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GREATER ENGLEWOOD

LISTENING CAMPAIGN ON
EDUCATION PRIORITIES

Community inquiry to improve engagement, equity in


decision-making, and healing for Chicago

Author: Liam Bird – Principal Investigator, Listening Campaign


August 2018

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I. INTRODUCTION TO LISTENING CAMPAIGN
ABSTRACT: The listening campaign on school priorities in Greater Englewood – in the wake
of 10 school closings and a new school – is an attempt to hold up education priorities in
complex, non-binary terms. The campaign involved speaking with 8 elected officials, and over
25 educators and community leaders representing Greater Englewood. Participants reflected on
the importance of an elected school board and real community engagement, ensuring public
school investment, and preventing gentrification and racialized attacks on Black, impoverished
communities. The final report will be presented to the Board of Education and the goal is to
support continuous improvement in community engagement.

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Dates of Interview:
February to July, 2018
# Interview Subject Professional Role (In Greater Englewood)
1 Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support City of Chicago/Government
2 Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 City of Chicago/Government
3 Englewood Official - Alderman # 2 City of Chicago/Government
4 Englewood Official - Alderman # 3 City of Chicago/Government
5 Englewood Official - Alderman # 4 City of Chicago/Government
6 Englewood Official - Alderman # 5 City of Chicago/Government

7 Englewood Official - Alderman # 6 Support City of Chicago/Government


8 Englewood Official - State Rep Illinois/Government
9 Englewood Official - State Senator Illinois/Government

10 Englewood Official - Founding CAC Chair Founding Englewood CAC Chair


11 Englewood School Leader # 1 Englewood High school # 1
12 Englewood School Leader # 2 Englewood High school # 2
13 Englewood School Leader # 3 Englewood High school # 2
14 Englewood School Leader # 4 Englewood High school # 2

15 Englewood School Leader # 5 Englewood High school # 3

16 Englewood School Leader # 6 Englewood High school # 3


17 Englewood School Leader # 7 VP of Englewood Community College

18 Englewood School Leader # 8 Englewood Elementary school # 1


19 Englewood Student Leader # 1 Englewood High school # 3
20 Englewood Student Leader # 2 Englewood High school # 3

21 Englewood Support Organization Support at 3 Englewood High schools

22 NPO Senior Leader # 1 Englewood Non-profit President


23 NPO Senior Leader # 2 CEO of Equity/Access Organization
24 NPO Senior Leader # 3 Funder/Coalition Building in Chicago
25 NPO Senior Leader # 4 Englewood Nonprofit Manager
26 NPO Senior Leader # 5 Englewood Nonprofit President
27 NPO Senior Leader # 6 Education Leader at X Nonprofit
28 AA Studies/Ed Policy Professor Professor of Education and AA Studies
29 Attorney/Education Policy Staff Attorney at X
30 CPS Leader # 1 Former FACE Director of CPS
31 Education Researcher # 1 Researcher at X Organization
32 Englewood Corporate Funder Program Manager at X Foundation
33 Managing Partner/Co-design School Repurposing/Community Co-design Expert
34 Reporter/Education Policy Reporter at Chicago Reporter

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What is a Listening Campaign?
Some elements have been modified to maintain anonymity.

Listening campaigns are an effort to engage community in conversation and concerns and priorities. In
this campaign, interviews with subjects ranged from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. Listening campaigns are a
way to look at issues in a non-binary fashion, and hold them up in their complexity. Where is there
alignment and dissonance between various leaders on educational priorities – from elected officials to
schools, nonprofits, families and students? The campaign consisted of 34 interviews between February
and August of 2018, mostly in person. The majority of participants allowed me to record and transcribe
our conversations in order to maintain accuracy.

Each interview began with a brief introduction to the listening campaign in Greater Englewood around
educational priorities. Although the interview protocol consisted of only 2 questions, other common
questions surfaced and both are listed below.

Interview Questions

Essential questions:
1. Current education priorities within your school (ward/district) and across Englewood?
2. Stakeholders who inform education policy in Greater Englewood?

Other common topics/questions surfaced:


3. What are strengths and weaknesses of the school action process in relation to Englewood?
4. What recommendations do interviewees have for the Board of Education?
5. How are community engagement structures – CAC, Ed Taskforce, EQLP – working?
6. How does having many elected officials representing Greater Englewood play out?
7. What have you heard from students and families regarding education priorities? School actions?
8. What do you envision for Greater Englewood in the future?

Context
Greater Englewood is one of 77 community areas in Chicago, Illinois. In 1960, when the neighborhood
was majority Jewish, the population of the neighborhood peaked at 97,000. The population has declined
dramatically to 30,000 according to the 2010 census. Until 2011, there were 6 alderman representing the
neighborhood; now there are 5. There are also 3 state representatives and 2 congressman representing the
area. Even though Englewood is portrayed in the media as one neighborhood, it actually consist of
Englewood and West Englewood.

In 2013, 6 schools were closed in Greater Englewood with the stated reason being underutilized. Families
were ensured students would transition to a higher performing elementary schools, which didn’t happen
according to a Consortium (2018) report. According to the report, it produced chaos and suffering. In
2018, 4 high schools were closed in Greater Englewood and 1 $85 million school was confirmed.

Summary of Education Priorities and Feedback for the Board of Education

Greater Englewood Strengths human capital, planning, leadership


Education Priorities sustainability, symbiosis, success
Obstacles CPS decisions, disinvestment, disparity
Feedback participative democracy, equitable decisions, community healing

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Englewood: The population of Englewood has decline by roughly 10,000 residents since 2000 to
roughly 30,654. 45.8 percent of residents lived in poverty between 2007 and 2011; roughly 26
percent of residents lived in extreme poverty during this time. Roughly 28 percent of residents do not
receive a high school diploma. 35.9 percent of residents over the age of 16 are unemployed. The area
has the most incidents of diabetes of Chicago neighborhoods. The area has the third most incidents of
fire-arm related deaths for any part of Chicago. The City of Chicago created a Hardship Index, which
relies on a series of socio-economic indicators related to education, income, employment, and
housing. Englewood received a 94/100, which is the fourth highest score denoted to any Chicago
neighborhood.

West Englewood: The population of the area has declined by roughly 10,000 residents to 30,654
since 2000. 41 percent of residents lived in poverty between 2007 and 2011. West Englewood also
has an unemployment rate of 35.9 percent, which is the highest in the city (GHN, 2015). 26.3 percent
of residents over the age of 25 do not have a high school diploma (City of Chicago, 2011). There are
high incidents of low birth rates in the area. The area also has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in
Chicago. The average per capita income in West Englewood is fifth lowest of any Chicago
neighborhood: $11,317. West Englewood received a score of 89/100 on the Hardship Index, which
was one of the highest of any Chicago neighborhood. West Englewood is a food desert (LaSalle
Bank, 2006).

Englewood Quality of Life Plan: 2016 Education Priorities


1. Identify existing reading programs for alignment with reading standards to achieve at grade level
reading scores.
2. Attract capital and resources for student led enrichment programs
3. Partner with educational professionals, businesses and community colleges to create more
effective program reflective of students’ diverse learning needs
4. Prioritize mentorship by identifying high school and college students, existing organizations and
adults to share their skills
5. Provide supports to parents to amplify student success

Outcomes:
 Increase percentage of students reading at or exceeding grade level to at least the district average
at all schools within 3 years (by 2020).
 Provide the opportunity for every student in Englewood to have access to mentorship
opportunities within 3 years (by 2020).
 Increase high school graduation rate of all Englewood high schools within 5 years (by 2022)
moving towards a long-term target of 100% graduation.
See the rest here: http://archive.lisc-chicago.org/uploads/lisc-chicago-
clone/documents/eng_qol_report_final_2_lr.pdf

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push out
Methodology
Participants in the listening campaign included elected officials, school leaders, and organization
leaders. These participants were chosen based on their current or former leadership role in
relation to Greater Englewood education priority agenda setting – and relationship to school
actions in 2013 and 2018. I spoke with the 5 alderman who currently represent Greater
Englewood for their perspective on education priorities and recommendations for the board. I
spoke with school staff in neighborhood schools in Greater Englewood – most of whom have
remained anonymous in this study. Their perspective on education priorities is important –
whether or not their school was closing in 2018. I also spoke with core neighborhood
organizations informing education policy in Greater Englewood. Other stakeholders were
selected based on their subject matter expertise related to education policy and community
engagement in Chicago and Greater Englewood, specifically.
These were standardized, open-ended interviews ranging from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. All but
one of the interviews were conducted in person. The interview pertained to education priorities
for Greater Englewood and feedback for the Chicago Board of Education. Interviews were
transcribed and participants’ remarks were categorized in terms of strengths, priorities, obstacles
and feedback, which is below in the results section.

