So it should be no surprise that our failure to keep up with the rest of the world on matters of education poses dire consequences for our economy and national prestige.

Here are some important statistics: the U.S. ranks 14^th in global college completion and by 2020, an estimated two-thirds of all jobs will require an education beyond high school.

We have seen a troubling trend for low-income and minority students — students who, in the past, have been left to fend for themselves.  This is particularly true for Latinos — who represent the fastest-growing, youngest demographic in the country. Thousands of Latino students, who have with the smarts and skills to succeed in college, aren’t even applying.  Increasing degree attainment among this particular demographic is essential, considering our nation’s goal to re-establish our place as the world’s leader with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.  As the U.S. strives for global competitiveness, training a new generation of workers is increasingly critical.

As a young man who grew up on the streets of the South Side of Chicago and today is a successful businessman, I have a particular appreciation for the importance of a well-educated, diverse workforce. I have seen the devastating effects of repeated cycles of poverty on those who can’t break it.  That’s why I feel so strongly that all students who are academically prepared for the intellectual demands of college — no matter their location, background or socioeconomic status — have a right to fulfill their potential.

I have known many Latino students, in particular, who have the academic potential to succeed in college but lack role models and resources. They need support and guidance. They need parents, teachers and schools that foster a college-going culture in the earliest grades.

If you work on behalf of students or feel your expertise could help to support traditionally underserved students, I strongly recommend that you attend “Prepárate™: Educating Latinos for the Future of America” from May 1 to 2, 2013 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Hosted by the College Board, the conference will convene the voices and best practices of some of America’s most respected educators and advocates to improve academic success and opportunity for Latino students.  Teachers, counselors and administrators from high schools and colleges will address critical issues within Latino education and focus on successful strategies that include: creating opportunities for students to experience challenging high school course work that prepares them for college; strengthening students in math and science for STEM careers; and ensuring high school graduation and improving timely college graduation rates.  To register and for more information, please visit http://preparate.collegeboard.org.

We face, in no uncertain terms, a crisis that threatens our nation’s long-term health and prosperity; America’s success in the 20th century was achieved not only through the might of our arms but the dexterity of our minds.

It is our responsibility as parents, elected officials, administrators and business leaders to support each and every one of our students. We must be advocates and we must keep pushing our students to achieve greatness above and beyond even their own expectations. If we fail, our failure will become theirs. If we succeed, our success will echo for generations.

Martin Cabrera, Jr.

Founder, CEO

Cabrera Capital Markets

This ethos, which has shaped the American experience from the inception of our nation, explains why we’ve devoted so much time, attention and energy to public education over the last 40 years.  After all, an individual’s chances of gaining employment—especially high wage, good benefit employment—are more closely correlated with educational attainment now than ever before.  So it’s no surprise polling data consistently shows Americans believe every child should receive a good public education. 

Yet despite this broadly shared belief, America’s public education system fails to provide each child with a meaningful educational opportunity.  While there are many reasons for this failure, one core barrier stands out: the way our nation funds schools.  It is this very issue that motivated Congressmen Mike Honda of California and Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania, to work with the Obama Administration and create the Equity and Excellence Commission under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education.  I had the distinct honor of serving on this Commission from its inception on February 2, 2011, through issuance of our final report “For Each and Every Child” two years later, on February 2, 2013.

The commission’s charter challenged us to take the education funding issue head on, and in meaningful new ways. For instance, while states currently have the primary obligation to fund schools, the commission was charged with delineating “how the federal government can increase educational opportunity by improving school funding equity.”  In addition to rethinking the federal role, the commission was tasked with making “recommendations for restructuring school finance systems to achieve equity in the distribution of educational resources and further student performance, especially for students at the lower end of the achievement gap.” 

This meant the commission had to identify: (1) what educational resources and other services are needed to provide a meaningful educational opportunity to all children, with a particular focus on children who have traditionally struggled to achieve academically, like those who live in poverty or are English language learners; and (2) how to pay for it.  This focus on ensuring adequate capacity to educate at-risk children was challenging, but also the absolute right thing to do.

That’s because public education in America is “broken” not because it fails to educate all children well, but because it is under-resourced to provide every child—regardless of race, ethnicity or income class—with a quality education.  Indeed, in most communities where resources are abundant and available, the public education delivered is competitive with the best performing systems in the world.

The Program for International Student Assessment, known as PISA, measures how students in different Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries stack up in reading, math, and science. When the 2009 scores were released last year, the overall U.S. tally of 500 was middling.  But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Poverty, unequal resources 

A study that divided U.S. schools into cohorts based on poverty found that non-poor U.S. children performed quite well. Indeed, American schools with less than 10 percent of students living in poverty scored 551 on the PISA, best in the world for nations with a similar poverty profile, with Finland coming in second at 536. American schools with poverty levels between 10 percent and 24.9 percent also placed first when measured against nations with similar poverty profiles. In fact, PISA scores of American schoolchildren did not start plummeting until poverty concentrations climbed to significant levels.  

This puts the real problem in stark relief: America isn’t broadly failing to educate all children, but it is failing poor and low-income children.  And a big reason for that is resources—or the lack thereof.  See, we know quite a bit about the educational practices and resources that have been proven to enhance student achievement over time.  We just don’t have a national finance system that can cover the cost of providing them in poor and low-income communities.  Too often, a state’s funding of public education is tied to what decision-makers believe that state’s fiscal system can afford, rather than the actual cost of educating each child.  This encourages an over-reliance on local property taxes to fund schools, which in turn results in significant, meaningful disparities in the resources available among wealthy, middle-income and poor communities. 

The net result: American children receive qualitatively different educations simply based on the state in which they were born, the district in which they are enrolled, and the school to which they are assigned.

To address this clear inequity, our commission issued numerous recommendations for how state governments should determine what it will take to provide each child with a meaningful education, including how to pay for it in a fair, sustainable way.  But we didn’t stop there.  We also recommended that the federal government take a substantially greater role in covering the cost of educating our nation’s at-risk students.  This is especially important given the widely varying fiscal capacities and demographics of the 50 states. 

