The only visible signs of change were the front lawns in the neighborhood, now less well-kept than in the past.  Drive through the neighborhood today and you will see men standing on the corner of my block, where they have stood for years. But what you will not see is the blood that has been shed on that same corner, of men and women, young people to old.  Yet the men continue to stand on that corner, where some of their own friends have lost their lives over the years. 

I started searching for answers to these killings in 2008 when my neighbor’s son was killed on that very corner.  My search led me to discover the concept of social-emotional learning and I am eternally grateful. I believe with all of my being that it gives hope to my community and can help stem the tide of violence in my neighborhood and others. 

When my neighbor knocked on my door that fateful morning to let me know that her son had been killed, gunned down one block from our homes, it is hard to explain the depth of my feelings.  When I finally could breathe, what I did was to evaluate myself and how I may have contributed to the senseless killing. I realized that not only didn’t I know my neighbor’s son, who had been killed--but I really didn’t know her or the other eight children she was raising as a single mother. 

Yes, I had spoken to her and her children in passing, but that was on the surface. Why hadn’t I gotten to know them beneath the surface?  I had been too busy with my own family, work, friends, etc., to get to know my neighbors.  How did my block become a killing field, nicknamed ‘Beirut,’ I later learned--and how do we work to stop it?  How did we get here? 

In a sense, I had been asleep.

Now that I was awake, I had to decide what to do next.  All this personal reflection was taking place around the same time our new president, Barack Obama, was elected.  On January 19, 2009 he asked all of us to volunteer for a day.  So I decided to look for an agency or organization my family could spend the day volunteering with, in my community or somewhere on the Southeast Side of Chicago. 

When I checked the website the president’s group had published, not one Southeast Side organization was listed. I cried, because it seemed nobody cared about the children in my neighborhood.  I called up my local park district and asked if I could volunteer. I started going to meetings

Fast-forward to the fall of 2013, when I was introduced to the concept of social-emotional learning and, for the first time, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, defines the concept as a process through which children and adults learn how to effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.  In an ideal world, social-emotional learning would be a part of every school curriculum in the nation. 

In the quest to stop the killings in our community, my neighbors and I started a movement to have social-emotional learning whole-heartedly implemented in the schools in our community.  In our research, we found that no elementary school in our area teaches social-emotional skills in any measurable way. 

We believe that if children are taught sound decision-making, relationship-building, conflict management and other valuable life skills from pre-school through 12^th grade, more of them will choose to go to college or the work force instead of joining gangs and participating in negative activity that will only land them in jail before they begin their lives. 

Like President Obama has said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time.  We are the one’s we’ve been waiting for.  We are the change we seek.” 

When I woke up, I realized that I had to actively participate in leading my community out of Beirut. 

Laura Rabb Morgan

Founder and servant leader, South Chicago Block Club Coalition SEL Grassroots Movement

The newest part of the plan was that at least one security guard from the closing school would follow the students to the welcoming school. "They will be able to see a familiar face," said Jadine Chou, the district’s chief safety and security officer. 

Chou and CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett would not put a pricetag on any of the extras they promised to welcoming schools, saying that they had to wait til they had a final list of schools and did an assessment of what is needed.

Chou and Byrd-Bennett said they got many of their ideas from the community engagement process that took place this winter. CPS held 28 community meetings in February. Byrd-Bennett didn't attend any of the meetings, but she said she read the transcripts. What she took from them was that "everybody got that we need to close school." 

“One of those things we heard frequently at the community meetings was parents just need peace of mind to make sure their children are able to travel safely,” Chou said.

Chou said CPS officials paid special attention to specific problem areas pointed out to community members and parents and they will be going back to these people once the final list is announced. Each welcoming school will have a unique plan. 

But the following are some of the things that CPS will provide: 

*Social-emotional supports like coping skills and conflict resolution training, as well as student “buddies” for children whose schools have closed

*Community-building activities for students and families.

*Extra technology like security cameras

*Money for security guards from closed schools to work at receiving schools for at least a year.

The announcement came just a day after CPS began looking for moving companies to help with closings.

This year’s proposed budget includes just $13 million to pay for these officers, far less than officials have previously estimated as the cost for current staffing levels. But CPS officials declined to say which schools would lose their police officers and how many would be cut.

Spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler responded to a request for details with the statement: “Police officers will continue to play a very important role in providing for the safety of our students in our schools.” Ziegler added that the district is moving toward a more holistic approach to safety that focuses on classroom management and positive behavior supports.

Principals, however, say they would like concrete answers about what to expect next year. Wells Principal Ernesto Mathias says he has heard nothing about a reduction in police officers.

“I filled out a basic form for security needs but nothing else,” Matias wrote via e-mail.

New Corliss Principal Leonard Harris says he definitely sees a role for police officers in the schools: Their presence makes people feel safe.

“They are able to address some of the immediate issues that might come up,” he says.

Last year, CPS leaders, then new to the job, tried to entice principals to get rid of their school’s police officers, offering them $25,000 in exchange for letting the officers go. But few principals took the cash.

Even principals in schools with high-performing students in better neighborhoods, such as Whitney Young, held onto their police officers. As a result, the district didn’t realize the savings officials predicted and the district paid nearly $20 million to keep the police in place.

Reducing the police presence in schools is a goal of VOYCE--Voices of Youth in Chicago Education--a coalition of student activists who say the regular presence of police in schools leads to arrests for minor offenses.

VOYCE wanted CPS to impose more stringent guidelines for police calls in the revamped Student Code of Conduct approved in June. Yet CPS refused, leaving the code as is as it pertains to police involvement in schools.

Paying cops vs. teachers?

Last year, VOYCE leaders said the cost of the police in schools is another reason to limit their presence. This year, the issue of cost recently became an issue in teacher contract negotiations.

