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