High School Reform Efforts in Chicago
An American Youth Policy Forum Field Trip — December 6-7, 1999
Overview
On December 6 and 7, 1999, a group of policymakers joined American Youth Policy Forum staff to visit three schools in and around Chicago, including two New American High Schools, to gain greater knowledge of the education reform experience in high school, particularly as it relates to preparing all students for successful futures beyond secondary education. These schools have been recognized for helping students attain high academic achievement in an accelerated, integrated academic and vocational curriculum, emphasizing career preparation. Both the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and Adlai E. Stevenson High School are New American High Schools. The New American High Schools award goes to high schools who have dramatically improved their quality of education, and work to ensure that all students are: challenged by rigorous academics and high expectations; benefit from a small, safe, personalized learning environment; and are well-prepared for college and careers. Gage Park High School receives funds from the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program and other U.S. Department of Education funds, and houses an award winning Equipment Technology Institute.
Background
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Chicago Public Schools deteriorated to such disrepute that by 1987, former Education Secretary William Bennett declared the school district "the worst in the nation." To counter this situation, a new state law granted the Mayor greater authority over the school system. Before this change, Chicago Public Schools and the City leadership operated as separate entities. With intervention by the Mayor, the newly integrated Chicago Public Schools (CPS) "operates like a business that is part of a larger corporation." On July 1, 1995, Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed a new Board of Trustees and a management team to oversee education reform efforts in Chicago.
The Chicago education reform team is co-directed by Gery J. Chico, president, Chicago Board of Education and Paul G. Vallas, chief executive officer, Chicago Public Schools. On February 14, 1996, CPS revealed a strategic blueprint for change called the Children First Education Plan. The plan is devoted to three key areas: making everyone accountable, supporting and advancing students, and focusing on development. The new CPS leadership has made dramatic changes in operation in order to facilitate this plan for school reform. According to the administration, they have eliminated a $1.3 billion, four-year budget deficit; negotiated two four-year contracts with the Chicago Teachers Union; funded a $2 billion, five-year Capital Improvement Plan; and developed a set of "Children First" education initiatives to raise academic achievement.
In Chicago, each school elects a local school council (LSC) that works in partnership with the central administrative staff. LSCs consist of six parents, two community representatives, two faculty representatives and the school principal. Members serve a two-year term. High schools are allowed to have a student council member who may vote on everything but personnel matters and evaluations. The LSC has duties that include approval of the annual school improvement plan, development of an annual school budget for discretionary funds, annual evaluation of the principal, and selection of the principal every four years.
Under this new structure, Chicago’s 430,000 students attend several types of schools that, in addition to traditional pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools, include:
- Charter schools – managed by corporations, community organizations, and faith-based institutions, and funded by CPS;
- Alternative schools – an educational option for students who have not succeeded in traditional educational settings;
- Transition schools – for young people who have not successfully met the requirement in reading and math to enter high school; and
- College excel programs – which operate in colleges and technical institutes in and around Chicago to allow students to earn dual high school and college credit. CPS buys slots in colleges for specific training in occupational, academic and traditional programs.
Site Visits
The American Youth Policy Forum site visit to Chicago began with a morning meeting with five leaders of the administration team under the co-leadership of Chicago Board President Gery J. Chico and CEO Paul G. Vallas. Cozette Buckney, chief education officer, and Philip J. Hansen, chief accountability officer gave the group an overview of the district’s reform efforts and accountability system as well as information on the Chicago Agricultural High School and Gage Park High School (Adlai E. Stevenson High School, the third school on the visit is to the north and outside of the City’s jurisdiction). Creg Williams, education-to-careers officer, discussed how CPS revamped the Education-to-Careers (ETC) program and expanded its program offerings. Wilfredo Ortiz, high school development officer, shared how CPS prepares students to transition from high school to college, and Carlos Azcoitia, deputy chief education officer, shared information on progress in service-learning and community involvement in Chicago’s schools.