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Results
Summary: In the results section, I summarize conversations in terms of strengths in community
assets, education priorities in Greater Englewood, obstacles in achieving these priorities, and
recommendations for the Chicago Board of Education and the City of Chicago. Interviews were
recorded and/or transcribed, scanned for themes and patterns. Each area of discussion is
supported with a quote from a participant. Some information has been removed to protect
anonymity.

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I. Strengths in Community Assets
Strengths in
Achieving
Education Listening Campaign
Priorities # Participant
African American Studies and Education Policy Professor, Englewood
Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Reporter/Education Policy, Englewood
Official - State Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Greater
Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
Community organizations supporting Leader # 1 , Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 5, CPS Leader #
education initiatives 11 1, Englewood Official - State Rep
School Leader # 1, Greater Englewood School Leader # 6, Greater
Englewood School Leader # 5, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3,
Strong activists and community Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3,
members 8 Englewood Official - State Rep, Englewood Official - State Senator
Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1
Support, Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, School Leader # 2, School
Relational families 7 Leader # 3, Greater Englewood School Leader # 6, School Support # 1
School Leader 1, School Support 1, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
Leader # 1 , NPO Senior Leader # 2, Englewood Official - State Senator,
Engaged community – school action Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
meetings 7 Leader # 4
Englewood School Leader # 7, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader #
1 , Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 5, Greater Englewood NPO
Englewood Quality of Life Plan Senior Leader # 4, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood
Partnership 6 Official - Alderman # 5
School Leader # 2, Greater Englewood School Leader # 6, Englewood
Official - Alderman # 5, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood
Growth in academic achievement 6 Official - State Rep, NPO Senior Leader # 2
Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 1 , African American Studies
and Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - State Senator,
Collaboration to repurpose schools Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 5, Greater Englewood NPO
between education stakeholders 5 Senior Leader # 4
School Leader #2, NPO Senior Leader # 2, Englewood Official -
Strong school leadership 5 Alderman # 3, School Leader # 1, School Support # 1
Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Greater Englewood NPO
Schools act as safe zones and Senior Leader # 1 , CPS Leader # 1, Greater Englewood School Leader #
community spaces 5 6, Englewood Official - State Rep
School Leader # 1, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood
Official - Alderman # 5, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4,
Black consciousness and power 5 Englewood Official - State Rep
CPS has learned lessons from past
school closures and community Englewood School Leader # 7, CPS Leader # 1, Englewood Official -
engagement mess-ups 4 Alderman # 5, School Support # 1
Collaboration between elected Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Englewood Official - State
officials 3 Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 5
Partnerships with Black businesses 2 Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - Alderman # 5

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1. Community organizations supporting education initiatives. The purpose of the campaign was to ask
questions primarily about education priorities for Greater Englewood and recommendations for the
Chicago Board of Education. In each conversation, community strengths showed up organically and
specifically the many forms of human capital. The first was community organizations, which support
education. These range for organizations that work directly in schools to neighborhood and political
organizations. Two organizations at the forefront of the conversation surrounding the Englewood Quality
of Life Plan are X organization and Y organization. School leaders I spoke with talked about a collective
effort to best serve students especially when the funding formula results in inadequate supports for
students in Greater Englewood. The administration at X charter high school talked about working to build
local partnerships from the nursing home across the street from the school to a theater production
company since the school was founded in 2010.

“You mentioned x core organization earlier. Asiaha has done so much work with that organization to
make sure that kids on the block know the police, know the grandmothers, they know the mothers on the
block. It’s like this idea that the Rock the Beat concept they came up with. Looking at the Beats with the
most violence and offering jobs to guys who might be gangbanging otherwise. Same thing with CPS,
within the office of security works with CPS, works with the youth advocacy program.” – Greater
Englewood School Leader # 1

2. Strong activists and community members. Follow the strength of neighborhood organizations was
the closely overlapping activists and community members. School leaders talked about community
members supporting school events and the school as a community space.

“We have a whole lot. We have the Englewood CAC, X Core Organization does a lot with education, Z
Core Oragnization. We have actually great groups in Englewood. Very structured, very well organized.
You know? Sometimes, if there is any criticism at all it may be that some tend to fight one against the
other for resources or there could be this perception that when people come to help some people that
have been in Englewood a little longer, born and raised in Englewood get cynical.” – Englewood Official
– Alderman # 3

3. Relational families. School leaders at the neighborhood schools I spoke with talked about strong ties
to families in the community and alumni. For the schools that were closed, the timeline felt too short and
the communication not coming from the school – rather coming directly from the Board of Education –
produced trauma for these families.

“The communication for this entire process came directly from the Board of Education and they did not
share the communication with us first. Because these families are relational this didn’t really work for
them. Even now (middle of June 2018) the board handles communication. We believe we should be
handling the communication as a high school.” – Greater Englewood School Leader # 4

4. Engaged community – school action meetings. At the December 2017 Chicago Board of Education
Meeting, Alderman Lopez submitted 700 signed signatures to the Board of Education to oppose the
closure of Harper High school – gather by Action Now. He brought many students from the community
with him. Between January and March, there were school action meetings for impacted schools in Greater
Englewood. According to one Anonymous Support Organization staff person I spoke to who worked at
Harper, TEAM Englewood and Robeson, students and staff were well represented. There were two main
groups: those who were focused on school closures as inequitable and keeping the schools open and a
second group focused on the new school as something positive for Greater Englewood. As a part of my
campaign, I watched the public input at the Chicago Board of Education meetings between October and
January with a focus in December to hear what students and staff had to say about the school closures –
how it impacted the community and what recommendations schools had? Nearly everyone who spoke

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about the closures in Greater Englewood, who was not an elected official, opposed the school closings
and asked to keep the schools open.

The priority became how we will help students make a transition to receiving school when closures
happened. Closures were announced. The first hearing was the 17th of January. This was for all of the
schools – after they announced the school actions. It was the 10th of January. Folks expressing
disappointment with transition plans. Shouting matches were breaking out. A lot of public comments and
a feeling of vulnerability: it’s going to happen either way. It turned into two conflicting camps.” -
Greater Englewood School Leader # 1

5. Englewood Quality of Life Plan Partnership. The EQLP is an engine for community development in
Greater Englewood – according to many of the stakeholders I spoke with. It has an Education and Youth
Development Taskforce, which leads several neighborhood wide education strategies and incorporates
many community stakeholders for a common impact.

“There is a level of ownership that I love coming out of the EQLP, and I hope that continues cause
without that you lose the moral core of the transition that’s happening within this community and then it
does become a gentrification situation versus this idea that you can do both. You don’t have to start
moving everyone out, you don’t have to start selling Englewood property at exorbitantly high prices that
current community members can’t afford.”- Greater Englewood School Leader # 1

6. Growth in academic achievement. Several stakeholders talked about the academic growth schools in
the Greater Englewood community has experienced as a strength. Alderman Englewood Official -
Alderman # 5 talked about how schools in the 20th Ward have seen increases in GPA and test scores and
also linking students to employment opportunities. Alderman Englewood Official - Alderman # 3 shared
there are several level 1 schools in the 6th Ward. Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4 with X Core
Organization shared there is an inaccurate representation of the quality of schools in Greater Englewood
and that many do not know about the strong and diverse offerings.

