John G. Shedd Public School

Bennett School song

2013-04-22T14:30:00.000-05:00

If you graduated from Bennett at least within the last 20 years or so if not very recently you may have sung this song. My time in elementary school well went teachers had to make copies they didn't always use a xerox copier they may have used a facsimile device that might give off a strong aroma because of the chemicals used to produce copies. The image I'm going to show you is of the song, however, some parts of it are cut off.

In the fourth line off to the side that should be halls. All other cutoff words should be easily determined.

Also when I graduated from Kindergarten there was a song for Shedd School that we sung. Not sure where to start to even find that. It was TOO long ago and long lost like my KG diploma. :(

Are you interested in the weather?

2013-04-18T21:30:00.000-05:00

I was in the third grade when my parents first got cable TV. Back then it wasn't Comcast, however, even then my eyes was on The Weather Channel. It was the first time I learned about tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Most of the time it had me scared and my parents wasn't worried.

Then one day The Weather Channel offered products weather instruments that would allow young people to learn more about weather. Today the products are more digital in nature. One of the instruments that caught my eye was the rain guages which are used to measure the amount of precipitation.

Sometimes I still think about getting a rain gauge but I never quite pull the trigger. There are other instruments to buy that will allow anyone to check out the weather. We could all just find a thermometer to determine the outside temperature at your home. Then there are much more expensive weather instruments that could check anything from wind, temperature, precipitation, to even humidity.

When I started this blog one of the things I did here was place a weather widget in the sidebar. Weather will affect the young people in someway especially the snow and school could be closed due to snow. And today's weather well I'm sure that affected a lot of people in addition to school students.

Still I wonder if there's a young person out there who is as interested in the weather as I had been in the past. Even then one need not be a meteorologist - even the TV variety - to remain interested. The weather is interesting even if you aren't professionally trained!

At least I know Home Depot provides some of these products, especially rain gauges!

Ward Room: Why Elites Don't Think Public Schools Important To City's Future

2013-04-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

I find this article from our local NBC affiliate quite depressing. It's an opinion, but it's quite sad that we see CPS graduates as nothing more than lower level workers and that's where they'll stay!

In this city divided between a small overclass of lawyers, consultants and IT professionals, and a large underclass of cashiers, dishwashers and landscapers, the local elites see the public schools as a training ground for service jobs that require little education. Chicago’s status as a regional hub enables it to poach college graduates from surrounding states, thus allowing the city to maintain an educated class with no public investment.

Close 54 public schools and cram the dispossessed students into overcrowded classrooms? Emanuel, who is Chicago’s quintessential global citizen, knows it won’t affect Chicago’s standing as a global city. Today at 4 p.m. in the Daley Plaza, thousands of students, parents and teachers will rally to keep the schools open. Their voices won’t reach the top of the Richard J. Daley Building.

This was published on Wednesday and I apologize for not providing more coverage of the school closings that have occurred within the past week. However you can check out the coverage over at The Sixth Ward to see what's going on.

BTW, most of these closings involve mostly underutilized schools and Bennett would've been one of them but Bennett isn't slated for closing. Although I did hear from one of the neighborhood groups that Shedd will close next year.

Another holiday is upon us!

2013-03-29T11:30:00.000-05:00

While all CPS students are currently on spring break we run right into a holiday weekend Easter Weekend! If spring break hadn't coincided with this more or less religious holiday then CPS students would likely be off today.

When I first starting going to high school (GO FALCONS!) CPS attempted to eliminate Good Friday as an off day but went back to business as usual the next year. The teachers weren't playing that! In fact my World Geography teacher already said he's taking that day off!

All the same, I hope everyone who reads this blog is having a happy and safe Good Friday and Easter. Hopefully you're taking this time to eat some tradition Easter treats in addition to any other activities you may enjoy!

Come see "The Curators of Dixon School"

2013-03-04T19:00:00.000-06:00

It will be shown on the west side at ICE Theater's Lawndale 10 cinemas on Wednesday far from both Bennett/Shedd and Dixon School on the south side. The Lawndale cinemas are located at 3330 W. Roosevelt Rd. I also posted about this documentary last year as it was part of an independent film fest held at the Art Institute of Chicago. Refer to the flyer below for more details.