It was incredibly difficult reaching consensus on these contentious issues.  Indeed, the very composition of the commission itself made it doubtful that any agreement on school funding equity could be reached.  Not only were a broad array of world-views represented, the commission included members who literally were on opposing sides in education funding lawsuits.  Yet despite all that, we voted unanimously to endorse the final recommendations contained in the report, and with good reason. 

See, it shouldn’t matter if a child is born in Mississippi, Connecticut, Illinois or California. That child is an American and our entire nation has the responsibility to ensure he or she receives a high-quality education.

Ralph Martire is the executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and served as a commissioner on the U. S. Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence Commission.

As students get older, the picture continues to be bleak. Students who don’t meet at least three college readiness standards on the ACT have only a 15 percent chance of graduating from college, according to research. Because of lack of preparation, fewer than 30 percent of Illinois students who go to college will graduate, the report projects.

Advance Illinois Executive Director Robin Steans says the finding that so few students are reading well in 3rd grade is “shocking,” even though she is immersed in the education world.

The fact that these students never catch up is a call to action, Steans said.

Another troubling finding: 15 percent of young adults are out of work and out of school, up from 13 percent in 2010, according to the report “The State We’re In.”

Illinois also has one of the worst achievement gaps in the nation. “A shockingly low 12 percent of African American students, 18 percent of Latino students and 16 percent of low-income students read proficiently in 4th grade,” according to the report. Yet the gap narrowed slightly in 8^th-grade and more students of color and poor students are taking Advanced Placement exams, though few are passing them.

The biennial report issued by the powerful advocacy group is meant to pull together a variety of statistics to paint a full picture of education in the state.

Overall, the latest report gives the state slightly better grades than it did two years ago. In the area of early education, Illinois continues to get an incomplete; in elementary and high school education, the state gets a C-minus, up from a D; and in post-secondary education, it gets a C-plus, up from a C.

Yet most of the reason why Illinois did better is that it held steady, while other states declined.

“I don’t want there to be any false celebrations,” says Bill Daley, co-chair of the Advance Illinois board.

The report comes out just as the state is implementing a host of changes to the education system, from the more rigorous Common Core standards—and, eventually, new tests based on those standards—to a new teacher and principal evaluation system to a protocol to assess how many preschoolers are ready for kindergarten.

Steans says she’s hoping the report underscores the importance of implementing these new measures well.

“All these parts matter and relate to each other,” Steans says. “It is a life boat. If you are missing even one plank, you will sink.”

High school exit exams?

The report also might set the stage for new legislation to make sure that students don’t graduate from high school without the skills to get through college. About 55 percent of Illinois high school graduates go on to college, according to the report.

“College is expensive,” says Steans, noting another finding: Paying for college takes 21 percent of a typical family’s median income, a percentage that has risen since 2010.

Steans says a state committee is looking at options to ensure that students don’t go to college only to drop out, such as high school exit tests or, as an alternative, end-of-course tests that students take as they complete classes.

Yet Steans stresses that she believes the problems in college begin way before hand.

Illinois has been widely seen as a leader in providing preschool to three and four- year-olds. With 20 percent of three-year-olds in state-funded programs, Illinois is still No. 1 in the nation. However, over the past two years, the number dropped by 1 percentage point and the report notes that budget pressures may result in even fewer children have access to preschool in the future.

Illinois still gets a grade of incomplete in early childhood because it still does not have information on how many children walk into kindergarten with the age-appropriate skills and knowledge. Illinois, however, is expected in 2015 to roll out statewide a survey tool to measure school readiness.

Strengthen the ‘essential supports’

To change the scenario, the report advocates that schools focus on strengthening the essential supports—ambitious instruction, collaborative teachers, effective leaders, supportive environments and involved families—which were identified by the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago.

One hurdle in bringing more of these supports to schools is the growth in low-income enrollment coupled with a lack of resources for these students, according to the Advance Illinois report. One example: Illinois is ranked 43rd nationally in the ratio of students to counselors.

Advance Illinois points to Massachusetts as one of the places Illinois should emulate. Almost two decades ago, Massachusetts legislators passed a bill that, among other strategies, promised equitable funding across school districts and implemented a high school exit exam. The state also tests teachers on a general curriculum and requires them to do art and science coursework.

As a result, Massachusetts has experienced a surge in student achievement, according to the report.

Illinois stands to see some of the same improvement after the implementation of the reforms set out in recently-adopted legislation and policy, Steans says. But the improvement will not happen quickly.

The 2012 report opens with a 10-page narrative that attempts to put Illinois in context, arguing that the state is still a leader in the number of adults with college degrees but is in danger of falling behind. Also, it points out that the United States is behind other nations in academic performance.

Daley says he and other business leaders became involved with Advance Illinois out of concern that the state was not producing enough qualified workers for higher- skilled jobs. “If we don’t do something about this, our economy is going to deteriorate,” he says.

“If you have these three things, every kid regardless of who they are, where they’re from and their background, can succeed in our schools,” Emanuel said.

CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett added: “It does not essentially matter where a child comes from. We cannot change that, but we can change the arena a child comes into.”

In a press release, Emanuel’s office said the scores were calculated based on four factors: improving test scores, raising the percentage of students who graduate and who are ready for college, and decreasing the achievement gap. Principals who met CPS’ bar in two of the factors earned $5,000. Those who showed improvement in three factors earned $10,000.

Principals could have the bonus check made out to themselves or their schools.

Principals at four schools – Chavez, Lowell, Keller Gifted and Lavizzo – received the highest bonus of $20,000 for improving in all four areas.

Even so, not all schools are doing equally well.  Principals at schools with the most low-income students, and those at the most segregated high schools, were less likely to earn bonuses. Principals at schools with more white students were more likely to earn bonuses. (Click here for a list of the bonus amounts principals received.)