Cozette Buckney briefly described the district’s zero tolerance policy on crime and delinquent behavior, and emphasized the district’s strong desire not to expel students, but to create programs, alternative schools for drop-outs and adjusted school plans to accommodate all students. According to Buckney, there are 38 safe school sites for CPS students in the district’s alternative programs; 27 are for dropouts and 11 are for disruptive students. The district has a new focus on early childhood education, and they hope to train parent volunteers to reach out to parents in the neighborhood that have children who are not in childcare or Pre-K. A Cradle to Classroom program has been cultivated to work with young pregnant students. The Homeless Education program is a major initiative that began in 1999 because of a lawsuit brought against the city. This program provides education for homeless children and youth so that they may "have equal access to the same free and appropriate educational opportunities as students who are not homeless."
Buckney described two innovative district initiatives that concern transportation to school, and language and culture. The Walking School Bus program gives a stipend to parents to walk students to the bus and wait for them to board. This is particularly important in neighborhoods that are troubled by gang violence or excessive bullying by older youth. The Language and Cultural Initiatives have laid the foundation for bilingual programs. These initiatives have established parameters that provide bilingual education with qualitative standards and criteria: aligning bilingual programs with the School Code of Illinois; establishing English as a Second Language (ESL) goals and standards; standardizing Bilingual Education programs by instituting measures of accountability, and creating a multi-lingual and multi-ethnic parent advisory council that reflects the CPS bilingual student population.
Philip Hansen emphasized that the administrative team’s focus is on "schools, schools and schools." The Office of Accountability is involved with implementing a plan for systemwide accountability to insure that all schools are committed to continuous academic progress. This includes conducting quality reviews of all schools on a regular basis in collaboration with the State; intervening with seriously underperforming schools and providing a strong monitoring, support and reward system. Moving schools into the world of standards has also been a major initiative in Chicago. "You can’t have accountability without standards," says Hansen. Standards in English Language Arts, math and science have been in the schools for two years.
As chief accountability officer, Hansen monitors schools that will be placed on probation. There are three categories that a school falls into under the CPS accountability initiative: probation (the worst), reconstitution (re-engineering or re-design), and a regular status. "If a school falls below 20 percent in reading and comprehensives, they will go on to probation status," says Hansen. There are currently 70 Chicago Public Schools placed on academic probation, and twelve of CPS’s 34 high schools have been reconstituted. When a school is on probation, their principal will be assigned a coach, otherwise known as a "probation manager," usually a successful principal from another school, or a technical assistance specialist provided by an external partner. The principal also receives help from a "school business manager," usually the assistant principal. The school business manager handles the business end of running the school, allowing the principal to focus on faculty and student academic achievement issues. CPS has received grants through the Obey-Porter legislation, the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program, to hire external partners who specialize in school design.
Other responsibilities covered by the Office of Accountability include: improving the reporting of student achievement data to schools to facilitate decision making at the local level; implementing a teacher accountability system to assist principals in the process of teacher evaluation, remediation, and dismissal; providing business management support to probation schools through recruitment and training; and developing programs of study and new student assessments tied to the Chicago Academic Standards. Hansen’s office has been able to provide intervention and assistance to 96 underperforming schools, convene an Academic Accountability Council, and revise the Chicago Academic Standards and curriculum frameworks in content areas of language arts, math, social science and science.
The Office of Education-to-Careers, formerly known as the Department of Vocational/Technical Education, is on a mission to "restructure traditional vocational education to an Education-to-Careers model that prepares graduates to begin a skilled entry level job, succeed in postsecondary education and training, and build successful careers," says Creg Williams. Williams’ office works with schools in the district to coordinate career pathways for high school students. His staff works to connect with community business partners, create off-site learning experiences, and support local schools involved in the placement of students in offsite-based activities. Currently, there are three groups who work in partnership with high schools, but, according to Williams, the list is growing. The Shell Youth Training Academy (SYTA) is a school-to-careers partnership program sponsored by Shell Oil Company in cooperation with Chicago Public Schools. The Austin Cook County Sheriff Police Law Enforcement Academy allows Chicago high school students to study law enforcement in preparation for a possible career in the field. The Chicago Police and Firefighter Training Academy seeks to closely integrate current education systems with the training process for those planning to become a safety professional.
In order to fulfill the CPS graduation requirement of two years of career education, students must choose a career path option. Pathways include: Education-to-Careers Program Sequence, College Excel, JROTC, Chicago Policy and Firefighter Training Academy, Advanced Academics/Advanced Fine Arts and other career education options. These Education-to-Career pathways are designed to lead to one of four future pathways: college, post-secondary training, military or employment, and continue with the idea of lifelong learning. Currently, 45 schools are funded and able to hire an Education-to-Careers coordinator.
