FocalPointRespected. Refined. Realized.

VOL. 01 NUM. 2SPRING/SUMMER 2008

A Chicago International Charter School Publication

Teacher Roderick Lewis Offers Lessons in Drama and Life

Irving Park Families Embrace School Mission CICS Wrightwood Discovers Young Authors

Good Neighbors

What CICS Learned From its Critics-Turned-Advocates

OpeningThoughts

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Beth Purvis Executive Director Chicago International Charter School

Much has been written over the past 20 years about “school reform efforts.” One of the most interesting descriptions of the goals of school reform was written by Marsha Levine in a 1992 book entitled Professional practice schools: Linking teacher education and school reform. In the introduction to this edited volume, she writes:

Restructured schools are defined by a fundamentally different conception of both teaching and learning. Where traditional schools are structured to support a rather passive kind of learning in which knowledge is transferred from teacher to student, learning in restructured schools is defined as an active process in which the learner constructs meaning out of experience (p. 1).

What strikes me about this statement is how few urban schools include students as active participants in their own learning. Even more compelling is how few schools actively engage the students’ communities in the construction of the school experience.

In this second edition of FocalPoint, we share with you examples of how Chicago International actively engages students and community members to create meaningful experiences inside and outside of the classroom. In this edition you’ll learn of students who write their own books; a teacher who uses drama as a literacy, social justice, and counseling tool; neighbors who ensured that the new high school would integrate into the community, not take it over; a lunch provider who improved the health and well-being of the students and staff; and a group of families who embrace the school mission as their own. We know that these out-of-school and enrichment activities are largely responsible for our success because they ensure a positive, engaging environment for children outside of the academic curriculum. The authenticity of the experiences comes from the fact that each program was developed by students, parents, teachers, and concerned community members, so they reflect a real interest or need, not a perceived interest or need.

What is most notable about these stories is that they should be commonplace. None of the achievements described has required large sums of money, great feats of organization, or the challenge of enlisting the masses. Examples of each can be found in other schools, districts, and cities. Were FocalPoint the publication of a middle class suburban district, the stories might be considered mundane; yet in inner-city urban education, these stories are noteworthy, special, and even heroic.

As you read the second edition of FocalPoint, I invite you to help us to determine how to replicate these programs within our own network and for other groups like ours. I encourage you to write to me at bpurvis@chicagointl.org with your thoughts or responses to these or other issues. Thank you for sharing your time with us.

Dr. Elizabeth D. Purvis Executive Director

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contentsfeatures07 Family Ties

At this CICS campus, the school’s success is tied to parental involvement.

12 Building Schools. Building Trust.

This South Side neighborhood taught Chicago International a few important lessons about community relations. PLUS: Highlights from a $15 million renovation.

20 All the World’s a StageWhy art education matters.

VOL. 01 NUM. 2 | SPRING/SUMMER 2008

departments02 OpeningThoughts

04 ViewPoint

05 PolicyReport

18 Noteworthy

24 Chalkboard

26 Exploration

28 Achievement

29 Extensions

31 Resources

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FocalPoint Magazine | A Chicago International Charter School Publication | 228 South Wabash Avenue, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60604

We invite our readers to create a dialogue with CICS. Please share your comments and stories with us. We may feature your comments in our next edition of FocalPoint. Thank you.

Chicago International Charter School 228 South Wabash Ave., Suite 500 Chicago, IL, 60604 p (312) 651-5000 f (312) 651-5001 focalpoint@chicagointl.org

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ViewPoint

What surprised you the most in working with Chicago International?Q:

“CICS is truly one of the models of education that looks to nurture the child’s mind, body, and soul. From campus to campus, they have and continue to support the choral program, giving it the attention it needs to make it even more successful. From what I can see, they treat every program the same way.”Bryan Johnson Kadash Choral Productions

“My expectations in working with CICS was that I would need to bring my A game; the children would be sponges for knowledge and make me go the extra mile. I was surprised the most by the enthusiasm of the kids to be involved in the student-run stores. The potential to make money really excites them.”

Toya Simmons Enterprising Kids

“For me, the variation in each school (in terms of the climate, facility, population served, and the location) has been the most surprising part of my experience with CICS. While they too vary greatly…each of the people I have worked with is clearly dedicated to providing optimal conditions for learning and for social development for the students we serve. Moreover, all of the individuals I have dealt with have been professional, upbeat, and focused, yet willing to explore innovative programs and projects.”

Matthew Smucker United States Tennis Association (USTA) “Mindful Practices is honored to be part

of Chicago International community by providing Hip-Hop, Yoga, Music & Movement, and Tennis to CICS Bucktown, CICS Avalon, and CICS Basil. We have found the students at these sites to be responsive and respectful, valuing the creative venue through which to expand their wellness horizons. As an organization, we have been most surprised by the depth of programs offered to CICS students and the dedication of the students, administrators, and staff.”

Carla Tantillo Mindful Practices

“Our Mad Scientists have all really enjoyed their interactions with Chicago International Charter School students. They have been really engaged in all the activities and have shown a great aptitude for science.”Elena Lojo Mad Science

“CICS has embraced the concept of innovative programming and puts a high value on experience and quality. This is apparent in the way teachers and administrators at CICS schools conduct themselves. CICS schools truly seem to be teaching the ‘whole child’ and our world is sure to be a better place because of it!”Margot McGraw Toppen May I Have This Dance

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“I have found through my experiences working with them [that they] are highly dedicated and talented administrators and staff who are fully committed to involving parents in the life of the school and open to innovative ways of reaching out to parents. I have also found bright, happy children and parents who are very invested in their children’s well-being, interested in participating in their child’s school, and committed to being the best parents that they can be.”

Norma Irie Juvenile Protection Association

PolicyReport

School of ChoiceHow state legislation affects Chicago families

by Collin Hitt

In 1997, Chicago International Charter School (CICS) opened its doors as part of a bold new experiment in public education. By allowing principals the freedom to manage, teachers the freedom to teach, and parents the freedom to choose, charter schools like Chicago International seek to end the cycle of failure in Chicago’s public schools.

