The American Dream narrative of “go to school, get good grades, apply for scholarships, and better yourself” is not that easy in an underfunded community where people don’t have access to basic amenities.
For Equity in Alternative High Schools, We Must Build Community with our Students
Community-based, alternative school leaders are making a difference. These community leaders exercise power through relationships and interconnectedness. They also commit to creating a future different from the past.
Books and Blooms toward a diverse library at Montessori School of Englewood
The Montessori School of Englewood—a charter school that offers free education to children from some of Chicago’s most at-risk communities—is working to raise $10,000 through an initiative called Books and Blooms.
Why Are Black Families Leaving Chicago? Maybe They Can’t Afford to Wait for Better Schools.
As a Black woman who grew up here, I’ve never needed data to prove these injustices exist—I live, see and fight against them every single day. But numbers don’t lie and this report shows the reality.
We Hurt, We Struggle, Some Die, And We Just Keep Going.
When our City Council votes to pass a crummy budget, they force crap down our throats in the same way they tell us to eat the crap they serve in our city’s school lunchrooms. But we get used to the crappy food, the same way we get used to the crappy budget proposals.
Parents Don’t Appreciate a “Vaccination Awareness Day” That Doesn’t Really Help Get Kids Vaccinated
The canceled classes on Friday, November 12 feels like another instance where CPS and the City of Chicago have passed the buck, shifting the burden of planning and forethought from an institutional responsibility to individual parents and families.
We Don’t Give a Damn About Equity Initiatives Without Intentional Investment in Our Kids
It’s been a year since this piece was written and since CPS chief education officer (then chief equity officer) Maurice Swinney committed to developing the CPS Black student achievement task force. In that year, there’s been significant leadership transition, with Pedro Martinez stepping in as CEO, and it’s recently been announced that Patti Salzmann will replace Swinney as chief education officer.
Chicago Public Schools student reflects on the death and life changes of the pandemic and finds hope
Fast forward to the beginning of 2020, a year we all intended to be great; instead, it turned out to be the worst year we could ever imagine. On every news channel, the anchors would talk about the outbreak of Covid-19, and how rapidly it was spreading. The bold red letters “a virus,” “a disease,” or sometimes even a “killer machine” at the bottom of the TV screen clearly emphasized how bad it had gotten over time.