Benito Juarez High School, a South Side public high school, launched a new program in September 2011 in hopes of increasing college attendance of its students. Araceli Diaz, a college advisor who founded the program, said she hopes this program would help answer many questions not specifically addressed in college prep pamphlets. Diaz called...
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An atrium outside Family Focus Lawndale’s Homan Square office is decorated with large, brightly colored pedestals adorned by children’s artwork. Young people from the Lawndale neighborhood made and decorated these pedestals at a summer camp this past June and July. Visitors to the office sit on the pedestals and rest while waiting for services....
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Morgan Park High School Local School Council leaders told Chicago Board of Education members Oct. 26 that they felt their hands were tied by the administration’s process for selecting a new principal The ordeal began last May when former principal, Dr. Beryl Shingles, took a position at a selective enrollment high school, said Peggy...
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Retired Chicago Public Schools janitor Christopher Swanson’s daughter is not a typical high school sophomore. Christine has occasional seizures and requires medication. Swanson is concerned not enough nurses are on staff to address his daughter’s medical needs at Steinmetz Academic Centre, the neighborhood high school Christine attends along with more than 2,000 students. A...
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Parents at Talman Elementary in Gage Park look just over a mile away to a CPS school under construction and see a potential solution to their overcrowding problem. The new school, tentatively named Brighton Park II Elementary, is anticipated to open in fall 2012, according to the Public Building Commission of Chicago. For parents...
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Staff from Wendell Smith Elementary fear their students won’t receive proper care if the school is changed to a charter school. They expressed their concern during last week’s Chicago Public Schools board meeting. Wendell Smith Elementary School, on the far South Side, educates approximately 350 students, ranging from preschool to eighth grade. As of...
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  Every school day, Kimberly Perkins helps her grandson Khamari, 5, get ready for school. His mother, Keturah, drives the first-grader to and from Miles Davis Magnet Academy in West Englewood, 9 miles away from the family’s home in the West Pullman neighborhood on the far South Side. “I wish he could’ve gone to...
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Chicago Public Schools officials touted its plan to add 90 minutes to next year’s school day and applauded the 13 schools that already implemented a longer day at the Sept. 28 board of education meeting. Many parents endorsed the longer school day, but some teacher advocates said they still had concerns at the meeting. CPS Chief Instruction Officer...
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Budget problems are causing the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education to make staffing and administration cuts that could hurt students with special needs. “My son is falling through the very large holes in this system,” said Mary Kay Feeny at a recent CPS board meeting. Feeney’s son has been diagnosed with severe attention-deficit/hyperactivity...
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The new Jones College Preparatory High School building will add 300 seats to the Chicago Public School district, but what about the kids who won’t be sitting in those chairs? “Our current capacity is 800. I’ve got about 850, so we’re crowded,” said Joseph Powers, principal at Jones College Prep, located at 606 S. State St....
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