According to a February 2010 intergovernmental agreement obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Chicago Teachers Union, the district agreed to pay the police department $32.8 million or $8 million a year for these officers from 2009 thru the end of 2012. 

Then, last year, the new CPS leadership announced that CPS had been under-cutting the police department and owed it an additional $70 million. A CPS spokeswoman said the police officers actually cost about $25 million a year and Chief Administrative Officer Tim Cawley said the district had “no choice” but to pay.

But CTU leaders were suspicious. About the same time as CPS leaders announced they would pay the extra money to police, the Board of Education rescinded a promised 4 percent raise for teachers and other staff. The raises would cost the district $80 million, about the same amount as CPS was suddenly giving to the police department.

The union obtained a subsequent intergovernmental agreement---not signed until December of 2011—in which district officials agree to pay the police department $70.8 million more than called for in the original contract.

Recently, in the midst of teacher contract negotiations, CTU leadership accused the district of diverting money to the police department to get out of paying the raises. And an independent fact-finder noted that the union is still bitter about the rescinding of the raises and it weighs heavy into the contract negotiations.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday attended a meeting with Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard centered on policing strategies designed to increase safety and reduce crime in and around schools. Emanuel announced during the meeting that curfew enforcement numbers are up by 15 percent since the new curfew ordinance went into effect in September. (press release)

Recommendations from a teacher advocacy group, the VIVA Project, could help Chicago Public Schools map out how teachers will use the additional 90 minutes a day in the coming school year. (Tribune)

Both Chicago newspapers are reporting on the fight to save Northwest Middle School, but have different figures on a parent petition drive:

Tribune: Parents from Northwest Middle School, which successfully ended a bid by Christopher House last year for a charter school in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, submitted 700 petitions Tuesday against the group's latest effort.

Sun-Times: More than 1,000 parents and Belmont-Cragin residents have signed petitions objecting to an unusual plan that would allow a social-service group to tear down part of Northwest Middle School and erect a charter school on the public property.

IN THE STATE

Illinois’ financially tanking prepaid college tuition program could require a $1.6 billion bailout from the state to remain solvent during the next 25 years, a new study shows. (Sun-Times)

Wilmette School District 39’s board voted unanimously to solicit bids from private transportation companies in a move that could save the district about $136,000 per year, officials said. (Trib Local)

IN THE NATION

TNTP, a nonprofit organization working to ensure that more students learn from excellent teachers, announced the launch of the Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice, an award intended to spotlight excellence in teaching and the practices of the nation’s most effective educators. Winners will receive $25,000 and the opportunity to complete a summer fellowship with TNTP, which will include collaborating on a short paper that codifies instructional techniques of the winning group.  The Fishman Prize is named for Shira Fishman, a current D.C. Public Schools  math teacher who started teaching through TNTP’s D.C. Teaching Fellows program in 2004. Before she became a teacher, Shira was a mechanical engineer. Applications open Dec. 13, and the deadline for submissions is Feb. 3, 2012.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered an additional $1 billion in cuts to education, school busing, child care, health programs, public safety and libraries because of the sluggish economic recovery. (USAToday)

Several efforts are under way to measure effect of Texas' budget cuts on schools. (The Texas Tribune/New York Times)

Los Angeles school officials stripped about two dozen campuses of aid that has been used to improve the academic achievement of low-income students. (Los Angeles Times)

In recent years, much of the focus on violence at Chicago Public Schools has pointed to dangerous activity affecting students in and around high schools. But in continuing surveys of principals, teachers, students and counselors, Communities In Schools of Chicago has found that it is critical to begin addressing violence—and the threat of violence—in elementary school. Violence prevention programming is the No. 1 concern among leaders of the 166 schools— largely elementary schools—we surveyed at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year. The importance of early intervention is underscored in a follow-up survey of 27 principals conducted in January 2011: 80 percent of principals said they would like programming to begin no later than 3rd grade, while 40 percent favored starting in kindergarten.

What also is striking is that while students and school leaders surveyed broadly agree that homes and schools are relatively calm and safe, only 22 percent of students report always feeling safe in their community.  Principals underscore the impact that community violence has on their students: 70 percent felt that gang and street violence have stayed the same or worsened over the past three years, and 90% said that witnessing violence also has stayed the same or worsened.  This information points to the importance of providing violence prevention programs to young children to equip them with the tools to understand and manage all manner and threats of violence in their neighborhoods, on the way to school and even in the schoolyard.

School leaders and students are deeply concerned that violence is a persistent problem that needs even more attention.  Above all, principals want support for comprehensive violence prevention and conflict resolution programs, yet the capacity of the schools to provide this programming is strained. Of principals surveyed, 93 percent said services within the school system are inadequate, and the combination of funding cuts and time constraints have compounded the availability of programming.

It is unacceptable that our school children are subjected to even the fear of violence. No one can doubt that violence presents a high hurdle to social and academic growth and achievement.  What can be done? It is vital that schools and community organizations develop and expand their partnerships to identify specific needs at each school and provide focused violence prevention programming, ranging from conflict resolution and anger management to anti-bullying and healthy decision-making. 

These programs can be delivered at no cost to schools or students because of private and public support. Non-profit organizations like Communities In Schools of Chicago partner with agencies such as the Cook County Sheriff Youth Services Department, Between Friends and others to connect children to lessons in conflict resolution, dating violence and bullying prevention and jail diversion.

What we know is this: Principals and school staff report that violence prevention programming does, in fact, improve a student’s sense of safety, self-esteem, attendance and academic performance.  Surveys and interviews show that the need for programming, resources, and community involvement all are growing. School leaders recognize the importance of helping younger students. Violence of any kind against students cannot be tolerated. Community partnerships with schools can make the difference.

