Metro Community Project PLANNING

On Saturday, May 2nd, students from New Trier, Kelvyn Park HS, and Richard T. Crane Medical Preparatory Academy met with adult sponsors in the EPI Center to tell personal stories about school funding inequity and to draft a "student bill of rights" for the state of Illinois.

This Saturday, May 9th (10 am – 2 pm), students from all three schools will meet at a “neutral” location and present their stories and the collectively-authored document to various politicians, parents, and members of the press.  

Metro Community Project Part I

Principal Denise Dubravec (rear, center) addresses the Metro Community Project

We had an awesome day, visiting classes and various facilities, observing school culture, and eating lunch with Principal Dubravec, who generously answered all of our questions. After two tours, we sat down to debrief and discuss the fine points of school funding in Illinois.

School Funding in Illinois from Spiro Bolos

May 29th Metro Community Project Agenda

Thursday, May 29, 2014
9:15am-2:00pm

• 9:15-9:30am Arrival 
• 9:30am Setting community agreements (Juliet, Brian, Lillie) 
• 9:50am Icebreaker: birthday lineup (Brian) 
• 10:00am Power-line/social capital inventory activity (Juliet, Brian, Lillie) 
• 10:30am Drawbridge activity (Brian, Lillie, Juliet, Cynthia) 
• 11:30am Pizza lunch from Dante’s 
• 12:00pm Root causes activity (Spiro/Dan and Sean) 
• 12:30pm Analysis of school funding bill SB16 (Spiro and Cynthia) 
• 1:15pm Building on the legislation’s momentum: next steps (Sean) 
• 1:45pm Reflection on personal and community responsibility (Brian, Lillie) 
• 2:00pm Departure

Metro Community Project - Debrief

After Kelvyn Park's February 6th site visit to New Trier, a few members of Social Service Board participated in an informal debrief for the purposes of documenting our experiences for Dr. Cynthia Taines, of NIU. Some suggestions included:

1. Creation of a viral video to educate Illinois citizens regarding inequities in school funding
2. A one-day school Principal "switch" (Kelvyn Park and New Trier principals)
3. Extension of the project to other area schools 

Metro Community Project - NTHS Site Visit

We had a wonderful visit from the Kelvyn Park High School students yesterday, who were accompanied by their teachers and members of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association. Special thanks to all of the New Trier teachers who volunteered their classrooms and to Principal Hibbard, who not only treated the students to lunch, but also spoke to our group about inequities in school funding.

Winnetka Campus Principal Denise Hibbard answers questions from NTHS and KPHS students

Metro Community Project - New Trier Site Visit from Spiro Bolos

Photos from the Legislator Visit

Thanks to all from both Kelvyn Park and New Trier who were able to give up a day of school and attend. It was a very eye-opening day and we received some very practical advice about how to proceed further in our pursuit of educational equity.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Legislator Visit

On Thursday, December 5th, both the Kelvyn Park and New Trier students will converge in Gurnee, IL at the Lake County Federation of Teachers hall in order to meet with two Illinois legislators: Senator Melinda Bush (D), and Senator Pamela Althoff (R).

There we will discuss the legislators' efforts in the areas of school funding equity as well as the possibility of Illinois state income tax reform.

Below is our itinerary:

Metro Community Project Meeting #1

We had a perfect day -- cold but sunny and clear. Meeting with dozens of former and current Kelvyn Park students in Lincoln Square was a blast. Check out these select photos below then view the agenda for the day.


Created with flickr slideshow.

• 10am-11am Welcome & Scavenger Hunt 

• 11am-12:00pm Safe space: What are the barriers to honesty about school differences? What are we scared of? How can we be honest and curious? Creating guidelines for communication. (Juliet) Teacher modeling of direct conversation about educational disparity (Spiro & Sean) Student letters (NT and KP volunteers) 

• 12:00pm-12:30pm Lunch Small groups: What’s happening in your school this year? What’s happening in your district? What is one thing you love about your school? What is one thing that is challenging about your school? 