Through the Education-to-Careers program, students begin to collect materials that represent their accomplishments in school in their personal portfolio. The portfolio will contain examples of their best student work; copies of grades, transcripts, awards, certificates and diplomas; resumes and cover letters; competency profiles and/or evaluation forms; test scores and work samples related to academic and career goals. Students are able to use the portfolio for interviews with employers or colleges, completing job applications and demonstrating mastery of academic subjects and workforce readiness skills. It is hoped that young people will gain the understanding that when they go on to college or work, people want to know more about them than their grades or attendance; they want to know what the student has done with their time and what skills and competencies that student has.
Deputy Chief Education Officer Carlos M. Azcoitia’s area of responsibility includes communicating with the community and parents on CPS issues such as: charter schools, GED and evening high schools, interfaith and human relations, magnet schools, the CPS Ombudsman program, parent/community outreach, the Office of Policy, service-learning, school and community relations and school partners. Azcoitia shared some highlights from a CPS initiative started in spring 1998 concerning service-learning requirements for schools. Beginning with the class of 2001, all students must complete 40 hours of service in order to graduate. To coordinate this new initiative, a "service-learning coach," in many cases a teacher, is identified at every high school. Each coach receives a stipend between $1,000 and $4,000, depending on the size of the school. The district facilitates numerous service opportunities, and all schools are eligible for a service-learning implementation grant and a resource guide that lists potential service sites. Each school was directed to engage between 50 and 100 students in service during the first year of implementation. Currently, 95 organizations have become service-learning partners with the school system to provide opportunities for students. The first annual CPS citywide service-learning conference was held in May 1999.
Azcoitia briefly described other programs in his purview. A new dropout prevention, Evening High School program called Student Opportunities for Success will begin operation in CPS. This Evening High School program is targeted towards youth over the age of sixteen. Azcoitia’s office has created the Interfaith Community Partnership between CPS and the city’s religious and community groups. This partnership has formed a crisis intervention support team that provides assistance to families and school officials in coping with the impact of long-term violence and tragedy. The program offered training to more than 200 individuals who provide support for students in crisis. School partners have been tracked by Azcoitia’s office. As of spring 1999, 236 school partners have made a commitment to the city’s schools by providing special teacher resources, student scholarships, in-kind contributions, equipment and other helpful items. School partners include the Charitabulls/Chicago Bulls who fund the Bulls Scholars program, a $3.5 million, three-year commitment to after-school programs for 40 students in each of the district’s 25 middle schools. The program will provide instruction in high school English and algebra for high school credit, and special field trips and technology access.
After meeting with the Chicago administrative team, the group visited:
Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHAS)
Opened in 1985 as a magnet school, Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHAS) quickly gained international attention for its college preparatory/vocational program that prepares urban students from diverse neighborhoods throughout Chicago for agriculturally related careers. The school currently enrolls 469 students and boasts a 90.5 percent attendance rate with 85.1 percent of its students going on to graduation versus a 61.7 percent district average. Eighty percent of graduates attend four-year colleges or universities. Students graduate with 31 credits while the required minimum for the state of Illinois is 20, and CHAS students receive more than $1,000,000 in college scholarships each year.
According to Principal Barbara Valerious, students are drawn to the school because of an interest in science and because of the small student body --a contrast to the large Chicago high schools. Students must be highly motivated and want to attend the school’s longer day--7:20 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. In addition to the demands of harder courses with no option to take a study period, they must work in the field to experience the practical side of their education.
The United States Department of Agriculture and the Chicago Board of Trade adopted the school, located on a 72-acre farm in a suburban part of the city. Agricultural science is woven into all content areas of the curriculum and teachers work to complement the subjects being taught in each other's classes. Career pathways have been established for junior and senior students in one of five areas: Horticulture, Agricultural Technology, Food Science, Environmental and Animal Sciences, and Agricultural Finance, allowing students a full-time, supervised, applied-learning experience.