Jane Mentzinger is the executive director of Communities In Schools of Chicago, a non-profit that works to connect schools with outside resources and programs.

“My whole goal is to get ahead of things,” Carothers says to the group. “If you have events in the evening, we need to know about them so we can have the manpower out there.”

“We want to get to the day when we don’t need any officers in the schools,” he continues. “But today is not that day. Today, we want to curtail as much of the violence as we can.”

During the meeting, principals hear a presentation on restorative justice and how it can head off conflict in schools; a pitch for parent patrols to monitor students on the way to and from school; tips for ensuring student safety on public transit—63rd Street cuts through Englewood and hundreds of students travel its major bus route; and information about a police team that debriefs students after a shooting to find what sparked it and how it could be related to gang rivalries.

Finally, one officer describes a program that brings inmates to talk with small groups of students about the harsh reality of prison life. “It’s trying to de-glamorize what [students] think is so cool,” says Officer Maudessie Jointer. “To some of them, prison is a badge of honor. It’s the new college.”

To someone unfamiliar with the challenges some schools face, that statement might sound absurd. But this is Englewood, one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city, and several in the audience nod in agreement.

The meeting is emblematic of the ties that have been forged between the police and schools, both of which are on the frontlines in seeking to curb youth violence.

Those ties have, arguably, become tighter under outgoing CEO Ron Huberman. School violence was on the rise when Huberman was appointed: According to Catalyst Chicago’s analysis of 2008-2009 data, high schools experienced a 20 percent jump in the most serious violations of the student discipline code.

Huberman’s administration also had to contend with the fallout from student shootings, although none of them took place inside schools. Then, nine months into the job, the beating death of Fenger High student Derrion Albert put school-related violence on the front burner.

In response, Huberman rolled out a “culture of calm” plan for the most troubled high schools. (The plan was first pegged at $60 million but has since been cut to about $50 million.) And last January, a new Student Safety Center opened at central office, staffed 24/7 to monitor surveillance cameras and serve as a clearinghouse of information between police and schools.

“Commanders call here if they have a problem, and we can get information out to principals,” says Michael Shields, director of the Office of Safety and Security and a former police commander. “A small fight in school can escalate into something big [outside].”

Strengthening cooperation between police and schools is a necessary step. But the next mayor and schools chief must tip the balance toward a more holistic approach to curbing violence.

Part of Huberman’s “culture of calm” program included steps in that direction, with mentoring for youth deemed at-risk of being involved in shootings and, at the suggestion of students from the non-profit Mikva Challenge, more training for security guards on how to interact with students in a less punitive manner.

Huberman reported recently that “culture of calm” schools have had fewer discipline code violations and better attendance and grades. But statistics to verify that claim have yet to be released: Catalyst has yet to receive a response to a Freedom of Information Act request for school-by-school data from last year on code violations.

Meanwhile, such data has never been made readily available to parents, something Shields acknowledges that the district needs to “think about.”

Still, there’s anecdotal evidence in favor of ‘culture of calm.’ Shawnta Robinson, a student at Julian High School and a member of Mikva’s youth safety council, has noticed an improvement. “There’s fewer fights, and we used to have a lot of them,” she says. “Honestly, some students say it’s boring, but it’s just calm. Everyone’s just living their lives.”

Community groups want to take prevention a step further and are pushing the district for more training in proven restorative justice strategies such as peace circles and peer juries. One school that adopted the concept, Dyett High in Washington Park, cut the number of school arrests to six from 60 in one year.

“The [discipline] code doesn’t say ‘zero tolerance’ anymore, but the culture is still very much in effect,” says Karen Morton of POWER-PAC, the parent arm of the grassroots group Community Organizing and Family Issues.

One of Englewood’s schools, Harper High, has already embraced the concept. Marcus Prewitt, a recently hired counselor and college coach whose background is in juvenile justice, says these strategies work even with tough kids. Most fights, he says, stem from misunderstandings that can be resolved if adults have the right training and build relationships with students.

Prewitt recalls one young man who initially resisted mediation, dismissing Prewitt’s talk as “all that corporate stuff.”

In response, Prewitt calmly told the young man that he understood his position and his need to maintain “street cred”—but wanted to teach him how to tailor his demeanor to the setting and situation at hand. “What I would like you to learn is how to go downtown as well as in the street,” Prewitt told him.

The young man calmed down, thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement and told Prewitt, “I like what you’re saying.” 

Carothers says police reports from Harper, one of the district’s turnaround schools, have decreased over the past year. And Rashaun Calhoun, dean of students at Harper, says students have begun to seek out staff to alert them to potential fights, with the obvious goal of getting adults to step in and stop them ahead of time.

“They’ll come to you and say, ‘This is what’s going to happen. I’m just letting you know,’ ” Calhoun says. “They don’t want to get caught up in the next shooting.”

Prevention will depend largely on a change in adult attitudes. For one, “parents need to parent,” Carothers notes. As for restorative justice, “the reality is, some people won’t buy into it,” Shields says. “Some people don’t want to deal with bad kids.

START EARLY

“Start teaching kids at a young age that violence isn’t normal.  We’ve grown so accustomed to it being normal, like, ‘Hey, let’s box it out.’ If you could start mentoring kids at an earlier age, 3rd grade [and] even kindergarten, then as they grow older... that won’t be their first resort to solve a problem.”

Adults get a failing grade for preventing violence in the Teen Gun Survey and Report Card, an annual national survey conducted by the Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network (UCAN), a social service agency for youth and families. Teens gave adults the worst grades ever in the most recent survey, more than half said America would be better off without handguns, and 44 percent said more violence-prevention programs are needed in schools, says Claude Robinson Jr., executive vice-president for youth development and diversity at UCAN. In Chicago—where gun violence has killed almost 30 CPS schoolchildren this year—teens were particularly harsh on adults, says Robinson. He spoke with writer Brandon Beech about the importance of listening to youth and providing them with adult leadership to curb violence, especially among young men.