• 12:30-12:45 Report out & Teacher updates: CPS (Sean), New Trier (Spiro) 

• 12:45-1:00 Energizer (Kelly, Gerardo, and Amy)

• 1:00-1:50 Advocacy training Overview of conversations with legislators (Cynthia) Summer 2013 conversations with legislators: panelists share their memories of what happened and how legislators responded; panelists offer tips on how to engage legislators in discussion. (Spiro, Sean, Cynthia, Juliet, and NT/KP students) Role-play of legislative conversations (Spiro or Sean as the “legislator,” NT/KP students as students) 

• 1:50-2:00 Reflection activity: one thing I got out of today was…(Juliet)

School Funding with Rep. Elaine Nekritz

Dr. Taines listens to Amber from KPHS

Today, we met with State Representative Elaine Nekritz (D) of the 57th District in her office in Glenview. Rep. Nekritz was kind enough to give us over an hour of her time, and she was impressed by the level of commitment our students exhibited in a Q & A session. Both Kelvyn Park and New Trier students attended. Some of what we discussed included:

1. Education inequities 
2. Illinois state budget problems
3. Income tax reform
4. Property tax reform
5. An education task force (forming in the General Assembly)

We appreciate the advice that was offered by Rep. Nekritz, and also how the students emphasized the American promise of democracy in all spheres of life.

Misba (NTHS) asks some tough questions while Hannah, Hannah, and Rep. Nekritz listen

Mr. Kucharski asks his own questions

Metro Celebration Agenda

From Dr. Taines:

Hi everybody, below is the agenda for this Saturday that Juliet and I worked on. Let us know if you have any revisions. Please spread the word to the students!

Thanks, Cynthia

Metro Community Preliminary Agenda
Saturday, June 15, 2013
10:30am-1:30pm

El Nañdú Restaurant
2731 W. Fullerton Ave. Chicago, IL 60647

• 10:30 am: Students meet at the vans at New Trier

• 11:30 am: Welcome and teachers’ reflection (Tom & Sean)

• 11:45 am: Empanadas! Salads! (everyone) 

• 12:30 pm: Web of connections activity with reflection question: How has it impacted you to work with students from another community? (Juliet) 

• 12:45 pm: Update on legislative visits (KP/NT students & Tom)

• 1:00 pm: Talking, dessert (everyone)

• 1:30 pm: Departure

Just for a frame of reference:


View Larger Map

Letter to a Legislator

On Saturday, May 11th, our Kelvyn Park Exchange group traveled again to the city to work with students and adults from the Logan Square neighborhood in order to learn how to craft letters to state legislators regarding inequities in Illinois school funding. Thank you to Rep. Daniel Biss (D) for inspiring this effort! Here is just one example of a letter written by a New Trier Student (click on the image to enlarge).

Kelvyn Park Students Visit New Trier Homes

On Saturday, we welcomed students from Kelvyn Park High School into our homes for an early lunch. Thanks to the families who hosted! Afterward, we headed back to New Trier for a lengthy discussion of our next steps. Special thanks to State Senator Daniel Biss (D) for taking so much time to listen and then offer practical advice. Here was our planned agenda:

• 10:00 - Meet at NTHS and board buses to family homes 
• 10:30 - Lunch/brunch at family homes 
• 12:00 - Pick up from family homes and return to NTHS 
• 12:30 - Reflection on morning at family homes
• 1:00 - Peace circle with students & local legislators on school funding, standardized testing, and lessons from the Metro Community Project
• 2:00 - Senator Biss shares political action strategies for changing school funding and standardized testing
• 2:30 - Student consensus process on metro community action issue
• 2:55 - Closing reflection: word or phrase that describes today 
• 3:00 - Departure 

Selected photos from the day:

@nthsservice Thank you so much for including me -- it was a very inspiring afternoon!

— Daniel Biss (@danielbiss) March 17, 2013

New Trier Neighborhood Visits

Volunteers so far:

1. Alana
2. Amara
3. Amelia
4. Amy
5. Hannah A
6. Hannah S
7. Misba

Metro Campaign Issues

From Dr. Cynthia Taines:

Hi everybody, I wanted to share the results of the individual reflections that the students filled out last Saturday, on which metro campaign issue they wanted to pursue. (Note %s don't add to 100 because two students voted two issues as their first choice, and rounding.) 

