A View from Within
On behalf of Chicago International students, teachers, staff and board of directors, welcome to our new website. Please take some time to learn more about Chicago International Charter School and the great things happening on our 11 neighborhood campuses. On these pages you'll find the work of more than 450 dedicated educators who work longer school days and a longer school year than their counterparts at traditional public schools to ensure that their students master the skills and knowledge students need in college and beyond. Please understand that Chicago International's success is a direct result of the environment created by these men and women and their expectations of excellence for both teacher and student.
Feedback, transparency, and best practices are extremely important as Chicago International works to deliver high-quality education to urban students and parents. In our opinion, public education has failed in its mission to prepare children living in our nation's urban centers to succeed beyond high school. In 2006, a report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation revealed that 14 of the 50 largest cities in the United States had 4-year graduation rates lower than 50 percent. Only six of those 50 urban centers had graduation rates higher than 80 percent, with no city graduating more than 82.5 percent of its students. Even more disturbing are the graduation rates of young men who are Black, Hispanic, or receive special education services. Despite these sobering facts, the vast majority of urban public schools educate students traditionally. Attempts to improve school systems through changes such as lengthening the school day, extending the school year, or evaluating the effectiveness of teachers by measuring student growth over time are met with fierce opposition. While the adults argue, student performance continues to suffer and thousands of young adults enter the work force functionally illiterate and unable to perform even the simplest computation.
Chicago International will periodically share stories about our teachers, their students, and the work they do together. We believe that our teachers and curricula are outstanding, but we understand that we do not have all the answers. One of the goals of Chicago International is to create a forum for best practices to be shared and replicated. We invite all of our visitors to let us know what you think and what is working elsewhere. Click here to send me an email. If there is enough interest, we will capture these comments and post them on the website.
We hope you find what you are looking for on this website, whether you are a family member applying to Chicago International; an alumnus interested in campus happenings; or a visitor wondering about school choice. Please visit regularly, as we plan to keep the content fresh and the stories relevant.
Thank you again for your interest.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth D. Purvis
Executive Director
Chicago International Charter School
*Redesigning the American High School: Graduation Counts. Copyright 2005 by the National Governors Association, 444 North Capitol Street, Washington, D.C. 20001-1512. All rights reserved. To view the report, click here.
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