How easy do kids say it is to get guns?

Extremely easy. I had a conversation with a 14-year old who said he knows exactly where the guns are, who has the guns, and that if he wanted to get a gun, he could.

Kids gave adults a D+ on “listening to and understanding young people, curbing the availability of guns and making sure all of our communities are safe.” What does that say?

Listening to and understanding young people is vital for building a quality relationship. Adults often impose [their] knowledge and authority. We’re not willing to just sit there and be present, and allow young people to talk.

Why is violence affecting schoolchildren so widespread?

There is a breakdown in family. There is a valuation of gang culture. There are guns and drugs, and young people don’t have a sense of self-worth and purpose. There’s no value placed on their life, so they’re not going to value anyone else’s.

What can be done to help children who live in homes with a history of violence?

There has to be some way to build the capacity of a family, [build] stability and social values, education and employment. And we have to find stronger ways for parents, regardless of whether they’re together, to work towards the betterment of their children. Many African-American homes are single-parent households. That puts a tremendous strain on whatever parent that is, to be there and to provide to nurture the child.

This year’s gun violence involving schoolchildren happened outside of schools. What does this suggest?

Historically, schools have been a safe haven, and young people feel safer in schools. The reality is that there are gangs in America and gangs here in the city of Chicago, and they aren’t [active] inside schools. They’ve dropped out of school. Also, a large number of people are unemployed, or underemployed, and are doing absolutely nothing with their lives.  So they’re frustrated, they’re hurt, and they become a part of the violence epidemic. Children are just caught up in a community filled with violence, guns, and people who are severely frustrated and take that out on other people.

So should parents feel their children are safe when at school?

I definitely think they should feel that way.

Should CPS be involved in advocating for gun control legislation?

Yes. Schools are in the community. Young people live in the community, and they spend more time in the community than in the school. The more prevention you can do, the more you can help young people cope with those situations, the better chance they will have to concentrate on school.

What are the best solutions for schools to prevent teen violence?

[Schools need] programs to teach young people coping skills and how to adapt to situations that are often violent. Young people act out because of situations that they’re in. Most violent people are hurting from an emotional standpoint. Often, it’s a cry for help. Setting up an environment where young boys and young men can sit down and share some of the frustrations they have with life, with parents, and just what’s going on [in their lives] overall, is a good way for them to process feelings.

What about alternative programs during the summer, when kids have less to do and may be more likely to get into trouble?

Programs that are socially and culturally relevant are needed the most. Society conditions young men to perform, and success is often judged by what you have and what you look like. We need to help young men build lives beyond [valuing] performance or money, and teach them positive values--how you build a family, how you relate to people in a more harmonious way. More importantly, help them to dream of a purpose in life.

What can Chicagoans do to help stem gun-related violence?

Adults and ordinary citizens should see that this is our problem. People tend to believe that it’s just in certain neighborhoods. It may happen more in certain neighborhoods, but it impacts the entire city. Chicago is looking to become an Olympic city. People are very aware of how gun violence and how gangs and, in general, apathy in parts of the city, impact what the city can be on an international level. If people go to the Taste of Chicago and they have to deal with guns and people being shot and killed, is that the image we want Chicago to have? Unless we all see it that way, violence is going to continue to grow.

-30-

He wants parents of Roque De Duprey students to feel equally welcome when they move into the building at 2620 W. Hirsch St. this fall. To that end, Kalamatas has already set aside a room for De Duprey parents; parents from the two schools have already met, and an assembly is planned to bring together the two faculties.

De Duprey, a block away at 1405 N. Washtenaw Ave., is one of 10 of schools CPS is closing or consolidating this year. De Duprey will move its students, staff and faculty into the Von Humboldt building, but continue to operate as a separate school.

Six of the other schools, however, will be closed altogether and their students integrated into a receiving school, a plan that has some parents worried and teachers and students upset. Among receiving schools, however, there is little planning underway about how to accommodate the influx of new students. A few, including Von Humboldt, are focused on safety issues. Academically, however, none contacted by Catalyst had created plans for combining the two student bodies.

That desire to know sparked his friendship with me, which led to many good things for him and for students like him. In 1998, Jason was one of four students I took to look for dinosaur remains in Big Bend, Texas, along with a college class from the University of Chicago. The wonder he and the other students experienced during that trip inspired me to create Project Exploration, a science organization that targets students who aren’t academically successful but who are curious and open-minded.

I also took Jason to Perspectives Charter School. I believed he would thrive in a small environment that focused on knowing its students well. Jason was complicated, promising, artistic, frustrating, funny, challenging and curious. He found success there, though not easily, and he changed me and his other teachers in the process.

Thanks to his mind, his teachers and his luck, Jason graduated from Perspectives in 2000, beating the odds that tell us earning a diploma is a goal fewer than half the city’s African-American young men will ever reach. With his desire to learn, college might have been Jason’s next step. But it wasn’t.

Perhaps that had to do with the other way Jason beat the odds, at least for a while. He survived a gunshot wound. Unfortunately, Jason’s luck was tested again on May 3, 2008. That time, the odds beat him; he was shot while standing on his porch, waiting for a family friend to bring back pizza. He died within hours. He was 26 years old.

There were so many things about Jason’s life that were beyond his control, but in spite of it all Jason inspired people to laugh and love and be their best selves. We wish he weren’t dead.

Jason was not a violent person. He expressed himself through his passionate pursuits of drawing and rap. If you saw him on the street, he would flash you the big, sweet smile he inherited from his mother and wish you a blessed day.

