Neighbors Making a Difference by Terri Shonder

Neighbors Making a Difference, “Building Schools” January 24, 2008

I attended a roundtable discussion, Neighbors Making a Difference. The discussion literally focused on “Building Schools” and schools’ positive effects on the neighborhood. The speakers were two neighborhood women who saw a desperate need for a new school in their low-income neighborhood. Their strategy focused on improved teachers, improved curriculum and the knowledge that school success equals community success.

Both groups of parents were professionally trained by groups such as Little Village Community Development Corporation (LVCD) and Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI). Through these organizations parents were taught to lead and mobilize other parents for their cause which allowed them to participate in discussions and the design of the building. They discussed obstacles they faced such as information not arriving home, that was solved by personally passing out literature at drop off and pick up. They requested families to attend meetings as well as for their input, this lead to more families and neighbors becoming involved. Principals at both schools were supportive and provided meeting rooms.

Trung Le, a designer of learning spaces spoke about the future competition for jobs and that school curriculum needs to change in order to compete with students overseas. The future goal should be customized learning centers that reflect the multi-tasking of 20th Century children.

Robert Guerico, Principal of Bell School in Chicago spoke with pride of the schools successful parental involvement. As Principal, Mr. Guerico encourages parents to challenge the school board, attend meetings and ask questions. Bell School has an open door policy; the parents feel welcome which fosters strong communication between the school and its parents. The school administration supported parents to form a non-profit group called “Friends of Bell”. This group writes a school newsletter (funded by business donations); helps educate students in fine arts, formed an inclusion group for special needs and technology committees, and budgeted by the school. The priority at Bell School is to serve the community and their key to success is people are “proud to be there”.

The common theme of the speakers was the schools were part of the neighborhood and the school/parent/neighborhood partnership works. The parents were so inspirational, they would not take no for an answer, they continued to knock on doors until they were heard. I related their situations to ours in Berwyn; I reminded myself that the schools were in Chicago, run by the government of Chicago. Even though Berwyn has a different school structure parents should not be afraid to question the school board and band together for the good of the students.

What it Takes... by Shelley Titzer

Arne Duncan, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, was interviewed on Sunday morning on Channel 7. He talked about some of the expansions of education that have occurred in Chicago recently. I was reminded of The New York Times article, "What It Takes To Make a Student" that thoroughly examined the real possibility of closing the achievement gap. An article in a BerwynCARES newsletter (on page 4) last year referenced the NYT article and the achievement gap here in Berwyn. One idea from that article is that low-income, minority, and at-risk students don't need the same education, they need MORE. From what I heard Arne Duncan say, Chicago is embracing this idea. Chicago spent $30 million on full day kindergarten so that most Chicago kindergarteners (95%) attend school full day. 200 Chicago Public Schools are open on Saturdays. Many schools double as community centers where parents learn along with their children by taking evening and weekend courses.


Oak Park District 97 is considering offering full-day kindergarten in SOME of their schools, the ones with the higher percentage of at risk children. I think this is a great example of targeting limited resources and rejecting a "one size fits all " approach, though the plan is to eventually expand full-day K to all Oak Park schools.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-district97_25jan25,1,2194992.story

Researchers and educators across the country (and here in the Chicago area)
increasingly report that What it Takes is MORE. More funding. More hours. More
resources. More teachers.

What it Takes is MORE ideas, MORE outside-of-the-box thinking, MORE progressive and innovative, research-based strategies for reaching ALL kids. Berwyn must offer MORE to our students. Berwyn must demand MORE of our schools and ourselves.

Parent University

Lyons Township Parent University is a valuable experience for parents of children of all ages. The one-day conference on Sat. Feb. 9th is structured like a professional conference including a Keynote speaker, vendor fair, and workshops on topics related to parenting. I attended this Parent University two years ago and found it to be a very worthwhile event. This year's topics include:

1. Raising respectful, responsible, and resilient children in a privileged world
2. Raising Boys
3. Learning Disorders
4. Holding the line without Losing Control
5. Birth Order and your marriage
6. Remove Yelling from your home
7. Helping Girls Navigate Adolescence
8. Getting Ready to Read

For a complete list of workshops and registration information click here.

North Berwyn Enrichment Program Provides Learning Opportunities by Shelley Titzer

Last fall I attended the joint All Berwyn Committee (ABC)/BerwynCARES meeting that featured Berwyn teachers presenting some of the innovative programming in Berwyn schools. All of the presentations were interesting, but one group of teachers and their program stood out for me as particularly impressive. Teachers, Jason Crowley and Lindsay Mynaugh, told the audience about the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) Excellence 2000+ program at Lincoln Middle School.

Excellence 2000+ is an enrichment program for middle school students who are talented, interested and motivated in math and science.

6th-8th graders must apply and be selected into the IMSA sponsored program that meets every Monday from 3:30-5:30 and occasional Saturdays. A math and science teacher are trained in the curriculum through IMSA, a residential college preparatory school in Aurora. Units of study include:

Understanding Scale and Proportion: Earth's Place in the Solar System
Seeing Math and Science in a New Light: Reflections and Symmetry
Rock 'n' Roll: Tectonics and Seismicity in Illinois
Your senses: Pathways to Learning
Investigating Chaos Theory
Crime Scene Investigation

During the "Scale and Proportion" unit, students walked the solar system to scale by starting at the sun (Lincoln School at 16th and Elmwood) and walking to Pluto (about 16th and Clinton). Other activities were described as "hands-on/minds-on" with problem centered and inquiry based lessons. Last year was the 4th successful year in the program which provided opportunities for about 30 middle school students.

Opportunities for the students include visits to the Illinois Math and Science Academy, Saturday field trips, IMSA Summer Programs, Problem of the Month, and a Virtual Online Competition.

Upon graduation, some students may ultimately apply to IMSA for high school. Currently, there are Lincoln Middle School graduates at IMSA!

This program is one example of the innovative and challenging programs that are offered to Berwyn students.