Also check out the doc's official website @ http://curatorsofdixonschool.com

Remember last year when I posted about a summer movie promotion for kids at ICE Theaters alas since October they no longer operate and since December no longer own their former Chatham 14 location near 87th & Dan Ryan.

Chicago Mag: Can $86 Million Save a Neighborhood? with the elementary school angle

2013-01-17T14:30:00.000-06:00

Comer with his Revere Elementary friends in 2000

If only our schools had some type of generous benefactor as it appears that Paul Revere Elementary had. An alum came in and immediately started cutting check especially since he definitely made good after not only leaving this school, but the neighborhood around the school where he grew up.

On a mild September day in 1999, Gary Comer drove from his Gold Coast apartment to a neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side. Known as Pocket Town, it’s a small triangular “pocket” of Greater Grand Crossing bordered by Oakwood Cemetery to the north, the Norfolk Southern tracks to the west, and the Metra tracks to the east.

Like many parts of the South Side, Pocket Town had become overrun with drug dealers and gang violence in the 1970s. Block after block was blighted. The local school was failing. Fifteen percent of residents lived below the poverty line, and unemployment topped 25 percent.

Comer, a diminutive 70-year-old in khakis and a crewneck sweater, got out of his car and walked into the two-story red brick Paul Revere Elementary School. “This little guy, who barely reached my shoulder, came up to me and tapped me,” recalls Shelby Taylor, the principal at the time, a tall man with a deep voice. “He asked to take a tour of the school.”

Days later, Comer wrote a check for $68,000 to fix an electrical problem in the aging building that prevented computers from being used in the computer lab. A grateful Taylor asked Comer what he could do for him in return. Comer responded, “Well, Shelby, I would like a good soul food lunch.” Over greens, grits, and cornbread, Comer told him: “I will use all of my resources to help turn Revere around.”

Dumbstruck, Taylor learned that the unassuming senior citizen was the billionaire founder of the mail-order clothing empire Lands’ End. Comer had graduated from Revere more than half a century before. And it turned out that helping the school was only the beginning. Comer soon resolved to do no less than transform the lives of the families and young people of Pocket Town.

Aside from money this is what Comer did for Revere:

Early on, Comer and his staff at the foundation debated whether to prop up Revere or design a new charter school from scratch. They chose the former. “We would’ve had to close down the school for a year in order to turn it into a charter, and that’s where the conversation always stopped,” explains Schleicher. “What would those kids have done [in the meantime]?”

A research junkie, Comer spent countless hours studying Revere. He learned that its students’ reading, math, and writing scores were chronically so low that Revere had been on Chicago Public Schools’ academic probation list for years. Absenteeism was rampant. Taylor, who had started on the job five months before Comer came knocking, was the school’s fourth principal in 18 months. “Gary knew more about my school than I did,” says Taylor.

For every problem Comer encountered, he would propose a solution. To stop students from wearing gang colors, for example, he “bought every single kid—nearly 700 of them—three tops, two bottoms, and a sweater,” says Taylor.

Comer helped set up a science club and sent daily e-mails to its members. He put maps and globes in every classroom. He bought laptops for students. And when President Clinton launched a federal initiative to bring new technology to poor urban communities, Comer personally handled Revere’s bid for funds. “I spent that Christmas with Gary, in my office, filling out the applications,” says Taylor. (Revere wound up receiving $368,000, which paid for a total of 138 computers in its 23 classrooms.)

Taylor says Comer’s commitment to Revere eventually reached upward of $1 million annually—twice as much as the school was receiving from federal and state aid combined. With that money, the school did everything from remodel its auditorium to bring in experts to train teachers.

When students graduated from Revere, they headed to South Shore High School, a couple of miles away, which had an abysmal graduation rate of 50 percent. Comer wanted Pocket Town’s kids to have a strong high school right in the neighborhood. He decided that building a charter school—publicly funded but privately run—was the way to go.

That charter school is Gary Comer College Prep located at the corner of 71st & South Chicago. Next door is the eponymous youth center also built for the youth of "Pocket Town". Can't argue with keeping the young people out of trouble.

Also this with regards to Revere's absenteeism:

Back at Revere, attendance remained low. One reason, Comer learned, was that many students’ immunizations were not up-to-date. “Fifty to 100 kids couldn’t attend school because [of that],” says Schleicher. So the foundation partnered with the University of Chicago’s mobile clinic to provide free annual shots. Then, in 2009, the foundation partnered with the health care provider Access Health to open a clinic inside the youth center. It offers nutritional counseling, sex education, and psychotherapy to every Pocket Town child as of this year—all for free.