But in Woodlawn and later in Back of the Yards, Jason lived in a world where people settle their arguments not with words, but with weapons. According to his family, a relative of Jason’s had gotten into an argument with a gang member the week before. That Saturday night, the man returned in a car, with a gun, looking for trouble. He didn’t find who he was looking for; he found Jason instead.

We give thanks for Jason’s life, because he helped spark the creation of an entire organization dedicated to making room for kids like him, kids who get left out or overlooked because they don’t really excel at school. Young people like Jason don’t find success easily, but when they do, they embrace it and shine. Thanks to Jason and his impact on me, more kids like him will have the chance to shine.

Also, thanks to Jason’s testimony before he died, the prime suspect in the case was arrested and is now being held without bail. In a neighborhood where people don’t always trust the police, such quick, effective action is encouraging. However, we want to make sure that young men like Jason can live their lives in peace and safety.

Although Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, guns like the one that killed Jason are still all too common. In Chicago, we can’t wait for Springfield to tighten gun control laws; we need action now. We hope that Chicago Police Department Superintendent Jody Weis will investigate all leads on illegal arms dealers and take steps to stem the tide of illegal guns.

Equally important, our neighborhoods need help to reduce violence. Groups like CeaseFire and Catholic Charities Street Intervention, which defuse petty arguments like the one that led to Jason’s death, need more funding and support. This month, a U.S. Department of Justice-funded study found that CeaseFire has contributed to a reduction in violent incidents in “hotspot” areas where shootings had been frequent.

Putting people on the street who know the neighborhood and are trained to interrupt violence works.  How many more times will we leave young men like Jason Gill to play the odds before we have the strength to do what we know is right?

Gabrielle Lyon
Executive director and co-founder, Project Exploration

Maureen Kelleher
Freelance writer

More than a quarter of the attendees were African Americans in this primarily Latino community.  People came from as far as South Holland and Maywood. The forum was brought to life by youth leaders and about 20 organizations to fight for the cause of stopping bloodshed in our communities.

Usually when this many youth are in one place, someone, often an adult, will expect violence. But we saw none. Nobody was “representing” or “throwing down.” Youth got together to talk about the issues. We haven’t given up on ourselves, even though others have given up on us.

Even though the forum focused on gang wars, our aim wasn’t getting rid of gangs, but getting rid of the violence they cause. We’re not anti-gang. We’re anti-violence. If gangs left our community, they would spread violence to another.

Our major goals are educating our peers about gangs, stopping violence and putting an end to recruiting youth for violent purposes. Most gang leaders are adults and use youth for their purposes. We believe focusing on our peers is a better strategy for countering violence. 

Adults who are upset about violence among youth are usually waving fingers as a form of criticism, instead of helping and listening. This is why most young people shut out adults and rely on their friends and other youth, which allows peer pressure to build into gang recruitment. 

We believe that the best form of help is when a young person relies on another young person for advice about gangs. This way, we are adopting a strategy the gangs use.  Adults don’t usually know or completely understand the problem. Even though they were young at one time, times are different and they don’t know the problem as it is now. As a result, many adult-driven conferences are not as influential with young people because only adults “run it.”

But when youth have control to shape and host a forum like ours, it shows that we have a voice and we can make a difference.

Gangs can cause multiple forms of violence. Historically, adults in gangs use racial mistrust to recruit young people to commit violence based on hatred. Gangs are behind the artificial separation of races in Lawndale. They even separate young Latinos from each other like a border patrol.

Our group, SITY Ollin (Stop Ignoring the Youth Movement), wants to bring diverse youth together. We want to unite African Americans and Latinos to stop violence. Separate, blacks and Latinos are considered minorities.  But together, we become a majority. By unifying, we can speak out about the separation of races and the violence that uses racism in our community. We can challenge larger forces that oppress both of our communities. With this Youth Forum, we showed the world that it is possible for young people to work together when adults can’t or won’t. 

If adults give young people a chance, we can show how we can work to change our future. 

The next phase of the youth-led forums campaign will begin this summer, when many people think young people aren’t doing anything useful. We expect to raise other issues in our community that are sources of violence, such as domestic violence, dropping out of school and schools without enough supplies, strong programs or good teachers. We are looking to reach beyond our community.

Our forum proved there are a lot of young people and youth groups working on stopping violence. But not many adults are paying attention to us. Instead they are marching and complaining about us. 

Influencing just one mind—a young person, parent, teacher or even an elected official—gives us a fighting chance to succeed. We can spread positive signals to end the curse of violence that has been placed on us.

Ernesto Morales, 17
Senior, Farragut

Pernell Baker, 19,
Senior, Farragut 

You mention in a sidebar that Manley High School was ranked the most violent high school last year, with 24 violent incidents per 100 students. In addition, Catalyst reported that while overall violent incidents dropped by 10 percent, a third of schools experienced a 20 percent or more increase in the rate of serious fights. What you failed to do was offer analysis or perspective on what might explain these trends.

In the case of Manley, the level of school violence is at an all-time high, having nearly doubled since 2003.

The recent spike stems in large part from the fact that when CPS closed Austin High and Collins High, it redirected freshmen to Manley (which at the time was underutilized). With hundreds of new students arriving from across the West Side, across gang territories and cultural divides, Manley has paid a significant, if predictable, price in school safety.

While CPS has provided additional resources in the face of this demographic shift, and the new principal has worked to find creative ways to respond to an inherently difficult situation, the environment at Manley initially went from stable to scary.

In light of this situation, and others like it playing out across the city, CPS is now looking to find ways to shut down failing schools without dislocating students. If this works (and such efforts are notoriously difficult), it will not only benefit the students and families who are able to stay in one place, but also will ameliorate the situation at neighborhood schools such as Manley.