All students are required to enroll in college prep courses and a rigorous math and science curriculum has been developed with cooperation from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Some students have the opportunity to participate in a research apprenticeship where they spend six weeks on a college campus working with a professor on his or her research. They earn a stipend and maintain a journal of their experiences. Some students work at jobs and internships through the Agricultural Cooperative Education program. Through this experience, students are exposed to all aspects of the industry, including finance and entrepreneurship—experiences that are transferable to a variety of careers.
The school owes its existence to business people such as Tom Donovan, president of World Trade, who lobbied state lawmakers to provide a tax levy to build the school on the "last farm" in Chicago. Since agriculture represents 20 percent of jobs in the mid-west, inner city youth have access to this large industry sector. In siting the school on 72 acres in a rural part of the city, a number of tradeoffs had to be made to appease the surrounding community—among these included access to the school’s impressive facilities: a weight room, Olympic-size swimming pool, and gym which are open until l1:00 p.m. each night and on the weekends. Funds to keep the building open late are supplied by the Board of Education. Also, to smooth community relations, the school’s enrollment is capped at 600.
CHAS has substantial relationships with many external business partners, such as Monsanto, Quaker Oats and American Cyanamid that provided extended in-service training at their home facilities for faculty. CHAS offers Tech Prep programs in food science and agricultural finance, and has also formalized articulation agreements with three postsecondary institutions, allowing students to earn dual credit, or advanced placement in a two-year associate degree program, for classes taken in the eleventh and twelfth grade.
The college prep curriculum is rich with opportunities for hands-on experiences and opportunities to develop leadership skills. All students in the school are enrolled in Future Farmers of America (FFA), giving CHAS the largest chapter in Illinois and the second largest in the nation. All freshmen take a course in agricultural careers and participate in the FFA public speaking and leadership activities. The Agricultural Extension Service office located at the school helps students develop their entrepreneurial experiences in growing and selling agricultural products. Everything grown on the school’s farm—vegetables, pumpkins and ornamental corn, plants, etc., or created by the horticulture program is used in food service classes or sold in the school’s on-site market. In addition to these entrepreneurial activities, students have work assignments at local businesses.
Students also participate in the student-owned business model based on the Food for the Hood program developed in Watts following the Los Angeles riots. In the original model, students developed a salad dressing that they produced and marketed with proceeds going to help finance their college education. In the CHAS program, 25 freshmen are involved in product creation and marketing nationwide.
When visiting classrooms at CHAS, field trip participants observed students in a finance pathway class presenting business plans, and visited a food preparation course in which students were preparing traditional, ethnic, low-fat and vegetarian meals, comparing different caloric value and cost, and planning a Valentine Day pizza sale. Kraft Foodsä helped design the analysis lab. The group also observed students completing flower arrangements and tending the school’s livestock.
After the visit to CHAS, one group member expressed that it was the first agricultural high school they had visited. The techniques and cutting edge technology that the students are learning was inspirational to another participant. It was acknowledged that with limited resources, the school and students still excelled and the principal seemed very connected to the student body, which reiterates the importance of small schools for at-risk students. One participant in the visit felt that CHAS’s approach to education is a unique way to solve and address the urban education problem. CHAS is a successful small school with diverse student body--a very different type of school.
Gage Park High School
Gage Park is both a general academic and Education-to-Careers high school located on the southwest side of Chicago. The multiracial student population of approximately 1300 students is 52 percent African American, 44 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Caucasian, and 1 percent other. The school has chosen America’s Choiceä , the comprehensive school reform design model from the National Center on Education and the Economy, as their external partner to assist them in their education reform efforts. Gage Park offers students Advanced Placement courses in English and history, advanced chemistry through laboratory technology, studio art, after-school programs two days per week, homework tutoring, and computer training. The school hosts an on-site Sylvan Learning Center and a JROTC program. Gage Park accommodates Limited English Proficiency students through the city’s English as a Second Language program, Spanish Bilingual Program and Transitional Bilingual Support Program. An Extended Day program at the school provides a resource center for after-school tutoring and extra-curricular activities four days per week.
There are two institutes housed at the high school: the Osco-Target Institute of P.R.I.D.E. (Pharmacy, Retailing, Information Technology, and Distribution) and the Equipment and Technology Institute (ETI) that is run in partnership with the Associated Equipment Distributors’ Foundation (AEDF), an international trade association representing construction equipment distributors and manufacturers. In the interest of developing a quality workforce with good jobs in the 21st Century, AEDF established a working relationship with several schools around the country to provide school-to-work programs in the construction equipment industry. The ETI has approximately 165 students and boasts an 84 percent graduation rate for the inner-city class of 2000. Thirty-two of these students have completed 30 college hours in addition to graduation requirements. The ETI was the focus of the AYPF visit to Gage Park High School.
