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It’s no secret that some vocal critics of the local education system think Berwyn’s is subpar.
Every high school and middle school in town has been deemed in need of improvement by No Child Left Behind, and average student test scores in both elementary school districts and the high school lag behind the state’s averages.
Teachers can’t handle it all, especially because instructional expenditures per student also is below state average — and just over half of what the neighboring Oak Park-River Forest High School district spends on its instruction.
While some parents simply say, “move out of town,” others have stood up and asked, “How can I make the schools better?”
In hopes of reforming Berwyn’s schools and getting them back on track, Berwyn Citizens Alligned to Renew Education for Students, or Berwyn CARES, has pulled together parents from across the area to push for better education.
“The real mission of our organization has been to unite residents around a spirit of enthusiasm about education,” said Shelley Titzer, one of CARES’ founding members.
With that energy gaining strength, the group hosted two discussions last month of the book “Learning How to Walk to School,” co-authored by Chicago resident Jacqueline Edelberg, and even hosted Edelberg her during one of the events.
Edelberg said she was able to work with parents and school administrators to drastically improve Nettlehorst Elementary School, a public school in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood that had been a sore spot for the Chicago Public School system.
School reform starts small — and stays small — she said.
“Change what’s there in front of you” Edelberg added. “If everybody fixed what’s in their own backyard, we’d all have better schools by now.”
Edelberg and her cadre of friends worked with their school’s principal and largely flew under the radar of Chicago’s massive public school system to make people think the school was beyond great.
And then suddenly, it was.
“I’d say 70 percent of our efforts were to change the perception of the neighborhood and get them to wrap their arms around the school and become the heart of the community,” Edelberg said. “We changed the climate first, and the culture changed really quickly.”
Rather than rallying for reform, Edelberg said residents just went to work.
“The problem is, that if politicians knew how to fix schools, they would be fixed. Running in there and screaming won’t help anything because they don't know what to do,” she said.
It’s no secret that some vocal critics of the local education system think Berwyn’s is subpar.
Every high school and middle school in town has been deemed in need of improvement by No Child Left Behind, and average student test scores in both elementary school districts and the high school lag behind the state’s averages.
Teachers can’t handle it all, especially because instructional expenditures per student also is below state average — and just over half of what the neighboring Oak Park-River Forest High School district spends on its instruction.
While some parents simply say, “move out of town,” others have stood up and asked, “How can I make the schools better?”
In hopes of reforming Berwyn’s schools and getting them back on track, Berwyn Citizens Alligned to Renew Education for Students, or Berwyn CARES, has pulled together parents from across the area to push for better education.
“The real mission of our organization has been to unite residents around a spirit of enthusiasm about education,” said Shelley Titzer, one of CARES’ founding members.
With that energy gaining strength, the group hosted two discussions last month of the book “Learning How to Walk to School,” co-authored by Chicago resident Jacqueline Edelberg, and even hosted Edelberg her during one of the events.
Edelberg said she was able to work with parents and school administrators to drastically improve Nettlehorst Elementary School, a public school in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood that had been a sore spot for the Chicago Public School system.
School reform starts small — and stays small — she said.
“Change what’s there in front of you” Edelberg added. “If everybody fixed what’s in their own backyard, we’d all have better schools by now.”
Edelberg and her cadre of friends worked with their school’s principal and largely flew under the radar of Chicago’s massive public school system to make people think the school was beyond great.
And then suddenly, it was.
“I’d say 70 percent of our efforts were to change the perception of the neighborhood and get them to wrap their arms around the school and become the heart of the community,” Edelberg said. “We changed the climate first, and the culture changed really quickly.”
Rather than rallying for reform, Edelberg said residents just went to work.
“The problem is, that if politicians knew how to fix schools, they would be fixed. Running in there and screaming won’t help anything because they don't know what to do,” she said.
Instead, Edelberg’s cohort asked businesses for donations and for parents to apply their profession to bettering the school.
Some parents in Berwyn already are following suit.
Miro Ledajaks, a local artist, has agreed to paint kid-friendly murals at Emerson Elementary School, where his two children attend classes.
“I think it will be a neat thing to try,” Ledajaks said. “I’m an artist, so the most important thing to me is that my kids have an education that includes art. I’m willing to work to make that happen.”
Although Edelberg was able to help change the Chicago elementary school, both she and some local residents are skeptical the results could be replicated at the high school level.
But for parents of students in the Morton High School district, where student scores on the Prairie State Achievement Exam were less than half the state average, hope remained that they could improve area high schools — even if they’re not exactly sure how to achieve it.
“I’m not sure yet how this applies to our high school, but it’s our community’s responsibility,” said Gloria Mitchell, a Berwyn CARES member. “And we have a lot of work to do.”