A Catalyst Chicago analysis shows that:

*Principals at the elementary schools where fewer than half of students receive free or reduced-price lunches had a 38 percent chance of receiving bonuses. At the other end of the spectrum, principals at elementary schools where more than 95 percent of students are on free and reduced lunch had just a 10 percent chance of getting a bonus.

*Among elementary schools where at least one-fifth of the students are white, almost twice as many principals – 23 percent – received bonuses compared to other elementary schools, where just 12 percent did.

*Principals at high schools where more than 95 percent of students receive a free or reduced-price lunch were a little over half as likely as other high school principals to receive bonuses: 4 percent vs 7 percent elsewhere.

*More than half of all high schools are at least 80 percent African-American or 80 percent Latino students. But just two of the 10 high schools where principals got bonuses fall into this category.

*Gifted and magnet schools make up 12 percent of elementary schools in CPS, but 24 percent of the elementary schools whose principals earned bonuses.

Promising signs in struggling schools

Some neighborhood schools, however, showed promising signs of improvement despite the disparities. In high-poverty Roseland, principals at four schools – three of them neighborhood schools – received bonuses.

They included Lavizzo Elementary, a long-underperforming school which narrowly escaped a turnaround several years ago. But today, that school’s principal, Tracey Stelley, took home a $20,000 bonus. The percentage of students meeting and exceeding state standards on the ISAT composite has increased by nearly 20 points in each of the last two years, to 75 percent today.

In West Garfield Park, principals at six schools earned bonuses. They were among 11 elementary schools in the Garfield-Humboldt Elementary Network who received bonuses, a third of the schools in that network.

One principal at a school for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities, Montefiore, also received a bonus. The percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards on the ISAT composite increased from 8 percent in 2011 to 26 percent in 2012.

Principals at five elementary schools in the wealthier neighborhoods of Norwood Park, where median household income is $64,477, and Forest Glen, where it is $87,394, also received bonuses.

Overall, the 78 elementary schools where principals got bonuses included four turnaround schools, seven charter schools, eight schools with gifted programs, and nine magnets.

The 10 high schools included two charter schools: Young Women’s Leadership Charter School and Noble Street-Chicago Bulls. They also included two selective enrollment schools, Northside College Prep and Whitney Young High School.

Principal recruitment, retention a struggle

Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett told principals gathered at the press conference that “we will continue to do everything we can to support you, retain you.” And turning directly toward them, she added: “You ain’t going nowhere.”

CPS has long struggled with principal retention and quality, and the bonuses are one part of a strategy to improve principal recruitment and training. CPS also began offering $25,000 signing bonuses for out of town principals, but no candidates have received them since the year-long initiative began in March. Officials were aiming to recruit 50 principals through the program.

Starting with this fall’s class of incoming principal candidates, the district also kicked off an effort to improve principal training, called the Chicago Leadership Collaborative.

Stanley Griggs, a bonus winner who is the principal at Owen Elementary Magnet School in Ashburn, says he is not sure whether the bonuses will improve retention.

“It feels great because finally I feel like someone has recognized not only my efforts, but the efforts of my assistant principals, teachers, parents,” he said, adding that the recognition helped him feel energized.

He said the bonuses could make a difference “for some, maybe, (but) for myself, no.”

“I don’t think we do it for the money. It’s in our hearts to do this right for the kids,” Griggs said. But, he added, “It doesn’t hurt.”

This story has been updated to include additional information from CPS, including a list of the specific bonus amounts principals received.

Elementary schools where principals earned bonuses

1.    Demetrius Bunch    ARMSTRONG, L
2.    Estuardo Mazin    BARRY
3.    Sandra Caudill    BELL
4.    Troy LaRaviere    BLAINE
5.    Staci Bennett    BRADWELL
6.    Christopher Brake    BRIDGE
7.    Donald Morris    BURROUGHS
8.    Joe Piela    CHAPPELL
9.    Barton Dassinger    CHAVEZ
10.    Christy Krier    CICS-BUCKTOWN
11.    David Lewis    CICS-WRIGHTWOOD
2.    Jose Barrera    COLUMBIA EXPLORERS
13.    Greg Zurawski    COONLEY
14.    Bud Bryant    CULLEN
15.    Susan Kukielka    DECATUR
16.    Kathleen Hagstrom    DISNEY
17.    Elizabeth Alvarez    DORE
18.    Pamela Creed    DULLES
19.    Chandra Byrd-Wright  DUNNE TECH ACAD
20.    Janice Kepka    EDGEBROOK
21.    Shirley Scott    ELLINGTON
22.    Brian Metcalfe    FIELD
23.    Cynthia Miller    FISKE
24.    Barbara Kargas    GOETHE
25.    Yvette Curington    GOLDBLATT
26.    Donella Carter    GREGORY
27.    James Gray    HAMILTON
28.    Alfonso Carmona    HEALY
29.    Jacqueline Hearns    HEFFERAN
30.    Juliana Perisin    HENDRICKS
31.    Mable Alfred    HIGGINS
32.    Pam Brunson-Allen    HINTON
33.    Matthew Ditto    JACKSON, A
34.    Catherine Jernigan    JENSEN
35.    Alice Henry    JOHNSON
36.    Delena Little    KELLER
37.    Brenda Browder    KELLMAN
38.    Elisabeth Huetefeu    LASALLE
39.    Tracey Stelly    LAVIZZO
40.    Mark Armendariz    LINCOLN
41.    Gladys Rivera    LOWELL
42.    Carolyn Epps    MARCONI
43.    Jo Easterling-Hood    MCDOWELL
44.    Nancy Hanks    MELODY
45.    Julious Lawson    MONTEFIORE
46.    Catherine Reidy    MOUNT GREENWOOD
47.    Sonia Caban    MOZART
48.    Estee Kelly    NOBLE STREET- COMER
49.    Renee Blahuta    NORWOOD PARK
50.    Elias Estrada    ORIOLE PARK
51.    Stanley Griggs    OWEN
52.    Hassan Okab    PECK
53.    Vicky Kleros    PEREZ
54.    Kelly Moore    POE
55.    Angela Johnson-Williams PROVIDENCE - BUNCHE
56.    Pat Baccellieri    PULASKI
57.    Ana Espinoza    SANDOVAL
58.    Isamar Vargas    SAUCEDO
59.    Christine Munns    SAUGANASH
60.    Suzana Ustabecir    SAYRE
61.    Deborah Clark    SKINNER
62.    W. Delores Robinson   SUMNER
63.    Sean Clayton    TILTON
64.    Sabrina Jackson    TURNER-DREW
65.    Molly Robinson    UNO - SANDRA CISNEROS
66.    Joann Lerman    UNO - FUENTES
67.    Martin Masterson    UNO - PAZ
68.    Krish Mohip    WALSH
69.    Relanda Hobbs    WARD, L
70.    Dina Everage    WENTWORTH
71.    Mary Beth Cunat    WILDWOOD
72.    Tamara Littlejohn    WOODSON