“I think some people just don’t know how many Level 1 and Level 1+ schools we actually have in the
neighborhood, but we actually do have dedicated educators, parents, students who do care packages. We
connect with those in the community who want to do something and really thrive, so we really want every
student to have access to the supports that they need. We want students to read at 100% grade level by 3rd
grade. We want to see 100% high school graduation rate, and we don’t want to see any school closures.”
–NPO Senior Leader # 4

7. Schools act as safe zones and community spaces. One of the major strengths that was a frequent
refrain in conversations was how schools are safe zones in the community and there is a symbiotic
relationship with community and partners in these spaces. School leaders talked about strategic
partnerships with community partners with a thinking toward the importance of partnerships with Black
businesses within the community.

“If she can't get into Lindbloom, the best school in Chicago that I went to, she can't go anywhere because
they just decided to close Harper. And so, back to the violence, a couple of years ago you know, 30 kids
got shot on their way to Harper High School. 30 students, nine of them died. These schools are literally
the safe havens for children in the communities. They are the only buildings we have for these kids to go
in and play basketball safely because apparently they can't do it outside. It provides more than just
education at the end of the day. And in an area likes the geographic area of West Englewood, and the
area that that's school serves, I think it would be even more of a detriment to close that school.”
–Englewood Official – State Representative

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8. Black consciousness and power. A major strength highlighted in conversations was how much of the
leadership in Greater Englewood leads with Black consciousness and power – in terms of sustainability,
community health and well-being, and economic and social empowerment. For example, the New
Englewood High school partnered with a Black architectural firm, Moody Nolan, which many
stakeholders advocated for.

“I would have to ask Moody Nolan. It's an African American firm. I'm sure they have them. One of the
largest architectural firms in the country. They are Ohio based, I believe. Ujaama is building the
building, which is an African American company. That was important to us. We don't want people in
Englewood not seeing people of color. Not seeing Black people working over there and I'm talking about
in leadership roles and supervisory roles. There's Black guys running this project. Black guy did the
design, so you know? It's really a great team that was put together and we were happy about that.” –
Greater Englewood Official – Alderman # 3

9. CPS has learned lessons from past school closures and community engagement mess-ups. There
were a few stakeholders in the campaign that shared the school closure process was adapted this time
around and these tweaks better served students; for example, shifting from the closures to the 3-year
phase out. Even though the community would have preferred to keep schools open, the new $85 million
school coming at the same time helped the change management strategy.

“There is perspective missing. CPS makes an effort. There are limits to community input. There is an
opportunity to enlist trusted partners. A lot of talk about it came from the Englewood Taskforce. People
on the taskforce felt like they were not being listened to. Not being received in the way they want and need
to go back to the drawing board to think about making these decisions and communicating in a way that
people.” – Greater Englewood School Leader # 3

10. Collaboration between elected officials. I spoke with several elected officials in this campaign,
which could influence this showing up as community strength. There was a positive reflection on the
ability of elected officials to work together and support existing educational priorities. For example,
Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4 with the Englewood Quality of Life Plan talked about healthy
relationships with each alderman representing Greater Englewood.

I think that when it comes to the Southside Alderman in general they work together pretty well and when
it comes down to education of children it stops being about political boundaries at that point. I have been
privy to multiple Alderman working around this from Toni Foulkes, Alderman Sawyer, to Alderman
Moore, Alderman Dowell. I’ve worked with a couple of them in my number years and I can say for a fact
when it comes to education we don’t even talk about ward boundaries.” –Englewood Official – Alderman
# 1 Support

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II. Education Priorities
Education Listening Campaign
Priorities # Participant
Englewood School Leader # 7, School Leader # 2, NPO Senior Leader
# 2, African American Studies and Education Policy Professor,
Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, School Leader # 1,
Greater Englewood School Leader # 5, Englewood Official - State
Helping students position Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official -
themselves for academic and State Rep, Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, Greater Englewood
career success 13 NPO Senior Leader # 4
Englewood Official - Alderman # 1, Englewood Official - State Rep,
Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - Alderman #
1 Support, NPO Senior Leader # 2, African American Studies and
Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1
Support, School Leader # 1, Englewood Official - State Senator,
Adjust timeline for school closures Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman #
– which resulted in phase out 13 3, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4, School Leader 2
School Leader # 2, Englewood School Leader # 7, NPO Senior Leader
# 2, CPS Leader # 1, African American Studies and Education Policy
Professor, School Leader # 1, Englewood Official - State Senator,
Providing trauma informed Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman #
services to students and families 11 3, Englewood Official - State Rep, , Englewood Official - Alderman # 5
Englewood School Leader # 7, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader
# 1 , Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, NPO Senior Leader #
3, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman
Engaging with the community in # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - State
new ways 9 Rep, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4
School Leader # 1, School Leader # 2, Support Organization # 1, CPS
Leader # 1, African American Studies and Education Policy Professor,
Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Reporter/Education
Sustainable coexistence of Policy, Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official -
neighborhood schools and charters 9 Alderman # 3
School Leader 1, School Leader 2, School Leader 3, and School Leader
4 and Support Organization # 1, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
Helping students transition for Leader # 1 , African American Studies and Education Policy Professor,
academic success given school Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
actions 9 Leader # 4
Factor adolescent development and
Englewood School Leader # 7, School Leader # 2, NPO Senior Leader
cultural relevance into curriculum # 2, School Leader # 1, Greater Englewood School Leader # 5,
to maximum student agency and Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official - State Rep,
integrated identity 8 Englewood Official - Alderman # 5
Offering a full high school
experience or helping students find NPO Senior Leader # 2, School Leader # 1, Greater Englewood School
one 8 Leader # 6, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, School leader 1-4, SP
African American Studies and Education Policy Professor, Englewood
Official - Founding CAC Chair, Englewood Official - State Rep,
Ensuring new Englewood school is Englewood Official - State Senator, African American Studies and
for residents, doesn’t cause Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1
gentrification 7 Support, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3
Boosting enrollment in schools to School Leader # 1, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood
ensure funding 7 Official - Alderman # 1 Support

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1. Helping students position themselves for academic and career success. Participants shared a
common goal was providing students with a strong focus on academic and career success. School leaders,
at the high school level, have plans focused on postsecondary and helping students in transitions.

“I think our instructional focus is to help students persist and succeed in college and in their individual
lives as the person they are outside of their postsecondary situation, so I think in terms of building a
curriculum and instructional vision we try to start with what are the strengths they have and don’t yet
have. One of the things we’ve discovered is there are a lot of soft skills with that. One of the things is
students will go to predominantly white institutions. Many of our kids will have to navigate financial
challenges in terms of handling their scholarship money, handling their financial life, so over the years
we’ve tried to build up the curriculum. We’re adding a senior seminar course next year, we added a
career and technology course for sophomores because we’re seeing that there is this thing where there is
no traditional class that addresses that and particular students it’s really important to get them to
college.” –Greater Englewood School Leader # 5

2. Adjust timeline for school closures – which resulted in phase out. A common refrain of
conversations was a key priority for the Greater Englewood community in the wake of 10 school closures
and a legacy of disinvestment. School leaders shared families and parents all wanted to keep their schools
– Robeson, Harper, TEAM Englewood, and Hope – open. Based on the school leaders I spoke with,
updating the community engagement process and communicating with all stakeholders far in advance –
10 Year Facilities Master Plan – would help to develop the change management process.

