Lockport Bonaza!

Not only did Sarah Steinke and Lockport East come through in a big way with student supplies, the photo indicates the twenty-plus boxes of student materials gathered by Sarah Smith at Lockport Central High School.

Together these two schools came through with over 600 spiral notebooks, 450 folders and 400 binders. Included are dozens of pens, markers, index cards and plenty of loose leaf paper. Quite a donation to say the least!!

Remember, we are sorting all of these supplies next Saturday, June 7th from 9:00 am to noon. Three hours will do the trick!! Meet like minded volunteers, have some fun and support a great cause. Just email me at rich219@comcast.net to let me know of your availability.

Many thanks,
Dick

Lockport and Steinke

Today commences the first of nearly 40, yes 40, school supply pickups this spring. The start of this wonderful recycling effort was started by Lockport East Science Teacher Sarah Steinke. Sarah has long been an advocate of reusing various supplies and stepped to the fore when our charity started looking for public schools who could help us.

Sarah has long collected, sorted and boxed binders, pencils, binders and a whole host of other supplies that she, in turn, provides to our charity so that we can get them in the hands of kids who really need them.

Sarah's work involves other Lockport teachers as well as hundreds of students. It is fair to say that her efforts have provided us with many thousands of dollars of perfectly good supplies that students-in-need so desperately desire and can't go without.

Not only does Sarah spearhead this enormous initiative she has also donated funds to our charity, painted schools, loaded trucks and recently helped secure a grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution. This grant will go a long way towards buying band instruments for John Hay Elementary School in Chicago.

With Sarah and Lockport at our side, Schools Count Corp will continue to be able to support many thousands of students in the years to come. Well done Sarah.

Dick

Viewpoint

Here's my bucket list, in part, for neighborhood schools which have too few resources and a low tax base no matter where they are located in the United States.

- Provide them with the needed nurses and social workers every day of the week
- Make sure that the kids have full access to Music, Home Economics, Physical Education and Art
- See to it that the schools have clean washrooms and toilet paper (No, I'm not kidding)
- School districts should not be firing principals, asst. principals and teachers during the year
- If a school has a program then provide the resources
- Let teachers teach and forget the time spent on standardized testing
- Administrators, and the public at large, should ask for responsible teachers and put less emphasis on accountability
- Quit chastising unions

Just some thoughts about what I hope will be some positive changes in 2014-15.

Dick

As One Year Winds Down...

As this school year's end is fast appproaching, it has given me pause to think about the work of the students and schools we serve as well as the people out there, YOU, who make so much possible. When people are hit with a storm or poverty plenty of people step forward to help and that is a good thing.

But, the longer our volunteers and donors continue to engage in providing assistance to students in need it has become abundantly clear that a one-time stop gap measure is not the solution.

The harm caused by a hurricane or the devastation wrought by tornadoes or the despair caused by poverty doesn't end overnight or in a short period of time. The upcoming summer vacation will provide some respite to those who suffer from any number of perils but it doesn't eliminate the harm done or the cause of problems.

So, as this school year winds down (which is great) it leads me to think about helping kids get off to a good start in August. Yes, school is ending but I can't help but think about getting supplies ready for some eager children with those beaming smiles. The start of another school year will be here in a few months and I am excited about readying our donors and volunteers for the service we provide to many deserving students and teachers.

Dick

A Sorting Party!

Our June 7th sorting is a major part of our effort to get supplies boxed up and ready for shipment to the nearly 45 area schools we serve each August. You name it, we sort it. Whether its binders, pencils, index cards, spiral notebooks or backpacks, we need to make sure that the goods are clean, neat and ready for use by the kids.

We can use a minimum of 15 workers on June 7th. The three hours of volunteering are fun and will go a long way towards readying the supplies for the students. We will have plenty of refreshments and will sort rain or shine, 9:00 am to noon. Just send me an email to let me know you're in. My email is rich219@comcast.net. I sure appreciate the help!

Thanks,
Dick

I Can't...

I can't know what it is like to have a low paying job and not able to afford new school supplies or clothes for my children. I can't begin to understand what it must be like to see a child off to school and not be able to help them to the extent you desire. I surely can't fathom what it must be like to be a teacher or principal of a school and to have a diminishing budget which precludes the school from having enough supplies for the children.

