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A recent report from the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago singled out Area 8, which includes most of North Lawndale, as one of the three elementary school areas with the poorest academic performance. The single high school within North Lawndale's boundaries, Collins, is on academic probation.

In every classroom at Kellman Elementary, posters emblazoned with two questions serve as a constant reminder of the school's mission: "Are Kellman students learning? How do we know?"

Kellman, which sits at the southern edge of East Garfield Park but draws many of its 300 students from North Lawndale, has been repeatedly recognized for outstanding academic achievement. A majority of students perform at or above grade level on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, and the school has a waiting list because of its stellar reputation in the community.

Hopes were high that Chicago's local school councils would get a fresh start when Arne Duncan replaced Paul Vallas as the school system's chief executive officer nearly three years ago. However, few of these hopes have been borne out—leaving LSCs with many of the same problems they faced before.

"It's hard to say whether things are worse, but they're definitely not better," says Julie Woestehoff, executive director of PURE (Parents United to Reform Education). "The players are essentially the same, and they're playing the same games."

This story contains corrected material [updated 3:42 p.m. CT, 04/01/04]

Improving attendance has long been a tough problem in high schools, and Marshall is no exception. At 84.5 percent, Marshall's attendance rate is lower than the citywide average for high schools, 86.5 percent. In comparison, elementary schools post a citywide rate of 93 percent. Associate Editor Debra Williams spoke with Rice, a 30-year Marshall veteran who also started a grandparents program in which older adults provide mentoring to students.

Tell me about a typical day for you.

La selección de un principal es la responsabilidad más significativa y más intimidadora para un concilio escolar. Muchos miembros dedican largas horas por las tardes y en los fines de semana para examinar resumés, organizar foros de comunidad y entrevistar candidatos. Algunas veces su duro trabajo produce resultados positivos pero otras veces fallan. Cuatro miembros de concilios escolares comparten las estrategias que los ayudaron a escoger un principal ganador y los errores que ellos esperan otros concilios escolares puedan evitar.

Linda Calloway

Unlike many in the Dodge school community, Dolores Thomas was not terribly upset when the School Board closed the school in June 2002 for exceptionally low performance. She even volunteered to serve on a planning team for the school's reopening. But she is upset now.

"Betrayed is the word I would use," she says.

Thomas and her friend Geri Bleavings-Booker, another parent on the planning team, say they were led to believe their school's advisory council would have the same powers as a local school council. But that is not the case.

Truth is not the only school in Chicago to suffer from frequent principal turnover. Thirty-three schools have had their leadership change five or more times since 1995, according to a Catalyst analysis of School Board data.

If the data on Truth are any indicator, the total may be higher. That data did not include three administrators who stayed for less than a year.