Community WalkMorton School Of

ExcellenceBy: Kevin Graham,Yekaterina Loseva, and Shariece Smith, Fiona Connaghan, Val Chekmazov, Darnell Logan, Crystal Perez, and Stephanie Hanson

East Garfield Park

East Garfield ParkHistorical Context

● Late 1800's - Construction of Elevated Railway brings manufacturing to East Garfield Park

● Early residents include immigrant Irish, German, Italian, and Russian Jews

● Great Depression & World War II - Many homes deteriorate

East Garfield ParkHistorical Context

● 1950's bring a change in residents - African Americans move into neighborhood

● Creation of several federally-funded segregated housing projects lead to further housing decay

East Garfield ParkHistorical Context

● 1960's bring efforts for urban renewal - African Americans organize for better housing & amenities

● Activism undermined by riots of 1968 - Substantial out-migration devastates business sector

● Today East Garfield Park is on the path of gentrification - Named one of Chicago's 'up and coming' neighborhoods by Business Week in 2007

Community Demographics● 94% African Americans● Age Distribution:

○ 0-5: 8.6%○ 6-18: 26.1%○ 19-34: 21.4%○ 35-64: 33.4%○ 65+: 10.5%

● Average Household Income:○ <$25K: 42%○ $25K-50K: 24%○ $50K-75K: 17%○ $75K-100K: 9%○ >$100K: 6%

● 29% of housing units owner occupied (up 6.8% since 1990)

Organizations & Assets

Marillac Social Center● Project Hope, Early Childhood

Center, Literacy Development, Food Pantry, Senior Program

Garfield Park Conservatory● Garfield Market, Community & Children's

Gardens, LISC Green Vitality Initiative

Safer Foundation● Transition programs for

incarcerated adults

Organizations & Assets

Inspiration Corporation● Culinary training for homeless

Hoops in the Hood● Summer Basketball League,

Youth Arts, Health Screening, Police Enforcement

Morton in the News

Fox News video on Morton School of Excellence:

Successful School Turnarounds Offer Glimpse of Hope

Begin at time index: 1:37

Highlights at Morton

The YMCA at Morton

The YMCA has been a strong and influential partnership of Morton School of Excellence. The implementation of programs and coordination of resources to develop bridges between students, families, communities and school is a main goal of the organization. Having had headquarters within our school building, this organization has had some great and positive impacts on our learning community.

Mr. Antwon Mallory, the Community Schools Resource Coordinator of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, took some time to share with us a little bit more about the goals and purpose of this organization.

The YMCA at Morton

On Mr. Mallory's role and responsibilities:"I oversee programs, coordinate resources, and develop partnerships to strategically meet the needs of students, parents, and families. I am responsible for making Community School programming a valuable resource and asset not only within the school, but within the surrounding communities as well."On the students who the program caters to:"Other than 1st year Pre-K students, the YMCA caters to preschool, primary, intermediate, and middle school. There are even past Morton students who are now in high school that are still involved in the Male Mentoring program. Because Community School programming focuses on community, our programs are also available to students outside the school."Mr. Mallory's take on the East Garfield Park Community and resources available:"There are many resources in East Garfield Park and West Humboldt Park, but more effort needs to be invested into ensuring that students and adults are aware of the resources being offered. Kelly Hall YMCA, which is located west on Chicago Ave., is a facility that mostly caters to children and their needs, one of which is academic. There is a Chicago Public Library located right down the street from Morton on Kedzie Blvd. The YMCA’s Summer Day Camp program at Morton has academics built into its engaging curriculum. I believe there are valuable resources in the community that support students academically and in other ways as well."

The YMCA at MortonBenefits for students of the YMCA program at Morton:

-Academic support-Enrichment activities

-Positive role modeling from caring adults (Male Mentoring Program)-Safe environment to grow, explore, and develop

-Participation in enjoyable activities that cater to their interests-Exposure to new experiences

-Increases in self-esteem and confidence from Step performances, Scholastic Bowl competitions, and ‘May I Have This Dance’ contests

-Opportunities to engage with and have parents involved in their experiences

Girls With A Vision otherwise know as G.W.A.C is an after school program started for the empowerment of young girls at Morton School of Excellence.

The program is lead by a group of Middle School teachers and prides itself on enabling girls to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.

Girls With A Vision

G.W.A.V

The girls work within the school as leaders and organize projects that help the entire community both inside and outside the school, such as food drives, coat drives, and tutoring.

Quotes From G.W.A.V. Members"Girls With A Vision has taught me to not only be a leader within the school but also within my community."-7th Grader Khaliya P.

"G.W.A.V. teachers young girls how to make a difference, we have a creed that we live by."-7th Grader Da'shai M.

