Grand Boulevard Federation

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About the Grand Boulevard Federation Education Initiative

The ultimate objective of the Grand Boulevard Federation’s education initiative is to develop and implement strategies that support and improve the quality of educational opportunities for all of greater Bronzeville’s public schools through inclusive parent and community resident participation in the planning and development of public schools. The education initiative seeks to develop capacity and leadership through round tables, information sharing, educational trainings, workshops, dialogues, and the development of user-friendly fact sheets. The initiative develops and advocates for actions and strategies that promote high quality, accessible Mid-South public schools for all families.

GBF’s Education Initiative operates under the influences of three primary groups of stakeholders: The Education Committee, the Peer Parent Education Network, and our newest, the ‘Education to Success’ Project:

1.The Education Committee serves as a hub for sharing and exchanging updated information about public schools, and developing and implementing strategies to support and improve the quality of education in our neighborhood schools. The committee consists of a rich network of partners who share information, leverage resources, and develop and implement strategies to support and improve the quality of education in our public schools. In the Fall of 2005, the Education Committee released the Bronzeville Education Report which details what principals, teachers, parents, community stakeholders, and youth believe are critical for shaping a high quality school. Out of this, we developed the 7 Critical Elements of a High Quality School, which serves as a framework for assessing, improving, and creating high quality schools in Bronzeville, which we believe will help guide successful schools for all families.

2.The Peer Parent Education Network (PPEN) is a network of Bronzeville-area parents whose goal is to strengthen parent leadership and capacity to become involved in schools as a means to make a difference in their child’s education. A core team of parents have been involved since April 2005, and more than 75% of the schools in our service area have had parent involvement with the PPEN.

3.The Education to Success for Black Male Youth on Chicago’s South Side Initiative (A.K.A. the ‘Education to Success’ Initiative or Project) is the first of a three year project that seeks to increase the high school graduation rates of young African American males at Dyett School. It involves a specific group of stakeholders, namely students, parents, and staff from Dyett High School and its feeder school, Price Intermediate/Upper School.

Our Service Area

Our service area is located on the south side of Chicago, representing five geographic community areas (Douglas, Grand Boulevard, Kenwood, Oakland, and Washington Park). It extends from Cermak on the North to 55th Street to the South, and Lakeshore Drive on the East towards the Dan Ryan Expressway on the West. Although our service area is vast, we target schools that are open to working with community – whether they are the parents in the schools or the educators themselves.

The Context Of Public Schools In the Greater Bronzeville Communities

Since the early 1960’s, our community has been home to the greatest concentration of public housing. Today, the majority of public housing has been demolished and is being transformed into mixed income communities. As a result of the dismantling of housing, families and communities and schools have also been dismantled – physically, socially, and emotionally.

The relocation of hundreds of families has directly impacted our public schools through increased student mobility, declining and fluctuating enrollment rates, increased violence among youth, and increased psychological and social stressors that affect youth, performance, and even the school educators themselves. Moreover, GBF recognizes the challenges brought on by social factors that are often associated with being African American and living in poverty, such as neighborhoods with increased violence and crime, low educational attainment, lack of parental involvement in education, higher than average elementary and high school drop out rates, and lower than average graduation rates.

CPS launched its Renaissance 2010 program in the Spring of 2004 which closed mostly low-performing schools. While more than 15 schools have closed in our community, more than 17 have re-opened since September 2006. However, questions remain as to whether opening up new schools under new leadership is the answer since fewer than 2% of those displaced from school closings are actually in one of the new R2010 schools (Catalyst Chicago Magazine, February 2007). Moreover, the data shows that 44% of these displaced students ended up in schools on probation. Thus, real questions remain as to who is benefiting and determining if these new schools are actually helping children who were affected by their schools being closed. In fact, some members of our education committee and PPEN believe that our neighborhood schools are struggling due to historic neglect and low prioritization due to the neighborhoods in which the families live. GBF’s Education Committee believes that no matter what the changes result in, the Bronzeville area needs high quality schools that provide all families with high quality educational opportunities.