It is also worth noting that despite a continued influx of freshmen from closed schools, the climate at Manley has dramatically improved this year. The calmer atmosphere at the school is attributable to the efforts of Sean Stalling, the principal, and the support work of Umoja Student Development Corporation (an organization housed in Manley and committed to providing counseling, programs and support to help prepare students for college).

The leadership at the school has worked tirelessly to develop relationships with its expanded student body, and to help incoming freshmen find a constructive place. These efforts to build social support into the daily schedule and life of students are paying off—as they were prior to the surge in enrollment—and they underscore the overall theme of last month's issue: Building relationships with students is and should be at the core of school safety.

Robin M. Steans

Trustee, Steans Family Foundation

Editor's note: For stories on the impact of school closings, see Catalyst, March 2006.

For a while, Reese admits, he hung out with gang members and almost became part of the problem at the West Town school, which has one of the highest rates of school violence in the district. But Reese says he got bored, decided to do something constructive with his life and joined a church-based group called Walk By Faith Mission.

Still, Reese knows he must walk a fine line to avoid alienating rival gang members at his school. "I am cool with both sides, so no one bothers me," he says.

Across town, junior Doug Thurman at Sullivan High doesn't face the same ever-present level of simmering tension as Reese, since Sullivan has one of the lower rates of violence in the district. But Thurman says trouble nevertheless brews on an ongoing basis, especially if gangs are feuding, and he does everything he can to avoid run-ins, staying away from the fray and never leaving school alone. Many students at various schools say walking home or to the bus stop is the most dangerous part of their day.

Last year, Thurman says the school climate improved when math teachers took it upon themselves to stand in the halls after the bell rang and sweep them of students.

"It is good that the violence has decreased," says Thurman, a student in the honors medical program at Sullivan.

Other students report a host of different ways they avoid trouble. Some teens leave school early when rumors surface of an impending after-school brawl; some keep to themselves; others simply dread going to school.

While Chicago's media spotlight has focused on the killings of students outside schools, less attention has been focused on what happens inside schools. On one hand, the climate at many schools is improving: School violence fell 10 percent last year across the city.

"That's a double-digit decline," CEO Arne Duncan says. "It is going in the direction we want it to be."

But Catalyst Chicago's analysis of reports of violence inside schools last year found that, despite the overall decline, almost a third of schools—153 of 585—have experienced a 20 percent increase or more in the rate of serious fights, gang activity and other violence. Most are high schools, but some elementary schools are also experiencing problems. (See story.) As a result, many students must walk a fine line to avoid potential clashes, teachers are reluctant to work in rougher schools and education is jeopardized by the distractions of conflict and tension.

"We can get to nothing else until we get to safety," says Julian High Principal Therese Johnson.

Comparing school violence in Chicago to other large districts is virtually impossible because districts and states simply don't report violent incidents accurately, says Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center.

"Our view is that what gets reported is just the tip of the iceberg," he says, echoing others who say lax reporting is a problem. The federal No Child Left Behind Act is supposed to provide more transparency regarding school safety, but so far, has fallen short of that goal in Illinois. (See stories.)

Even one instance of fighting or other violence can shade the way students perceive a school, Stephens adds. "A single incident of bullying is too many. A single homicide is one too many."

Safety on the surface?

School quality is intricately intertwined with the ability to maintain a calm climate that is conducive to learning, Duncan emphasizes. To that end, CPS has focused on providing schools with security personnel and equipment, to the tune of about $54 million each year. Parents want to see that investment, says Andres Durbak, director of the Office of Safety and Security.

In addition, some of the toughest schools now have dynamic principals charged with improving the climate, Duncan adds. "They will be visible and will work hard to make sure that students are engaged and feel as though the staff cares about them."

But students, education advocates and parents worry that the district is creating a superficial level of safety by putting cameras in the hallways, police officers at the doors and kicking out troublemakers. They have pushed the district to embrace deeper reforms that help young people deal with their anger, see the error of their ways and repair the hurt caused by violence. The district is beginning to take steps in that direction.

"They have to look at what ticks kids off and what aggravates them," says Nelida Torres, a parent member of POWER-PAC, an advocacy group brought together by the grassroots group Community Organizing and Family Issues. "They have to look inside the students, instead of just at the surface."

Schools in tough neighborhoods need to be especially cognizant of securing the building and grounds and having a system to check visitors' IDs, says Stephens. But districts also need to provide information for principals and school staff about the best ways to deal with specific problem behaviors, and should consider instituting alternatives such as peer juries and student panels to provide recommendations about school safety.

Rick Perrotte, coordinator of safety and security for the Chicago Teachers Union, says CPS has been aggressive about addressing school violence but is sometimes stymied by principals who don't report violations of the Student Code of Conduct (as district policy stipulates). Lack of resources is also a problem, he says.

"If they don't call, it builds a climate of danger," Perrotte says. "Some schools are out of control, but because the principal is not reporting it, it looks like there are no problems."

'Like prison'

Charlotta Stewart, a senior at Harlan High in Roseland, says that safety problems made her want to avoid school, although a new, get-tough principal has made the school less hectic. But Stewart isn't so sure the changes are positive.

"It is like prison," Stewart says, a common refrain heard from teenagers who complain that metal detectors, security officers, police and other signs of tight security may make schools safer, but also less welcoming.

At Harlan, the first thing students see when they arrive in the morning is one or more police cars parked outside. Inside, they see signs admonishing them not to bring guns through the door.

Sometimes, gruff security guards holler at them to keep moving as they try to get through the metal detector before their class starts; if it beeps, they have to stop. Once in the hallway, cameras keep a constant watch on students.