Eleven years later, charter schools are no longer an experiment. They’re a proven success. Chicago is now home to 29 charter schools with more than 50 campuses, serving more than 10,000 students; and as Chicago Public Schools recently reported, charters are outperforming comparable public schools on four out of five measures of student performance.

The schools have also proven to be incredibly popular with parents. There are more than 12,000 families on waiting lists to enroll their children in one of Chicago’s charter schools, and in a recent poll, 25 percent of Illinois families specifically listed charter schools as their first choice in education.

On the surface, the sky seems to be the limit for the Chicago charter school movement. Unfortunately, charter schools face an arbitrary glass ceiling and will be unable to reach new heights unless state law is changed.

This fall, Amandla, a new charter school, will open on Chicago’s South Side. Due to current restrictions, Amandla will also be Chicago’s last new charter school. State law arbitrarily limits Chicago’s number of charter schools, and Amandla has received Chicago’s 30th and final charter.

For years, advocates of charter schools and parental choice have urged lawmakers to lift this cap. The General Assembly has been slow to act, and it is unlikely that the law will be changed in time for new charter schools to be approved to open in Chicago for the 2009-2010 school year.

In the meantime, however, hope is not completely lost for the thousands of Chicago families on waiting lists. State law allows many existing charter schools in Chicago—those that opened before 2003— to expand the number of campuses they operate, as long as they have the approval of Chicago Public Schools. CPS has proven eager to help some of the city’s best charter schools including CICS,

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PolicyReport

University of Chicago Charter Schools, and ASPIRA to open new campuses and serve a greater number of Chicago families. Many, like Chicago International, have planned new campuses for these communities across Chicago: Grand Crossing, West Town, Marquette Park, and Washington Heights. Despite these schools’ successes, state lawmakers have sought to end this lifeline to Chicago families as well. Last year, a state representative introduced legislation to outlaw further growth of charter schools, maintaining that campus replication was an exploitation of a loophole in state law. Her fellow repre-sentatives, thankfully, disagreed and defeated the bill on the House floor. Again in 2008, however, similar legislation was introduced by a state representative whose district is home to a charter school campus, a campus that would have never opened had this legislation been law from the beginning.

The effort to block charters is an affront to the families who are literally lining up for the chance at a better education. Campus replication has been pivotal in allowing charter schools to meet the unique needs of Chicago’s communities.

Since 1997, when CICS Bucktown and CICS Longwood first opened their doors, Chicago International has opened nine new campuses serving more than 4,500 students. Perspectives Charter Schools now operates multiple campuses. Noble Street Charter School operates five campuses. ASPIRA, UNO, and the University of Chicago now operate four campuses each. None of this growth would have been possible had the proposed legislation been law since the beginning.

Today, 30 new campuses are set to open in Chicago over the next several years in order to serve more than 10,000 students1. Legislation that bans campus replication would undermine this planned growth and shortchange Chicago families. Parents and educators must urge lawmakers to halt attempts to harm efforts to improve public education through charter schools.

Moreover, parents and educators should urge lawmakers to allow Chicago’s charter school movement to reach its full potential. The arbitrary and restrictive cap of 30 on the number of charter schools permitted to open in Chicago is pitifully low. Unless

a greater number of charters are made available to Chicago, there will be no hope for the Knowledge is Power Program to build upon its successful KIPP Ascend Campus in Lawndale, or for schools such as Connections Academy to come to town, or for unique home-grown charter schools to open in the city’s neighborhoods. The waiting lists, meanwhile, will continue to grow, denying parents the opportunity to choose high-quality education for their children.

It is time for charter schools to play a larger role in public education. They will not be allowed to do so until changes are made to the current restrictive state law. Parents and educators must contact their lawmakers and tell them the time for change, the time for more charter schools and better choices, has come.

Collin Hitt is director of education policy studies

at the Illinois Policy Institute. He can be reached

at collin@illinoispolicyinstitute.org

1 Source: Illinois Network of Charter Schools

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family tiesAt this CICS campus, the school’s success is tied to parental involvement

by Elisabeth A. Sullivan

Parents of charter school students are anything but passive. They are engaged in their children’s education from the start, electing to send their young scholars to a charter school rather than to a traditional public school—a process that takes time, research, and energy. Their involvement shouldn’t end there; the challenge for administrators and educators is to foster an environment in which parental contributions are both welcomed and encouraged. Amy Torres, director of the Chicago International Charter School (CICS) Irving Park campus, has done just that.

Ms. Torres knows that a charter school is a community with parents as prominent members. “What we want is for parents to be a real part of the fabric of the school,” to step beyond their duties as homework helpers and be a real presence in the educational process, says Dr. Elizabeth Purvis, executive director of Chicago International. “Every CICS campus has, at a very minimum, a parent organization.” Within days of the campus opening, Ms. Torres worked to establish the Irving Park parent organization.

Several parents were eager to help Ms. Torres steer CICS Irving Park to success, including those who served on the Irving Park launch committee. The committee helped the

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new campus with everything from community outreach and recruitment to uniform selection and painting the school. “Many were on board and ready to move,” Ms. Torres says. “I wanted to solicit parent feedback systematically as I created the school’s systems and procedures. Having parents come in spontaneously was great, but I needed an organized forum for them to have discussions and report consensus back to me.”

During the second month of the 2007–08 school year—and of the CICS Irving Park campus’s existence—the new campus director invited parents to planning meetings, soliciting their opinions on how best to involve them in their children’s education. They settled on a framework, drafted a mission statement, held elections, and chose a name: the Family Involvement Group (FIG). “She made parent relationships a priority, and it shows,” Purvis says of Torres.

The six parents on the FIG’s executive committee meet at least once a month to help organize an average of 20 regularly participating FIG members and another 20 parents who often volunteer at the school. They recruit new students, volunteer for lunch duty, and serve as parent room representatives to assist teachers in the classroom. They’ve helped organize a harvest festival, an after-school basketball program, a scholastic book club, and a spring fundraiser, says Illa Doss, mother of two CICS Irving Park students and the FIG’s treasurer.

Beyond their practical and tactical assistance, FIG members “think critically about the needs of the school and long-term sustainability,” Ms. Torres says. “The FIG reports parent issues, concerns, questions, and ideas back to me for implementation.” She hosts a “parent café” on the first Tuesday of each month. “It is their chance to share what is working and what is not,” Ms. Torres says. “The only way to make the school a great place is to have candid feedback from parents.”

