Chicago Public Schools is failing black children

Chicago Public Schools is failing black children, and it’s time to act. That’s the message Philip Jackson and roughly 50 supporters dressed in yellow t-shirts with the words “educate or die” delivered to the Chicago Board of Education on Nov. 14.

“Because our children fail in your schools, they succeed in the streets, prisons and cemeteries,” Jackson told the school board.

Jackson headed the Chicago Housing Authority in 1999 and is now running for a state House seat in the 26th District. He founded the Black Star Project in 1996 to improve educational opportunities for blacks and Latinos through mentoring and after-school programs.

The achievement gap between black and white students, poor and rich school districts, has been demonstrated in study after study, Jackson said, but the problem is getting worse in Chicago.

Only 49 percent of black CPS students meet or exceed state reading standards compared to 80 percent of whites, according to the 2007 CPS District Report Card. In math, a 30 point gap exists between black and white students.

“We want Chicago Public Schools to join with black parents in educating black children,” Jackson said.

Currently, the school district does not do an effective job of reaching out to black families, Jackson said.  And teachers and administrators must do more than have report card days and periodic parent meetings, efforts Jackson called “haphazard.”

“Without black parent involvement, you can’t education black children,” said Jackson.

A more aggressive approach is needed.

Jackson wants Chicago Public Schools to go door-to-door and talk with parents about how they can help their children learn. He also wants administrators and teachers to set-up educational systems in students’ homes so children have a place to do homework with books and computers

School Board President Rufus Williams told Jackson the achievement gap “wasn’t just a Chicago problem.”  He also said the board would look at his proposal and “evaluate it.

Jackson said there’s no time to waste. “When a black boy fails 3rd grade, they start building jail cells,” he told the board

Jackson didn’t have an estimate on the cost of these “educational systems,” but he believes it would be a fraction of the money currently spent on the “failure of black students in public schools.

Chamala Travis attended the Nov. 14 board meeting. She has three children in Chicago Public Schools: Darrion, 16, Malcolm, 14, and Schyler, 4.

“Education is very important to me,” she said. “I can’t afford to send them to the best schools,” and therefore relies on neighborhood schools

Her 4-year-old daughter attends Donoghue, a University of Chicago charter school at 37th St. and Cottage Grove and is getting good grades, Travis said. But her two older sons are struggling with their studies at Dyett High School and Dumas Elementary. Dyett has been on the state’s “needs improvement” list for four years. Dumas has been on the list for seven years.

“There needs to be more qualified teachers and more time spent in school,” said Travis. She said schools need more programs like Black Star and Avid (Advancement Via Individual Determination) during and after school

The Avid group sends staff into schools to tutor “C” and “D” students who want to improve their grades and attend college.

“If you’re not in school, they forget you,” said Travis. She said Chicago Public Schools should send personnel to students’ homes so they can discuss assignments and answer parent questions

Jackson and his supporters left the board and walked to city hall chanting “educate or die.” Jackson said he would hand his reform proposal to Mayor Daley.