"Take off your shoes, take off your belt, remove your cell phone," says Stewart, explaining what students hear as they enter.

But while security staff look for small infractions, bigger ones can be brewing, some students point out. Kentrell Petties, a senior at Julian High who was injured last May in the Blair Holt shooting that made front-page headlines, says administrators didn't notice that a group of boys were causing trouble at the school before the incident.

"All the students knew there was trouble," Petties says, explaining that he feels administrators were too busy making sure students weren't wearing hoodies or carrying cell phones to notice and confront the problem.

Julian's Principal Johnson, however, says students don't always see the big picture. Checking for hooded sweatshirts and cell phones might not seem to be a big deal to a student—until a knife is hidden in a hood or a cell phone is used to set up an assault of a student at the end of the school day.

"The one or two students often ruin it for everyone," Johnson says.

Meanwhile, Stewart and other students brought together by the Mikva Challenge, a non-profit that encourages civic engagement by teens, recommended in a report released just this August that schools do a better job of getting students to understand and buy-in to school rules. They also suggested that principals develop so-called 'peace councils,' where staff, students and administrators come together to talk about their problems.

The Mikva group criticized zero-tolerance policies that principals use to kick out troublemakers. Stewart and Thurman say that as their schools moved on the road to getting better, a lot of students were forced to leave.

A Catalyst Chicago analysis of expulsion data shows that the number of expulsion hearings fell 30 percent last year, and the number of students actually expelled was cut in half. (See related story.) But some question whether the decline is the result of principals pushing problem students out and avoiding the lengthy expulsion process.

Stewart believes that's the case at Harlan, and notes that while the inside of the school may be safer, the streets are not. Once students leave school, they have to deal with out-of-school teenagers who cause trouble.

"They are all on 95th Street waiting for us," says Stewart. "Those [kids] have nothing to do all day than wait for us."

Restorative justice

Members of the parent group POWER-PAC and the Mikva student group argue for CPS to do more to teach young people how to resolve conflict without fights.

POWER-PAC took a trip to Minneapolis last year to visit schools that were using restorative justice, a concept that focuses on counseling wrongdoers and meting out punishment that fits the infraction. Peer juries are one example.

Lynn Morton, a parent and member of the group, says she was blown away. They walked into a school without metal detectors or a security desk, yet it was calm.

"Kids didn't bum rush the halls, kids weren't disrespectful, the atmosphere was serene," she says.

POWER-PAC and other groups successfully pushed CPS to adopt a discipline policy that promotes the use of restorative justice. Hand in hand with that, they also wanted—and won—a move away from zero-tolerance. Now CPS policy encourages schools to use restorative justice practices to deal with non-violent offences.

Morton started a Peace Center at her son's elementary school. Instead of serving suspensions out of school, students serve them at the Peace Center, where Morton helps supervise and counsel children on how to change their ways.

Other schools, such as Dyett High in Washington Park, which had an outbreak of fighting among girls last year, use "circles" in which the students involved come together and talk out problems.

Christine Agaiby, restorative justice manager at Alternatives Inc., a non-profit that trains students and teachers on using restorative justice principles and peer juries, says such strategies don't take much money (especially compared to what the district spends on discipline) but do require commitment.

"It works if the principal and teachers at the school believe in it," Agaiby says. "It does not work if the adults don't trust it, if they just think it is some hippie crap."

Connecting kids to school

Principals say making schools safer requires a balance between programs that engage students in positive behavior and equipment and security staff that keep troublemakers out.

Clemente Principal Leonard Kenebrew, who has worked at Simeon and South Shore, believes it's important to have adequate equipment and security personnel. But he stresses that getting students invested in school is also crucial. "'This is for you,'" Kenebrew says he tells students.

With that in mind, Kenebrew held a pep rally for the football team last year, the first in many years at the school. The event was important to bring the school together, he says, adding that he even performed a little dance to show his excitement. A school newspaper and school summits on various topics are also in the works.

Jerryelyn Jones, former principal at Curie and now Area 24 instructional officer, says two things made her school safer: hiring off-duty police officers in place of security guards and instituting a strict discipline policy.

But Jones says she made sure the school offered plenty of after-school activities and insisted that all students have a major, such as drama or International Baccalaureate, to keep them more invested in school.

"When I first came here, there were students with majors and then those in the regular program," Jones says. "The students in the regular program often felt left out and caused problems. Though the school is big, with majors, all kids feel connected."

Mikva students point out that schools need more counselors, social workers and psychologists who can get to the root of the problems. The district provides just one counselor for every 350 students, a ratio that is far higher than what is recommended by experts. Psychologists and social workers spend most of their time handling issues that arise with special education students.

Curie High junior Dmitri Westbrook passionately made the case for increasing counseling staff during a presentation by Mikva students to high school principals a week before school started.

"I don't have an interactive relationship with my counselor," Westbrook said.

Lack of funding keeps the district from reducing the caseloads of counselors, psychologists and social workers, Duncan says. But the district is working to provide more after-school and extracurricular programs, and Duncan announced at a press conference in mid-September that the district had secured $14 million in grants to pay for them.

Not only do these activities keep students excited about school, they also keep them from hanging out in the afternoon on the streets, where danger might lurk, Duncan says.

The need for the school district to do something was driven home at a recent press conference by Ron Holt, the father of Blair Holt. "Schools don't make these problems. Students come to school with these problems," he said. "But if we don't deal with them, they become our worst nightmare."

Contact Sarah Karp at (312) 673-3882 or e-mail karp@catalyst-chicago.org.

"It scares me," says Ferguson, who admits that he has felt pressured to join a gang. "People have gotten beat and seriously hurt."