Upon arriving at the school the visiting group was greeted by Principal Katherine Smith and ETI and AEDF Coordinator Arlene R. Crandall. The group met in the school’s library to listen to student presentations, a parent’s testimony on the benefits of the Institute and presentations from the principal and other ETI partners. The ETI is a three-year program designed to prepare students for today's high technology environment. Students who participate in the Institute take college-level courses on subjects in areas of equipment technology (i.e. engines/fuel systems, hydraulics, electricity and electronics, power trains, and safety administration) in addition to regular academic courses. The program includes field trips to company facilities, guest speakers, job shadowing, mentors, and apprenticeship opportunities. Upon successful completion of this program, students receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM), up to 27 college credits, and guaranteed employment opportunities as service technicians from business partners in the industry. Successful completion of the program also gives students the option to pursue advanced placement at a technical/vocational school or a four-year college. ETI replicates apprenticeship partnerships seen in countries like Japan and Denmark. In 1999, The Wall Street Journal and the Employment Management Association Foundation designated the Equipment Technology Institute as one of five national outstanding school/business partnerships.
Serving as a school-within-a-school, the ETI focuses on an accelerated, integrated academic and vocational curriculum for grades 10 through 12. Ninth grade students are encouraged to apply. Those who are accepted must pass all subjects, have good attendance and no serious disciplinary record. Students proceed through the program during the day at the high school and through a series of work-based experiences. Students in the program also attend classes at the Richard J. Daley Community College after school and during the summers. The ETI’s post-secondary partner, the Manufacturing Technology Institute at Richard J. Daley Community College is run by Executive Director, Mr. Prem Sud. At the community college, students are able to earn college credit in the post-secondary technical courses recommended by industry partners and AEDF.
Employees must be smarter and more skilled than at any other time in our history, and education must be adaptable to keep pace with today's rapidly changing job requirements. The AEDF’s Equipment & Technology Institute (ETI) provides this critical connection, says Frank Giannelli, Director of Career Programs for AEDF. Based on a school-to-work model, the ETI helps employers improve the quality of their workforce by offering high school students an opportunity to learn in school what they will need on the job. By offering more relevant, real-life experiences in school, the ETI motivates young people to stay in school and to do better while they are there. This combination, says Giannelli, leads to rewarding employment and future learning opportunities. The ETI seeks to ensure that business hiring needs are met through the availability of qualified entry-level employees, prepared for work with industry specific skills and knowledge. According to Giannelli, to assure that the ETI's activities are industry driven, industry partners sit on a steering committee and have vital input on the technical curriculum as well as how the industry's workplace skills apply to the academic curriculum.
The Institute is supported through a consortium of funding: Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education grants provide the school with $100,000 annually for two Education-to-Careers teachers; $100,000 for wiring in the technology laboratory and a major renovation of the chemistry laborator, $5,000 for instructional materials; industry partners donate $20,000 for equipment and $100,000 for promotional support and student incentives; Chapter I Funds provide $6,000 annually for a School-to-Work conference and $10,000 annually to afford technical assistance from the National Center on Education and the Economy; and a grant award from the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program provided $10,000 for technical assistance training on Capstone Project/Literacy Strategies.
While visiting classrooms at Gage Park, some group members remarked on the contrast between CHAS school, which is housed in a considerably newer building in a more rural part of the city. The Gage Park laboratories were active with students engaged in learning, but the facilities were much older and poorly stocked with laboratory equipment or classroom supplies. In spite of the obvious lack of funds to supply classrooms with much needed equipment, faculty was observed to be focused and engaged with students. Gage Park students, especially the group’s tour guides, exhibited an air of confidence, and were articulate and expressive. The visiting group felt that the school successfully showed and strong partnership between industry, school and higher education. Gage Park was noted as a favorite visit by some members of the visiting group because it is a school pursuing reform with a broad group of students and limited resources. One visitor felt the school gave a realistic view of the challenges that inner city schools face, which is what federal policy is supposed to address.