All this, and the school has yet to complete its first year. “For a campus that’s six months old, they’ve done an incredible job,” Dr. Purvis says. The FIG is off to a great start, but like other schools, the CICS Irving Park campus faces hurdles in encouraging and maintaining parental involvement. “We are no different from traditional public schools in that we see a waning of parent participation as kids get older,” she says. CICS Irving Park opened as a K-4 campus, but will add a grade a year until it is a K-8 in the 2011–12 school year. Parents of younger children tend to be more involved, Purvis says. But as their children grow, they step back into the wings, whether to return to full-time work or to alleviate their children’s embarrassment at having Mom or Dad around. Neither Dr. Purvis nor Ms. Torres wants that to happen.

CICS relies heavily on parental involvement, and its students reap the benefits. They excel under the watchful eyes of their parents and educators, regularly surpassing their Chicago Public School peers on the ISATs, the ACT, and other standardized tests. Dr. Purvis and Ms. Torres

FamilyTies

Illa M. Doss, mother of Joseph Doss (4th grade) and Jordan Doss (3rd grade) in the classroom with Kiani Robinson (3rd grade).

hope parents at the CICS Irving Park campus understand their role in the school community and continue to contribute. “I am hoping that the FIG will be the vehicle for keeping them motivated and involved,” Ms. Torres says.

Some FIG members say their ranks still need padding. “There are 220 students and we’re probably getting 20 volunteers on a regular basis, which is less than 10 percent,” says FIG member Jennifer Landini, who has two boys on campus. The FIG needs fresh opinions, she says, and CICS Irving Park parents should understand that volunteering in even the smallest capacity can help the new campus succeed. “It’s going to take a big effort on the FIG’s part and the school’s part to really communicate to everyone why it’s important for parents to be involved.”

Communication itself can pose challenges for the FIG, as it represents a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse campus. “There is a communication gap between socioeconomic backgrounds that occurs,” Ms. Torres says, but though parents’ proposed strategies may

CICS Irving ParkAs the newest campus in the Chicago International network of 11 neighborhood campuses, CICS Irving Park has many distinguishing attributes:

• Openedthedoorswith220studentsingrades kindergarten through 4th. An additional grade will be added each year as the campus grows to a K–8 school.

• Oneofthemostdiversecampusesinthenetwork: 56% Latino 26% African American 12% White 3% Multi-racial 2% Asian/Pacific Islander 1% Native American

• Atleastsixlanguagesarespokenonthecampusby students, staff, and school families.

• Approximately$800,000ofrenovationstookplace during the summer of 2007 in preparation for the campus’s opening in August.

• ThebuildingiscompletelyADAaccessible.

• Allstudentstake“specials”: Piano Music Art Spanish Physical Education

• Inordertoengageandpartnerwiththecommunity and new parents more effectively, Chicago International created a launch committee for CICS Irving Park—the first in the organization’s history. As this story attests, the committee was a boon to the campus start-up and created a perfect transition to the Family Involvement Group. This model will be adopted on every new Chicago International campus moving forward.

FamilyTies

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FamilyTies

“ The only way to make the school a great place is to have candid feedback from parents.”

—Amy Torres

differ, their goals are the same. Ms. Doss agrees. “We come to a consensus,” she says. “We know that the common goal is our kids’ education.”

Since the campus opened last fall, CICS Irving Park’s parents have played an essential role in getting the school up and running, and in creating an atmosphere for their children that’s congenial to both education and community. And Ms. Torres says her door is always open for feedback. “The key,” she says, “is to address parents’ underlying interests, which are to have a safe, nurturing school environment…an open environment for parents to participate when they can, and a shared vision for their child’s future.”

For a new campus community, Ms. Torres has established the right way to invite, engage, and encourage parent participation. Every new school should heed this example.

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00 | FocalPoint Photo by Mario Ortiz12 | FocalPoint

BuildingTrust

What this South Side

neighborhood taught CICS

about community relations

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BuildingMarquette Dunn is not the sort of man who beats around the bush. A community leader in Chicago’s Auburn-Gresham neighborhood and a City of Chicago Water Management employee, Mr. Dunn has lent his strong voice to local issues for decades. So he wasn’t about to stay silent when he learned in the early summer of 2006 that a local charter school group planned to bring a high school to a busy residential corner of his neighborhood.

“I was irate,” he says. “How dare you attempt to come into my community and tell me what you’ve decided?”

The school in question was CICS Ralph Ellison, a much-needed high school for Chicago’s South Side. But it wasn’t the school that bothered Mr. Dunn. It was the site: the corner of 80th and Honore, where CICS had purchased a former Catholic elementary school and where $15 million in planned renovations would transform the building into a high school that would eventually accommodate about 600 students.

CICS had just overcome one obstacle in the quest to build a high school on the South Side. Facilities are extraordinarily hard for charter school organizations to find because the state does not provide start-up monies for charter groups to buy, build, or renovate buildings. CICS had been searching for several years before it found this old building on the South Side, where a college-prep high school could do some real academic good.

by Hilary Masell Oswald

Photography by Joshua Dunn

But about six months into their planning, CICS had a new challenge: Mr. Dunn. He worried about more traffic and less parking. He worried about community safety. He worried about logistical problems, such as how the school would manage the extra trash it gener-ated. He worried about students crossing gang boundaries to get to school. And he worried about the elementary school students just across the street from the proposed site.

So Mr. Dunn did what Mr. Dunn knew how to do: He talked to his fellow community members, most of whom had only found out about the school when they received a letter from a local law firm about a proposed change in the corner’s zoning. They too were angry, and when they approached their alderman in the 18th Ward, he agreed to host a meeting where the community members could voice their concerns and CICS leaders could respond.

“It was an extremely explosive meeting,” says Ellen Kennedy, director of external affairs for Civitas Schools, the education management group that CICS hired to run Ralph Ellison and several other campuses. “I can remember a resident saying, ‘I will burn you down before we will let you build a school here.’”