 

High schools where principals earned bonuses

1.    Barry Rodgers    NORTHSIDE COLLEGE PREP HS
2.    Yashika Tippett    AIR FORCE HS
3.    Patty Brekke    INFINITY HS
4.    Chris Jones    MATHER HS
5.    Tyson Kane    NOBLE STREET- CHICAGO BULLS
6.    Mary Dolan    RICHARDS HS
7.    Sue Lofton    SENN HS
8.    Todd Yarch    VOISE HS
9.    Joyce Kenner    WHITNEY YOUNG HS
10.  Deniece Fields    YOUNG WOMEN'S CHARTER CAMPUS

By the age of 25, just 6% of students who enter CPS high schools as freshmen will have a bachelors’ degree.  For African-American and Latino students, that number drops to just 3% who will hold a four-year degree.  This is a systemic problem that starts at birth, but is exacerbated by inequities in a school system. There is a 28-point gap between the percentage of Caucasian and African-American students who meet and exceed reading standards in 3rd grade. In 11^th grade, the gap is 40 points.

As parents and citizens we will not stand by and let generations of children become a statistic. That is why we have become parent leaders of Stand for Children.

Stand for Children’s mission as an organization is to ensure that all children, regardless of their background, graduate from high school prepared for, and with access to, a college education.

We believe ALL children deserve an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Public education is the key that unlocks the door to success. Far too many children, through no fault of their own, aren’t getting the education they need to make it in life. We are passionately committed to righting this wrong.

What does this mean for us on the ground in Chicago? 

It means that 150+ public school parents (and quickly growing) are currently enrolled or have graduated from Stand University for Parents (Stand UP) in the past six months.  Stand UP is a 10-week course that is a research-based, family engagement curriculum for parents of elementary school children focused on actionable steps parents can take immediately to get involved in their children’s academics and to ensure their children are on track for college. 

It means that hundreds of public school parents are learning how to be advocates for change through ‘study circles’ and trainings to understand how CPS operates, how schools are funded, how they can advocate for their children and communities.

It means we have a team in Springfield that is fighting for equitable funding for our classrooms, focused on our most at-risk students, and for policies focused on the highest leverage strategies available to stop this negative trend of statistics. 

It means that we challenge a system that has been failing our children for too long, regardless of how challenging those conversations can be. 

We view CPS as a three legged stool: the administration, the teachers, and the parents.  You cannot have one without the other.  You need all three to be engaged, informed, and bought in for true change to occur.  Unfortunately, we live in a city where all three sides are in conflict with each other and our children are caught in the middle. 

Stand for Children is unique in Chicago. We are one of the few parent organizations with representation from the North, West and South Side, with all races, ethnicities, and socio-economic levels included.  We work with parents in traditional public schools, public charter schools, turnaround schools, magnets, and selective enrollment schools. Bottom line, we believe in quality public schools and parent involvement.  Simple as that. 

For those in the education community who would belittle parent involvement from any sector of CPS,  or deem some public schools ‘real’ versus ‘fake,’ we wonder how our district will ever move forward together. 

One thing is clear.  We all want what’s best for our kids and our kids are better for it when we come together and communicate respectfully. These are complex problems and we may have different views on how to solve them. That’s okay. That enriches the debate. But when we attack each other instead of focusing on our shared goals, we all lose. 

(Editor’s note: In recent weeks, Catalyst Chicago has published several op-eds from parents or parent groups. This op-ed from Stand for Children is the latest. Previous op-eds were from Wendy Katten of Raise Your Hand, Rebeca Nieves-Huffman of Democrats for Education Reform and Melissa Lindberg.)

Lisa Kulisek is a parent at Smyth Elementary.

Cheyney Wortham is a parent at Bradwell School of Excellence and a recent Stand UP graduate.

During his freshman year, school district officials announced plans to phase out his school. Each year, new schools moved into the building and his high school was edged out bit by bit. By the time he graduated, Jorel’s classes were squeezed into 1-1/2 floors of the four-story building. Some classes didn’t have enough chairs. The library was non-existent.

“It was really disheartening,” Jorel said. “Senior year is a time that you are being told to go out and be the best, but we really felt like they didn’t care.”

Though his story could be told in CPS, Moore is from New York City. On Thursday, he, along with teenagers from six other cities, stood on a sidewalk in front of Chicago regional office of the U.S. Department of Education to announce that they are filing civil rights complaints based on school closings across the nation.

The reform strategies involved are different, but the common thread, the students allege, is that closings and phase-outs have a disproportionate, negative impact on students of color.

Complaints are being filed on behalf of students from Chicago; Detroit; Baltimore; New York City; Newark, N.J.; Eureka, Miss.; Wichita, Kan.; Boston; Washington D.C.; and Philadelphia.

Several of the complaints, including the one for Chicago, concern the closings of traditional neighborhood schools and the opening of charter schools. But some of the cities are dealing with other issues, such as Detroit where the state took over 15 schools this year.

The students and the organizations they represent also want a meeting “within two weeks” with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlyn Ali. Ali and Peter Cunningham, who is assistant secretary for communications and outreach, have offered to meet with the protest organizers to hear more about their concerns.

