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Dear Perspectives Friends and Family,
15 years! We are excited to begin our 15th year at Perspectives Charter Schools this year. Back in 1997, Perspectives was one of the first 5 charter schools in Illinois. Today, we are serving more than 2,300 students with a staff of nearly 300, at 5 schools in some of the most underserved communities in our city. At Perspectives, we instill in our students the goal of College for Certain. Our graduates are now living that goal:
- This fall, 93% of our 2011 graduates enrolled in college, and 78% of our 2010 graduates who enrolled returned for their sophomore year. Our students are on track to beat the odds in a city where only 8% of public school students graduate from college.
- Our students are attending colleges including Bradley University, Columbia College, Howard University, Denison University, Depaul University, Northern Illinois University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Kentucky and Northwestern University, where Perspectives High School of Technology graduate Stephanie Caldwell received a full scholarship!
- Our students are keeping in touch with our College Dad, Tony Seiden, as they apply the principles of A Disciplined LifeŠ in college. King Robinson, a freshman at Pomona College, saw his hard work pay off when he realized, "ADL prepared me to deal with people who weren't as polite as myself and whose virtues didn't quite align with mine. I had to 'Communicate Effectively' and 'Be Open-Minded'... and learn that I wasn't the only person out of their comfort zone."
But to truly reach our goal of preparing all of our students for success in college and in life, we will need the support of everyone in the Perspectives family, including you.
Here are some upcoming ways you can get involved:
A DISCIPLINED LIFEŠ EXPO
Join us for an evening of learning at our Rodney D. Joslin Campus on Thursday, October 27th. The 26 principles are the heart of our student's social-emotional learning at Perspectives Charter Schools. At the Expo, students will share their successes living A Disciplined LifeŠ and showcase their work. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be provided. A $50 donation is requested. RSVP today!
MENTOR A PERSPECTIVES STUDENT INTERN
Every year, we connect all of our juniors to an internship with some of the top employers throughout the city. These internships provide our students with invaluable professional experience and help them build relationships in a world they would not otherwise have access to. Contact Jane Esser to learn how you can become an internship mentor today!
Read on to learn about some of the great things our staff and students are accomplishing as we begin our 15th year. Here's to the next 15 years of Perspectives Charter Schools!
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Summer was a busy time for many of our student scholars who expanded their horizons by participating in local, national and international study programs. Students went to Kenya, Madagascar, and Costa Rica on community service trips where they painted a health center, visited a tree farm, and learn family histories from locals while experiencing different cultures. One students flew to Nebraska for math camp where she experienced college life and attended different classes. Several scholars participated in the Elev8 Summer Camp here in Chicago where they learned how to build and maintain bicycles, put together a film and documentary of our Elev8 Summer Camp, cooked items from and maintained our garden, and created a long-lasting mosaic sculpture to represent the Elev8 legacy that will be at our school for decades to come. Eleven students participated in the University of Chicago's Summer Accelerated Math Camp, where they strengthened their skills in science and math by doing in-class and field learning. One 8th grade scholar participated in th e Science Giants program through Project Exploration, where students are trained to be summer docents at the Museum of Science and Industry.
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Watch this student video to see how our summer scholars' experiences changed their lives. Many thanks to those who sponsored these educational learning adventures.
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Yellow Tractor Program brings healthy lifestyles to Auburn Gresham
With the generous guidance of Wendy Irwin and the Yellow Tractor Program, Perspectives Leadership Academy on the Auburn Gresham campus received and installed several new urban garden boxes as part of a larger program to promote healthy lifestyles. Kellogg Business School of Management students teamed with Perspectives Leadership Academy students to build the garden boxes and plant the first seedlings. Edelman public relations firm President Rick Murray was on hand to be a part of this exciting learning experience.
Visionary teacher leader Steve Millard, responsible for making this project a reality, reported, "Perspectives' vision with the Yellow Tractor Program is to grow and develop our scholars as leaders in the school and community, giving them the leadership capabilities to thrive in the college environment. The new gardens provided by Yellow Tractor will achieve this by allowing students to confront the devastating lack of fresh produce within the community by learning valuable horticulture skills and educating the community. In the Environmental Activism class, Perspectives Leadership Academy seniors will tend the gardens and craft action plans for selling the produce and promoting healthy living within Auburn Gresham."
The Yellow Tractor Program advocates for sustainable growth by building vegetable and fruit gardens; clearing a path for food security, providing opportunities for healthier life skills, and
creating a safe place for children to grow not only food, but themselves.
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DEMONSTRATE A STRONG WORK ETHIC
one of our principles of A Disciplined LifeŠ |
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Our dedicated staff showed their tremendous work ethic this summer while preparing to make our next 15 years even stronger:
- Our new and improved facilities team worked tirelessly to polish, repair and upgrade our buildings to create an improved learning environment for our students. Our hallways and classrooms are looking better than ever!
- The cutting edge IT team put in long hours to upgrade our servers and technology infrastructure so that we can truly be 21st century schools.
- Three driven, talented new principals accepted the challenge of taking their schools to the next level, and worked non-stop during the summer to get ready for the new school year. Angela Brooks-Rallins at Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin, Sauda Porter at Perspectives Middle Academy, and Julie Puzon at Perspectives/IIT Math & Science Academy are all Perspectives veterans who bring an incredible dedication to our students to their new roles.
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