And the pastor from the church next door to the site stood up and said, “I’m your next door neighbor. You didn’t even knock on our door and let me know that we’d be neighbors.”

“It caught all of us on the CICS team off-guard,” Ms. Kennedy admits. The team tried to explain the value of having a college-prep high school in the community, but their words fell on deaf ears. The residents weren’t against a new school or better education for their children; they were against putting the new school in a place that would make life harder for themselves and their neighbors.

Even the CICS team’s surprise frustrated Mr. Dunn. “I was appalled at the fact that they never consulted us, and then had the audacity to be surprised when we were upset and against it,” he says.

Chicago International’s leaders realized they had made a terrible mistake by assuming they’d be welcome wherever they decided to construct the school, so they began building the relationships they should have built months earlier.

“We quickly contacted families with children who might be coming to the school, and we

BuildingSchoolsBuildingTrust

Clockwise from upper left: 18th Ward Alderman Lona Lane with Marquette Dunn. Marquette Dunn (right) talks to community member, Leon Bailey. (L to R) Emma Cunningham, JR Williams, Ald. Lane, Rochelle Starks, and Ellen Kennedy.

“ How can you improve a community if you don’t know anything about it?”

—Marquette Dunn

continued on page 16

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Extreme Makeover, School EditionHow an empty building will become a thriving academic community

It takes a certain amount of vision to look at a neglected building and see a high school bustling with 600 students, but Chicago International leaders saw just that in December 2005 when they purchased the structure at 80th and Honore that will serve as the permanent home for Chicago International Charter School’s Ralph Ellison campus beginning this August.

Once an elementary school, the 37,000-square-foot building had been vacant for 10 years when CICS bought it. Birds made their home in the roof; asbestos plagued the walls and air ducts; the structure was falling apart.

The first thing leaders decided to do was hire an owner’s rep, a building professional who could serve as a liaison between school officials and the contractors. “I recommend it strongly,” says Dr. Thresa Nelson, CEO of Civitas, the education management organization (EMO) that runs Ellison’s daily operations. Nelson, who previously served as COO of Chicago International, managed the construction project from its infancy. “For us, the owner’s rep was invaluable.”

Together with the architect, builder, and owner’s rep, CICS leaders set to work re-envisioning the space. “We could have done everything conservatively, but we really wanted to have a high school these students and this community would be proud of,” Dr. Nelson says. “We wanted all of the enriching spaces: science labs, music and art rooms, a library, common areas.”

In December 2006, the renovations began with abatement of hazardous materials, and by April of last year, the city had issued the building permits. A month later, the builders began excavating for the new regulation-size gymnasium (with seating for about 200 spectators) and an addition of roughly 21,000 square feet, which includes administrative offices, the cafeteria, art and music rooms, the library, and science labs. Of the $15 million budget, roughly $4 million went to the gym, $4 million to the addition, and $7 million to the renovation of the existing building, Dr. Nelson says.

Transforming an elementary school into a building suitable for high school students took some creative thinking. For example, in every classroom, the pint-sized coat closets had to be demolished and rebuilt to fit bigger coats. And Dr. Nelson is especially pleased by the solution for the hallways: “Instead of putting lockers along the halls and making them more narrow, we have clusters of lockers at the ends of the corridors,” she explains. “It’s a wonderful set-up.”

After

Before

Dr. Nelson seems pleased by the building’s overall design, which meshes the former building with its new components and makes good use of glass and light. “The exterior of the old building is visible in the interior,” she says. “When you go from the new section to the old, you don’t notice; there’s a cohesiveness that works beautifully.”

But her favorite part of the renovated space is the quotation etched in the glass front of the new addition. Taken from Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, it speaks not just to architecture and design, but also—most importantly—to the learning that will happen in this building for decades to come:

I love light. Perhaps you’ll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality; gives birth to my form.

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started to build alliances with parents,” Ms. Kennedy says. They knocked on residents’ doors and invited them to walk around the building, so CICS leaders could share the school’s plans and listen to their neighbors’ concerns. And eventually, two months after that first disastrous meeting, about 25 community members, Mr. Dunn among them, agreed to form an advisory committee that would monitor the school’s progress and present the community’s view. “We just wanted a chance to prove to the residents that we would respond to their requests,” Ms. Kennedy says.

She estimates that it took a year before the community members began to trust her. But as time passed, the advisory committee and the CICS team figured out solutions to each one of the community’s concerns. The school will put up extra lighting and cameras for security. The building will have a secure parking area. Garbage will be compacted and picked up daily. An attendance boundary will give priority to students who live within a certain proximity to the school. And CICS leaders asked the Chicago Transit Authority and the 6th and 8th police districts to provide extra surveillance. The advisory committee continues to work to make this happen when school starts this fall.

Ms. Kennedy learned early that anticipating residents’ concerns would help protect their hard-earned trust. She talks to the construction superintendent frequently. “I’ll call a few members of the advisory committee and tell them that a crane will go up tomorrow, for example,” she says. “It really takes 15 or 20 minutes, and they appreciate it so much.”

Leon Bailey, who has lived in Auburn-Gresham for more than 30 years, still serves on the advisory committee, which meets the last Monday of every month. He’s candid about his feelings: “I think the school will be a boom for education, but I think there’s still some concern about the population explosion during the school day and how that will affect the neighborhood.”

Mr. Bailey, Mr. Dunn, and their fellow residents are watching closely to see that CICS upholds its promises to take Chicago children’s education seriously in an era when urban education is crumbling in many areas. “I think their feelings are: ‘You said you were going to be great, and now we expect to see greatness,’” Ms. Kennedy says. “There’s no doubt that they’ve worked with us for the sake of the students, and we need to show that work was worth it.”

Ironically, as the fight over the CICS Ralph Ellison campus heated up in the summer of 2006, 152 incoming freshmen were preparing to begin their high school careers at a temporary site while the building was renovated. This fall, halfway through their high school careers, these juniors will “finally have a place to call home,” Ms. Kennedy says—a place that is stronger for the battles and eventual resolutions that preceded its opening.

Mr. Dunn can’t wait for the students to arrive: “I think the school is one of the greatest things that’s transpired in our community,” he says. “I think we’re going to have great leaders in our community from this school.”

