March 2007: Student Mobility

School closings and the demolition of public housing may well be aggravating student mobility in predominantly black communities, one researcher suggests. While other districts are beginning to tackle mobility, CPS says it’s limited in what it can do.

Cover Stories

• Turnover hurts kids, schools Mobility is down across CPS, except in low-income African-American schools. Some educators note that the best solution is as simple as creating schools that families don’t want to leave.
  
• 'They're in, and then they're out' Mobility is high throughout the West Pullman neighborhood, particularly at West Pullman Elementary, where 26 percent of students enrolled at the start of school left before year’s end—the highest percentage in the district. Another 22 percent of students transferred in mid-year.
  
• Multiple moves par for the course Kids from overcrowded neighborhoods can switch schools twice or more. CPS says its plans for overcrowding relief should solve the problem, but questions remain about its strategy.
  
• Families 'not running' from Swift Gentrification doesn’t automatically bring middle-class kids into schools, but it can spur schools to improve—and keep their kids.
  

Letter From the Editor New partners can’t ignore the role of politics in public schools This year, Chicago stands to gain from a new national initiative meant to jumpstart grassroots organizing on behalf of schools. But instead of political advocacy, the grassroots groups will be expected to focus directly on improving education for poor children and children of color.