“We will evaluate the allegations on the merits as we do all complaints,” said Justin Hamilton, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, in a prepared statement. “We are committed to vigorously upholding civil rights laws and to ensuring that every child has access to the world class education they deserve."

Longtime activist Helen Moore protested the changes in Detroit and came to Chicago with a group of young people. She says that the state board that took over the schools also has a parent group that they control.

“I have never seen anything so rampantly horrible,” she says.

The groups filing the complaints were brought together by the Alliance for Educational Justice, a new national organization focused on organizing parents and students. The Alliance for Educational Justice, which is funded by progressive foundations, including the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Institute, is holding a retreat in Chicago.

An organizer for the Alliance for Educational Justice said the group sees many of the reform policies being initiated as school abandonment.

Photo by Mark Chong Man Yuk.

Why did America initially decide to stay neutral, he asks?

“Because they didn’t want to get involved in what wasn’t their business,” one boy says.

“Because they were supplying both sides,” says another.

Staying out of the war was the plan, Vargas says. “We’re going to find out about why that didn’t work very well.” He points out parallels between the presidents then and now: Woodrow Wilson’s re-election slogan was “He kept us out of the war,” President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to end the war in Iraq. Geography played a role, too. Americans didn’t want to get involved in a war across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe.

But America was pulled into the conflict anyway, leading eventually to the law that created the draft for the first time. “So that’s like the jury duty of war, I guess,” one boy says.

Vargas draws another parallel to current events. A draft wasn’t necessary after the attacks of September 11, 2001, because so many Americans signed up for the now-voluntary Armed Services, including three of his friends.

Outside of class, Vargas explains that his goal as a teacher is to establish a dialogue with students and encourage them to use critical thinking skills to apply, analyze and evaluate information. He also wants them to understand history from the perspectives of different ethnic groups that are sometimes overlooked in the history books.

“When we are talking about the pioneers and the West, I make it a point to have them see it from the perspective of the pioneers as well as the Native Americans who already occupied the land,” Vargas says. “It’s more about the how and the why [of history] than the what.”

At 33, the tall, former school security guard is at ease in front of students and about a decade older than the typical student teacher about to graduate from college. Vargas is also Latino, the most under-represented group among CPS teachers. As more young white teachers flood into the district, Latinos are still just under 15 percent of the teaching force. Yet Latinos are now the largest group of CPS students, at 44 percent of the student population.

At Talman last year, only seven of 19 teachers were Latino and just one was male, according to state teacher service records for the 2010-2011 school year. Enrollment at Talman, a small, high-achieving neighborhood elementary school in Gage Park on the Southwest Side, is 96 percent Latino.

Delia Rico, education director at the Latino Policy Forum, notes that statewide, just 5 percent of teachers and school administrators are Latino. The shortage, she says, is partly due to a spiral effect: Latino students often fall off-track academically in middle school, then end up dropping out of high school or college. Some students attend community college, but never transfer to 4-year schools.

Many schools of education aren’t doing enough when it comes to preparing teacher candidates to work with minority students, Rico adds.

“Where they are falling short is in addressing the understanding of culture, the value of language, the understanding of [the] life experiences that children bring with them to the classroom,” Rico says. Student teaching is a particular concern, since placements are not necessarily in communities where teacher candidates could practice these skills.

Teachers who don’t understand children’s cultural background may not recognize the importance of having books in their students’ native language, or materials that reflect that culture, Rico says.

The Latino Policy Forum plans to work with teacher preparation programs to increase awareness of the importance of cultural competency in the teaching force, and to incorporate more coursework on English language learners for all teachers.

*          *          *

Grow Your Own Teachers, the program that Vargas joined, was created in 2005 to bring more diversity to the teaching profession by supporting candidates—including parents—who live in and have ties to communities of color. In fiscal year 2012, the program received $2.5 million to fund 15 partnerships between community groups and universities to recruit and train teacher candidates. Gov. Pat Quinn recommended no increase in funding for the 2013 fiscal year.

The ability to relate to students and to draw on community resources to help them, are important components of teaching success. A strong relationship between communities and schools, which Grow Your Own aims to foster, is one of the five “essential supports” for school improvement identified by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

Universities, which are generally responsible for assigning student teachers to schools, make sure the Grow Your Own candidates get assignments in their own neighborhoods.

In a small-scale evaluation of the program—covering six Grow Your Own graduates—principals reported that they performed as well as other beginning teachers in the classroom, with classroom management and teaching content knowledge emerging as strong points. The study, which was done by education research firm OER Associates, will be updated soon with data from the current school year.

The Grow Your Own teachers told evaluators that their background and life experiences help them to understand and respect students. They also reported that, as parents themselves, they value family involvement in schools.

Candidates typically take three to seven years to complete Grow Your Own, since the program targets adults—most from ages 30 to 50—who are working full-time and have families. Half of candidates have household incomes under $30,000. Given these challenges, nearly half the candidates drop out. Some are counseled out.

“We have recognized that for some candidates, Grow Your Own will not work out because they are juggling so many responsibilities and don’t have a lot of financial leeway,” notes Anne Hallett, director of Grow Your Own Illinois.

Since its launch in 2005, only 54 candidates have graduated. But by December, that number is expected to almost double, to about 100.

*          *          *

Vargas grew up around 53rd and Wolcott in New City, near Gage Park. At school, his teachers were mostly white and from upper-middle class backgrounds. “They never knew where I was coming from,” he says.

His teachers talked about spending summer vacations at family cabins. Vargas’ family “was eating” but had almost no extra money.

 “I have known what it is like to live in a small apartment with 10 people,” Vargas says. “My goal is to push that these are not excuses, they are tools--reasons [to] put effort in to greater understanding and using different perspectives.”

