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Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
Chicago schools have long struggled with student mobility -- between years, during the year, sometimes multiple times per year. The effects on the kids can be pretty devastating. To reduce mobility, Flint, Michigan has been giving out supplemental housing vouchers to families with children in school -- and apparently it's made something of a difference: (To Avoid Student Turnover, Parents Get Rent Help New York Times). I think it's a decent idea, though you'd have to design it carefully. What do you think?
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Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
In chicago it is the plan of the mayor to destabilize neighborhoods. Just drive down 39th east of the ryan and see for yourself. Complete communities have been forcibly removed from their homes. Just look at the list of turn around and transformation schools where they remove teachers and students from their neighborhood schools that are finished today the last day of the fiscal school year!
I went to McCormick school for 9 years with the same teachers, nice piano in each room and the famous coat rooms. We knew our teachers, principal and each other. We respected the school and the system because they respected us. Now everyone is dispensable and a commodity to be developed or in the way of development as is the case with low income families.
There is no housing left in chicago. For ten years now I have watched all the low income housing destroyed by the city of chicago. The excuse was too many people in one area. Now what do you see on 35th and State, new mid-rise condos. Why are big buildings good for people with money and skills and bad for low income residents? Why was it alright to have crack dealers running back and forth on 37th and Michigan 5 years ago and now they are none to be seen?
They just demolished all the affordable housing east of state between 35th and 47th. I watched it happen everyday as I drove to school CSU and work HPA. It was methodical, predetermined and malicious. They even let the grass grow over the empty lots to make it seem like no one every lived there.
Wow great you think, at least these people care about the environment and nature, but alas when the building begins and the fences go up. The ones that you can not see thru, all the trees are cut down. Just look by 39th Vincennes there are no old growth tress by those new developments, but when they tore down the low income housing the trees were left standing as a deception that the old will be left to stay in the community, so much for the eco-friendly and green certified city.
There is no concern for the welfare of the citizens that do not have voice in the "Big Picture" of gentrification in the city of chicago. It is as in the days of old: The Robber Barons are now replaced with Speculative Investors and Developers who influence and work with government officials to enrich themselves.
In chicago poor people are not wanted!
They make the city look bad for the olympic committee!
How to Reduce Mobility
1. Stop government corruption.
2. Stop all school closings immediately.
3. Stop socio-economic cleansing of communities.
4. Increase funding for local general enrollment schools.
John Kugler
Chicago Teacher
csdu@live.com
I went to McCormick school for 9 years with the same teachers, nice piano in each room and the famous coat rooms. We knew our teachers, principal and each other. We respected the school and the system because they respected us. Now everyone is dispensable and a commodity to be developed or in the way of development as is the case with low income families.
There is no housing left in chicago. For ten years now I have watched all the low income housing destroyed by the city of chicago. The excuse was too many people in one area. Now what do you see on 35th and State, new mid-rise condos. Why are big buildings good for people with money and skills and bad for low income residents? Why was it alright to have crack dealers running back and forth on 37th and Michigan 5 years ago and now they are none to be seen?
They just demolished all the affordable housing east of state between 35th and 47th. I watched it happen everyday as I drove to school CSU and work HPA. It was methodical, predetermined and malicious. They even let the grass grow over the empty lots to make it seem like no one every lived there.
Wow great you think, at least these people care about the environment and nature, but alas when the building begins and the fences go up. The ones that you can not see thru, all the trees are cut down. Just look by 39th Vincennes there are no old growth tress by those new developments, but when they tore down the low income housing the trees were left standing as a deception that the old will be left to stay in the community, so much for the eco-friendly and green certified city.
There is no concern for the welfare of the citizens that do not have voice in the "Big Picture" of gentrification in the city of chicago. It is as in the days of old: The Robber Barons are now replaced with Speculative Investors and Developers who influence and work with government officials to enrich themselves.
In chicago poor people are not wanted!
They make the city look bad for the olympic committee!
How to Reduce Mobility
1. Stop government corruption.
2. Stop all school closings immediately.
3. Stop socio-economic cleansing of communities.
4. Increase funding for local general enrollment schools.
John Kugler
Chicago Teacher
csdu@live.com
Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
some of the few buildings left behind when Robert Taylor Homes were brought down were the school buildings. All up and down State Street south of IIT, you see schools. Where are these students coming from? What will be the schools for the new, higher income residents (if they stay once their kids reach school age)? Ideas anyone?
Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
In the early 1960's an economics teacher at Dunbar Vocational Schools. B. J. Johnson told his students that their parents should hold on to their properties because the land was valuable. My great-aunt lived in a mansion on Drexel Blvd. that was taken by the city to build the playground across from Reavis. The church on 37th we went to in the 60's is surrounded by $400K+ condos. I moved back into Oakland in December. It's now all being called Historic Bronzeville. Mr. Johnson would be proud to know his predictions have come true. He would be saddened to see who lives there now.
Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
I think it would be a great idea. I struggle to pay the rent, keep food on the table, etc. Students need stability to do well in school and to be successful later.
Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
The reason high rises were bad for poor folk and are not bad for upper middle class folk is because amongst the poor folk were some truly despicable people--people who would sell crack to kids, break the elevators in order to better prey on people in dimly lit stairwells, steal from their neighbor who was no better off than the thief, himself... Yes, you'll find despicable people in every class, I'm sure there are some folks in those new developments who would cheerfully sell someone a mortgage they can't afford then turn around and sell that to someone else as an investment grade bond, but these folks aren't part of a street gang that occasionally kills innocent people because they have poor aim.
The projects were largely taken over by the street gangs. They also concentrated the hopelessness of poverty and isolated the children from any experience different from their own. At least with the current plan, there is the possibility of a family choosing to live in say Berwyn, or Cicero, or Ford Heights and getting to attend school with children from different socio-economic statuses and backgrounds.
The projects were largely taken over by the street gangs. They also concentrated the hopelessness of poverty and isolated the children from any experience different from their own. At least with the current plan, there is the possibility of a family choosing to live in say Berwyn, or Cicero, or Ford Heights and getting to attend school with children from different socio-economic statuses and backgrounds.
Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
The problem with these solutions is that while they address the symptoms of a greater problem, they don't attack the problem at its root.
Instead of providing housing vouchers, why not invest more money in the neighborhoods themselves. Invest in social support services, adult education programs, parenting classes (which I wish were mandatory for every parent, everywhere from the South Side to the Northshore burbs), etc. And pair that with rent stabilization policies or something like it.
I'd rather see the money spent on programs that improve the neighborhood, which hopefully in turn will encourage folks to stay in their neighborhoods. This is basically what LISC (backed by MacArthur money) seems to be trying to do right now and it makes sense that a lot of LISC agencies are partnering with schools to promote these changes.
In the end, its sort of like the tax rebate checks, I was happy to get mine in the mail, don't get me wrong, but I still wonder if the money could have been better spent.
It's nice to put the money directly into everyone's hands, but in the end, I'm not sure if it promotes any long-term positive changes.
Instead of providing housing vouchers, why not invest more money in the neighborhoods themselves. Invest in social support services, adult education programs, parenting classes (which I wish were mandatory for every parent, everywhere from the South Side to the Northshore burbs), etc. And pair that with rent stabilization policies or something like it.
I'd rather see the money spent on programs that improve the neighborhood, which hopefully in turn will encourage folks to stay in their neighborhoods. This is basically what LISC (backed by MacArthur money) seems to be trying to do right now and it makes sense that a lot of LISC agencies are partnering with schools to promote these changes.
In the end, its sort of like the tax rebate checks, I was happy to get mine in the mail, don't get me wrong, but I still wonder if the money could have been better spent.
It's nice to put the money directly into everyone's hands, but in the end, I'm not sure if it promotes any long-term positive changes.
Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 1:06 PM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
...would you please e-mail me at skalinder --- at --- yahooooo?
I'd like to chat with you about your experience with charters.
I'd like to chat with you about your experience with charters.
Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Reducing Mobility With Housing Payments
The South Shore community has the highest number of "Section 8" housing in the City of Chicago. A large number of residents from the "State Street Corridor" and the "Westside" are now in the South Shore community. Bradwell Elementary School has the highest number of "Section 8" housing students than any elementary school in CPS! The police beats from 75th & Yates to 83rd & Yates all the way to the lakefront, have the highest amount of crime in the City of Chicago! More than double and sometimes triple the crime rate of the average beat in the City of Chicago. Just look at the news at all of the shootings and killings and a lot of them are from this area! Actions speak louder than words, and Mayor Daley has spoken!!!
