By La Risa Lynch
(Left) A student at Catalyst Howland explains a lesson plan to Alderman Chandler. (Above) Catalyst Howland School students Veranika McGhee, Jenna LeSure, Eryielle Barrow, Jamaurion Leverston greet visitors, including local pastors and political leaders during a “Bring Your Alderman to School Day.
Ald. Michael Chandler admits he is now a convert. Eight years ago, the 24th Ward alderman was like many North Lawndale residents who opposed closing neighborhood schools to only be replaced with charter schools. Residents expressed concerns that neighborhood students wouldn’t be able to attend the new charter schools. But after a tour of Catalyst Howland Elementary School, 1616 S. Spaulding Ave., Chandler sees things a little differently now. “Some of those concerns we had eight years ago are out the window,” Chandler said.
“I’m most pleased to find out this is a neighborhood school and students that live right here on Christiana and right here on Spaulding and … in and around Catalyst Howland School attend this school.” Chandler visited Catalyst Howland along with several religious leaders Wednesday as part of “Take Your Alderman to School Day,” an initiative of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. The agency provides guidance and services to the state’s 51 charter schools. The tour included visits to classrooms and a presentation from students who participated in a job-shadowing program called Spark, which partners youth with internships that match their interest.
School officials also discussed teacher retention and professional development, parent engagement and the school’s recruitment policy. For school administrators, the event offered an opportunity to share with residents and elected officials what is happening at the k-8 grade school. The goal, Catalyst Howland’s acting principal Sala Sims said, is to strengthen relationships and to connect with the community to ensure students or scholars get the best education.
The school refers to its students as scholars to encourage academic success. “Having us all at the same table is giving us an opportunity to share some of what our vision for Howland is and what their vision is for North Lawndale,” said Sims, who also serves as Catalyst’s chief academic officer. Being a charter school doesn’t absolve the school from the same challenges facing traditional public schools, Sims said. But the school has made strides in improving test scores. Catalyst Howland’s math and reading test scores are on par with traditional Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Catalyst Howland ranks in the 57th percentile in reading and math scores compared to CPS’s 58th percentile ranking. Sims said that was a slight tumble from 2010 test scores. The school saw an 11 percentage point gain that year in reading and math scores. Scores rose from being in the 50th percentile in 2009 to the 61st percentile in 2010.
Those gains garnered the school an Academic Improvement Award from the state for its improvements. Sims attributed the dip in 2011 test score to enrolling an additional 120 students into its testing grades. And while Sims said the school was “really proud of the growth,” she realized being in the 60th percentile is not good enough. To boost performance, the school has partnered with several resources like the Achievement Network, a school improvement agency, to zero in on deficiencies and create lesson plans that target those deficiencies. “Our goal is not to be better than the next; it is for us all to become better,” Sims said, noting that CPS renewed the school’s charter without conditions. “It benefits us all to have high performance schools.” To do that, the school plans to expand its academic year. Students attend school for 180 days, but Catalyst Howland wants to increase that by an extra 10 days next year.
The school already has a longer school day where students receive seven hours of instruction time. “It is just more time on task for the scholars,” Sims said. Dave Pope, senior pastor of Brotherly Love Baptist Church, 3801 W. Cermak, was impressed by what he saw. He said it was critical that schools have a learning environment conducive to “educating an African-American child in the urban community.” “I was really glad to see teachers employ a number of methods to actively engage the kids in the learning process,” Pope said. “I think Catalyst is a fine example for hope in our community and hope for our children’s future.” Catalyst Howland students said having that engagement with teachers is crucial to their success. Eighth grader Jenna LeSure said the teachers are very intuitive to the students’ feelings and needs.
“I like the way they include us in decisions that will affect us,” said LeSure, who interned at Career Builder, a web-based job search company, through the Spark program. “I feel like I’m important — that I matter in this school.” Veranika McGhee, also an eighth grader, likes how teachers challenge students to do better. “The teachers here don’t give up on the students even when it gets tough for them to learn,” said McGhee, who also interned with Red Frog Event, a promotions and marketing firm. “They (teachers) just keep trying. We try our best to do our best.”
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