Lessons We Learned• Givethecommunityinputintothebuilding’s design, the school’s name, and other big choices. It not only shows respect for the neighbors, but it also gives the community a vested interest in the building and the school.

• Findoutwhothelocalleadersare,andschedule a meeting with them to discuss the neighborhood and their response to a proposed school site.

• Gettoknowthebuilders.You’llneedtohavestrong communication with the construction team in order to keep the residents up-to-date on the building’s progress and on any short-term inconveniences they’ll encounter during construction.

• Bettereducationappealstonearlyeveryone,but remember that other issues might take precedence, especially for community members who don’t have school-aged children. Be sensitive to the other challenges facing a neighborhood.

• Bereadytoexplainthestructureandbenefitsof your charter school, as many people still aren’t familiar with what a charter school is and how it differs from a traditional school.

BuildingSchoolsBuildingTrust

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“ Never underestimate the power of the community, even in your planning stages. Before you name the school, before you purchase the property, talk to people in the neighborhood. Don’t assume that because you’re bringing something positive to the neighborhood, you’ll be welcome.”

—Ellen Kennedy

Neighborhood watch: Marquette Dunn at the corner of 80th and Honore, the location of the Chicago International Ralph Ellison Campus.

Noteworthy

In honor of Black History Month, Chicago 2016 brought Olympian Michael Conley and Paralympian Matt Scott to visit with hundreds of elementary-school students from the Chicago International Charter School (CICS) Washington Park campus. Conley and Scott shared their personal experiences with the crowd and also highlighted the accomplish-ments of African-Americans in the Olympic Games.

Conley, a Chicago native, attended Luther High School South, where he was a member state champion basketball and track and field teams. He is an Olympic gold medal winner and world champion in the triple jump and held both outdoor and indoor world records. He described how special it was to be speaking to students in Washington Park, not only because it is the proposed site for the 2016 Olympic Stadium, but also because it is where he did his Olympic training.

“It’s an important day because hundreds of elementary-school children learned how African- American sports figures throughout history have broken through barriers and achieved incredible success by participating in the Olympic Games,” said Michael Conley, Olympian (athletics, 1984, 1992 and 1996) and president of World Sport Chicago. “These students go to school right by Washington Park, the proposed site for the Chicago 2016 Olympic Stadium, and will be of age to participate in the 2016 Games, so it’s even more meaningful for them to learn how the Olympic Movement has affected our lives.”

Scott, a 2004 Paralympian in wheelchair basketball, also won a gold medal at the 2007 Parapan American Games and is expected to make the roster for the 2008 Beijing Games. Born with spina bifida, he started out playing sports such as

basketball, football and baseball with able-bodied athletes, but doctors encouraged him to try sports for competitors with disabilities after spotting bruises from his tough, competitive play. Nike recognized that same determination and athletic excellence when it cast Scott for its “No excuses” commercial. The spot, which first aired on several networks on December 31, ends with Scott slamming down two basketballs in front of his wheelchair, saying, “My feet hurt.”

“Today was all about the kids and showing them how the African-American athletes who came before them laid the foundation for future generations,” said Scott. “In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate the groundbreaking achievements of these athletes and honor their contributions.”

Chicago is honored to be competing for the privilege of hosting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games alongside such world-class cities as Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.

For more information visit www.chicago2016.org

Chicago 2016 Honors Black History Month by Recognizing the Contribution of African-American Athletes to Olympic MovementOlympian and Paralympian Visit with Hundreds of Elementary School Students in Washington Park

Reprinted with the permission of Chicago 2016

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“ Today was all about the kids and showing them how the African-American athletes who came before them laid the foundation for future generations.”

—Matt Scott

Clockwise from upper right: CICS Washington Park students pose for a picture with Michael Conley (left) and Matt Scott. Paralympian Matt Scott puts his skills to the test. Three-time Olympic Track and Fielder Michael Conley demonstrates his talents to a captive audience. Matt Scott smiles for the press.

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ALL THEWORLD’SA STAGELessons in arts education from CICS Longwood’s drama guru

by Hilary Masell Oswald

Wander into Roderick Lewis’s drama class at CICS Longwood, and you’ll find a room full of high school students engaging in a kind of work that involves their minds, voices, bodies, and souls. They might be busy untangling themselves from a “human pretzel.” They might be pantomiming to a song. They might be acting out familiar children’s stories, improvising their way through a scene, or performing monologues they’ve written. But no matter which activity you catch them doing, Mr. Lewis wants you to know that what happens in his classroom is about more than drama.

“I always compare what we do in class to life,” says Mr. Lewis, now in his eighth year of teaching at CICS Longwood. “There are students who say, ‘I’m not going to be an actor.’ But there are skills you learn in my class that are crucial to your success in college, in an interview, in a job.” Consider an audition, which is really just a unique interview, he says. “The director is not looking for second best. Neither is the CEO of a company,” Mr. Lewis tells his students. “This is not just about getting ready for the stage. This is about getting ready for life.”

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Roderick Lewis–Preparing future stars for the real world.

Photos by Joshua Dunn Photography

“ This is not just about getting ready for the stage. This is about getting ready for life.”

Arts Education: It Does a Brain Good

Students who take four years of art courses score, on average, 58 points higher on the verbal section of the SAT and 39 points higher on the math section than students who take a half-year or less.Source: 2005 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report. The College Board, 2005.

Top: Mr. Lewis with his 6th grade class. Bottom left: Joshlyn Fikes (left) as Grandma and Nicolette Barksdale as Sandy. Bottom right: O’Dell White III (left) and RaJah Welcome-Neely as Ike and Tina Turner.

AllTheWorld’sAStage

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Despite the good things that are happening in classrooms like Mr. Lewis’s, Americans are torn about arts education. On one hand, 93 percent of us agree “the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education for children,” according to a 2005 Harris poll. And more than half of us rated the importance of arts education a “ten” on a scale of one to ten in the same poll.

