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CHICAGO -
Eighty five percent of students at the University of Illinois Chicago college prep are considered low-income, yet the charter school is academically in the top 10 of all 118 Chicago public high schools. Oliver Sicat is UIC's young progressive principal. He believes a good school with great teachers can serve all students regardless of income.
"I always want to start off with the expectations of our kids whether it's said or unsaid," Sicat said. "Are we holding them to the same standards as our highest level students as our lowest level income student? Or are we assuming that they're not able?"
You don't test to get into UIC college prep, you get in by winning the school's lottery. The staff starts building relationships with the students the moment they walk in.
"They're their mentor. They're their advisor. they're the ones who are calling home," Sicat said. "They're the ones who are checking in, listening to them, help them problem solve within school or out of school."
So if theyr'e not getting the support at home, they're getting it at school. Although principal sicat agrees family is key. Tribune reporter Tara Malone works the education beat. She looked at the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students and found that at the high school level, the gap widened.
At the elementary level, there was small progress. Numbers out today suggest the no child left behind initiative implemented seven years ago did not work. Take Oak Park and River Forest high school, which has been working to close the gap between high income and low income kids long before "no child left behind." This year, despite it's best efforts, Oak Park and River Forest's report card was not acceptable to them.
Along income lines, 34 percent of poor students met the targets for reading while 80 percent of the wealthier kids did. Along racial lines, 41 percent of black students passed the state's reading exam compared to 89 percent of white students. These students are at the same school with the same teachers, the same curriculum.
"They've made progress," Sicat said, "But they are very frank as a school and an institution saying we are not satisfied with this progress."
So what is the answer? For educators, it is frustrating and mind-boggling, but they are still trying to make it better.
"I always want to start off with the expectations of our kids whether it's said or unsaid," Sicat said. "Are we holding them to the same standards as our highest level students as our lowest level income student? Or are we assuming that they're not able?"
You don't test to get into UIC college prep, you get in by winning the school's lottery. The staff starts building relationships with the students the moment they walk in.
"They're their mentor. They're their advisor. they're the ones who are calling home," Sicat said. "They're the ones who are checking in, listening to them, help them problem solve within school or out of school."
So if theyr'e not getting the support at home, they're getting it at school. Although principal sicat agrees family is key. Tribune reporter Tara Malone works the education beat. She looked at the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students and found that at the high school level, the gap widened.
At the elementary level, there was small progress. Numbers out today suggest the no child left behind initiative implemented seven years ago did not work. Take Oak Park and River Forest high school, which has been working to close the gap between high income and low income kids long before "no child left behind." This year, despite it's best efforts, Oak Park and River Forest's report card was not acceptable to them.
Along income lines, 34 percent of poor students met the targets for reading while 80 percent of the wealthier kids did. Along racial lines, 41 percent of black students passed the state's reading exam compared to 89 percent of white students. These students are at the same school with the same teachers, the same curriculum.
"They've made progress," Sicat said, "But they are very frank as a school and an institution saying we are not satisfied with this progress."
So what is the answer? For educators, it is frustrating and mind-boggling, but they are still trying to make it better.
