Sunday, January 25, 2009
Dulles 2.5 Thurs.
Dulles is an elementary school located at 63rd and King Drive. It is slated for "Turnaround", which includes firing the administration, teachers, office staff, kitchen staff, engineer and janitors. "Turnarounds" are managed by the Academy for Urban School Leadership. The community of one tentative "Turnaround" school, Holmes Elementary, was told the parents would have no input in the process.
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It should be noted that while there is no written narrative here, the dominant theme is readily apparent: a truly caring and supportive school community needs more resources and a chance to succeed in the face of small test score declines.
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CPS Turnaround Hearing Notes
Dulles Elementary
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The first of the turnaround hearings, for Dulles Elementary at 6311 S. Calumet, was an emotionally powerful event. Multiple testimonies spoke to the tight-knit family atmosphere at the school that would be destroyed, and never replaced, by cutting all of the current staff. They demanded additional resources and a chance to develop the initiatives that already exist in the building. I arrived at 3:30pm and noted the following.
20th Ward Alderman Willie Cochran was the first speaker. He noted the following:
- Dulles has developed partnerships with the University of Chicago (U of C) and
other community partners.
- Turnaround schools have the same issues as the current schools if students
do not have support = same outcomes
- The jury is still out on Ren2010. We must examine the variables within
turnarounds.
- Parents should be more involved in and out of school.
- Concluded by saying that he supported CPS and principals and was interested
in the best possible outcomes for the students.
Linda Marshall was the second speaker. She teaches at the school. She said:
- Dulles is not flattering with test scores, but that it is a good school
- The school has followed the Board’s directives and recommended staff
developments
- Teachers come early and stay late.
- The Parkway Gardens CHA complex is home to many Dulles students.
Students living there come from tough living conditions and many are
technically homeless.
- As a result, many students come to school carrying heavy emotional baggage.
- She recommended that all present at the hearing come to the school, walk
the halls, read the student newspaper, watch student-created videos, and meet
with the staff – this assessment would give a person a true understanding of the
school
Sheila Ivory, the LSC chair, spoke third. She was on the verge of tears several times.
- The turnaround process would devastate the staff and community.
- The principal and staff should be complimented for their work.
- The staff and school community has fostered respect, pride and hope in
students.
- Any new staff would be unable to do anywhere near the same as the current
staff on these fronts
- Often, children come to school without clothes or shoes and the current staff
will help out. A new staff from outside the community would not be as
dedicated.
Crystal Dorsey spoke fourth. She noted:
- Dulles truly embodies CPS’s “Children First” policy
- The school has developed leaders
- The school uses data and works to improve using that data
- The recent fluctuations in data are similar to those at other schools
- The school improved from 24% at standard to 40% at standard between 2004-
07
- Last year’s test scores were not indicative of the school – anomaly
- Dulles has worked to create a culture and climate that is safe and nurturing
- Classroom environments = learning and focus on learning standards
- The school has a positive atmosphere
- Instruction utilizes grade-level-appropriate curricula
- The school uses CPS-approved methods
- The new literacy coach and parent involvement has really helped.
- The groundwork for success has been laid; the staff needs a chance to make it
work.
Schewida Brassell was next. She is the school’s literacy coach and was sent to Dulles from the CPS Office of Literacy. This is her second year at the school.
- Students are the future.
- The school is a safe haven and source of hope for the children.
- We should look at the whole child, not just test scores.
- The teachers at the building share insight and implement shared strategies.
- Teachers are willing to accept new ideas and actions.
Geraldine Walton spoke sixth. She is the Asthma Project Coordinator of District 4 and 5 associated with the Grand Boulevard Foundation and U of C.
- 95% of the Dulles students from Parkway Gardens have asthma.
- She was there when the school opened in 1962.
- She taught at Dulles for 7 years. Her children went there, and then 2 taught
school there.
- Teachers are working during tough times. A new staff would not mean a
turnaround.
- The current staff is dedicated as evidence by the way in which they care for
the students
- She demanded more resources instead of a turnaround, specifically more
math and science resources
- Turnaround is a cop out
Elizabeth Walls, the PTA president, testified next. She was in tears by the end.
- 20 parents are members of the PTA board
- 75 people are in the organization and meet monthly
- Kids need the staff. Often, children will come to school without socks and will
use their backpacks to hide this fact by walking with their bags in front of them.
- Students come to breakfast and take the cereal from the lunchroom because
they have nothing to eat when they return home.