• School funding: first choice: 17 out of 23 students (74%), including 8 KP and 9 NT students. Two of these students voted Dreamers and student union, respectively, as a simultaneous first choice with school funding (see below). 
• Standardized testing: first choice: 2 out of 23 students (9%), including 2 KP students.
• Dreamers: first choice: 3 out of 23 students (13%), including 3 NT students. One of these students (NT) voted both Dreamers and school funding as 1st choice. 
• Student union: first choice: 3 out of 23 students (13%), including 1 KP and 2 NT students. One of these students (NT) voted both student union and school funding as 1st choice. 
• The runner-up, most popular 2nd choice issue, was Standardized Testing: 10 out of 23 students (43%), including 4 KP and 6 NT students.

Kelvyn Park Neighborhood Visit

On Saturday, February 16th, we had an awesome day talking about issues like:

1. School Funding
2. Standardized Testing
3. "Dreamers" of the Dream Act

But perhaps the best part was THE FOOD we ate in those neighborhood homes. Thanks to the families in Logan Square who were generous with their time and so hospitable to us!

Kelvyn Park Part III

Our Lady of Grace. 2455 N. Hamlin Ave., Chicago

After two site visits to each high school, we will participate in a neighborhood tour. Our first stop is the Logan Square neighborhood where we will meet our counterparts, see the neighborhood, and then have lunch in family homes. Here are the details on Saturday, February 16th:

• 9:15 am: Meet at New Trier High School (tennis courts)
• 10:00 am: Arrive at Our Lady of Grace Parish
• 10:30 am: Travel to local homes
• 10:45 am: Lunch and Discussion at family homes (see questions below)
• 12:00 pm: Return to Church / Icebreaker
• 12:30 pm: Issue Presentations (Dreamers, school funding, standardized testing)
• 2:30 pm: Individual Reflections (how should we prioritize issues?)
• 2:35 pm: Winnetka Trip and Action Planning
• 2:55 pm: Closing Reflection (a word or phrase that describes the day)

Lunchtime Conversations:

• What are we eating? Where did you get the recipe? How does the food fit with your culture/heritage? 
• Where are you from originally? What is your family’s history? 
• What do you love about your neighborhood? What are the challenges of this neighborhood?
• What are your goals for your children’s education? What do you want for your children?

Our Self-Audit

After taking the following survey, we polled the Social Service Board to generate the following the aggregate results. What do these results have to do with the idea of security? In what ways do these results demonstrate limits on how we engage with the rest of our world?

Kelvyn Park Exchange Future Dates

Here are some possible dates. Please check your calendars for conflicts:

1. Saturday, February 9th: Tour of Logan Square neighborhood, Lunch with families, Meeting to determine action steps
2. Saturday, March 9th: Tour of North Shore neighborhoods, Lunch with families, Follow-up on action steps
3. April: possible field trip?

Even if you haven't joined us in the past, please consider how you might participate on one of these upcoming days!

Kelvyn Park Exchange Part II

We had an exhausting but truly productive day, full of conversations and important insights. Next week, the teachers involved in the exchange will have a "summit" to discuss how we can build on these initial steps. All of the participating students wrote suggestions for future action.


Here is a link to the debriefing document the students completed at the end of the two visits (November and December).

Finally, here are the slides that Mr. Kucharski used in his closing presentation:

Kelvyn Park Agenda

Remember -- the Kelvyn Park High School visit to New Trier is this THURSDAY. Here is our agenda, via NIU researcher, Cynthia Taines: 

Metro Community Project Agenda: New Trier joint visit:

• 9:30 am: Arrival and fun welcome exercise 
• 10:00 am: Pairs discussion on experiences and expectations 
• 10:30 pm: Explore the school! 
• 12:15 pm: Delicious lunch (pizza!)
• 12:45 pm: Discussion and New Trier panel
• 2:15 pm: Departure