Well since this blog is named for my old elementary school, how did Revere far thanks to Comer's help?

Unfortunately, when it comes to schools and housing, results have been mixed. Let’s start with Revere Elementary. Students initially showed significant academic improvement. For example, while only 20 percent of them met the national academic standards in 2001, 52 percent did in 2006. As a result, Revere came off academic probation.

But then progress stalled. According to Chicago Public Schools’ 2012 scorecard, less than 25 percent of Revere students meet the national student performance average. Unsurprisingly, Revere is back on probation. “The situation is dire now,” Taylor says sadly.

[Bill Schleicher, a longtime Comer adviser who manages the family’s assets] blames CPS red tape: “It cost us more money than we expected, and we did not get the type of results we wanted as soon as we wanted.”

Well, the idea was great. Still it's very important to do what you can to continue to fight for these neighborhoods. With some victories there are some defeats. Of course whatever slide Revere has seen, it's success thanks to Mr. Comer is something to be seen.

BTW, Gary Comer died of prostate cancer in 2007 and at least he left a legacy behind.

Happy new year

2013-01-16T10:10:00.001-06:00

The school year has been back in session since at least two days after New Years. After just about posting furiously in November it's time to get back to this place. Stay tuned!

What is available for kids to watch on TV these days?

2012-11-06T14:30:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I like going through memory lane. It's great to see that Fred Rogers' legacy continues on PBS stations around the nation.

He ceased production on his longtime program Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood back in 2001 and Rogers himself died in 2003. Most PBS stations no longer air his program, however, recently I became aware of a new TV series based on his program.

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood airs on most PBS stations as sort of a sequel to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. I don't have kids to enjoy this program with, but it's great to know that we again will hear how great of a neighbor we're being. It's also great that young kids are able to take a trip to the neighborhood of make believe!

Sometimes I myself may not be happy about the state of TV for the young people. For me good children's TV may involve Square One, Ghost Writer, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, Newton's Apple or even Bill Nye: The Science Guy. It also included shows such as Tiny Toons Adventures, Animaniacs, Batman, Smurfs, etc. I must note that those other shows mentioned dropping anvils on a cartoon characters head would even be considered violent today I'll bet!

When I do finally have kids or even with anyone about to start school or even in school now at least in some way we still have something to share. The older folks and the young folks can always talk about being good neighbors!

VIDEO: Bennett Elementary School, Chicago, 1965

2012-11-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

[VIDEO] 8 mm film footage of Bennett Elementary shot in 1965 according to the information posted to the video on YouTube. What has changed in the last 47 years? It's interesting to find this look down memory lane here!

iPads in education: Where's the money coming from?

2012-11-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

Well in order to use technology in our schools, the money has to be there. Also there has to be an important purpose to it, of course! That's what this article is about!

When San Diego public school officials decided to distribute 26,000 iPads to students this year, they were lucky: They already had a big pile of money.

The city’s voters had approved a $2 billion bond issue in 2008—$500 million of which was designated for a five-year “digital transformation program” designed to update the district’s curriculum. San Diego schools started distributing inexpensive netbooks to students in 2009; the next year Apple unveiled the iPad. And school officials soon changed direction, believing that tablets were a better educational tool.

“We were writing a five-year plan,” says Darryl LaGace, who was the district’s director of instructional technology when the bond passed. He told officials: “I fully expect what we write out in year one won’t look like what we’re doing in year three, four, five.”

The result is that San Diego was financially well-prepared to join the wave of schools around the nation that are placing iPads in the classroom. Districts in Chicago, Texas, and Massachusetts have all earned headlines as they move to iPad-based education.

But that move comes during time of recession-squeezed budgets, and iPads, after all, aren’t eligible for Apple’s educational discount programs. Here’s a report on how some schools are finding funds—and how tablets are making deep inroads in certain districts, and even replacing textbooks.

There is something of Chicago angle too:

Chicago’s efforts to distribute iPads to classrooms came during a dramatic budget battle—as widely reported, the city’s teachers went on strike at the beginning of the school year.