And I absolutely have no clue what it must be like for a child to go without some new folders, binders, and spirals.

What I CAN understand and DO is to help children who want an education to have some of the necessary supplies to be successful in the classroom YOU can also help. How?

Head out to 20048 S. Kohlwood Dr., in Mokena on Saturday, June 7th to help us sort thousands, yes thousands, of various student supplies so that the kids have that chance to be better students at the start of the school year this fall. Three hours of help (9:00 am to noon) will do much to help us ready for our deliveries.

To get in on the action simply email me at rich219@comcast.net

Thank you!
Dick

Ready, Set and Sort!

I am looking for some energetic people willing to sort school supplies on Saturday, June 7th from 9:00 am to noon. We are sorting at our house at 20048 S. Kohlwood Dr. in Mokena. What better way to help those children who will need supplies for the start of the school year in the fall. Plenty of fun, lots of refreshments and a great cause. Let me know if you are in!!! Just email me at rich219@comcast.net

Thanks,
Dick

Brown Lives On

There are a couple of amazing tales related to the epic case of Brown v. Board of Education. Linda Brown, the daughter of Oliver Brown, who brought the desegregation case to the Supreme Court is still alive. That is terrific news in a number of respects. Linda has helped to create a foundation to foster educational equality.

Not only does Linda live on, sadly, so does the epidemic of desegregation. There is ample evidence of this tragic scenario, some of which I have laid out over the past couple of days.

I believe Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times has summed it up quite succinctly in a piece which appeared yesterday. Said Steinberg, "Today, the law isn't the problem. Official brutality isn't the problem. The problem is the inertia of a system built up and maintained by both, continuing on its own accord in this segregated city."

Americans have built this system, it didn't happen by accident. And just as surely as we allowed segregation to proliferate in American schools we can just as surely put an end to it. We have to have the courage to do so.

Dick

Often Separate, Often Unequal

School integration in the civil rights era right into the 1970's did something quite remarkable. It worked!! During that period a recent study found that the black school dropout rate fell by a full 25%. A more comprehensive study in 2011 found that the desegregation of the schools in American led to higher earnings, better health and better prospects for life.

Those were indeed positive results of school desegregation as a result of the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1964. Sadly, today, nearly half of the nation's students are low income. A full forty-four percent are students of color. Guess what? Both the low income and students of color are attending segregated schools.

Right now, from my vantage point, I don't believe we have bottomed-out on the segregation problem. As long as the horror of poverty remains and worsens it will leave the most vulnerable behind in those areas which are langusishing. Until these areas of blight are truly repaired school segregation and student stagnation will proliferate.

Now is not the time to mark the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education; rather, it is a time for action.

Dick

50 Years Later - Brown vs. Bd. of Education

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision where the intentional barrier of segregation in our nation's schools was struck down. Fifty year later, sadly, the trend in many areas of the country - particularly in cities - is that segregation of another sort is alive and well.

Let me put it this way. It is more of an unintentional type of segregation but, nonetheless, it is segregation.

As jobs and industry have left parts of cities and various neighborhoods there has been a flight of the affluent to other areas. As that flight has taken place the poor, often black and brown, are left in the same location. Often these people don't have the resources to be successful. The schools are among the hardest hit institutions.

The segregation is very much driven by economics...industry relocation, low wages (federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hr.), low paying service jobs, run down communities, population flight, reduced land values, low tax base and more. These are real economic problems and are at the core of why black and brown are finding themselves, along with the rest of the American population, segregated from much of the rest of society.

Brown vs. the Board of Education must be reviewed and the tools put in place to end segregation in many of our nation's schools.

Dick

Troy LaRaviere Stands Tall

You have to hand it to Principal Troy LaRaviere of Blaine Elementary. He pulled no punches when he criticized Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the perceived heavy handiness towards CPS neighborhood school principals. Once you read the article, get a sense of Mr. LaRaviere's background, understand his situation and then examine the situations he brings to the fore then you will understand why he says "principals have no voice."

LaRaviere makes mention of the fact that principals were told to support the longer school day being proposed in addition to having their speeches ready for recall at subsequent principal meetings. LaRaviere also recounts the fact that he was told, by CPS officials, not to appear on WYCC television to comment on school overcrowding. There are other instances recalled by Mr. LaRaviere that speak to having little or no voice.