Vargas’ family later moved—his brother had been beaten up by African-American boys in the neighborhood who mistook him for white, he says—to “a cruddy house” at 54^th and Lawndale. Vargas was enrolled at Peck Elementary. Again, the teachers were mostly white, with a student body that was a mix of 2^nd- and 3^rd-generation Latinos who did not speak Spanish, plus African-American children who were bused into the neighborhood.

When Vargas was 20, his first child was born. He had to work, but attended Daley College, a community college that is part of City Colleges of Chicago, on and off. When he found out about Grow Your Own, he re-committed himself to his goal of becoming a teacher. Eventually, he transferred to Northeastern Illinois University and enrolled full-time.

Getting his degree was no picnic. Vargas worked full-time as a school security guard, and had to hold down a second part-time job to make ends meet. Sometimes, he worked part-time at a third job in an after-school program.

The schedule was grueling. Often, Vargas would arrive home from Northeastern at midnight four or five days a week, then have to wake up at 5 a.m. to get his three kids ready for school and go to work.

“I tell my students, I didn’t do [college] when I was supposed to, so this is the price I have to pay,” he says. “If I really want it, I have to go after it.”

Vargas credits support from his wife, who is also studying to become a teacher, and from his parents and in-laws, with helping him to get through the program.

His supervising teacher at Talman, Theresa O’Rourke, notes that Vargas’ background is an asset.

“Because of his age and experience of having worked in a Chicago public school, he’s familiar with that, as opposed to just coming in from a university,” O’Rourke says. “He has a pretty good understanding of some of the social and economic needs of the student population.”

*          *          *

Vargas says he’s pleased at how much latitude O’Rourke has given him to try out his own style of teaching.

“I am basically occupying space in someone else’s room. It’s like the equivalent of sleeping on someone’s couch,” he notes. “She kind of allows me to do my own thing.”

Not everything has been easy, though. Vargas’ biggest challenge has been figuring out how to handle students who just don’t speak up in class.

“I forced them,” he says. “I told them I want to hear from someone I haven’t heard from yet. They did it in the beginning out of the need to participate. They did it later because they are starting to understand what this means.”

One way Vargas builds understanding is by helping students see the connection between the Spanish and English versions of vocabulary words. “When it derives from the same root, you’ll see the ‘Aha,’ ” he says.

Vargas’ presence has already sparked a small ripple effect. Margarita Ortiz, a parent worker in Vargas’ class, says that his example has sparked thoughts of becoming a teacher herself. (Ortiz participates in a program that provides small stipends and training for parents to work in schools.)

Ortiz rarely speaks in class, mostly assisting with paperwork and helping students who need it.

“I am scared of speaking in front of a lot of people,” she says. “[Vargas] is just starting, but he has that confidence in him. Seeing him is great motivation.”

The problem is this: Somewhere in the process of maintaining “balance” and instituting the “Census Tract/Tier System” based on neighborhood economics, higher-achieving, lower-income minorities like my daughter are being shortchanged.

We are not a family of means, but instead live in affordable housing. We are, however, a family who values academics and a family in which all three minority children are excellent standardized test-takers. Our oldest has been on the honor roll for eight years. For this, we have been shown the door by CPS’ new policies and the Office of Access and Enrollment.

We applied only to the top four selective enrollment schools--Northside, Payton, Young, and Jones--because the academic and social climate in these schools is more in line with what my daughter’s needs are.  We chose not to apply to other selective enrollment, magnet and charter high schools for a number of reasons. Some schools have a plethora of social issues we would rather avoid. Other schools have lower test scores, or embellished standardized test rankings. In addition, most of the other schools are not in a reasonable travel distance from our home.

Because we live in a higher-income census tract, my daughter would have had to score a perfect 900 to even be considered at Whitney Young, Walter Payton or Northside Prep. She scored an 857, so her only option was to apply for principal discretion--and be rejected again.

Our neighborhood high school is Wells. There have been issues with violence, gangs, drugs and academics at the school, well before we were even aware of its existence. My belief is that schools should be safe and conducive to learning. I don’t want to do a disservice to my daughter by putting her life and/or safety at-risk in an underperforming school. She is a fan of musician Yann Tiersen, classical piano and literature, and is an Asian culture enthusiast. She’s also a bit immature for 13. Wells High School would literally eat her alive!

I think the use of a single application would definitely streamline the application process--for central office application processors and not necessarily families. For instance, will a second or third choice rank-ordered school reject qualified students who didn’t select them as top choice?

Also, students now can only apply to one school for principal discretion—what happens with that process? There is supposed to be “transparency,” but there are just too many question marks.

I do not believe there is anything equitable about a process that drives students like test-taking workhorses. My daughter rose to the challenge, performed well and helped to boost CPS’ test scores during her years in elementary school. She now happens to live in Tier 4, but also be a minority from a family of very modest means. For this, she’s been shown the door.

Zarinah Ali

 As a member of Congress, I advocated strongly for the inclusion of detailed discipline questions within the recently-released Civil Rights Data Collection, a sample of schools by the Office of Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education.  Given the revelation of the Noble Street fees, I examined the data to better understand Noble Street's discipline policies. 

I found that in 2009:

• Noble Street suspended 51 percent of its students out of school at least once – almost 3 times the 18 percent rate of Chicago Public Schools (CPS). 

• Although Noble Street has a lower percentage of African American students than CPS – only 30 percent in the sample – 53 percent of students suspended at least once were African American.  Moreover, nearly all African American students – 88 percent– were suspended out of school at least once, compared to only about one-third of African American students in CPS.

• Noble Street suspended out of school 68 percent of its students with disabilities and 48 percent of its students without disabilities, compared to the respective CPS rates of 38 percent and 15 percent.

These statistics clearly demonstrate a striking, systemic problem with the Noble Street discipline practices. Student misbehavior cannot justify these numbers. 

Multiple studies question the effectiveness of punitive school discipline policies that mete out severe penalties for minor infractions, like Noble Street’s.  The research is clear that “get tough” approaches to discipline exacerbate academic difficulties for students, increase bad behavior, and fail to address underlying issues that lead to behavioral infractions. 

