LISC Chicago Education Work by Chris Brown

LISC ChicagoEducation Work

Better Housing CoalitionTransformRVA Conference

May 21, 2015

CDCs and Schools: isn’t housing hard enough?• Why become involved?• Role of education in improving housing.• Role of housing in improving education.• Quality-of-Life plans

CDCs and Schools: How to

• Work outside the school• School/community safety

• Parent patrols• Walking school bus

• Improvements to the facility• Provision of services to families

• Work inside the school• Academic programming• Out of school time programs• Health programming• Resource development

Connecting with Parents

• Outreach• Input• Involvement• Engagement• Organizing

One Example

The Mission Elev8 Chicago seeks to transform the educational achievement

and life outcomes of disadvantaged middle school students in five of the city's public schools.

The Goal

• Graduates will possess a fire for learning, healthy bodies and minds, and the support required to succeed in high school and beyond.

Elev8-Chicago Model• Academics and Out of School Time

• Extended-Day Program• Integrated Academic Alignment• Enrichment Programs

• Health• On-site health centers• Fitness and Nutrition• Health Education and Prevention

• Social Supports• Income Supports• Mentoring Program• Wrap-Around Support Services

• Parental and Community Involvement• Mikva Challenge• Parent Programs

• Advocacy

Selected teams come from across Chicago

The Partners

• Community-Based Lead Agency• School• FQHC• Centers for Working Families• Additional Service Providers

Implementation

• Identified and selected network of partners in each community• Planned for the work• Secured Funding• Hired staff• Implemented programs• Communicated effort• Evaluated work

Challenges

• Integration of partners and services• Turnover of school system staff• Financial services for families• On-going sustainability

Results

• Over 5,000 students served by the program• Close to 10,000 visits to the health center last year• Parent and youth leadership developed• Expansion of program• Improvements in attendance• Decreases in discipline issues

Lessons Learned

• Value of the community-based organization• Long-term commitment of the funder• Importance of community access• Integration of services• Importance of evaluation