Ferguson says he has found a way to cope by joining a church-based group called Walk By Faith Mission, where the pastor fortifies him with the inner strength to try to be different. But his story illustrates how problems with serious fights and gang activity inside schools disrupt education for elementary students, as well as their older counterparts in high schools.

Principals of elementary schools with high rates of violence say that helping young children learn to resolve conflict without fighting is key to curbing the problem.

In general, elementary schools reported far fewer violent incidents last year, such as serious fights and gang activity, than high schools. At 183 elementary schools, administrators reported fewer than five incidents.

But at 62 elementary schools—or about 15 percent—the incidence of violence was more than six for every 100 students last year, higher than the district's average. At 25 elementary schools, the rate was in the double-digits.

One such school is Penn in North Lawndale, where the rate was 13 violent incidents per 100 students. Sherryl Moore-Ollie, the school's new principal, says that it's important to know the background of the children to understand why fights and other incidents occur. Many of Penn's students are in foster care or living with relatives because their parents are on drugs or in prison. Almost all the students are poor.

"These kids bring a lot of baggage with them," Moore-Ollie says.

Dorothy Susan Naughton, the principal at Holmes in Englewood, observes that many children "don't get attention at home and they come to school and act out."

Yet neither principal believes the situation is hopeless. Moore-Ollie points out—and the data back her up—that the climate at Penn has improved. Five years ago, the school posted 20 incidents per 100 students.

Moore-Ollie, who was assistant principal before assuming the principalship, says that administrators turned the school's situation around by pushing teachers to deal with minor issues in the classroom and send only those students with more extreme behavior problems to the office.

Once in the office, she and other administrators don't hesitate to call the police if they feel such a call is warranted. "This sends a message to other students—that violence will not be tolerated," Moore-Ollie says.

Gwen Walters, assistant principal at Wentworth in Englewood, says that her staff is trying to stem violence with a system of incentives called Positive Behavior Support.

Students are rewarded for good behavior, rather than punished for negative behavior. The state supports the program by providing schools with a network of coaches and information about best practices.

Moore-Ollie and other principals say they work to make their elementary school a home-like environment where students can trust teachers.

Naughton, who has been principal at Holmes for three years, says she hired a dean of students who has focused on developing more extracurricular activities, such as junior ROTC and ballroom dancing. Last year, the staff took students on a trip to a nature preserve in the south suburbs to bond with each other and with teachers. Naughton also spearheaded an effort to have students trained as peer mediators to deal with conflicts.

"We want kids to learn how to talk to each other instead of using their fists," Naughton says.

In fact, like most states, Illinois has never designated any school as dangerous under NCLB, which requires states to provide information on which schools have safety problems so parents can choose whether to send their children there. But rather than use incident reports—as the U.S. Department of Education suggests—Illinois education officials use expulsion data. The department criticized the use of such indirect criteria in a recent report.

Expulsions tell parents and the public only a small part of the story about what is going on in schools, according to a Catalyst Chicago analysis of CPS expulsion and enrollment data for the last three school years.

Take, for example, Manley High School in East Garfield Park. Andres Durbak, director of the CPS Office of Safety and Security, pinpoints Manley as a school that struggles with safety. Indeed, for each of the past five years, Manley has had an average of 153 violent incidents—about 18 incidents per 100 students, far above the district average of 5.5 incidents.

But based on expulsion data, Manley didn't come close to earning the label as an unsafe school. To be classified as unsafe under state guidelines, a school must expel at least 3 percent of its students for violent or weapons offenses for two consecutive years.

In 2005 and 2006, almost 3 percent of Manley's students were sent to expulsion hearings, but less than 1 percent were actually expelled. Hearings do not automatically lead to expulsion. In some cases, the hearing officer decides there's not enough evidence to warrant kicking a student out; in other cases, the student is sent to Project SMART, a nine-week alternative program that teaches decision-making and problem-solving skills.

Since 2004, five Chicago schools expelled at least 3 percent of their students, but none did it for two consecutive years, according to Catalyst's analysis.

Too many definitions?

Illinois is not alone in having ineffective criteria. Last year, only 46 schools from five states were labeled dangerous under NCLB, a figure that doesn't jibe with information on crimes and surveys of conditions at schools, according to an August report from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education. That report also warns against using disciplinary measures, such as expulsions or long-term suspensions, because schools often just send problem students to alternative programs.

Ronald Gidwitz, who was chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education in 2002, says he doesn't remember much discussion about the NCLB criteria and maintains that parents know when schools are having problems.

"They know because their children tell them," he says.

A committee that developed the criteria thought using expulsions was fairer than using incident reports, says Myron Mason, who chaired the committee and now is the state board's interim division administrator for federal grants and programs.

Committee members reasoned that principals wouldn't report accurately if they knew the numbers were going to be public. In contrast, state policy requires expulsions be approved by a superintendent, and a violence-related expulsion must be accompanied by a police report.

"They were afraid that there were too many definitions of an 'incident,' " Mason says.

Nationally, education advocates are split on whether more should be done with NCLB's unsafe school provision.

Jack Jennings, the executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Center on Education Policy, says threats and bullying are more of a problem than violent incidents in most schools. Instead of focusing on a label, schools should have anti-bullying policies and programs, he says.

Mary Fulton, a policy analyst for the Education Commission of the States, notes that few advocacy organizations have paid much attention to the provision. That might be due to the concern that academically struggling schools are more likely to be designated as dangerous.

"That would be a double whammy," she says.

Still, Fulton believes the criteria should be tightened up when NCLB is reauthorized so parents will know when a school is having problems. And rather than being punished, the schools should be given help.

"It really can't be dismissed when a school is a tough place to be and a tough place to learn," Fulton says.

In New York, the 27 schools identified as persistently dangerous each got $100,000 to improve school safety, as well as extra support.

According to the inspector general's