“Through grants, the district has been able to provide about 6000 iPads which are used by about 20,000 students,” says Franklin Shuftan, a spokesman for Chicago public schools. “We estimate that through the use of discretionary funds, individual schools have on their own purchased another approximately 14,000 iPads which are used by approximately 30,000 students.”

It’s unlikely the Chicago district will be able to change approaches anytime soon, Shuftan adds. “The district is facing significant financial challenges and, as a result, we do not plan on any large-scale purchase of iPads this year, but we continue to actively seek additional grant funds to increase the number of iPads available to students.”

Ah that last excerpt has a link with info about iPads in the Chicago Public Schools @ http://ipadsincps.blogspot.com/. Does anyone have any further thoughts about technology in our classrooms?

2 Investigators: Chicago Schools Flunk Food Inspections

2012-11-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

If I recall correctly Bennett nor Shedd has a kitchen, but it would be nice to know which schools were inspected and flunked. Whatever the school in question that flunked inspections our students deserve better!

The Chicago Public Schools are constantly being scrutinized for improving test scores and academic standards.

But who’s watching to make sure the school’s kitchens and lunchrooms are being kept up to safety standards?

CBS 2’s Pam Zekman reports.

Since 2011, 244 of Chicago’s 681 schools failed at least one inspection, according to a review of city health department inspections by the 2 Investigators. That’s 35 percent with at least one failed inspection.

The Anton Dvorak Elementary School had the worst record. Since 2011, Dvorak has failed city health inspections six times for reasons such as no hot water in bathroom sinks, food kept at unsafe temperatures and more than 200 rodent droppings found in food service areas.

I'm glad that CPS has someone working on the problem. The next step is to talk about nutrition, of course!

[Leslie Fowler, executive director of Nutritional Support Services for CPS] says she will improve school lunches system-wide by making sure proper procedures are followed, implementing changes that will prevent future lapses and increasing oversight.

Her message to staff: “Don’t let me find out that a student is harmed at your hands. This is unacceptable. Not on my watch.”

All of the schools in this report eventually passed inspections, including most recently Hirsh, where the kitchen is now open and the staff replaced.

You know, I don't like to post reports like these. Not to associate stories like these to my old elementary school. This is just my way of keeping an eye using my various news sources to keep an eye on the school system as a whole. I would prefer to post more positive stories although there are certainly some negative stories to go around!

Hat-tip District 299 blog!

Math quiz: Count the kindergarteners’ tests

2012-11-02T16:30:00.000-05:00

Math quiz: Count the kindergarteners’ tests

Last week Karen Lewis, the often-feisty president of the Chicago Teachers Union, told a parent group that kindergarteners have to take 14 tests this year. That’s what some people call education reform, Lewis said, but “it should be called child abuse” because of the stress the testing regime imposes on youngsters.

CPS officials dispute that count, and say the number is much smaller. The big gap appears to reflect different interpretations of the word test, and the inclusion of separate tests that can be added at individual schools.

CPS spokeswoman Marielle Sainvilus said Lewis’ statement isn’t true.

“There are two required assessments for kindergarteners that are administered at the beginning and end of year,” she wrote in an emailed response. Those two tests are the REACH Performance Tasks – a wide-ranging evaluation that CPS uses as a key measure of teacher performance -- and a literacy–and-math test known as the NWEA MAP for Primary Grades.

That suggests CPS administers four tests to kindergarten students, two in the autumn and two in the spring.

How can four tests become 14? Different schools have the option of requiring additional tests, for one thing. Julie Fain, wife of CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey and mother of a kindergartener at Pritzker Elementary School, breaks it down this way: “For NWEA MAP Testing, students test in reading and math three times this year. For REACH testing, students will take a literacy test twice this year.” There’s also a literacy test, known by its acronym DIBELS, that will be given three times this year, she said. And Pritzker also administers a math test, known as mClass, that will be given three times this year.

Winning a PR war with exaggeration?

I'm sharing this related post as I feel it fits with this one. It's not necessarily about testing but it's about parents wanting their young children to be "a step ahead" in the education system by attending an academic kindergarten as opposed to a play-based kindergarten. I wonder if the testing kindergartners go through these days are akin to turning KG into an academic based KG.