Troy McAllister, a Dulles kindergarten teacher and head of the school’s sports program,
was the eighth speaker.
- There is more to understanding education than just test scores.
- Students at Dulles daily face crime, poverty, and the impacts of poor housing
- The sports program offers 2 hours of supervised activities
- Parents and staff serve as security and volunteers for these events
- The staff is made of kind teachers who have rigorous curricula
- The school has brought in the U of C math program and the Foss Science
program with lab work to enrich the education in the building
Rolanda Mitchell was the next speaker. She is a 6th grade teacher at Dulles.
- Dulles students compete in math, science, essay and poetry competitions
- They have represented their area on multiple occasions
- They earned 3rd place at in the math portion of the Academic Olympics
- 5th through 8th grades are organized by department; extra math time is worked
into students’ schedules
- Thursdays are reserved for poetry in language and English classes
- Class libraries encourage reading
- The school needs more support for programs like the anger management
program; many students have anger management issues resulting from their
lives outside of school
Marvella Jenkins spoke tenth. She is the LSC community representative. She’s been
working with Dulles since 1976.
- A new staff does not mean positive effects
- It’s the duty of parents to fight the turnaround
- The current administration has new programs together – they need a chance
Tenesha Barner followed. She is a parent and the PSC chair.
- She has 2 students at the school – one who graduated and one in 3rd grade.
- Dulles is a family
- She compared the staff to a human body’s internal organs. Without the organs
the body (school) dies
Colleen Dykas from CTU was next.
- She has spent the last few days at Dulles and has witnessed the love evident
in the school
- She pushed for “Three Ds”
1. Dare to be different – go to the school and see for yourself
2. Dare to be Ethical – use Fresh Start, a successful program, instead.
3. Dare to be Courageous – don’t just rubber stamp the process.
Earl Silbar of C.O.R.E. followed Ms. Dykas.
- He mentioned that the story on these schools is the same – the Board is
only worried about the test scores, nothing else
- He asked questions: why no resources for the school? Why send all teachers
out despite their obvious commitment?
- He said no outside organization could do the same things for these children
- Why not respect people? Getting rid of the staff does not solve poverty,
suffering or racism.
- Imposing outsiders would rip out the vital internal organs of the school’s “body”
- The board and city uses resources for gentrification and privatization, not
for education and efforts to work with children
- Appeals like this are only ½ the opportunity; the other half is to join with other
organizations like CORE and challenge the turnaround
- Mentioned the CORE website
Dulles’s principal, Linda Everhart-Lyke, spoke next.
- Dulles students face serious poverty: 96% poverty rate at the school
- 33.4% mobility rate
- 60% of students have asthma
- Over the past couple of years the mobility rate has increased by 13
percentage points
- The percentage of homeless students has also risen dramatically
- Many children formerly of the Robert Taylor Homes and Ida B. Wells CHA
complexes have moved to the neighborhood, leading to many additional
problems both inside and outside of the school
- The school mediates conflict and provides a safe haven from the realities
of the neighborhood
- Tests are important but only one measure.
- In 2006-07 there was a slight decrease, from 40.3% to 39.6% at standard
- In 2007-08 there was a drop from 39.6% to 37.1%
- These aren’t transparent scores. What variables led to the change in scores?
- The pain in the students likely caused the drop in scores
- Students have a hard time with relatively simple tasks
- However, that has not stopped the staff from bringing in outside organizations
like:
- Adler Planetarium – field trips
- Science on the Go
- Grand Boulevard Foundation
- Woodlawn Organization
- U of C social service partnership
- Smart Museum of Art
- Girls Leadership programs
- PTA/PAC
- The school has also taken on a community center role for adults - Job training,
adult education, and legal services
- Human resources were an issue: multiple retirements, admin transfers, and
maternity leaves. There were 8 teacher vacancies last year. Substitutes
were in the building all through the year. These absences caused a lot of
trauma for the students.
Shonita Lewis, a Dulles parent, was the last to speak.
- She believes in the teachers and staff
- CPS should put in new books and programs
- She started at a west side school but her son had adjustment troubles from
Pre-K to kindergarten, so she transferred him to Dulles.
- She lives at Parkway Gardens and left her job to work with her son.
- There needs to be more ways to involve parents
- What makes the turnaround better or different?
- If a child cannot keep up, what programs exist for those students?
The school submitted a packet of information, including three envelopes of petitions, community representative letters, multiple visuals, a school newsletter, and several CDs worth of information
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