Coalition of Local Community Organizations to Support Innovative Student Involvement in Chicago High School Reform

CHICAGO -- Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE) today announced a $1.5 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to engage students across Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and incorporate their perspectives in district-wide high school reform. VOYCE is a coalition of seven community organizations committed to improving student achievement levels and reversing historically low graduation rates, particularly among African American and Hispanic youth.

This new project will build on existing CPS efforts to ensure all students graduate from high school ready for college and work success. Student leaders in VOYCE will be expected to participate as research partners and advocates, proposing effective solutions that can be implemented by the district, teachers, and policymakers.

"VOYCE is so important because, for the first time, it gives an opportunity for students to have a voice in education," said Kelly High School student Ruben Castro. "If we don’t change education now, who will? I hope I’m leaving footsteps for future students to continue the changes I’m starting in Chicago education."

As part of the VOYCE coalition, nearly 150 students in 12 high schools will engage in a six-month research project, interviewing their teachers, administrators, and peers to examine what’s behind the district's poor graduation, dropout, and college enrollment rates. With the help of key partners, including North Park University and Northeastern Illinois University, the students' findings will be incorporated into recommendations to better inform high school reform efforts in Chicago.

"Too often, the student perspective is left out of school reform efforts, despite the fact that students are the ones with the most at stake," said Jenny Arwade, executive director of the Albany Park Neighborhood Council, one of the seven community groups behind VOYCE. "This new collaboration will ensure that not only students, but their parents and communities as well, are actively engaged in the transformation of Chicago’s public high schools."

Coalition Partners and High Schools

Albany Park Neighborhood Council
Roosevelt and Mather

Brighton Park Neighborhood Council
Kelly and Curie Metro

Logan Square Neighborhood Association
Kelvyn Park and North-Grand

Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
Dyett and Kenwood Academy

The Organization of the Northeast
Senn and Sullivan

Southwest Organizing Project
Hubbard

Target Area Development Corporation
Calumet/Perspectives Charter School

"Without the students on-board, we cannot truly bring about a transformation in our high schools," said Carmita Vaughan, CPS Director of Dropout Prevention and Recovery. "We look forward to the insights and recommendations the students of VOYCE will bring to the table. Together we can help ensure that every student makes it to graduation day."

But the problem is daunting. According to the 2007 "Diplomas Count" report by Education Week, only 52 percent of students in Chicago Public Schools graduated on time in 2004, the last year for which data is available. And only a third of Chicago public school graduates from the classes of 2002 and 2003 enrolled in a four-year college within a year, according to a recent study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research. CPS aims to raise graduation rates to 70 percent by 2010.

"The Chicago Public Schools has taken bold steps in the last several years to reach their goals," said Kelly James, education program officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "However, the district will not be able to achieve its graduation targets without strong local partnerships—engaging students, parents, and community and civic leaders in the effort to prepare all students for college and work."

Nationally, the foundation and its partners are focused on increasing graduation and college readiness rates by supporting the creation of new high-quality high schools and the transformation of existing low-performing high schools into more focused and effective learning environments. To date, the foundation has invested more than $1.7 billion to improve high schools, supporting more than 1,800 schools in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

###
VOYCE
Voices of Youth in Chicago Education is a coalition of seven community groups across the city committed to elevating the student perspective in public high school reform efforts. VOYCE is student-led, reflecting the core belief that as recipients of education students have unique insight into the challenge of improving schools and boosting graduation rates and college enrollment.