catalyst-chicago.org

There is much to celebrate in the improvement in student achievement in the elementary schools of Chicago. Since 1990, the percentage of students scoring at or above national norms in reading has increased by 11.2 percentage points, while the percentage in math has increased by 12.5 points. After some small decreases from 1990 to 1992, as newly empowered schools were getting organized under school-based management reforms, progress was fairly steady in both reading and math. But there is still more to do.

One of the most important contributing factors to a successful school experience is the quality of early literacy instruction. Students who have had good early literacy instruction are more likely be able to read and write without difficulty. The recent increase in the number of preschool and Reading Recovery programs, and the addition of early-intervention summer school programs have been a plus for Chicago youngsters.

The one policy action that could make the most difference at this stage of school reform would be a serious reduction in class size. Since this is also the most expensive action, it will happen only when community organizations and the Chicago Teachers Union join forces to demand such a change.

I taught high school in the Chicago Public Schools for 34 years. The high school teachers I know want fewer students in their own classes, but many recognize that significantly lowering class size in the elementary schools would give them better prepared students.

Picture these scenes from the lives of Chicago public schools:Middle-school students from 11 neighborhood schools across the city work their way through a professional art gallery that has on display 400 works of outstanding quality. The show includes installations, sculpture, masks, paintings and remarkable writing about personal and social issues. All were created by the students who fill the gallery today, alternating between articulate docent and respectful listener and observer.

In December 1986, a small group of South Shore residents met in the dining room of a parent's home to discuss the growing concerns about the education offered by the neighborhood high school. A month later, the Coalition for Improved Education in South Shore, or CIESS, was born. CIESS initially focused on improving South Shore High School but later expanded to include its feeder elementary schools. In the process, we grew from a group of residents concerned about one school to a network of 10 schools plus community organizations, businesses, institutions and, still, individual residents.

Over the past 22 years, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge has committed almost $28 million in grants to more than 40 school networks. The Challenge funds networks—at least three schools and an external partner such as a community group, university or reform organization—because schools cannot achieve whole-school change alone. In networks, schools are able to share resources, learn from each others' experiences, support each other and act as critical friends.

In the more than 10 years that I've been working in Chicago public elementary schools, I've watched quite a few education reform groups and initiatives come and go. In some instances, I was one of the "reformers"; in others, only an interested observer; in still others, I had to help settle the dust after the (so-called) reformers lost interest (i.e., funding). Through these experiences I've developed a list of reminders to myself that I keep posted in my office.