“As it relates to the school closings, I'm not very happy about the proposed School closings and or the
decision to close the schools. I'm not happy about that at all. And I'm not happy at all about the manner
in which they took to close schools because what they did was make decisions downtown and they
bypassed the community and only until the elected officials started complaining, myself and senator X
and Y, Alderman Moore, State Representative Z. Once we started complaining and holding the press
conferences is when they decided to hold the community meetings which they should have held up front.”
–Englewood Official - State Senator

3. Providing trauma informed services to students and families. A common refrain was that providing
more trauma informed services is a priority for Greater Englewood. Greater Englewood has faced
historical disinvestment and the multiple corollaries of being an area of concentrated disadvantage. The
per pupil funding model impacts the ability to Greater Englewood to provide these resources – i.e. low
enrollment means less supports. Schools are making it a priority to bring these organizations into schools
through strategic partnerships – for example, restorative justice.

“Back in 2005, CPS closed Englewood High School. Because of the way the neighborhood boundaries
were redrawn, we ended up receiving 200 additional students in 2006 and we ended up growing in
population over the next few years as well. However, CPS never gave our schools additional funds to
accommodate those additional students. Furthermore, the students we received from X High School
needed trauma-informed programming efforts and these students came in high risk. If we are thinking in
terms of equity, these students need more services. We received no additional funds as this was before
principal based budgeting. So, in this sense it is manufactured, right?" – Greater Englewood School
Leader # 2

4. Engaging with the community in new ways. Another priority for Greater Englewood was to find new
ways of engaging with the community that bring them along with the decision-making process and
incorporate healing while building trust. Several participants shared how black civic engagement is not
viewed as such. Without an elected school board, what ways can the Board/the City raise up the voices of
people of color in the education agenda setting process?

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“Reverse what’s happening. Make CPS sit down and listening. Give them critical feedback about how
CAC, Steering Committee, couldn’t figure out a way to represent the community. There is still no process
in which this could happen moving forward. In fact, Janice inherited this problem from the decisions that
were passed to her. In terms of this campaign, I think it’s important that you go back and reengage with
X Core Organization, Rage, and find out what strategies around community engagement have already
worked. Remember, what you are bringing forward won’t be new to the community even though it will be
a different package and delivery.” –Englewood Official - Founding CAC Chair

5. Sustainable coexistence of neighborhood schools and charters. A consistent theme across the
listening campaign was the importance of developing a sustainable model – where neighborhood and
charter schools serving Greater Englewood are strong. Specifically, in the context of Renaissance 2010
and the Gates Compact, ensuring neighborhood schools – like the 4 closed in 2018 and the 6 in 2013 – are
not closed because of utilization as charter enrollment grows. Relatedly, there is tension between
neighborhood schools and charter schools when they share the same building. School leaders shared the
importance of finding ways to unify the school culture in a school where students live together.

“Maybe that’s something you can take to them. Think about the coexistence of charter schools and public
schools. A way they can support each other rather than shutting one down and lifting the other. It doesn’t
make any sense to me (laughter). You’re going to shut down the public school system and then you’re
going to elevate the private school system. We’re talking about median income being a problem for the
last 20 years. When I see it, and I personally feel, how about you guys try to compromise or coexist.” –
Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support

6. Helping students transition for academic success given school actions. A priority among the school
leaders, support organizations, and district and city representatives was ensuring current students
impacting by school closures – in 2018, or even back in 2013, receive the proper transition supports to
make the moves required for a robust high school experience. Counselors, support organizations, and
administrators made decisions to lower their own enrollment – even while schools are being phased out –
in order to ensure students have access to high quality curriculum, instruction and school culture.
Specifically, many schools were worried about having to switch to mostly online curriculum, larger
classes and undifferentiated instruction if students remained enrolled. Thus, a priority within Greater
Englewood, is preventing as the Consortium (2018) report on school closures concluded: chaos, suffering
for families and a lack of academic growth.

“We wanted to do door knockers, but didn’t. You know? Reaching out to families in the community and I
never want to feel like it is in response to the closings. We work with SOAR from CPS. They help with
truant students or students out there with a bunch of credits from us, so we’re trying to get them GEDs or
alternative school. He is our formal connection. When students come into CPS he would like to transfer
somewhere else. We do transcript reviews with students.” –Greater Englewood School Leader # 6

7. Factor adolescent development and cultural relevance into curriculum to maximum student
agency and integrated identity. Another common theme, in relation to academic and career success and
trauma informed services, was the emphasis on adolescent development and cultural relevance in
instruction and school-wide culture. Ensuring the social capital in the building is leveraged and the staff
is demographically proportionate to students is a priority. Making sure students are met in their
developmental trajectory, and supported through differentiated instruction, is a priority. Thus, with
inequitable funding models, schools also prioritize work with community partners to ensure students who
need accommodations receive them. Greater Englewood School Leader # 6, Assistant Principal at X high
school talked about the growing number of students at the school with learning disabilities and how the
high school is becoming known in Greater Englewood for supporting students. In terms of cultural

16
relevance, the importance of showcasing black excellence and the strength of the Greater Englewood
community was also emphasized.

“So, people always criticize gangs, but this is your norm. This is your family, this is your block, and this
is who you are loyal to. Loyalty sometimes means you engage in fighting, shooting, or killing, because
that’s loyalty. And we want kids to see there is nothing wrong with your need for loyalty, but there are
different ways to show your loyalty. And part of that loyalty, circling back to that original question is, if
you are really loyal to your family and your block then let’s take on some educational opportunities that
will allow you to have more resources in the future so you can then give to you community, give to your
block, by being 1 alive as a first step and then 2 you’ve got a job that actually allows you to support
yourself, support your family, and allows your block to become better resourced because you have more
people that are working, more people that are bringing resources, material resources back into the
community and then supporting a safer environment for kids who are coming up behind you.” –Greater
Englewood School Leader # 3

8. Offering a full high school experience or helping students find one. Another priority, closely
aligned to the obstacles of historical disinvestment, inequitable funding, and Black push out, is schools
with shrinking populations being unable to offer a complete high school or elementary school experience
leaving them unable to compete with charters. Because of resource scarcity, and a funding model not
based on addressing the corollaries of poverty and racism proactively, schools continue to cut services.
School leaders and support organizations shared helping students’ transition from their schools and
working with other schools to ensure students are properly supported and accommodated.

“I am really transparent with my staff. And so, I think the support for kids to transfer to other schools was
hard. I articulated to my coworkers why I thought it was important for kids to transition into other high
schools and, in general, the feedback I got from my staff about that was positive. Now, in real time, when
you’re faced with the fact of where do I work next year. That is extremely hard.” –Greater Englewood
School Leader # 1

9. Ensuring new Englewood school is for residents, doesn’t cause gentrification. An obstacle the
community faces is “being on the hills of gentrification.” Elected officials, school leaders, and
neighborhood organizations in Greater Englewood shared the new school could be an anchor of
development for the community or a means of pushing the Black population out. Stakeholders want to
ensure the new school is of a high caliber and serves mostly Greater Englewood students. Greater
Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4, Project Manager at X Core Organization, talked about the
interrelationship between how a neighborhood is perceived, in terms of quality education, and an influx of
new residents.

“So, all of those things now, some developers are starting to say it presents an opportunity, right? And if
we can seize this opportunity then something like this new school could potentially serve as an anchor for
whatever this new vision for Englewood is, right? And I think community residents are hip to that, right?
They say well look we've been structurally disinvested in for the last 40 years. Who is this new school for?
Just in very simple terms, right? Close 3 of our schools, we've got a significant amount of our charters
that have depopulated the neighborhood public schools. You're talking about this new school. Who is
expected to live here, right? Just in real time, right? You've got a community that has significantly lost its
school age population, right? So that question is always a strange one to me in terms of this new school.
The community would say first this is not what we asked for. Second, because it's not what we asked for
we're pretty clear it's about something else.” – African American Studies and Education Policy Professor

10. Boosting enrollment in schools to ensure funding. Closely linked to the obstacle of disinvestment,
boosting enrollment for schools in Greater Englewood was emphasized. According to Englewood Official

17
- Alderman # 3, 93% of Englewoodians attend school outside of the neighborhood, which leads to lower
enrollment. The priority of enrollment may be less emphasized if there were a more equitable funding
model. Thus, the recommendation to the board about equitable funding models.