Multiple policies could help address the systemic discipline problems at Noble Street and other schools.  At the local level, CPS should closely scrutinize the discipline policies at its schools and integrate such issues into its charter renewal policies. I am pleased that Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard has affirmed his dedication to engaging students in developing positive behavior and reducing suspensions and other actions that remove students from the classroom and reduce learning. 

At the state level, the Illinois State Board of Education should include discipline within the state longitudinal data set. At the federal level, I will continue to push legislation to make schools safer, more-effective learning environments for students by promoting school-wide, evidence-based approaches to address discipline and improve school safety – approaches collectively known as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. 

I agree with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who said that education is this generation’s civil rights issue.  Understanding the nature of discipline used and whether schools disproportionately discipline certain groups of students and reduce their learning time is critical to understanding if we are providing equal access to education.  I trust that Chicago Public Schools, the mayor of Chicago, and the Illinois State Board of Education will take steps to ensure that Noble Street and all CPS schools meet this requirement.

U.S Congressman Danny K. Davis represents the 7^th District of Illinois.

High HOPES released a report that advocates replacing zero-tolerance discipline policies with restorative justice, a strategy that has never taken strong hold in CPS because of a lack of resources. 

Wednesday’s event comes a week after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan acknowledged that African American students in CPS and elsewhere around the country are more likely to be suspended than their peers.

High HOPES recommends CPS “proactively pursue a district-wide reduction in suspensions and expulsions by 40% in the coming school year” and develop a sustainable plan for implementing restorative justice in schools.

Restorative justice is a strategy that aims to build relationships and prevent violence rather than punish offenders, through strategies such as peace circles, peer juries and community service. The report cites successful programs elsewhere, such as in Cole Middle School in West Oakland, California, which introduced restorative justice in 2005 and saw an 87% decline in suspensions from 2005 to 2009. West Philadelphia High School observed a 50% decrease in suspensions and a 52% decrease in violent and serious occurrences from 2007 to 2008.

 “We want young people talking to each other, not acting violent toward each other,” said Ald. Walter Burnett, a High HOPES supporter.

Orr Academy High School student Malachi Hoye underwent extensive training in restorative justice with the organization Blocks Together. “We have students, but we need administrators to get it off the ground,” he said, adding that after being suspended or expelled, “kids end up on the street and then never go back to school.”

Chicago Public Schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard took to the pulpit on Sunday to defend the controversial decision to close or turn around struggling schools. (Tribune)

Community leaders and CTU officials are aiming to build momentum to wrestle control of Chicago's school board away from the mayor and restore it as a publicly elected body, according to the Tribune.

A South Side parent writes in a letter to the editor that CPS is not listening to parents on the issue of longer school days. (Sun-Times)

IN THE NATION
An Indianapolis Star analysis of a new state grading system shows that schools — traditional and charters — that serve high-poverty students will be especially affected by the new system.

Both critics and proponents of school choice say growth in state special education voucher programs could pave the way for broader school-choice initiatives. (Education Week)

The New York City Education Department released the ratings of thousands of teachers on Friday, ending a nearly year-and-a-half-long legal battle by the teachers’ union to keep the names confidential. (The New York Times)

A legal defeat is turning into a political victory for the United Federation of Teachers, galvanizing members and mobilizing allies on the left. (The New York Times)

The findings paint a sobering picture of minority under-representation, statewide, in the teaching profession: Just 54 percent of Illinois students are white, but 89 percent of teachers are.

While teacher diversity has improved nationally in recent years, the number of minority teachers in Chicago has been on a downturn. A Catalyst Chicago analysis published in the Winter 2011 issue of Catalyst in Depth found that 62 percent of new teachers in CPS today are white, compared with 48 percent a decade ago, while 90 percent of students are children of color.

One likely reason: Hiring has shifted from predominantly black Chicago State University to other schools where more education program graduates are white.

Other policies are also having an impact:

*In turnaround schools, where CPS replaces most of the staff, the racial balance has shifted from 70 percent black to less than 50 percent black. That issue sparked a Chicago Teachers Union complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

*The union says that summer 2011 teacher layoffs had a disproportionate impact on African-American and Latino teachers.

*Recent changes to the state’s basic skills test, required for admission to teaching programs, resulted in a freefall in pass rates, especially among aspiring minority teachers.

However, the report notes, teachers of color face roadblocks. They are less likely than white teachers to be satisfied with their pay and working conditions--possibly because they are more likely to work in schools with fewer resources in poor communities--and more likely to be unhappy with how their schools are run.

A study published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management also suggests that a lack of minority principals is a contributing factor. Teachers who are the same race as their principal have higher job satisfaction and lower turnover rates.

The same study also found that outright discrimination is also to blame: White teachers with white principals earned more “supplemental” pay (such as compensation for running after-school activities) than African-American teachers did, and some research has also found that applicants with “white-sounding” names are called in for more job interviews than those with “African-American sounding” names.

Alternative-certification programs are one strategy for addressing the diversity gap – the Center for American Progress report notes that about one-quarter of Hispanic and African-American teachers came through alternate routes, compared to 11 percent of white teachers.

Organizations like Grow Your Own Illinois are also addressing the issue, and Catalyst Chicago reported in its winter 2011 issue of Catalyst In Depth on local universities’ efforts to train more diverse and culturally competent teacher candidates.

Immigrant children are likely to face among the most severe consequences of society’s anxiety. While adult immigrants are often aware of the risks they take in moving to a new country, children are not, and they bear the worst burden.

Since an estimated one-third of young Americans will be immigrant youth by 2040, we have a strong responsibility to focus on their educational and economic success for the well-being of this country. The federal Dream Act, blocked by a Senate filibuster in late 2010, would have provided equitable educational opportunities for successful immigrant students. Now, the State of Illinois has passed a bill that replicates some of the main functions of the proposed Dream Act. But the federal legislation is greatly needed.