I have seen the obstacles facing principals (and other staff) when it comes to running their schools. Budget cuts, overcrowding, being short on resources and receiving what I call 'marching orders' from above. These are but a few of the everyday concerns and issues facing many terrific professionals. Mr. LaRaviere speaks the truth.

I don't care if it's a school or business, the professionals 'in the trenches' need to be empowered. When you get right down to it, they are in the know and the 'real' leaders follow them!

Dick

CPS Principal's Speak Up

I haven't read the Op-Ed yet but by days end I will have done so. I am referring to the piece written by Principal Troy LaRaviere which appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday. The Op-Ed is titled "Under Emanuel, principals have no voice" and it doesn't hold back on his claim that he, and other principals, have been stifled in their ability to get the job done relative to helping his students.

As LaRaviere noted, "right now the policies of CPS are not allowing us to have that effect on our students and that is why we must speak out." He added that City Hall "ignored and even suppressed principals' voices" while pushing its education agenda.

On this last point most observers, even casual ones, can agree that the school closings and growth of charter and select schools gives a hint of LaRaviere's angst. In the wake of LaRaviere's Op-Ed other principals have come forward to essentially agree with the Blaine Elementary School Principal.

Having worked with CPS schools I can tell you that LaRaviere isn't blowing smoke. The challenges faced are multiple and real and unless principals are unshackled and given the ability and resources to do the job the way they know it needs to be done then little will change.

Thank you Troy LaRaviere!

Dick

Kudo's to Steeple Run

The Steeple Run Elementary School, in Naperville, Student Council is on a fast track to collect perfectly usable school supplies from their classmates at the end of the school year. As you can see the Council members are making their own posters to get the word out on the supply collection starting at the end of May. After talking with the students yesterday, I came away energized by their commitment to this project.

Under the guidance of advisor Tana Williams, the students have always taken an active and eager interest in helping Schools Count garner supplies to be delivered to the students we help at CPS, Harvey and Robbins schools. Over the years, their help has been an indispensable asset to the fact that we can assist nearly 20,000 students.

I can attest to the fact that these are some very young people with a keen sense of what they can do to help others in need. Great work!!!

Dick

Focus on North Lawndale schools

Sundays Chicago Tribune was laced with a number of stimulating and thought-provoking pieces. One article deals with 'Some Children Left Behind,' a clear swipe at the 2001 No Child Left Behind legislation that many see as a failed law. The other article appearing in the Trib is entitled 'Education Upheavel in N. Lawndale."

I will make some comments on this article as we work extensively in the neighborhood. We continue to interface with the students and faculty in this community and we will continue to assist them in the coming years.

When school starts in the coming fall nearly 70% of the public schools in North Lawndale will be in private hands. Before going any further it ought to be noted, as reported by the Tribune, that "test scroes and other data show the privately run schools aren't doing much better and in some cases are performing worse than the schools they took over or the district-run schools that remain in the community."

So, for starters, let's dispose of the notion or allegation that privately-run CPS schools outperform the traditional neighborhood schools. It is long overdue to talk about the real reasons and solutions to the crisis in North Lawndale.

Former Chicago Bulls standout Mickey Johnson, who moved back to North Lawndale after his playing days, expressed what many see as far more significant shortcomings than neighborhood school performance. Said Johnson, gentrification [in pockets of the city] coupled with a lack of economic and political power has left the community open to private groups who want to take over neighborhood schools."

I will have more to say on this subject in tomorrow's blog but, for now, maybe we should all be heeding Johnson's advice.

Dick

Before You Do Anything Else...

Prior to building new selective schools or granting more charters to for-profit companies I believe it would be worthwhile to take some steps that are critical to the well-being of students and their learning.

I believe it is incumbent upon the leadership of any school district, anywhere in the country, to make sure a nurse is in the building five days a week. No school should have nursing/medical care for just a portion of the week. This service is far more important than putting up a $60 million school.

Also, social workers and psychologists are critical to the success and growth of students. Again, prior to building a brand new school, these services should be available at all hours of every school day.

Making sure all students get the classes they desire is another critical area that should be attended to prior to building a new selective school or constructing a new charter via a for-profit firm.

I am aware of far too many schools where such essentials as toilet paper are in short supply or not even available! It's a fact.

