Spring 2013 Community Walk

1. Community Walk
Morton School Of
Excellence
By: Kevin Graham,Yekaterina Loseva, and Shariece
Smith, Fiona Connaghan, Val Chekmazov, Darnell
Logan, Crystal Perez, and Stephanie Hanson

2. East Garfield Park

3. East Garfield Park
Historical 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

4. East Garfield Park
Historical 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

5. East Garfield Park
Historical 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. Organizations & Assets
Inspiration Corporation
● Culinary training for homeless
Hoops in the Hood
● Summer Basketball League,
Youth Arts, Health Screening,
Police Enforcement

9. 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

10. Highlights at
Morton

11. 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.

12. 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."

13. The YMCA at Morton
Benefits 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

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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

17. Our Cherished Community of
Learners
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151493225421049&set=vb.
357660577647604&type=2&theater

18. 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

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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)

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. Community Walk Snippets

29. Citations
Bennett, 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/