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Adlai E. Stevenson is the only comprehensive high school in District 125, a predominantly white suburban area to the north of Chicago, and currently enrolls 3,800 students with a projected growth of 4,500. The socio-economic base, as a whole, is different from the City of Chicago schools in that the majority of its students come from middle to upper-middle class families. Ninety-seven percent of Stevenson’s graduates enroll in college or post-graduate training programs. The school benefits from a unique composition of many suburban villages and townships whose residents, parents and community members take great interest and play an active role in the school’s activities and well-being; it is their high school. This feeling of ownership extends to the six elementary districts that articulate to Stevenson High School. The school has received the U.S. Department of Education’s "Excellence in Education" Blue Ribbon award for 1987, 1991 and 1998. In 1998, the school received a Special Emphasis Award in Arts Education as part of the Blue Ribbon Award. Stevenson High School has enjoyed favorable accolades from magazines like Newsweek and Redbook. Newsweek magazine (1998) rated Stevenson number one in Illinois and among the top 20 high schools in the United States for giving all their students the opportunity to do advanced work.
Stevenson is divided into three houses of 1,500 students each. For a large school, Stevenson’s average class size is relatively small-- between 19 and 21 students each. Because teachers teach in teams, students are able to get to know more adults and develop relationships with them. The school places considerable emphasis on the use of technology to assist students and teachers in reaching their academic goals. There are five computer labs and all students have Internet access, email addresses and server space on the schools 1,200 plus computers. A full-time staff developer for technology is available to assist teachers and students. The extensive library houses a resource area where tutors, all certified teachers in major content areas, are available during the day to tutor or advise students. Peer tutors are also available for students to "drop-in" before and after school, and particularly before major exams. The school schedules five classes per day to allow for more time for teachers to collaborate in team meetings. Parents and the community have high expectations for all students. To meet high expectations, Stevenson offers a college-preparatory curriculum. The school has four tracks: (1) College Core; (2) College Prep; (3) Accelerated; and (4) Honors.
The school offers a wide variety of courses in general education. Twenty-four Advanced Placement courses are offered and a total of 45 semester credits is required for graduation. Course credits required for graduation include: seven in English, four in mathematics, four in natural sciences, five in social sciences, one in economics, one in health, one in driver education, and seven in physical education. The faculty consists of 290 certified staff, 84% with at least a Master’s degree. There are 14 full-time counselors and two full-time college consultants. More than 90% of 1997 graduates exceed Illinois State math and science course requirements; the College Board (1997) ranked Stevenson first in the Midwest and among the top 10 schools in the world in the Advanced Placement (AP) program for producing more AP scholars than any school worldwide; and more than 95% of 1996 graduates enrolled in postsecondary education.
At Stevenson, special education students are mainstreamed to the fullest extent possible. The special education program provides for extra academic support, parent involvement, self-advocacy, personal success and post-secondary planning. The inclusion program for "appropriate special education students" is based on the philosophy that all students, regardless of handicap or ability, are entitled to be part of a mainstream classroom. The program provides appropriate accommodations and modifications for the special education student based on his/her individual education plan.
The high school houses a school-within-a-school, the Stevenson Academy for Integrated Learning (SAIL). The SAIL program is a smaller learning community where enrolled students meet together for three periods per day. During their remaining courses they have many opportunities to interact with other students in classes outside the program. The same reading material, similar tests and laboratories are covered by other classes at Stevenson, however SAIL supplements the curriculum with field trips and integrated activities. Although community service and citizenship are not mandated throughout the school, the SAIL program connects them to the curriculum, creating a practical service-learning experience. The curriculum used in the SAIL program is greatly integrated in that three teachers, from the science, math and English areas share a common planning period and the same group of students. SAIL teachers have the opportunity to discuss individual student progress, curricular connections and other issues that allow them to provide integrated units of study. SAIL is a technology-centered program that provides its students with a set of wireless iBooks for classroom use. Students attend classes 2, 3, and 4th period in a blocked, or flexible schedule. This blocking allows for different schedules. Integrated learning combines aspects of science, English and history in order to recognize the common links between these formerly isolated subjects.