Brizard: Chicago schools need radical change

2012-10-31T15:30:00.000-05:00

Jean-Claude Brizard

Jean-Claude Brizard wrote this editorial recently. Brizard had been the former CPS Chief Executive Office for 17 months before he had resigned earlier this month. He made some good points here:

I believe that with bold change, we can create a system that provides the competitive, world-class education that our students deserve.

In 2011, fewer than 24 percent of Chicago Public Schools graduates were prepared to attend a four-year college, and only 1 in 7 African-American students tested college-ready. While we made tremendous progress in less than two years, resulting in some historic gains, transformational change will require a radical redefinition of the district.

The bureaucracy of CPS, like most urban districts, has great inertia toward the comfortable. The fact is the public school district is an outdated model that is not flexible or responsive enough to serve the needs of all students. We must abandon the notion that a central administration can do it all and instead flip the pyramid, entrusting and empowering our principals and teachers to create great schools.

In order to break up the bureaucracy that often paralyzes, confuses or distracts schools, the central office must shift from a top-down division that dictates quality and practice for schools to a team that acknowledges that quality and effective practices lie within our schools. Central office's primary role must be to set high standards, and then codify and disseminate effective practices found within schools.

He is right to say, "Education is the great equalizer". I couldn't agree more!

Hat-tip District 299 blog!

Ruggles Alumni fundraiser...

2012-10-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

Ruggles School - 7831 S Prairie Ave

Lately I've been posting about what what other elementary schools are doing. There was a post about a library makeover at Neil School in the Chatham neighborhood. Then I find out about a fundraiser for a computer lab at Chatham's Ruggles School.

Now let's not get ahead of ourselves about Ruggles. Ruggles is a school that is said to have been on academic probation for many years according to some sources that I have in my capacity as a blogger for The Sixth Ward. Still it's great to know that school has an active alumni association. The Ruggles Alumni association is hosting a bowling fundraiser at a south suburban bowling alley on November 3, 2012 - refer to flyer below.

So while I do hope Bennett-Shedd gets a true library makeover like Neil got. Hopefully we can find out how Bennett-Shedd can have an active alumni association to make sure students at the lowest levels of our education system can truly be a step ahead.

BTW, even if you do consider yourself a Badger at heart perhaps you can help Ruggles raise money for their students and hopefully learn something from what their alumni seeks to do.

ALSO, I consider myself a Badger although it seems Bennett-Shedd has changed their mascot since I've left. They're either the Royals or the Lions, not sure. Surely someone knows the school's mascot!

Reminder-- Ruggles Alumni Fundraiser

Jane A. Neil Reveals New Library

2012-10-15T14:30:00.000-05:00

Neil School - located at 8555 South Michigan Avenue - recently got a new library but I only wish that Bennett/Shedd had some of these things in their libraries particularly the Barbara Ellis Media Center.

Jane A. Neil Elementary, in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago, is the recipient of a new state-of-the-art library, compliments of the Target School Library Makeover program and The Heart of America Foundation. The school also received a Target Meals for Minds food pantry designed to combat hunger and its impact on learning by providing monthly distributions of fresh produce and staple foods to students and their families. The pantry was provided in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

The new library features 2,000 new books, furniture, new carpet and shelves, and a complete technology upgrade, including new iPads. In addition, the program provided seven new books for each of the school’s 313 students to take home following the unveiling of the new library on Thursday, October 11.

“The new library and food pantry are amazing gifts for our school and our students,” said Tawane Knox, principal, Jane A. Neil Elementary. “Thanks to Target and The Heart of America Foundation, our students have the resources they need to feel inspired and ready to learn when they walk through our school doors.”

ALSO on that day 6th Ward Chicago (represening 6th Ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer) checked in at Neil School on foursquare. Even provided another quick snapshot at that school's library as you see below.

I wonder what it would take to get Target or any other philantropic group to send some money for a true library makeover at Bennett/Shedd. Well assuming that both schools still have their own library as Shedd the last time I attended school there has a very small and cramp library. Bennett School has what I would consider a more traditional library with more space.

Hat-tip Concerned Citizens of Chatham!

CEO Brizard is out after 17 months!