But high-quality arts education is increasingly hard to find. It’s often the first area to go when administrators have to make budget cuts, especially in urban districts, where research shows it has an especially positive effect. As No Child Left Behind emphasizes achievement on standardized tests of math and language arts, 44 percent of all districts nationwide have added time for English and/ or math, at the expense of other subjects, including art and music instruction, according to a February 2008 report from the Center of Education Policy. These cuts are significant: The elementary schools that reduced instruction time for art and music cut instruction by 57 minutes a week between the 2001-02 school year and the 2006-07 school year.

Many charter schools, including CICS, emphasize the value of diverse instruction by adding more minutes to the school day and more days to the school year. “The purpose of this extension is to support student growth through a variety of activities,” says Dr. Elizabeth Purvis, executive director of Chicago International Charter School. “The key is to make sure that these varied activities are anchored in what the empirical data indicate are related to real learning.”

Indeed, in urban environments, evidence shows that arts education makes a more significant difference for students from low-income families than it does for their more affluent counterparts. UCLA professor James Catterall examined records for 25,000 students and found that 41.5 percent of low- income 10th-graders who had arts courses scored in the top two quartiles on standardized tests, compared to 24.9 percent of their peers who were not involved in the arts.

None of this data surprises Mr. Lewis or his students. O’Dell White, a junior who is now taking his third class with Mr. Lewis, says theatre in high school saved him from the perils that trap other young men on the South Side. “I was a bad boy from a young age,” he says. “If it wasn’t for Mr. Lewis, I’d probably be in a dungeon somewhere. I would definitely not be going to college.”

Mr. Lewis’s influence doesn’t end in the classroom; in addition to teaching, he writes and directs about three plays a year. The extracurricular drama program is called f.c.b.c.: for children, by children. His students perform, stage manage, handle lighting and

sound, and choreograph. Despite the group’s innocuous name, Mr. Lewis’s productions often tackle grown-up issues that affect his students’ lives. For example, he once wrote and staged “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye,” which addressed the horrors of gang violence. “Putting it on stage is letting kids know that if you choose this type of lifestyle, there are consequences,” he says.

Other plays include “P.H.A.T. (Does Size Really Matter?),” a story about three girls and how weight affected their lives; “Freshman Year,” which addressed teenage pregnancy; and this year’s smash-hit “Expressions in History,” a musical revue celebrating African-Americans’ influence on our country’s musical heritage.

The lessons in these plays go a long way toward helping students figure out how to maneuver through a complicated world, says Leticia Boddie, a senior who has been working with Mr. Lewis for four years. “He teaches us how to grow up,” she says. “When I found him, I was going through a tough time, and Mr. Lewis gave me a reason why I wanted to come to school. He’s like a father to a lot of us.”

While many arts programs across the country face an uncertain future, Mr. Lewis and his students at CICS Longwood will continue to dive head-first into the creative process. “Drama—and arts in general, really—enrich students’ lives,” Mr. Lewis says. “It offers something different, a place where they feel confident and can think creatively and critically. What my students learn is at the core of life.”

It seems that Roderick Lewis and his passion for high-quality arts education take Shakespeare’s claim one step further: Maybe all the world’s a stage, but more importantly, perhaps the stage is the best place to learn about the world.

For more information on the f.c.b.c. Educational

Children’s Theatre and Entertainment Group, or for

theatre schedules, please visit www.fcbcdrama.com

Mr. Lewis and his spirited cast and crew from various productions.

t Throughout the school year, teachers and school leaders are on a constant lookout for opportunities to engage students in discovering, exploring, and learning. The ultimate hope is that the students will have their own “a-ha” moments when they realize: “I can do this” or “I already know that.”

The Illinois Statewide Young Authors Conference was just this opportunity for Chicago International Wrightwood: a perfect chance to bring the campus community together while cultivating students’ creative juices. Teachers and administrators encouraged every student to participate in the conference, which is sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Language and Literary Council. The guidelines state:

The purpose of the conference is a celebration of the written work of children in kindergarten through eighth grade. The goal is to support classroom teachers in their efforts to encourage and improve students’ abilities in writing, reading, listening, and sharing, and to recognize the accomplishments of young authors.

Students had the choice of writing an informational, narrative, or poetry-style short story to be judged in five literary areas: focus, support/elaboration, orga-nization, conventions, and presentation. CICS Wrightwood had more than 650 entries in the competition. “We believe in the Young Authors Conference because it helps to foster a love for writing and reading at a very young

age,” said CICS Wrightwood director Eva Wilson. “There is no better way to get students excited about learning than to allow them to create something on their own, something in which they can take pride.”

The Wrightwood students submitted their literary works to their classroom teachers, and three winners from each classroom were submitted to the next phase of the contest. Each classroom winner had a chance to represent CICS Wrightwood in the city-wide competition and earned a field trip to Borders Bookstore with a $10 Borders gift card. Seventy-five students traveled to the local Borders Bookstore where they toured the store, bought new books, and participated in an “Author’s Circle,” where they had the opportunity to share key points about their stories and publicly dedicate their books—a thrilling experience for even the youngest of these authors.

Dr. Thresa Nelson, the CEO of Civitas Schools, accompanied the students on the field trip to Borders Books. “The Young Authors Conference was CICS Wrightwood’s first school-wide initiative, and it proved to be a tremendous success,” she says. “Committee members and teachers believed that the children, with overwhelming support from their parents, more than exceeded our expectations.”

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Finding the WordsYoung Authors Program at CICS Wrightwood Campus produces future authors

by R.J. McMahon

The Writer WithinJavonte is a 6th-grade student with special education needs who has struggled academically during his elementary school journey. He experienced a transformation when invited and encouraged to participate in the Young Authors Conference. With the guidance and support of his family and his special education teacher, Ms. Glasper, Javonte wrote “My Football Seasons” and was named one of three class finalists. As a result of this positive experience, Javonte has a newfound passion for reading and writing. His turnaround did not end with the Young Authors Conference. He experienced significant gains of approximately 20 points in the NWEA–MAPS assessment between fall and winter.

(L to R) Jazmine Jordan (4th grade), Sydney Dukes (3rd grade), Javonte Finch (highlighted below), Lauryn Smith (2nd grade), and Devonta Dickey (6th grade).

