kindergartners (KGs). It was announced at the last LSC meeting that they wanted to bring the KGs from Shedd so that they can also use Bennett's auditorium.

When I graduated from Shedd's KG program years ago, there was a ceremony held at the Shedd's auditorium/gymnasium. We used a stage or platform that could be pulled out for specially occasions such as awards ceremonies.

I unfortunately do not have many reminders of this ceremony except more than likely a cap & gown where the tassle was attached to the cap. Probably because young children tend to lose things. I have no certificate from back then and I no longer have my KG class pic. Also I recall finding a program from that day and didn't have the foresight to hold onto one of those.

There are pics that are in an album around the house with pictures of my and my family on the day of the KG ceremony. Around the time of my KG ceremony my bother graduated from Harlan High School. So there are some pictures in that album of him doing commencement at Third Baptist Church near 95th & Ashland.

Either way Shedd's auditorium/gymnasium also became the schools' lunchroom and computer lab before I moved onto Bennett School for 7th & 8th grade. For the purposes of a computer lab the school librarian - Mr. Hackenbrock - would roll the computers on trolleys in order for us to mainly play various computer games. Some of us would play a version of Prince of Persia but also Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, or even Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?

After many years of either allowing students to leave home to eat lunch or most students bringing a lunch to school with them, Shedd brought in the lunch program. Thus the gym also became a lunchroom and when there was gym classes usually on Thursdays classes would be held with folded lunchtables and platforms for assemblies off to the side. Rarely as obstacles but they were there.

Well this year KGs won't have the experience I had close to a quarter of a century ago. Can't believe it's been that long ago, but this post was allowed to go a little too long this evening. :P

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The door to the Bennett School library

Went to the Bennett-Shedd LSC meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Only got this pic when I felt bold enough to snap a shot!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Shedd School in mourning a month after death of Principal

This black bunting was over the windows to the gym at Shedd School last week. The night before the message for Mrs. Ellis was still up and the American flag was still at half staff. By the end of the week the bunting had been removed the sign had recorded future events at Shedd & Bennett. It appears the mourning is officially over as Shedd.

If you've been following this blog since early last January, Mrs. Ellis was the principal at Bennett-Shedd until her untimely demise last month.

This week on Wednesday at 3:30 PM at Bennett School will be an LSC meeting. The next one without Mrs. Ellis.