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Monday, December 21, 2009

For your information

If you are reading this blog and you know anyone who works or who has worked at either Bennett or Shedd Schools please let them know about this blog. Also have them get into touch with me at:



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Monday, December 14, 2009

Should Bennett/Shedd School have an organization such as this?

Crossposted at The Sixth Ward

I've been wanting to do a post about this for a while. At least in terms of finding ways to connect our neighborhood schools to the surrounding community. If there was a way to do that then hopefully we can provide for public school students better than any public source of funding or even any politician can ever promise. Therefore I provide this example expounded below.

South Loop School is an elementary school with two branches located @ 1212 South Plymouth Court with a branch @ 1915 South Federal Street.

Here is a description of this organization:
Friends and Family of South Loop School

Friends and Family of South Loop School, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 organization established to enhance the educational experience of students at South Loop Elementary School. Our primary mission is to provide funds for resources not available through the normal school budget but required to operate a successful school. In the past Friends and Family of South Loop School, Inc. has enriched the learning environment at South Loop School by paying for additional classroom resources such as teacher assistants to help increase staff to student ratio, a new science laboratory and new mobile lap top computers.

With this in mind we ask that you consider being a sponsor at our annual spring benefit. We have a few options that provide flexibility for your budget. Your company will have prominent name recognition in gratitude for your support.

Your Support Is Important

Private funding plays a key role in the success of our students. While federal, state and local dollars provide some of the public school's operating expenses, it is not enough to provide access to excellence that our students deserve. With the contributions from parents, friends and local leaders like you we are able to make South Loop the school it is today. With this support, South Loop has seen an unprecedented increase in achievement from 34% of students at or above state standards to 85% in just 4 years time.
Harlan Community Academy is close to an organization such as this, but it's in fact the alumni association.

Either way there has to be a way to connect school faculty, students, neighbors or even alumni to a particular school whether on the elementary or secondary level. Especially for the purposes of enhancing the education experience for our public school students and for the purposes of raising money so that they will be successful they further they go in the educational careers.

For high school, it might be important if our young people expect to go to college. Perhaps the surrounding community can help to raise scholarship funds so that they may not only afford to go to a university, but so that they wouldn't have to depend on student loans.

In any event what could such an organization do for our neighborhood schools other than enhancing the level of instruction or achievement at the schools? Do you think this is a good idea?

Saturday, December 12, 2009

More pictures oustide of Bennett

I was there the day after Thanksgiving. Took some more pictures of the shields that adorn the school on both sides. It almost seems like a gothic or Ivy League school with all the gargoyles and seals on campus. It almost reminds me of Harvard or Yale.


This box if a fire alarm. This looks like an old-school device and who knows if it's even still used today.


These are the two seals for this school. They will repeat as on either side there are four seals and they alternate. The gargoyles will be holding the seal

This is the side entrance. No details necessary as well there is no lettering above the door and there isn't much difference between any of the gargoyles that you will find on any of the schools entrances. Whether to the auditorium, gymnasium, or either of the front doors to the school.

This is the new campus park. There used to be a playset and a field house. In addition there was once a concrete "baseball diamond" complete with a "batting cage". Neither are still there any longer.



Like most parks there are a set of lights along the periphery or at least along the paths. I almost wonder why there was a need to set up parks at public schools around the city. The only other one I'm aware of is at McDade although in that case it's in the back of the school off of it's south Indiana Avenue location.

There will be more pictures later! It's about more desecration, but not necessarily the same as what I found over at Shedd in the summer of 2008.