"G.W.A.V. has brought the middle school girls closer together and has taught us how to communicate about the issues that matter to us."-7th Grader Ariel C.

G.W.A.V. CREED

Our Cherished Community of Learners

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151493225421049&set=vb.357660577647604&type=2&theater

Funds of Knowledge - Moll"Funds of knowledge represents a positive (and realistic) view of households as containing ample cultural and cognitive resources with great, potential utility for cultural instruction." (Moll 134)

Mortons "Funds of Knowledge" have a strong foundation of:● Music ● Art/Dance ● Athleticism ● Local outreach/Philanthropy

Funds of Knowledge - Moll

"By capitalizing on household and other community resources [funds of knowledge], we can organize classroom instruction that far exceeds in quality the rote-like instruction ..." (Moll 132)

Community and classroom instruction:● Incorporation of community's funds of knowledge such

as music, art, dance, and athletic-related activities in the classroom instruction can bring a greater level of relevancy for the students.

● Linking classroom instruction with community programs can enhance the level of solidarity in both classroom and neighborhood.

Bonding Social Capital - Bryk et al."Bonding social capital focuses on the density of supportive social ties within a neighborhood or community. The existence of such ties affords group solidarity that makes achieving goals much more likely" (Bryk et al. 2010)."

Strengths connected to Morton:● Community programs are available for students and

families within the community.Limitations connected to Morton:● Community programs and Morton have not formed

partnerships to encourage student and family participation.

Bridging Social Capital - Bryk et al."Bridging social capital accrues as community residents have opportunities to engage with external individuals and organizations. These links with "different others" are valuable for just this reason" (Bryk et al. 2010).

Strengths connected to Morton:

● Relationships formed with outside organizations such as the YMCA and Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4).

Limitations connected to Morton:

● Currently no partnerships or organizations that connect the students and families to other outside communities.

Outside Services That Would Benefit Morton Community

Although Morton does have a variety of resources there is still a need for services that are not being met such as counseling, after school tutoring, and parent outreach services.

Programs Morton Should Bring In

A+ tutoring is a great program that has helped increase many math scores at Casals Elementary. Morton can bring this program in to help add more help to students as we transition from IL state standards to CCSS (common core state standards)

Programs Morton Should Bring In (cont...)

YMCA is a tutoring and mentoring program that used to be in Morton and it had a huge impact on the academic and social improvement of the students at Morton. Morton should work very hard to get the YMCA back into the school.

Programs Morton Should Bring In (cont...)

Incredible Years Program

Morton should collaborate with National Louis University (an AUSL affiliate) to continue to expand the "Incredible Years" program to help parents professionally and emotionally. The program also works with the students through working with the families directly.

Bonding and Bridging Social Capital

"The level of bonding social capital and bridging social capital in a community plays a significant role in the capacity of a local school to improve student outcomes" (Bryk et al. 2010).

Future Implications:● Renew and strengthen relationships with

outside organizations (YMCA and C4)● Build relationships with local organizations

through partnerships with the school, such as local religious organizations.

What this means for Instruction?-Teachers are able to build from the outside community to bring a connection to the students - Enlist outside community groups to be apart of the classroom

- Foster engagement in lessons- Provide information for students to receive support in their

education-Help drive instruction through positive encouragement of the growth around them. -With the community and the school striving to for change, this attitude instills a push for a rigorous education for the students. The community is not focused on meeting the students level by a means of watering education down, but they want the students to be competitors in Chicago education so they always look for more and more higher level thinking in

the curriculum.

Community Walk Snippets

CitationsBennett, L. Fragments of Cities: The New American Downtowns and Neighborhoods. 1990.

East Garfield Park Community Collection. Department of Special Collections, Harold Washington Library, Chicago, IL. Local Community Fact Book series.

Bryk, A., Sebring, P.B., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S., Easton J.Q. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement. Lessons from Chicago.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

(n.d). East Garfield Seeks Greener, Healthier Future. Retrieved from http://www.newcommunities.org/communities/eastgarfield/about.asp

Elliott, M. (2010, August 6). Inspiration Corp. Breaks New Ground in East Garfield. Retrieved from http://www.newcommunities.org/communities/eastgarfield/articleDetail.asp?objectID=1946

Finkle, E. (2010, August 6). Hot Towns Enjoys Hoops, Markets, Festivals. Retrieved from

http://www.newcommunities.org/communities/eastgarfield/articleDetail.asp?objectID=1947

(2010). Marillac Social Center. Retrieved from http://www.marillachouse.org/

McCarron, J. (2004, March 24). Green Dreams Drive Plans for East Garfield. Retrieved from http://www.newcommunities.org/news/articleDetail.asp?objectID=12

(2010). Safer Foundation: A Road Back. Retrieved from http://www.saferfoundation.org/