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MAKING A WRONG TUR RIGHT

IN ROCKFORD AND WAUKEGAN LAST YEAR, CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL WELCOMED THE CHALLENGES OF EXPANDING ITS NETWORK OUTSIDE ITS “COMFORT ZONE” OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO. IN EACH COMMUNITY, CICS WAS INVITED BY LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO ESTABLISH A CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL. IN ROCKFORD, THE EFFORT SUCCEEDED. IN WAUKEGAN, IT DID NOT. COMPARING THE TWO EXPERIENCES, THE LESSONS LEARNED NOW SEEM BOTH SIMPLE AND ALMOST OBVIOUS. COMMUNICATION WORKS. EXERTING PRESSURE—EVEN WHEN THAT PRESSURE IS OVER-WHELMING PARENT AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT—DOES NOT.

LESSONS LEARNED ON THE ROAD TO EXPANSIONby Jennifer Kaiser

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WAUKEGANA lesson in cooperation

Lake County United (LCU) in Waukegan approached Chicago International in the spring of 2008. A community organization, LCU was interested in providing school choice for Waukegan’s students beyond the community’s underperforming public high school. Since LCU enjoyed wide support from local families and churches —a key factor in charter school success—Chicago International decided to partner with LCU and submit its charter proposal to the Waukegan school board.

At a public hearing with the board in July, LCU introduced Chicago International to the board for the first time. With CICS’s successful track record in Chicago and LCU’s 800 community supporters attending the meeting, both organizations presumed this showing would make the charter initiative attractive and undeniable.

Instead, the method backfired. Board members felt beset by the crowd of support-ers, some of whom stood up to criticize the board’s job performance instead of focusing on the charter issue. This crucial group of decision-makers perceived Chicago International as big-city outsiders trying to impose an urban method in their smaller community. It also became clear that several school board members opposed charter schools in general, and the July hearing only under-scored their position.

This hearing resulted in a complete breakdown of communication among the decision-makers; board members, super-intendent, and school leaders. And the grassroots supporters; LCU, parents, and community members. Chicago International suddenly found its proposal mired in a politi-cal battle that it was not equipped to resolve. Suddenly, this effort no longer resembled CICS’s model for establishing new charter school campuses where working hand-in-hand with decision-makers is integral to the process.

Regardless, CICS submitted its proposal in the fall but was not provided the opportunity to correct problems or inconsistencies in the proposal. In December 2008, the Waukegan school board denied the charter application by six votes to one.

A “campaign” at the grassroots level cer-tainly has its place in our society. Extensive cooperation is often required for success. The trouble is that the campaign approach tends to pit the decision-makers against the campaigners, who too easily come across as protesters rather than willing partners. According to the board’s remarks,

the Waukegan charter initiative failed not because anyone was unconvinced it would provide a better education for Waukegan students, but because they were so opposed to the campaign to convince them of that fact.

CICS learned the hard way that sometimes, it is more appropriate to stay in your comfort zone. Its core approach to charter approval—cooperation and communication with all stakeholders —is one of those zones that it will not soon outgrow.

ABOVE: LAKE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BULIDING LOCATED IN WAUKEGAN. LEFT: WAUKEGAN’S ELECTRICAL PLANT

WAUKEGAN

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MakingAWrongTurnRight

ROCKFORDConversations make better campaigns

In Waukegan, the importance of evaluating the local political landscape before initiating expansion became crystal clear. Chicago International is an academic organization rather than a political one. Therefore, efforts must focus on towns where community members and political decision-makers are already develop- ing partnerships. Enter Rockford, Illinois.

Rockford’s public schools, criticized as “drop-out factories,” have long been inadequate to serve the needs of its children. Recently, Rockford’s business and community leaders have begun to push for improving Rockford’s schools. In the process, they have recognized the potential of charter schools to accomplish that goal.

When Adam Smith, Education Director for the City of Rockford, contacted the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) for referrals, INCS connected him with Chicago International. In May 2008, Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey came to meet with Executive Director Beth Purvis and key CICS staff to explore options, and tour several CICS campuses.

After that meeting, the mayor asked the Rockford Charter School Initiative (RCSI) to take up the charter school issue. RCSI Executive Director Laurie Preece did everything right. She built relationships with prominent business leaders, had conversa-tions with school decision-makers, held informational meetings in neighborhoods all over town, and invited established charter school organizations, including Chicago International, to submit proposals.

Before submitting its proposal, CICS searched for a few months to find the right local partner as well as a facility. In Zion Development Corporation (ZDC)—another group working to bring charter schools to Rockford—it found both. ZDC is established and committed to serving Rockford for the long-term, and they owned a community center in a neighborhood very much in need of a high-quality school.

In October, Chicago International submitted its proposal with ZDC as its community-based partner and eventual landlord. The advance conversations and relationship-building with RCSI, the community, ZDC, and decision-makers, all prepared the way for a different process than the Waukegan experience. Not all school leaders were immediately convinced, but they remained open and interested in working on the issue.