Our school, X, has had an amazing vision where we have boosted scores, and supported kids and families
and had to adapt to what was coming at us. Just look at our enrollment. We jumped from 900 to 1300,
then 1400. We graduated the x high school students that were sent to us when their school closed and we
received no additional supports because this was pre-per pupil budgeting. In 2009, we had an influx of
different gangs. Some were from x high school. When schools were closed, it made the gang issue worse
because students were traveling through new gang territories to get to school.” –Greater Englewood
School Leader # 2

The other thing: high school acceptance; tiered system. You’ve got to get 800 or 900 points. This many
for where you live, test scores, grades. If you are in the hood, you get more points. If in an affluent
neighborhood, more points. That’s how they balance it out. A lot of them don’t live in Englewood, there
are just using an address. I would argue it is 55 to 60% (leaving Englewood).” – Greater Englewood
School Leader # 8

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III. Obstacles in Achieving Priorities
Obstacles to
Achieving Education
Priorities # Listening Campaign Participants
School Leader #2, School Leader # 3, School Leader # 4, School Leader # 1,
Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1, Englewood
Official - Alderman # 3, School Support # 1, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
Leader # 1 , NPO Senior Leader # 2, CPS Leader # 1, African American Studies and
Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support,
Community doesn’t feel heard in Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood
decision making process 17 Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - State Rep
Englewood School Leader # 7, School Leader # 2, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
Leader # 1 , NPO Senior Leader # 2, CPS Leader # 1, African American Studies and
Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support,
Reporter/Education Policy, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official
- Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - State Rep, , Englewood Official - Alderman #
Neighborhood disinvestment 13 5, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4
School Leader # 2, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 1 , NPO Senior Leader
# 2, CPS Leader # 1, African American Studies and Education Policy Professor,
Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Englewood Official - State Senator,
Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood
CPS funding formula, doesn’t consider Official - State Rep, , Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, Greater Englewood NPO
equity 12 Senior Leader # 4
Englewood School Leader # 7, NPO Senior Leader # 2, African American Studies
and Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support,
Reporter/Education Policy, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official
Disparity in funding (state) - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - State Rep, , Englewood Official - Alderman #
compounded with poverty 10 5, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4
Community engagement from CPS/the School Leader # 2, NPO Senior Leader # 2, School Leader # 1, Englewood Official -
Board 6 State Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - State Rep
Englewood School Leader # 7, School Leader 2, African American Studies and
GE students experience trauma need Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official
additional resources 5 - Alderman # 3
Englewood residents choose school School Leader # 2, NPO Senior Leader # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1
outside of the neighborhood 5 Support, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3
School leaders feel they cannot speak
their truth, career safety 5 School leader 1, 2, 3, 4, SS1
Englewood Official - Founding CAC Chair, Englewood Official - State Senator,
Many elected officials, one Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - State Rep, Englewood
neighborhood: 5 Official - Alderman # 3
School level and district level
leadership not aligned in School Leaders 2, School Leader 3, School Leader 1, Englewood Official -
communication to stakeholders 4 Alderman # 3
Tension in within school buildings
between public school and charter 4 School Leader 2, 3, 4, School Support 1

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School human and social capital lost
during and in anticipation of School leader # 2, African American Studies and Education Policy Professor,
transitions 3 Englewood Official - State Rep
Community stereotypes as School Leader # 1, , Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, Greater Englewood NPO
impoverished, violent 4 Senior Leader # 4
Englewood Community Advisory
Council not representative of
community interests 2 NPO Senior Leader # 2, Englewood Official - State Senator

Community doesn’t feel heard in decision making process. The most common obstacle, in a
conversation about education priorities and feedback for the board from stakeholders in Greater
Englewood was the importance of the community feeling heard in the decision-making process. Part of
this is related to, in the words of Gloria Ladson-Billings (2006), the educational debt owed to
communities of color in Chicago. The issue was consistently cited in reference to the 2013 and 2018
school closures processes. For example, Harper High school submitted 700 signatures to keep their school
open. There were similar efforts at Chicago Board of Education meetings and School Action meetings for
other schools closed in 2013 and 2018. Because of the frequency of this refrain, and in relation to the
importance of a democratically elected school board, the number one recommendation coming out of the
listening campaign is the importance of factoring the community into the decision-making process. While
some participants shared they were content with existing councils, taskforces and committees responsible
for developing community-driven education priorities, others shared these structures are inadequate to
represent community voice.

As a mother in this community, as a person who has been living here my whole life, nobody consulted me
about closing all of my high school. I have a child who is going to need to go to high school in another
for 5 years. And what you did to me is basically told me to get out of this neighborhood, we don't want
you here; there is no future here. That is a message I am being told as a mother born and raised in this
community and now I refuse to leave and I am going to raise my own child here because this is where my
family set up shop right?” –Englewood Official - State Rep

1. Neighborhood disinvestment. Underlying much of the campaign was the obstacle of historical
neighborhood disinvestment. Participants talked about how racist policies concentrated development in
other neighborhoods at the city and state level. Like food and health center deserts, closing schools was
seen as deepening disinvestment and telling Black Englewoodians to leave the city. In terms of
disinvestment, neighborhood schools were frequently highlighted as receiving disproportionately less
than charters and being intentionally starved.

“But, now in our communities, we can go to the disinvestment we were talking about beforehand, and it
feels as though as officials remove that investment, which is the Chicago Public Schools, from the
neighborhood and now students have to (1) travel long distances to get to schools, which is more
dangerous and presents a safety hazard to communities that need development, so it creates a safety
issue.” –Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support

“Difficult choice – choose between having a PE teacher and up-to-date technology for 3rd through 8th
graders. That was a choice I had to make. Choose between new curriculum this year and instructional
interventions – some far below grade level, growth is high. New curriculum versus a solid interventionist.
Choices like this suck. I think sometimes the cultural changes are too immense to simply say invest in it
and things will change. Sometimes you have to throw out the baby with the bath water.” –Anonymous
School Leader # 8

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2. CPS funding formula, doesn’t consider equity. Another frequent refrain in the campaign was the per
pupil budget formula. Schools receive funding based on the number of students they enroll. According to
elected officials, school leaders, and support organizations I spoke with, the per pupil funding model does
not account for multiple corollaries of poverty and racism. Some shared selective enrollment schools, and
schools on the Northside, receive disproportionately more based on the attainment of students even
though Greater Englewood schools have experienced a lot of academic growth recently. Rather school
were closed in 2013 and 2018 based on utilization AND academic performance – other than NTA. We
need to shift toward understanding the fixing the achievement gap puts historical disinvestment and the
legacy of white supremacy onto the communities of color that were attacked and marginalized in the first
place. The city should accept it owes an educational debt to these communities based on past inequitable
decisions.

“You could look at how monies are distributed throughout the city. You could have folks who now pay
attention to allocation, right? So, that loosens the grip of the city and now says here is what this means
when communities have access to their schools and more importantly to the dollars that fund their
schools. So, I think those are all opportunities that are readily available.” – African American Studies
and Education Policy Professor

“In a country and city, we have to do something radical. Whatever it is, folks won’t be uncomfortable
with it. True radicalism is uncomfortable. A change no one anticipates or knows how to react.” –
Anonymous School Leader # 8

3. Disparity in funding (state) compounded with poverty. Compounding the funding issue at the city
level is, according to Education Trust (2015), Illinois as the most inequitable way of funding rich versus
poor, black versus white districts of any state in the nation. What does this mean? Like the state does not
accommodate for the multiple corollaries of poverty in funding schools – or accounting for historical
disinvestment and the educational debt.

