The Day-to-Day Grind

Russian writer Anton Chekov once observed, “Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.” As teachers, we all understand the mid-year, mid-winter slump, the winter “blahs.” Since our vocation is cyclical, we always have a change of pace just over the horizon: a long weekend, spring break, summer vacation, and, now and then, an unexpected change in the CPS calendar! However, the real solution to the day-to-day grind is not making it to the next break, but making the most of each day life provides us. Our lives can be treadmills or they can be adventures; it all depends on how we approach the challenges presented us. Every hour of every day, we are given opportunities to change the lives of young people and help, through them, to build a better future for all of us. We are blessed with amazing colleagues with whom we can share these adventures. In the immortal words of Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes), “There’s adventure around every corner!”

"A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you are sitting and when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are important. You may adopt all of the policies you please, but how they are carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your cities, states, and nations. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities, and corporations. The fate of humanity is in his hands." Abraham Lincoln

The Power of Ideas

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was at the center of history for decades, from the Great Depression through the early 1960s. While surrounded by men of action, Mrs. Roosevelt dealt more in ideas. She once observed, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” While ideas, events, and people are inextricably linked, action must be preceded by thought. We often tell our kids to think before they speak or act. The same holds true for adults. At Jones College Prep our words and actions are predicated on the fundamental goal of what is good for our students. Our decisions are driven by what will help our students learn and grow; this is the essential idea that informs the ethos of our school. The work of our faculty and staff members, both individually and through our Leadership Team, Transition Team, and other collaborations, demonstrate where our focus is and should be. Our new block schedule and Academic Lab program are the fruition of years of discussion and many months of action, all based on that one essential idea: doing what is best for our kids. We have many challenges ahead as we move into our new building and expand our community of learners. Let us never forget why we are here. I think Mrs. Roosevelt would be very proud of what you all do for our kids.

Persistence

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge President Coolidge was not noted for his loquaciousness, but when he did speak it was with a cogency from which modern politicians could learn. While our leaders craft “sound bites” self-consciously intended to be memorable, Coolidge’s truisms are as fresh today as they were ninety years ago. Which brings us to persistence; we are at that time of year when the finish line is almost within sight, with the far turn and the home stretch left to go. Our students need us during this time, and we must remain persistent and determined to see them successfully through to the finish. Hang in there!

"The Nicest Kids in Town"

Jones students often remind me of the exuberant and fair-minded kids in the movie musical Hairspray. Although something of an early-1960s fantasy, much of it rings true. Even without penny loafers, plaid skirts, and crew cuts, sometimes Jones students do break into song and dance, and they sometimes do their homework on the morning bus, as in the song, “The Nicest Kids in Town.” The theme of the show, however, is the effort of kids to do what they know instinctively is right – albeit set to music! Although it took me a while, I am no longer surprised at our kids’ capacity for knowing and doing what is right; I am impressed and gratified, but not surprised. When you have an opportunity, watch the film, pause and reflect on our kids at Jones – the nicest kids in town.

"Take the J Train"

The Homecoming pep rally is a time-honored tradition in American high schools. Bands, cheerleaders, dance teams, and athletes perform for cheering crowds of students sporting colorful t-shirts and waving banners and signs. Pep rallies are loud, boistrous, and, above all, joyous occasions for students and staff alike to demonstrate their school spirit, filling the school gym with color, sound, and enthusiasm.

Getting to the pep rally is usually easy; everyone walks down the hall to the gym, the center of many school events. No big deal, right? But what if your school gym is more than five miles away on the other side of town? And what if you need to move almost a thousand students and staff to the gym for this terrific event? It would take a fleet of 20 or more busses to accomplish the move. Or, you can take the "Spirit Express."

Jones College Prep is on State Street in downtown Chicago, and just outside our gate is the CTA "Red Line" subway station. Each year Jones charters a CTA subway train, christened the "Spirit Express" for the occasion, to take us all to our gym facility at the former Near North high school campus on the other side of downtown. Taking the train is not a novelty for our students, as most of them take public transportation to school. Taking the train with 800 of your closest friends is something else entirely.

An old travel slogan once proclaimed, "Getting there is half the fun!" While the "Spirit Express" is no cruise line, the fun of our Homecoming pep rally begins on the subway platform.

Jones College Prep: An Urban Education Success Story

The national media are saturated with stories of the crisis of American public education. The failures of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), dismal test scores, abysmal dropout rates, violence-plagued schools dominate the headlines. At the epicenter of these reports are major urban public school systems, such as Chicago. Not discounting the many challenges, the media continue to follow the time-honored credo of news reporting: "If it bleeds, it leads." While the bleeding is sometimes literal, the impact of this coverage contributes to a broad, national image of failure.

If one looks beyond the headlines, the picture is not by any means universally bad. Ask parents, teachers, and students in many school districts around the country and you will find genuine satisfaction with their local schools, satisfaction that is backed up by hard data of real student achievement. Even in the most struggling school systems, there are individual schools and programs that demonstrate public schools are not in their death throws. One such urban success story is the Chicago Public Schools' selective enrollment high school program. Initiated in 1998 to provide greater academic rigor, nine selective enrollment high schools serve approximately 12,000 students from all over the city of Chicago.

Jones College Prep opened in 1998 in a building that had previously housed a business education school. Located on State Street in the South Loop area, Jones is Chicago's only downtown high school and the premier selective enrollment school in the city's educational and cultural corridor. Just steps from Lake Michigan, Jones is surrounded by the downtown locations of DePaul, Roosevelt, and Robert Morris universities and Columbia College. The Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Grant and Millennium parks, and Chicago's many professional theaters are within easy walking distance. The school has developed partnerships with many of these institutions and takes full advantage of its location.

Jones students come from all over Chicago and represent the full spectrum of the city's population, racially, ethnically, and socio-economically. More than 72% of its students are minority, and 56% qualify for the free/reduced lunch program. Jones is not a gifted program; what the students have in common is the desire to learn and the willingness to work hard to achieve their educational goals. They are served by a talented and dedicated faculty devoted to student success.

The results are gratifying. Graduation rates are near 100%. Student performance on the ACT and the Illinois PSAE assessment place Jones in the "Top 10" in Illinois, ranking alongside affluent suburban powerhouse New Trier. The 150 students in the Class of 2009 were offered more that $20 million in college scholarships. In recognition of this success, Jones was named a "Blue Ribbon School" by the US Department of Education, the first Chicago public school so honored. US News and World Report recently rated Jones a "Gold Medal" school (in the top 100 schools nationally) in their annual "America's Best High Schools."

The next time you hear or read about the latest crisis in American public education, remember there are many success stories that do not make the headlines.