They raised questions that helped refine the proposal, including a statute issue CICS was not aware of, and they provided the opportunity to correct it. When they voted in February 2009, their approval of Chicago International’s Rockford charter was unanimous.

The advance conversations and relationship-building with RCSI, the community, ZDC and decision-makers, all prepared the way for a different process than the Waukegan experience.

This working relationship with decision-makers was not a given; it was carefully cultivated through conversations.

Because of RCSI’s meticulously planned meetings, forums, tours, news interviews, and articles (even advertisements), all of Rockford was talking about charter schools in largely positive terms. No campaign was required. Instead, a gradually expanding flow of communication reached all members of the community, wherever they sat, until it was no longer a question of whether to approve charter schools, but when and which ones.

This conversation’s model for charter application and approval is one CICS will replicate wherever it goes.

OPPOSITE PAGE: FUTURE SITE OF ROCKFORD CHARTER SCHOOL. FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: ROCKFORD’S WELCOME SIGN, CORONADO THEATRE IN DOWNTOWN ROCKFORD, JEFFERSON STREET BRIDGE

“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

ROCKFORD

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photos by Joshua Dunn

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ZDC AND CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL

“Our meetings with key staff from Chicago International went favorably. We felt that they had the capacity to do the work and the passion to see it through and do it well... We appreciate the expertise that Chicago International brings to the table. They know how to do this process because they’ve been through it twelve times before. We ...are impressed by their commitment as well as their credentials... They have both the intelligence and the motivation to get the job done, and we’re pleased that they insist on high quality at all levels. That’s been our approach to doing things as well.”- Brad Roos, Executive Director, Zion Development Corporation

ABOVE: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: DR. LOREN NIELSON, INTERIM PASTOR ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH; BRAD ROOS, ExECUTIVE DIRECTOR ZION DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; JIM FLODIN, ExECUTIVE DIRECTOR PATRIOTS’ GATEWAY CENTER

MakingAWrongTurnRight

STATS

photo by Joshua Dunn

CICS ROCKFORD

GRADES: K–12

OPENING: • K–4 August 2010• New grade each year after • High School 2012*

PARTNERSHIP: CICS Rockford Charter School Organization is the combination of ZDC and Chicago International that will hold the charter contract and establish a local office.

* beginning with 9th grade

GOOD PARTNERS ARE KEY

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MakingAWrongTurnRight

Kris Wagner, a parent of four in Rockford, was one of Chicago International’s biggest supporters there. Like most parents, she wants the best education for her children. She found many educational choices in her former community in Colorado. Unfortunately, after her family moved to Rockford several years ago, she discovered just how limited a parent can be when relying on public schools.

In the process of trying to find affordable alternatives such as home schooling, Ms. Wagner discovered charter schools. She actually researched starting her own charter school. However, once she discovered the work of RCSI, she joined their effort.

Ms. Wagner offers valuable perspective on the role of parents in the success of charter schools. She reaffirms the importance of early and ongoing community outreach.

“I see what can happen in charter schools. Innovative curriculum. Flexibility. Parent involvement. If you come and see what’s going on in the public schools—kids are being undereducated. Parents want other choices. They just need to understand what charter schools offer. Something charter schools can do is have a local contact person to inform parents in the neighbor-hood, to organize meetings and tours, and make that personal connection. Otherwise, parents might hear something negative on the news or in a commercial, and they won’t know what to think; they’ll stay out

of it. But if you have that local person who goes to them and talks to them, then they’ll understand what the charter school can do for their kids, and they’ll rally around it.”

Ms. Wagner’s daughter, Summer Wagner, also joined the effort to bring charter schools to Rockford. She wrote and shared her own comment at the public hearing for Chicago International. Her words are a simple and powerful reminder that the pri-mary role of charter schools in educational reform is to create institutions where kids who want to learn, do learn.

“My name is Summer Wagner. I’m 12 years old and I’m home schooled. I’d like to tell you about why I’m in favor of Chicago International’s charter school proposal. How many kids have you heard say ‘I want to go to school; it’s so much fun?’ Think about it. Now, how many kids have you heard say the words, ‘I don’t want to go to school! Who needs math?’ That’s what I said every

morning of the fourth grade when I went to a Rockford public school… [W]e learned some thing new every day… good… but then we never reviewed a thing. I’ve always liked to

write, but I had trouble in spelling and grammar, mostly because they never corrected any of my papers…”

“After one year of public school, my parents decided to home school me. I’ve learned a lot home

schooling, but I’d really like to go to a great school with other kids where I could excel in every subject. I want to go to a school where children of all ages can be acknowledged for their ability to learn in different ways. I recently heard a wise phrase: ‘Not all great minds learn alike.’ If you authorize Chicago International Charter School—who can help kids learn in different ways—then I strongly believe Rockford’s children would flourish in learning and maybe even wake up in the morning and say ‘I can’t wait to go to school!’ I know I would!”

LESSONS AFFIRMED BY A ROCKFORD PARENT AND STUDENT

I’ve always liked to write, but I had trouble in spelling and grammar, mostly because they never corrected any of my papers...