“How about we just do the things that we promised to do as a city and a state and that's fully fund public
education in an equitable way. The reason why we got in this situation it's because Chicago chooses to
ignore two sides of the city the South and the West sides and so because of that you're not going to have
the same types of support for those School; you’re not going to have the same type of support for those
businesses and those jobs. So, therefore you have two areas of the city that I would call undesirable and
unless the leader of that City, the mayor, because we live in a city that the kingdom where the mayor
literally runs everything and we don't have an elected School Board right?” –Englewood Official - State
Rep

4. Community engagement from CPS/the Board. From the way school closings were executed in 2018 to
2013, to the way education policy decisions have been made. School leaders talked about how the
community was approached by the Board and the district about the school closure process rather than the
communication coming directly from schools, which didn’t work for relational families. School
representatives showed up to school action meetings, Board and City Council meetings to oppose Greater
Englewood schools being closed, and felt like they were not heard. What would it look like, which HB
5721 and the CEFTF (2011 and 2013) reports account for, to extend the thinking about all school actions
as far out as the 10 Year Master Facilities Plan?

“The communication for this entire process came directly from the Board of Education and they did not
share the communication with us first. Because these families are relational this didn’t really work for

21
them. Even now (middle of June 2018) the board handles communication. We believe we should be
handling the communication as a high school.” – School Leader # 2

5. GE students experience trauma need additional resources. A priority within Greater Englewood is the
importance of providing more trauma informed services to students – and it is also an obstacle tied up in
the educational debt, and funding linked to enrollment in a depopulating area. Increasing trauma informed
services is a way to ensure the emphasis on adolescent development and cultural relevance, which is a top
priority. According to many of the stakeholders I interviewed, the community engagement process is a
partial culprit and finding ways to let the community lead in education agenda setting could actually
reduce PTSD, and promote healing. School closings were a form of trauma Greater Englewood
experienced. How is the district factoring this into community engagement and change management?

"And it would also help, and this is just piggybacking off of a study that came out from Chicago, show
how the school closings impacted the students, you know, and their academic growth. Because it set them
back several years and it also causes post-traumatic stress syndrome. Whether they know it or not. It
does... It just affects you.” –Englewood Official - State Senator

“CPS gives additional components – Title I funding; needs of impoverished communities. The need is
greater than one organization or institution can provide. As huge of a district as CPS is, it operates in a
silo with so many moving pieces moving to support it. Why doesn’t Rahm require Fortune 500 businesses
to come in to support schools? We have a monetary deficit; give them a tax break and require they put it
into the school system. Imagine how it would change the game. All Fortune 500 companies required to
donate $75K a year.” - -Anonymous School Leader # 8

6. Englewood residents choose school outside of the neighborhood. According to Alderman Englewood
Official - Alderman # 3, 93% of Englewoodians choose to attend a school outside of their neighborhood
attendance boundary, outside of Englewood. Many of the stakeholders I spoke with linked this to
historical disinvestment, which forced families to look for a more robust educational experience
elsewhere.

The problem in Englewood for example is, 93% of the students that go to high school go somewhere else.
They don't go to Englewood schools. They weren't going to Harper. They weren't going to Hope. They
weren't going to Robeson. They weren't going to Englewood High schools. They just weren't going. For
whatever reason. Maybe it was the perception of Englewood as a neighborhood, which I don't think is
accurate. I think Englewood is rich in history and rich in culture and is on the rise and we need to
acknowledge that. And I think others, and I think that's part of the concern, others are acknowledging
that. That's why we’re seeing more white people and more Latino people starting to move into
Englewood.” – Englewood Official - Alderman # 3

7. School leaders feel they cannot speak their truth, career safety. Several school personnel I spoke with
wanted to remain anonymous in this report because they feared for their relationship to CPS in providing
critical feedback about the school actions. If our social capital, most capable of moving us to next best
iteration in cycle of continuous improvement feels they have to remain silent, are we not creating a
situation where we are not leveraging our resources for our least reached students?

“Bottom line is, and the reason I am keeping myself anonymous, is that big brother sends down threats
and the machine will catch up with you. We can’t mix education with politics like we do now. We need an
elected school board. At the end of the day, we believe in continuous improvement and we believe in CPS

22
leadership. We also don’t want political missteps and we want to keep positive connections.” – School
Leader # 4

8. Many elected officials, one neighborhood. Another obstacle mentioned was having 5 alderman and
several other representatives in Greater Englewood. The neighborhood is divided by 5 aldermanic wards
– was 6 up until 2012 – and this is the most of any Chicago neighborhood. Greater Englewood is also an
area of concentrated disadvantage. According to some of the stakeholders I interviewed, the thinking of
the city was that by concentrating more representatives in Greater Englewood, it would bring more focus
on the community. Several elected officials I spoke with shared it causes confusion and division. Others
believe the Southside elected officials work together well.

“The official reasoning is that giving a marginalized community more representation would create a
greater focus on it. However, we all know that doesn’t make sense. If you have 5 alderman, 6 people to
talk to then it causes great confusion. X was someone we worked with to address this from the CPS
perspective as she worked with FACE.” – Englewood Official - Founding CAC Chair

9. Community stereotypes as impoverished, violent. An important refrain throughout the campaign was
how the community is stereotyped in the media. First and foremost, Greater Englewood is two
communities – Englewood and West Englewood – which is a common misconception couched in
ignorance according to many stakeholders I interviewed. The community talked about how the many
positives and strengths of the community are discounted or made invisible while the dominant narrative
about the community is it is a place to avoid. Further, a school leader talked about frequent conversations
with students where she focused on how Greater Englewood is classified as Chicago’s most violent
neighborhood when that is false.

“If I perceive that my neighborhood is a bad neighborhood, then I’ll also perceive that my schools are
bad schools. Bad neighborhoods have bad schools; good neighborhoods have good schools. So, it’s those
types of things. We have great schools, but if the public perception around what the neighborhood is and
isn’t also influences how people view schools and whether or not they want to send their kids here. So, if
people view Hyde Park as being a premier neighborhood, and they are within the boundaries of the
school they can send their kid to a school in HP, they will because it’s a good neighborhood that has
good schools.” –Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4

23
Recommendations for the Board of Education from
Listening Campaign: February 2018 – July 2018
Summary:
Recommendations for the
Board # Listening Campaign Participant
CPS Leader # 1, School Leader # 2, School Leader # 3, School Leader # 4,
Support Organization # 1, African American Studies and Education Policy
Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, School Leader # 1,
School Leader # 1, NPO Senior Leader # 3, Englewood Official - State
Find ways to bring the community along and Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official -
factor into decision-making process 13 Alderman # 3
Englewood School Leader # 7, School Leader # 2, NPO Senior Leader # 2,
CPS Leader # 1, African American Studies and Education Policy
Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, School Leader # 1,
Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3,
Find ways to fight Black exigency in relation to Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, Greater Englewood NPO Senior
school closings, disinvestment 12 Leader # 4, Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 1
School Leader # 2, School Leader # 3, School Leader # 4, NPO Senior
Leader # 2, CPS Leader # 1, African American Studies and Education
Policy Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, School
Leader # 1, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood Official -
Move toward equity-based funding for Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official -
neighborhood schools 12 Alderman # 5
School Leader # 2, School Leader # 3, School Leader # 4, NPO Senior
Leader # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Englewood
Official - Alderman # 1, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood
Official - Alderman # 3, Englewood Official - Alderman # 5, Greater
We need a democratically elected school board 10 Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4
School leader # 2, School Leader # 3, School Leader # 4, and School
Support # 1, NPO Senior Leader # 2, CPS Leader # 1, African American
Stop charters from taking over neighborhood Studies and Education Policy Professor, Englewood Official - Alderman #
schools from the inside out 9 1 Support, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3
School Leader # 1, School Leader # 2, School Leader # 3, School Leader #
Timeline of school closures and community 4, Support Org # 1, Englewood Official - State Senator, Englewood
hearings needs to be lengthened, improved 8 Official - Alderman # 2, Englewood Official - Alderman # 3
School leader # 2, School Leader # 3, School Leader # 4, NPO Senior
Leader # 2, African American Studies and Education Policy Professor,
Stop nefarious interplay between stakeholders Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Englewood Official - State
controlling education 7 Senator
Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support, Englewood Official - State
Reconsider equity implications of school closures Senator, Englewood Official - State Rep, Englewood Official - Alderman #
impacting all Black students 4 3
Follow the recommendations set forth by the
state in House Bill 5721 2 Englewood Official - State Rep, School Leader # 1