2012-10-12T00:51:00.001-05:00

Former CPS CEO Brizard

I wonder what happened. Was he pressured out? I'm sure talking heads and others are speculating right now.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard is leaving the job "by mutual agreement" with City Hall, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Mr. Brizard has already been replaced: Barbara Byrd-Bennett, former chief of the Cleveland school system, who has been serving as the Chicago Public Schools interim chief education officer for past six months, will take the $250,000-a-year job. "It was a mutual decision by the mayor and Jean-Claude," said Sarah Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Mr. Brizard is just coming off a bruising battle with the Chicago Teachers Union, whose members walked out in the first strike in Chicago in a quarter-century. The seven-day strike ended Sept. 19.

Mr. Emanuel told the Sun-Times Thursday that questions about Mr. Brizard had become a "distraction . . . We had a mutual agreement (that the distraction was) not helpful."

A City Hall source tells the Sun-Times, "It just didn't work out. Both felt it was not the right fit. It needed to end.”

NBC Chicago: CPS Outlines Plan to Pay for New Teacher Contract

2012-10-09T00:30:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of Education Nation:

The plan released on Friday doesn't include classroom cuts. Instead, savings and revenue identified to fund the first year of the contract, according to the district, include:

Operations: Reduce lunchroom costs and general fund subsidy ($11 million); Achieve additional procurement savings ($10 million)

Administration: Delay or cancel filling vacant, non-teaching positions ($8 million); Additional administrative reductions, targeting savings from printer consolidation, limiting equipment purchases, subscriptions and professional memberships ($4 million)

Financial: Capitalize interest on FY12 bond sale ($13 million); Sell surplus properties ($15 million); Debt restructuring ($42 million).

The contract includes a new evaluation system and an agreement that some teachers can keep their jobs if schools close. It also includes an agreement on implementing a longer school day.

Salary increases amount to $103 million of the first year of the contract.

20 years ago the start of Batman: The Animated Series

2012-10-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

When I originally wrote and published the post the title was 10 years ago. OOPS! I didn't date myself far enough. Sorry!

I don't remember what day the first day of school was 20 years ago, but back then it was the beginning of the run of Batman: The Animated Series.

Back then Batman to me was Adam West. Reruns of the 1960s Batman series could be seen on TV back then. I wasn't yet aware of the Batman movies whether it was Batman or Batman Returns. Those films and the animated series offered a different vision of Batman which was much darker or perhaps more violent.

Somewhere along the way I had become sold on the animated series. Other than such such as Tiny Toons you could count me as a regular viewer.

Another thing about back then was that on some channels whether that was on Fox 32 or later 26 "The U" you could still watch cartoons on those local channels in the afternoons. And that was how I caught up to Batman in the afternoons when I got out of school every day!

But times change unfortunately.

BTW, one year later this version of Batman graced the silver screen unfortunately I never had a chance to view this move Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and it didn't last long at the show. Now, it is part of my video collection as I purchased this movie from Best Buy years later.

I wonder who out there are fans of the recently concluded Batman trilogy that includes Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.

Did you know...

2012-10-02T00:34:00.001-05:00

That a neighborhood near where Bennett School is located is an historic area?

[VIDEO] Our local ABC affiliate dropped by recently to do a story about a Pullman neighborhood house tour. Pullman is bounded from 103rd to 115th and Cottage Grove to Langley. It was home to a planned city that was home to workers of a factory that built luxury railroad cars. Here's more information on the tour and a link to find out more about Pullman.

This year's historic Pullman House Tour, the 39th, takes place October 13 and14, and costs $20 for adults, $17 for seniors.

When the first house tour took place in 1974, admission was $3.

For more information: http://www.pullmanil.org/housetour.htm

Ya know I wonder if there are still history fairs. When I was still in school some students participated, never did myself although this could be a good project. Of course it should be great for young people now because everything is digital with digital cameras and all that!

ALSO check out the image below from The Chicago Neighborhoods a logo for Pullman and here's a link to a brief description.

Education Nation: How Will Chicago Pay For Strike Deal?

2012-09-24T10:50:00.000-05:00

From the Education Nation section of our local NBC affiliate:

How much will the new contract cost? Pay raises and hiring nearly 500 new teachers to implement the longer school day has a higher price tag -- as high as $295 million -- that some say could lead to higher property taxes.

The mayor, though, avoided specifics.

"We have other tough things to do," he told reporters. "I never denied that we did have tough things to do, but I can't sit here and say within the first five minutes of this contract being negotiated, that I could tell you exactly what's going to happen four or five months from now."