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Budding AuthorsFrom the group of 75 classroom winners, six (two from each of the primary, intermediate, and junior academy grades) were chosen to represent Chicago International Wrightwood in the city-wide competition:

“ Becoming Me” by Lauryn Smith When the teacher gave the assignment, I wanted to scream, “I WANT TO BE A SINGER, I WANT TO BE A SINGER!!!!!!” She gave the directions and then we moved on to the next thing that we had to do. Well, they moved on...I sat and thought about my future.

“ Lily, the Pink Zebra” by Devion Stevens Years past by, and Lily indeed, grew up to be a very special Zebra. Over the years, she has brought many people to the zoo. She also has taught that everyone have a special something about them. And thank goodness we do, or the world would be a boring place with every animal and every person looking the SAME.

“ What My Family Means To Me” by Jazmine Jordan Families doesn’t have to be just mom, dad, brother, sister, aunts, uncles and cousins. Families can also be those people who do not live or who were not born in your family...My immediate family is small but the love we have for each stretches farther then my imagination can take me.

“ The Missing Turtle” by Sydney Dukes A mean turtle named Mr. Gene was standing by and watching all of the turtles on the ride. Mr. Gene was a turtlenapper. He likes to turtlenap turtles and make them serve him. He would make them rub his feet, cook his food, iron his clothes, and clean his cave.

“ Pause, Fast-Forward, Rewind” by Keven Stonewall The next day at Zack’s baseball game he decided to bring the remote control. He kept putting things on pause like when the opponents’ best pitcher threw 100 mph fastballs. He would press pause and line up the ball to his bat. Then he would press play. He hit a homerun that caused his team to win the championship.

“ Santa’s Memory” by Devonta Dickey “Here’s your robe as well,” Jingle said afterward. “Thank you, Jungle,” Santa repeated. “Sorry, but my name is Jingle,” Jingle also repeated. “It’s J-I-N-G-L-E,” Jingle spelled slowly. “I am sorry. My mistake,” Santa said sadly. “Let’s go and check on the other elves. They said that they had a big surprise for me...”

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Exploration

Photo by Joshua Dunn Photography

Freshman Year: The Make-it or Break-it YearYour student is about to start the most important year of high school—perhaps the most important year of school so far. This is the year that will set the stage for whether they will graduate and whether they will be ready for college.

How do we know this? Because researchers at the University of Chicago— the Consortium for Chicago School Research—have spent years trying to understand what really matters when it comes to graduating from Chicago Public Schools. Working in cooperation with the district, the Consortium researchers have analyzed years of data—surveys, standardized tests, student grades, attendance records—and uncovered some connections that might surprise you. It’s not about their 8th grade test scores, or even the ACT test they will face in the 11th grade, although these tests do matter. It’s not about where you live and how much money your family earns, although those facts get a lot of attention when educators talk about drop-out statistics.

Here’s what really matters far more than anything:

Grades and Attendance.

No one wants to be a drop-out statistic. So as you guide your teenager through this crucial year, consider what research tells us about Chicago freshmen and the factors that influence whether or not students will graduate four years later.

Grades• Morethan95percentofstudentswithaBaverageorbetterintheir freshman year graduate.

• FreshmenwhoearnaBaverageorbetterhavean80-percentchanceof finishing high school with at least a 3.0 GPA.

• FreshmenwithlessthanaCaveragearemorelikelytodropout than graduate.

Reprinted with the permission of The Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago

CICS Executive Director, Beth Purvis talking to CICS Bucktown students.

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Exploration

Absences• Nearly90percentoffreshmenwhomisslessthana week of school per semester graduate, regardless of their 8th grade test scores.

• Freshmenwhomissmorethantwoweeksofschool flunk, on average, at least two classes—no matter whether they arrive at high school with top test scores or below-average scores. In fact, freshmen who arrive with high test scores but miss two weeks of school per semester are more likely to fail a course than freshmen with low test scores who miss just one week.

What does all this research mean for you and your student?

Essentially, that the freshman year is an important chance for a fresh start. Strong students can quickly fall off course if they start cutting classes and blowing off homework. And students who struggled in elementary school can turn things around if they come to school every day and aim for a B average. For Chicago students who want to graduate from college—and 78 percent of seniors say they do—that B average in high school is what it’s going to take to succeed in college.

It sounds simple, but there is a lot of room for improvement in these two areas. That’s because:

• MorethanhalfofChicagofreshmenfailacourse.

• About40percentmissmorethanamonthofschool in that first year (which includes class cutting).

• TheaverageGPAislowerthana“C.”

So…what can you do?• Reinforce the importance of getting to school on time and not cutting classes. Your teenager may think it doesn’t matter to blow off the first or last class of the day, but it does. Even occasional skipping leads to dramatically lower grades. And it sends the wrong message to teachers about the desire to succeed.

• Make academics your top priority for your freshman. This means trying hard on assignments even when they aren’t interesting and choosing to study instead of socializing when there is a big test. Students with good study habits have higher GPAs and fail fewer courses than classmates who don’t make homework a priority.

• Talk with your student’s teachers about how you can help your teen succeed, especially if you see his or her grades start to fall. Teachers should be helping struggling students, but sometimes it falls on freshmen (and their parents) to ask for that help. We know from our research that students do better in their courses when they trust their teachers and count on them for support. Communication with teachers is important, especially if there are personal issues affecting performance in class.

For more information, visit the Consortium’s Web site

at www.ccsr.uchicago.edu

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Freshman Grades Predict GraduationMissing Classes Puts Graduation at Risk

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Achievement

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tThe Chicago International Charter School (CICS) Bucktown campus opened its doors in August of 1997 and currently serves 600 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The mission of Chicago International is to provide, through innovation and choice, an attractive and rigorous college-preparatory education that meets the needs of today’s student. Over the years, Chicago International, in conjunction with the teachers and administration at CICS Bucktown, realized that the highest achieving students needed additional challenges and increased academic opportunities.