Programs such as Art, Music, FACS and Physical Education have to be administered more than 60 to 100 minutes per week. These curriculum areas are far more important to fund than putting up a shinny new edifice.

Like I said, 'before you do anything else,' take care of these areas.

Dick

Hard to Figure Out!

Most likely the process that determines if your son/daughter qualifies for admission to a CPS selective school will result in confusion. To decipher the meaning and numbers used is probably a bit maddening to some folks. Let me give you a taste of the confusion that lies ahead.

First of all, 20% of selective school students are chosen based purely on standardized test scores. Okay, no problem there. The remaining 80% of admitted students are chosen based upon a combination of test scores and other criteria. This is where it can get messy.

That criteria is a formula which divides Chicago into four geographic areas called tiers. There are four tiers and the tiers are altered each year. The tiers are reclaculated every year based upon five socioeconomic measures which include such items as median household income, the number of English speakers in the house, median income in the tier and more.

You have to be kidding?! Are citizens suppose to really be able to keep up with possible changing tiers? By the way a Tier 4 selective school is more difficult to get into than a Tier 1. And who knows if a potential student's family has their five factors properly screened. For that matter, does the city really keep up with the changing socioeconomic conditions in the entire tier zone?

These are but a few of the conditions that may preclude top students and poor performing students from attending a selective school. As I said, it is difficult to figure out.

Dick

Why So Selective?

Question for you...Why are there a very few selective schools in the CPS system as opposed to every school being considered selective? Better yet, why do 'selectives' even exist?

The people who work in selective schools haven't done anything wrong. They go about their teaching and administrative duties just like those who work in the traditional neighborhood public schools. However, it is my view that those who have created selective schools have, perhaps unwittingly, done real harm to the non-selective school students.

First of all, the use of the term 'selective,' on its face implies that some students 'have it' while others don't. The term sadly serves to further divide or allow a chasm to exist and proliferate. Stop and think about it for a minute and I believe you'll agree the term 'selective isn't a positive connotation for those who aren't able to attend these schools.

As I've mentioned on other occasions, selective schools rely heavily on standardized test scores. Though other socio-economic factors are weighed into how 80% of the students are viewed in terms of applying/being accepted into selective schools, the heavy reliance on standardized tests nonetheless precludes many of those who most need the educational help and support form receiving it.

Let's select those neighborhood schools in impoverished areas, often with the fewest resources, to garner the benefits they so richly deserve.

Dick

Let the Hits Keep Coming

Thanks to my good friend and great supporter of Schools Count, Sarah Steinke, we had plenty of hits on our blogsite yesterday. Plenty of interest in the work of DAR as they are supporting our efforts to build a band at John Hay Elementary School.

Well, it dawned on me this morning that I should reach out to all the DAR supporters and members and ask for a bit of help. The $4,000 donated by DAR will certainly be a good deal of help in buying some trombones, trumpets, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, and the like. So, here goes...

If you have any of the above, and they are in good playing condition, and would like to donate them to Schools Count Corp. I will see to it that they find their way into the hands of some students at Hay anxious to learn how to play a musical instrument.

To be a part of this effort simply email me at rich219@comcast.net and we can make the arrangements for your donation. Of course, if you live out of the area I will personally pay for the cost of shipping the instrument. Your donation is treated as a gift and I would issue a receipt for a charitable tax deduction.

There's only one way to do this and that is to band together!

Thanks for your consideration,
Dick

DAR to the Rescue

Imagine what it would be like to have children who want to play music, the school has a music teacher and the desire to start a band but that school is without music instruments. Well, thanks to a $4,000 grant made by the Daughters of the American Revolution, John Hay Elementary School will be able to start a band program next year.

Funding for this project was made possible through the sponsorship of the Isle a la Cashe Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. This initiative will allow Schools Count Corp. to purchase trombones, trumpets, saxophones, clarinets and flutes for John Hay.

Not only is DAR providing us with $4,000 but Schools Count Corp. will match this funding with an additional $4,000. Taken together, the $8,000 will get John Hay as many as 24 to 30 instruments heading into the 2014-15 school year.

Because of the generosity of DAR we'll be able to purchase instruments this summer so that the Music Teacher, Ms. Chicoine, will be able to get the students involved on Day 1! Hats off the DAR for taking the interest in the students at John Hay.

Dick