Let’s start putting accountability on the other stakeholders in this city and region and stop blaming the schools for all that’s wrong with education.
While the Tribune spent a year writing about Von Humboldt School’s struggle to educate its children, it hasn’t shown enough of the connection between poor schools and poverty, which is a significant contributing factor. It has yet to print a map with an overlay showing the location of the Chicago schools on probation and high-poverty neighborhoods–or of businesses, hospitals and universities in these same areas that could take a greater share of responsibility for preparing kids to succeed.
Von Humboldt is one of 10 probation schools in one neighborhood on Chicago’s Near West Side. Poverty is high. Children in this area haven’t grown up with a wide variety of adults going to work every day–with careers ranging from lawyers and doctors to engineers, teachers and stockbrokers. Many haven’t had community and family momentum setting an example and an expectation that each child will go to school and go into a job or career that has been modeled to him or her since birth.
Yet this is an environment that after-school tutoring and mentoring programs can create. They can be safe places where adults and children can meet for play or learning. Research of Big Brothers/Big Sisters shows that well-conducted mentoring programs can significantly boost school retention and performance. The Quantum Opportunities Project shows that a program that sticks tenaciously with youngsters from welfare families through the high school years can have strong positive effects on their graduation and college attendance rates.
There are several after-school programs in the Von Humboldt area. There are also a variety of businesses, hospitals and churches that could be meeting sites for additional programs that could be structured to meet the high standards set by Big Brothers and the Quantum Opportunities Project. Any group of business and professional people could be a team of mentors, tutors, leaders and fundraisers for any of these after-school programs.
This is a time for every business, civic, alumni, religious and professional group in Chicago to make a new connection to a tutor/mentor program, with a team of adults, with dollars and with business skills and equipment that can make the non-school hours a time that prepares every child to go to school each day better prepared to learn. This is not a time to point fingers at poor schools. This is a time to say, how can I help?
How do you find these programs? Volunteer fairs will be held at a variety of locations on Friday through Sunday in which program leaders will be available to answer questions and sign up volunteers. The Chicago Public Schools 10,000 Tutors project will also be represented.
Tutor/mentor directories are available at every library, the Chicago Bar Foundation and at the United Way/Crusade of Mercy. Many programs are listed on cable TV through the month of September. If you would like a directory for your company, church or organization, call the Tutor/Mentor Connection at 312-467-2889 (Email:CabriniC@aol.com). Let’s go save our children!