The Gifted & Talented Program at Chicago International Bucktown was created during the 2006–2007 school year to build on the foundation of learning for the highest achievers in the fifth and sixth grades. The academic leadership at CICS Bucktown realized that the students in the highest quartiles of the computer-adapted NWEA standardized assessments were capable of working on higher level skills than the rest of the class. They launched the Gifted & Talented program to challenge the highest achieving students. In addition to an accelerated curriculum, these young people also participated in the following opportunities:

• IllinoisMathematicsandScience Academy’s School Visit Program

• HarvardClubofChicagoEarlyCollege Awareness Program

• ApreviewscreeningofthefilmFreedom Writers in January 2007

The Gifted and Talented program success-fully accomplished the goal of creating an environment of learning for the students in the highest quartile. Given the success of the program for students in fifth and sixth grades, CICS Bucktown expanded the program to grades 3 through 8 for the 2007–2008 school year. Using the NWEA assessment, students achieving above the expected level are placed in the Gifted & Talented program and their progress is tracked during the year. Overall, the program has motivated students of all ability levels to outperform their previous NWEA scores, thereby creating an environment of academic success.

CICS Bucktown has found that implementing the Gifted & Talented program has brought more academic rigor to the campus. Students and parents have embraced the idea of the

advanced program, and families have benefited from the outside partnerships. The Gifted & Talented program prepares the CICS Bucktown students for rigorous high school programs and lays the foundation for college success.

Head of the ClassCICS Bucktown students rise up to the challenge

By R.J. McMahon

Photo by Joshua Dunn Photography

CICS Bucktown By The Numbers

• K-8grades,opentoallstudents

• Schooldayrunsfrom8:00a.m.

to 3:30 p.m.

• Schoolyearrunsfrommid-August

to mid-June

• 70.3%ofstudentsmeet/exceedstate

standards in reading (2007 ISAT)

• 83.3%ofstudentsmeet/exceedstate

standards in math (2007 ISAT)

• Morethan20%ofthecurrent8th-

grade class has been accepted into

selective-enrollment high schools

across the city of Chicago

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How FSP and CICS overhauled the student lunchtime experience

As American consumers, we are bombarded with messages about what we eat, how much we eat, and how little we exercise. Deciphering these messages in hopes of crafting a plan for a healthy lifestyle can be daunting. For school children, these messages come in many and varied forms and penetrate the psyche of our most at-risk young people. Given this landscape, Chicago International Charter School, with the help of Kraft Foods, launched in 2005 a Healthful Approach to Life for our entire school community. The objectives of the Healthful Approach to Life are:

Given the high rate of obesity and diabetes for children of color, Chicago International needed to take a proactive approach to health and wellness. Kraft Foods provided monetary and programmatic support, which were key to implementing the program. While Kraft’s Health4Schools curriculum was beneficial in establishing the framework of the program, Chicago International needed additional partners to have a stronger impact on students’ lives.

CICS turned to FSP, the organization that serves the food on the 11 Chicago International campuses. FSP was founded in 1970 to ensure that every student attending a Chicago area school would have access to an affordable breakfast and hot lunch with minimal preparation at the school. While FSP serves mainly Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Chicago, they have served charter schools for the last 10 years. In 1998, Chicago International became the first charter school FSP served.

As the relationship grew, the partnership blossomed. Over the last three years, FSP has not only helped revamp the lunch menus, but has also redesigned the campus cafeterias. John Koubek, the president of FSP, is thankful for the partnership with Chicago International because it allows him and his organization to bring their full

Healthy Choicesby R.J. McMahon

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“ Convenience and cost are not going to rule the day.”

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complement of tools to the table: state-of-the-art equipment, R&D, onsite prep, and high-quality food. This partnership has made nutritional inroads for the students by decreasing processed food and increasing healthy choices.

Additionally, the students and parents learn about nutrition through various activities during the school day as well as during after-school programs. The goal is to equip students and their families with the knowledge they need to make healthy choices throughout their educational journeys.

“School food is more visible than ever, and there is a greater awareness of the food served because of the child obesity epidemic in our urban center cities,” Koubek says. “There is continued pressure to reduce school food service to a mundane commodity while treating breakfast and lunch as nothing more than calories into a body to fulfill a requirement.”

Without the human perspective, partnership and planning, the students of Chicago International would have been the victims of that pressure. But with the help of FSP, Chicago International students eat nourishing meals and are equipped to make healthy choices in the future.

Sample Lunch Menu Offerings

Turkey Taco Salad with Salsa & Fat-Free Ranch Dressing Pinto Beans, Grapes, Sugar Cookie

Vegetable Lasagna Garlic Wheat Bread, Tossed Salad with Fat-Free Dressing, Mixed Fruit

Cheese Pizza Carrots, Pineapple, Yellow Cake with Vanilla Icing

Herb Roasted or BBQ Chicken Baked Potato Wedges, Corn Cobette Apple Crisp

Baked Fish Nuggets Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Green Beans Wheat Roll/Honey, Mandarin Oranges

Gardenburger on Wheat Bun with Tomato and Lettuce Baked Potato Smiles, Mixed Fruit Chocolate Pudding

Menu Details:• Pizzaismadewithpart-skimmozzarella cheese and an enriched fiber crust

• Whitepotatoesarelimitedto twice weekly

• Dessertsarelimitedtotwotothree times per week

• Wheatsandwichbreadsandbunsare used throughout menu

• Wildriceorbrownriceisusedinstead of white rice

• Chickennuggetsaretransfat-free

• Onlyenrichedpastaisused

• Allmenuitemsareprepared without frying

Resources

ResourcesU.S. Charter Schools www.uscharterschools.org

National Alliance for Public Charter Schools www.publiccharters.org

National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. www.nasdse.org

U.S. Department of Education www.ed.gov

NACSA National Association of Charter School Authorizers www.qualitycharters.org

Center for Education Reform www.edreform.com

National Education Association www.nea.org/charter

Chicago Public Schools www.cps.k12.il.us

Illinois Network of Charter Schools www.incschools.org

Illinois State Board of Education www.isbe.net

EventsJune 19 - 20 Foundation for Excellence in Education “Excellence in Action: A National Summit on Education Reform” www.excelined.org

June 22 – 25 8th National Charter Schools Conference “Still We Rise: Achieving Academic Excellence at Scale” www.nationalcharterconference.org

Come see for yourself. WWW.CHICAGOINTL.ORG

Introducing a New Way to Look at CICS

EXPANDING MINDS.EXPANDING RESOURCES.