Have they thought of everything? This might be the question one asks when visiting Stevenson. The school has a stable of strategies to deal with every aspect of high school life in the suburbs. Intervention strategies are listed in recommended order starting with those like Counselor Watch/Transition to High School and the Good Friend Program to final interventions such as Ombudsman placement, Case Study Evaluation and Special Education Placement. Students get support from their fellow students through programs such as the Student Support Teams. A summer school course called Survival Skills for High School provides an opportunity for students to review skills necessary to succeed in high school. This course for incoming freshmen gives instruction on time management, listening, note taking, test taking, reading for comprehension, communication skills, goal setting and building self-esteem. The Freshman Mentor program provides young students with a supportive environment that helps ease the transition from middle school to high school. Trained peer mediators maintain a drop-in center where students can share personal concerns. Peer mediators work with local community organizations and police departments to help provide both academic and emotional support for all Stevenson students. There are procedures in place for dealing with students experiencing academic and behavioral problems due to suspected drug/alcohol "involvement." All these programs and a few others are in addition to the team of 14 school counselors provided to guide Stevenson students towards academic success.
There is a pervading atmosphere of optimistic ease at Stevenson and the benefits of this are seen in the way students speak with visitors. Students conduct themselves with an air of confidence that comes from an understanding of the school and their role as learners. They, along with all other staff at Stevenson, are held accountable for their work and behavior. Students are expected to "invest their best efforts in their academic and co-curricular activities; accept responsibility for their learning, decisions and actions; treat the staff and each other with consideration and respect; and conduct themselves in a way that contributes to a safe and orderly atmosphere and ensures the rights of others." These are Principal Dan Galloway’s words of guidance to students in Stevenson’s 115 page, 230 course offering book for 2000-2001. The course catalog serves as a guidebook on graduation policies, organizational charts, courses, descriptions of courses, and suggested course sequences in each academic department in the school. The book also includes information to students about the Gifted and Talented program, the partnership with a technology campus at another high school where Stevenson students can get a vocational experience while earning credits toward graduation, guidelines on community relations, the curriculum, attention to individual students, school climate, and guidelines for working with school personnel. The guidebook is a practical tool that seeks to maintain the ideal of Stevenson’s elite status as an exemplary school. The message that it sends to students is that they are full and responsible partners in the educational process at the school.
Reflection on the visit revealed that group members felt that Stevenson students were highly motivated and this showed a stark contrast with the other schools on our visit to Chicago. One participant felt that this school allowed the group the best format by allowing plenty of time for questions and answers in small groups with students and faculty. Another participant described this visit as a shocking contrast to Gage Park. It was also described that the diversity in school visits provided a lot of food for thought. Stevenson, one participant felt, gave a fascinating look at a "cream of the crop" school and how it works.
Contact Information
Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees:
Cozette Buckney
Chief Education Officer
Chicago Public Schools
125 South Clark Street, 6th floor
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 773-553-1600
Fax: 773-553-1601
www.csc.cps.k12.il.us
Philip J. Hansen
Chief Accountability Officer
Chicago Public Schools
125 South Clark Street, 6th floor
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 773-553-2320
Carlos Azcoitia
Deputy Chief Education Officer
Chicago Public Schools
125 South Clark Street, 6th floor
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 773-553-1520
Creg E. Williams
Education-to-Careers Officer
Chicago Public Schools
125 South Clark Street, 6th floor
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 773-553-2460
Wilfredo Ortiz
High School Development Officer
Chicago Public Schools
125 South Clark Street, 6th floor
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 773-553-3540
Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHAS):
Barbara Valerious
Principal
Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHAS)
3807 West 111th Street
Chicago, IL 60655
Gage Park High School:
Katherine O. Smith
Principal
Gage Park High School
5630 S. Rockwell
Chicago, IL 60629
Phone: 773-535-9230
Arlene R. Crandall
AEDF Coordinator at Gage Park
Gage Park High School
5630 S. Rockwell
Chicago, IL 60629
Phone: 773-535-9230
Prem Sud
Executive Director
Manufacturing Technology Institute
Richard J. Daley College
7500 South Pulaski Road
Building 200 (for Career and Economic Development)
Chicago, IL 60652
Frank Giannelli
Director of Career Programs
Associated Equipment Distributors’ Foundation (AEDF)
615 West 22nd Street
Oak Brook, IL 60523
Phone: 630-574-0650
fpgiannelli@aednet.org