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1. Find ways to bring the community along and factor into decision-making process:

Participants overwhelmingly shared the community is not factored into the decision making process of
CPS or the Board of Education. Of the educators engaged throughout the campaign, all shared how
students, staff, and families were unhappy with the recent decision to close schools. Families are also
excited about the new $85 million school. Many participants also shared they fear the school will not
serve Greater Englewood students because it could lead to an interest in housing stock, gentrification, and
they are left wondering: who is this new school for? The Englewood Community Advisory Council, set
up by CPS, was called into question during the campaign by a founding board member who called it a
“solution for the problem of closing schools.” There was also appreciation for many non-CPS lead
initiatives to factor the community into the decision-making process. One important first step is an elected
school board.

“I was disappointed in the whole group…that CAC. I was hoping that it was legitimate community
engagement until there is a school board because you need to have a community voice, you see? And, as
always, with an elected School Board, and a CAC or other mechanism you have in place, there has to be
somebody who is genuinely concerned first of all about the community.” -- Englewood Official - State
Senator

“Elected school board. Probably it will be a start. Logistically, if we do an elected school board it will be
like any other election. They’ll put their person in and raise money. It’ll be the same thing. Same soup
warmed over. We do need an elected school board. We have some great LSCs and we have people on
LSCs who need to be out. We need a little bit of both. To start off with an elected school board and move
toward, what do you call it, a civilian task force? Another outside community group. LSC presidents can
meet and be part of it as well. Definitely need an elected school board.” – Englewood Official –
Alderman # 6

2. Find ways to fight Black push out in relation to school closings, disinvestment:

A frequent topic in conversations was about how historical disinvestment in Greater Englewood schools
over the last 40 years leads to Black flight. According to many participants, CPS intentionally
manufactured the failure of neighborhood public schools like those closed in 2013 and 2018. Several
participants discussed how there has been intentional disinvestment in the Greater Englewood community
since 1960s or 1970s, depending on who you talk to. In Greater Englewood, there is a view that new
resources like the $85 million School or the Whole Foods could serve as an anchor for what the future of
Englewood could be; many wonder whose vision will dictate the process and fear it will cause Black
outward migration. Further, closing all of the high schools in the community causes trauma and PTSD,
which many participants reported. According to participants, this will again lead the Black population to
leave the city. A preponderance of interviewees mentioned fears the new school will not serve the
community. For the Board, what protections can be put in place in regards to this particular school? And
further, how can we systemically – beyond the importance of academic performance – treat schools
equitably based on their needs? I spoke with Staff Attorney, X Policy Org, and she believes Principal
Based Budgeting in another partial culprit because a neighborhood that is losing population – and with
low attainment by CPS measures, and high academic growth – will be “intentionally starved” and
eventually closed.

“How do you keep history from repeating itself? How do you avoid gentrification? How do you ensure
current community members have a stake in what Englewood looks like in the future versus a giving over
of power. And that was a big part of the conversation in the Taskforce and elsewhere.” –Anonymous
School Leader # 1

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3. Move toward equity-based funding for neighborhood schools. We live in a state where the
discrepancy between funding for rich and poor districts is the most inequitable in the nation (Education
Trust 2015). What does this mean for areas impacted by concentrated poverty, like Greater Englewood? It
means schools are not positioned to provide schools and students with supports for trauma and PTSD,
supporting working families, or special education, which were all priorities identified in listening
campaign. Because schools are banking on per pupil funding, as enrollment declines because of the
multiple corollaries of poverty schools – like the 10 closed in Greater Englewood in the last 5 years –
face, funding becomes an increasing issue, which then leads to school communities trying to make up for
what students commonly refer to as “not a full high school experience.” What does an equity-based
funding solution for neighborhood schools look like? Many participants see the importance of
supporting neighborhood high schools in tandem with the issue of privatization. Because through
Renaissance 2010 and the Gates Compact, the City has set goals around privatization. According to Pew
(2013), there was a 191 percent increase in charter schools in Chicago between 2005 and 2011. Further, 2
of the schools that will be phased out actually have charters they are sharing their building with, which
will continue to grow after the public school is gone. Equity-based funding for neighborhood schools also
reflects the larger goal of ensuring neighborhood schools and charter schools can live together
symbiotically rather than according to free market principles. Englewood Official - Alderman # 3 talked
about “the reason we created public education is because of Black folks.” To now get rid of those schools,
we are deepening the legacy of Separate and Unequal and forcing black exigency.

Anonymous School Leader # 2: “Our school, X, has had an amazing vision where we have boosted
scores, and supported kids and families and had to adapt to what was coming at us. Just look at our
enrollment. We jumped from 900 to 1300, then 1400. We graduated the x high school students that were
sent to us when their school closed and we received no additional supports because this was pre-per pupil
budgeting.”

Englewood Official - State Rep: “we're being looked at as a big price tag and over the years for every
dollar that CPS spends at a white school they spend $0.30 at a black school. That means while white
schools are getting auditoriums, new wings, and classrooms, and new equipment, the black schools all
they're doing is painting over the lead paint or doing something like that; fixing a crack in the ceiling or
a step.”

4. We need a democratically elected school board. A specific policy solution that was brought up
frequently throughout the campaign was the importance of a democratically elected school board. Most
did not view it as a panacea in itself. Greater Englewood NPO Senior Leader # 4 from X Core
Organization mentioned the importance of campaign finance reform to accompany the elected school
board or otherwise we could end up with the same people from the appointed seats. Overall, the elected
school board was seen as a way to move toward greater equity by allowing the people to be heard. Many
see the board as controlled by the mayor who makes inequitable decisions – like closing 49 schools, so
how can we radically reimagine that?

Englewood Official - Alderman # 1: “What do I want you to bring to the School Board? Without an
ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD, every other issue in regards to education is a moot point. I believe in a
hybrid board, which includes two mayor appointed members, and 5-7 other members including
representation from the Association of Principals, the Chicago Teachers Union, and school boards
representing the South, West, and North side of the city that are independent.”

“An elected school board is important, but it doesn’t solve it; there are many school boards that still lead
to inequity. Invite more interest into the board. Campaign finance is thus important in conjunction with
an elected school board. How can you make sure the board represents community interest? Ultimately,

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we also have to look at aldermanic problems and concentration of power at this level.” –Staff Attorney,
Educational Policy

5. Stop charters from taking over neighborhood schools from the inside out. I spoke with two schools
that talked about sharing space with charter school in Greater Englewood and how that created tension
within the school. Many educators I spoke with talked about how charters set up shop right next to or
inside the same building as the neighborhood school that will eventually be shut down and siphoning off
students. A question that was posed was how charters can and neighborhood schools live together
symbiotically, so neighborhood schools are equitably supported and will not be closed? Many linked this
to nefarious interplay between CPS stakeholders. For example, one Chicago Board of Education member
was formerly a Board member for Kipp, which is now taking over Hope High school. The district signed
up for Renaissance 2010 and the Gates Compact. Does that mean we will allow neighborhood schools to
close?