Chicago Public Schools said "all options are on the table" to make up for new money being spent. Teachers won a 3 percent raise in the first year followed by 2 percent raises in years two and three. The 2015 board must let the union know if it has the money for a fourth year 4 percent raise.

Teachers lost sick day payouts, severance adjustments and reduced layoff benefits. Ten holidays were reduced to eight.

Without pension relief, CPS could be looking at a deficit of up to $1 billion.

Emanuel reportedly is considering increases to the city's 68-cent-a-pack cigarette tax and the 9 percent amusement tax as a way to make up for the budget shortfall. His office has maintained he is not considering property tax hikes.

School started back today now to make up those last 7 school days

2012-09-19T16:32:00.001-05:00

Scene outside of Harlan last Friday

School started back today after the strike that occurred the last seven school days from last Monday to this past Tuesday. Now to make up those missed days of school back!

CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll said both sides have agreed to restore the days of class lost to the strike, but they have yet to agree on when.

No ideas of whether to add them to the end of the school year or to a vacation break have been discussed, she said.

“We haven’t agreed when, but the agreement is to restore them,” Carroll said.

I hope they resolve that soon!

Looks like we have a strike...

2012-09-10T00:07:00.000-05:00

[VIDEO] You know I barely remember the last strike. I saw on our local Fox affiliate clips from back in 1987 which was the last strike in Chicago and with quotes from then Mayor Harold Washington and the teacher union leader from back then. The last labor strife I do remember was when school was delayed a week back when I was in the 8th grade. School started a week after Labor Day that year.

Anyway, the Chicago Public Schools have provided a listing of services during the teachers strike. Places for our young people while CPS and the teacher's union continue to hammer out more details. As you see in the video above Chicago Teacher's Union President Karen Lewis talks about those issues where the two parties were far apart.

You know in looking at this, I often wonder where my 8th grade teacher is. He seemed very outspoken on teacher's union issues and about politics in general. It wasn't too difficult to find out where his political leanings were. And at that I found out years later that he represented Bennett-Shedd for the teacher's union.

FYI, Bennett-Shedd is located in zipcode 60628 and there are a few places that provide services during the strike. Hopefully in the near future (preferably tomorrow) where I can list them all. You can also check out this posting over at The Sixth Ward.

Greater Chatham Alliance announcment: Free Dental Screenings

2012-08-30T00:30:00.001-05:00

Here are some brief details about this event but refer to the flyer below

The Chicago Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures, Traveling Dental Bus is coming to Chatham:
September 1, 2012
10 am - Noon
8245 S. King Drive
For school age children: 5-12
Each child will receive a take home oral health bag with educational handouts and fun tips.

GCA ANNOUNCEMENT- Barnes Walton Dental Colgates Free Dental Screenings

What our schools need? A few good men...

2012-08-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

I couldn't agree more! As I saw in another 60 Minutes story years ago, "where are the men?". Some statistics:

Despite some inroads by men, teaching remains a female-dominated profession. This is especially true for younger children. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 2% of pre-K and kindergarten teachers and 18% of elementary and middle-school teachers are men.

The situation is more balanced, but not evenly balanced, in secondary school, where 42% of teachers are men.

There are three points to be made here, but I think the third one is key:

Third, we especially need black male teachers in the classroom. As Education Secretary Arne Duncan has argued, "All of our students benefit from having a black male in the classroom. But particularly our young black males." Yet black males represent a mere 2% of the K-12 teaching workforce. If this were to change, we might begin to see better educational outcomes and life outcomes for young black males.

That point is very important. Young Black males are struggling and they get into the most trouble. If only they saw someone who looked like them in the classroom and helping to build them up!

Read the rest!

Via Instapundit.

ALSO, go back and read this post. One place among many to start recruiting Black male teachers.

ICE Theaters Community Day...

2012-08-07T09:52:00.000-05:00

Coming later this month at their locations in Chatham and Lawndale. ICE Theaters is holding this free family festival in conjunction with Black Pages International that features education, health & wellness, fitness, financial, business & economic development, and community empowerment resources, along with workshops, entertainment and $1 movies. Check out the flyer above for more information on this event.

Don't forget about ICE Theaters Kids RULE Summer that continues this month. The last scheduled movie is Dr. Seuss' The Lorax!

There are two albums at Concerned Citizen's of Chatham FB page that show scenes from the first two previous Community Day at ICE Theater's Chatham location.