ERIC Number: EJ795336
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Apr-3
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1557-5411
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Thinking about Their Future in a Different Way
Stewart, Pearl
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v25 n4 p19-20 Apr 2008
"Born out of struggle and the struggle continues" is the motto of Chicago's Social Justice High School, one of four small, autonomous schools on one campus, Little Village Lawndale High School Campus (LVLHS). LVLHS was the result of a 19-day hunger strike in May 2001 by 14 community residents demanding that funds allocated for a new high school be used for that purpose. Officials had reneged on promises to build the school, instead diverting the funds to other priorities. The high-profile community protest was a lesson in social justice, and the success of that struggle spawned the four-school complex, which opened in fall 2005 on the West Side of Chicago. The campus contains Multicultural Arts High School, World Language High School, Social Justice High School, and Infinity: Math, Science and Technology High School. The separate schools share the library, sports facilities, and auditoriums. Adding to its unique origin, SoJo, as Social Justice High is called, is now part of an educational experiment initiated by Roosevelt University president Dr. Chuck Middleton. Middleton, impressed by SoJo students during a school program a few years ago, acted on impulse. So on the spot, Middleton made a decision--and an offer to the students and Social Justice High's principal, Rito Martinez. He pledged that the students in the first two graduating classes who qualified academically for admission to Roosevelt would be admitted, and their families would not have to come up with the money. That first class is now in its junior year, and upon their graduation in 2009, those who qualify will be the first to benefit from this partnership program. Middleton says he expects 35 students out of the 95 in the class of 2009 to qualify for scholarships.
Descriptors: High Schools, Urban Schools, Private Colleges, Educational Experiments, Partnerships in Education, College School Cooperation, Student Financial Aid
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Illinois
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A