“Hey guys: we should probably stop closing these schools down, we should stop providing incentives for
charter schools because they lead to all of these other issues that we don’t want to deal with. It’s
basically like moving backwards. You don’t want to privatize education just like you don’t want to
privatize healthcare, right? Think of the kids… Think about the coexistence of charter schools and public
schools. A way they can support each other rather than shutting one down and lifting the other. It doesn’t
make any sense to me (laughter). You’re going to shut down the public school system and then you’re
going to elevate the private school system.” –Englewood Official - Alderman # 1 Support

6. Timeline of school closures and community hearings needs to be lengthened, improved. Another
common sentiment was that the school closure process needed to be revamped. Everyone I spoke with
thought the process needed to be significantly changed to (1) keep Greater Englewood, individual
schools, school staff, and district/Board representation on the same page; (2) slow down the process –
could these decisions be forecasted far in advance – 10 Year Master Plan; (3) ensure families have proper
transition support.

“The district did share all of the reasons it felt the school should be closed, but a lot of that was from a
deficit perspective, right? So, sitting in a community hearing where my school was presented as failing
from district leaders was really challenging. Because those same district leaders and I have a lot of
candid conversations about our school and the progress that we’ve made, and about what it means to try
to shift things and turn things around after things have been done poorly for so long.” – Anonymous
School Leader # 6

7. Stop nefarious interplay between stakeholders controlling education. Another predominant theme
throughout the listening campaign was the nefarious interplay between actors in CPS. Firstly, there has
been a lot of rotating leadership at the CEO-level, and in regards to the school actions impacting Greater
Englewood since 2013. The power of the mayor to control the education system as someone without an
education background was called into question. Further, NPO Senior Leader # 2 talked about how the
mayor only brings forward bills that will be rubber stamped by the Board. Specifically, if we take the
example of school closures, which was very unpopular in Chicago, how could the process have evolved
differently with public input and where the community was heard?

You are going to the Board? I would like you to speak with X. She is on the board of (x charter
organization) and she is also part of the BOE. Before her tenure with the BOE, we believe she made
promises to x (charter organization) in support of their takeover model. Because that’s what x charter
organization does, it takes over the school from the inside out. We need to stop this and realize the behind
the scenes deals that are made and set this stuff into motion by CPS a long time ago.” – Anonymous
School Leader # 3

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8. Reconsider equity implications of school closures impacting all Black students. Several
participants recommended CPS reconsider the equity implications of school closures in 2018 that
impacted all Black students. If we shift from the notion of an achievement gap to an educational debt
(Gloria Ladson-Billings) then is it equitable to close schools that have been historically disinvested in
because of white supremacy at the state and city level? Especially with the new CPS office focused on
Equity, I believe CPS has an opportunity to accept responsibility for perpetuating the status quo, which
are racialized attacks on communities of color. I think CPS could promote trust and healing by
acknowledging decisions made have been inequitable – especially under previous administrations. What
would it look like to name the inequity that exists and how we fit into it? It would be an educational
opportunity in mindset shifting for our entire city.

“…So, here we are again. CPS is the one promoting all this crazy race stuff. You don't want to go to
school with certain kids yes... How do you think the children feel? You are making kids feel inferior yes
attempting to make a certain group of kids feel inferior you know? And then the other children think I'm
better than you. So, I'm like attending your school and the parents are saying this right in front of their
faces. I mean...a slap in the face. A total disrespect. Inequity you know?” – Englewood Official - State
Senator

“I think, at the city and state level, by basing our funding model mainly on academic attainment were are
punishing for conditions. Per pupil funding is a recipe for disaster for neighborhood schools if you are in
a declining neighborhood. There were be a cyclical impact of declining enrollment leading to a less
robust high school experience and eventually school closure. SQRP relies on academic growth and
attainment.” –Staff Attorney, X Policy Org

9. Follow the recommendations set forth by the state in House Bill 5721.

Englewood Official - State Rep helped pass HB5721, which changes the school actions process and
requirements for CPS. However, CPS did not follow these recommendations in the closings this year that
impacted NTA and Greater Englewood.

“It will require them to be more transparent when talking about where money is being spent and also
require CPS to do more to help struggling schools before they close them right, so we know CPS is
creating the story. We want this school dead in 10 years so we're just going to be very skimpy on it.
Instead what my bill now makes them do is recognized that that school is struggling and now okay we're
going to address that. We're going to come up with a plan for that and it right now and not just let this be
a sinking situation until you get to the day where you want to close another black school.” –Englewood
Official - State Rep

10. Redraw ward boundaries. Greater Englewood is represented by 5 alderman and several other
elected officials. Several participants shared they believe the number of elected officials creates great
confusion and was set up that way to disorganize politics in areas of concentrated disadvantage.
Englewood Official - Founding CAC Chair, founding chair of the Englewood Community Advisory
Council, shared this was done in Austin and Englewood with the justification that it would bring a greater
focus on the community, but this was just a farce.

“Just like the Englewood Community, they have about five or six aldermen, you know? So you will always
have conflict when there is no one person you can go through or two for issues. We need to deal with all
these people and each have their own way of doing things and the same with me you know. It just keeps
everybody divided.” –Englewood Official - State Senator

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Final word for the Board:
“Besides the fact that there is a lot of great work in Englewood and we could use more support at the X
Taskforce meeting? I think our goals are aligned in wanting to see a positive education system for the city
of Chicago and especially the Englewood community. As we continue to work with Local School
Councils, parent advisory councils, local administrators and residents to move forward the goals of
student recruitment and retention, density building in the neighborhood, etc., CPS support on that is
invaluable. We’re appreciated the support of our Network chief at every meeting and just consistent
engagement from our network, so we’d just like to see that relationship continue and continue to build on
that.” –Greater Englewood NPO Leader # 4

Conclusion
In sum, what I learned from the listening campaign is Greater Englewood is a neighborhood with
many Strengths, including human capital, planning processes (including the EQLP) and school
leadership. The Education priorities identified in the interview included sustaining education
infrastructure for the long haul, deepening symbiosis with community and partners, and
academic and social-emotional success of students. Obstacles included the way CPS handles
decision-making processes, historical disinvestment in Greater Englewood, and funding
disparities impacting the neighborhood from the CPS and state level. These obstacles inform the
Feedback for the Chicago Board of Education and the City of Chicago. (1) Create a new
participative democracy structure to support equitable decision-making and community healing.
(2) Find ways to stop black push out in relation to disinvestment. (3) Move toward equity based
funding of neighborhood schools.

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Recommendation
CPS should create a democratically elected school board with campaign finance reform
measures. All most all of the participants I spoke with thought an elected school board was an
important first step to ensure decisions reflect Greater Englewood. However, the elected school
board is the floor and not the ceiling. Participants expressed the importance of Greater
Englewood residents being truly heard and factored into the decision-making process. Because
of the cycle of disinvestment, participants talked about how the way decisions have been made –
and specifically by CPS like closing 10 schools in 5 years – creates post-traumatic stress for
communities. What would it look like to truly factor community voice into a 10 Years Facilities
Master Plan conversation 10 years in advance? I believe this is the type of work CPS is
leveraged to take up with the new Equity office. Further, CPS should hold up to the mirror to its
own practice and name the inequity it has perpetuated in the past and present. This could plant
seeds of community trust and dialogue that could heal.

Song
A musical interpretation of the themes throughout the listening campaign:
https://soundcloud.com/eshr/greater-englewood-listening-campaign

Next Steps
The author spoke with the Chicago Board of Education on 8/13/18 to share draft and discuss the
campaign. There will be an additional Q&A with the Board in 9/2018. The report will be shared
with participants in 8/2018 and there will be additional outreach to Greater Englewood
organizations in fall of 2018. Please contact Liam Bird at lrfbird@gmail.com.

SPECIAL THANKS: Rito Martinez Carmita Semaan


Morgan Malone Derwin Sisnett
Monika Black Eliza Moeller David Stovall
Asiaha Butler Forrest Moore Natalia Torres
Connie Casson Cynthia Nambo The Bird Family
Christian Collins Beatriz Ponce De Leon Network for College
Latesha Dickerson Tamara Prather Success
Bill Gerstein Jose Rico Surge Institute

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