Currently, students can only obtain permanent residency through their parents. Many arrived in this country when they were very young, so without new legislation, there is no method for them to obtain legal residency, which means they cannot benefit from government-sponsored loans. Yet, they are graduates of our schools, members of our places of worship, and full participants in our community affairs. Their parents contribute extensively to our economy. They offer promise for the future of a vibrant nation. The United States is their country, where they will stay to pursue their dreams and to establish their families. Many of them are also our honor students, valedictorians and salutatorians. Yet without the Dream Act, their futures look bleak.

Many qualified students do not have the financial resources to pursue college, so the federal Dream Act would have allowed them to apply for college financial assistance and scholarships. Indeed, most students who are American citizens depend on financial aid to attend college.

The Dream Act would have also provided conditional permanent residency to qualifying undocumented students who graduate from U.S. high schools. These students would need to complete two years in the military or two years at a college or university and then would obtain temporary residency for a six-year period. Within this period, they must have acquired a degree or have served in the armed services for at least two years to become permanent residents.

Two students, two dreams

Sofia (not her real name) is a student at a community-focused neighborhood school on Chicago’s Southwest Side. The school focuses extensively on providing resources to immigrant families, and in turn has become a hub of the neighborhood. Sofia represents the very best in this community. She is a scholar who has persevered despite many obstacles and a prolific writer who has won poetry competitions. She is currently enrolled in undergraduate coursework at a local state university.

At the university, Sofia not only gains college credit prior to high school graduation, but she also gets the chance to preview college life. Additionally, she is an intern in the office of a judge. As a result of that experience, Sofia now competes on the school’s Mock Trial Team, earning top honors in court deliberations. Her work on the team as a lawyer was so exacting and moving that the presiding judge made special note of her talents during closing arguments.

Despite her accomplishments, Sofia, who arrived in this country in the early primary grades, may struggle to put her talents to use in the United States. She is undocumented, and will not have the funds to cover her college education.

Adriana is another accomplished Chicago student. Ranking first in her class, she was accepted into an engineering program at a premier university. She had to cope with family illness and additional responsibilities during high school, but was still able to simultaneously earn both high school and university credit. Adriana volunteers at St. Anthony’s Hospital assisting low-income families with language barriers and other difficulties. She also practices and performs choreography in her high school’s Dance Club. As a Junior Achievement volunteer mentor, Adriana has led presentations on how to make financial decisions. She has led the girls’ soccer team to victory, volunteered in the neighborhood health clinic and provided reading assistance as a classroom mentor.

Adriana, too, arrived in this country in the early primary grades. Like Sofia, she too will struggle to find funds for college.

Both students and their families are committed to post-secondary education. They have been paying their share of income taxes. They participate actively in school and community initiatives to bring quality to their neighborhoods. The students attend a community school with a year-round program and a longer school day.

Helping students like Sofia, Adriana and others through passage of the Dream Act is indeed a matter of patriotism. It will allow our graduates from immigrant families to pursue their dreams like all other American students. Every immigrant journey has represented the hopes of our democracy, where prosperity, freedom, and educational opportunities are advanced. Immigrants have arrived with documented and undocumented status, willing to serve our economy in difficult jobs.

Our country needs the political courage to face the reality of documented and undocumented immigrant youth and families so they can regularize their status and continue their journey of self improvement and broaden their contributions to our country.

Though certain states, such as Illinois, have passed state-level versions of this bill, this must be a national struggle. Like the state-by-state struggle for civil rights and for comprehensive health care, the battle to grant full citizenship to immigrant students in the United States will be a long one. But to not fight for this is to relinquish our responsibility to millions of children living among us, and to our nation that has welcomed immigrants for many generations.

Ted Purinton is an assistant professor at American University in Cairo. Carlos M. Azcoitia is an assistant professor at National Louis University and the founding principal of John Spry/Community Links High School

Preschool quality can influence students’ learning and ultimately,their readiness for kindergarten. But some of the children who needhigh-quality preschool the most are not always getting it, according to a Catalyst analysis ofdata from the Classroom Assessment Scoring System.

TheCLASS tool, used last year in a wide-scale project to rate theinteractions between Chicago teachers and preschool students, is basedon research that has found that students do better in classrooms whereteachers are emotionally supportive, create an organized and structuredenvironment, and provide high-level instruction.

Disadvantaged students placed in highly-rated classrooms, research has shown, can actually catch up to their peers.

Observers using the CLASS tool found that CPS classrooms were generally above average compared to other programs nationwide.

However,a Catalyst Chicago analysis of data from the Chicago Department ofFamily and Support Services shows that classrooms in schools with highstudent mobility, and in schools where fewer students met statestandards on the 2010 ISAT, were the most likely to rank in the bottomquartile of all preschools that were rated. (The department iscoordinating CLASS and providing training to teachers.)

Schools where more than 90 percent of students areAfrican-American, and with mobility rates of 30 percent or higher, wereless likely to earn high scores in every area of the scale.

Researchers have found disparities in preschool classroom quality elsewhere in the country.

“Essentially,you tend to find lower-quality preschool programs in centers that areexposed to higher levels of risk or stress, and in communities that areexperiencing higher levels of stress,” says Ginny Vitiello, researchand evaluation director at TeachStone, the company that distributes theCLASS tool.

Preschools where a majority of children are living below the poverty line, and are underfunded or
financially stressed, also tend to be lower-quality, Vitiello says.

“Partof it is access to resources within the classroom, part of it can tiein to teacher compensation and pay,” she says. “Parent factors can playinto it--how engaged is the community in supporting the work thepreschool is doing?”

Vanessa Rich, deputy commissioner of children’sservices for DFSS, said in an email that her department has notanalyzed the data for possible disparities and noted that the city iscollecting the data only to guide teacher training.

The teachers whose classrooms had the lowest ratingswill receive intensive support and coaching through theMyTeachingPartner program, which has been shown to improve classroomquality in randomized control studies. One study also showed thatstudents whose teachers took part in the program had improved languageand literacy skills, and fewer behavior problems.

Here is how the classrooms scored:

NOTES:Classrooms were observed between October 2010