New & Important Advances for Senn H.S.

There have recently been some important advances on the path to keeping Senn High School open as one general community high school that has excellent programs for all of its students, and that has need to regain use of the entire building.

1. CEO of schools Arne Duncan has announced publicly, at the Board of Education meeting on October 22, that Senn High School will remain open in the fall of September 2009. This announcement enables Senn High School to continue development of new and expanded quality programs, and to recruit new students to the school.

2. The increased popularity of Senn High School and its programs has been shown by the 200 students who came to the school over and above the projected enrollment by the Board of Education. Programs within the school such as AVID and the International Baccalaureate Program are expanding, with highly motivated students.

3. The overcrowding of the existing space that has been allowed for Senn High School by the increase in enrollment is an important argument for the Naval Academy to leave the building. As our readers may know, the Naval Academy was inserted into the Senn building over the objection of students, parents, faculty, and community. One of the objections was that Senn High School needed its existing space, and was already putting it to good use.

4. The Senn Strategic Planning Committee has been meeting regularly with a motivated group of community people, teachers, and students. It has been making specific plans for improvements at the school after input by over 2,000 people.

One example of the great plans for the future of Senn High School is the development of a Green program at the school that will focus on environmental sustainability and justice. This program will deal with issues such as global warming, and prepare students to take up the “green” jobs that are coming into the economy and local tasks needed as realization of the importance of Green issues takes hold.

This initiative builds on the strengths of Senn High School’s diverse population (from at least 60 countries) by planning from an international perspective arts and design, including technology, on the issue of sustainability– preserving or reusing the earth’s resources. The focus highlights how environmental concerns are of global importance, and that solutions to the planet’s problems will be achieved through international innovation and cooperation.

The Senn Strategic Plan Committee has been contacting environmental leaders from around the city, including CPS, to let them hear about Senn’s past environmental work, the Strategic Plan, and the vision of a Green theme in connection with the arts, sciences, technology, and other subjects at the school. The people contacted are excited about participating in the planning along these lines for Senn High School, and up to 30 will gather at a special kick off event later in November. (Excerpts from the invitation are printed on page 2.) One goal is to launch a Green Advisory Committee for the school so that financial, technical and other resources are identified to support this initiative.

In a related note, Dr. Connie Doyle, a science teacher at Senn, has started a Green Club with students.

Let us continue in our struggles to Save Senn.

Excerpts from the invitation to kick off the Green Senn initiative

The end of November State Senator Heather Steans is hosting an event to kick off the Green Senn initiative. We will be imaging Senn High School’s green future with artists, Senn students, administrators, and teachers, community members, business owners, foundations, and local elected officials.

This event will support a new curricular initiative at Nicholas Senn High School, a Chicago Public School in Edgewater—Green Global Arts and Design. The “green” theme will begin with small steps but eventually will be woven throughout all Senn’s subject areas and programs, through three strands:

• Arts and Design Education for Sustainability • Green Jobs and Technologies • Global Environmental Awareness

In keeping with Senn’s vision of its students as the intellectual and creative leaders of the 21st century, this initiative builds on the strengths of its diverse, student population (from at least 60 countries) by engaging sustainability arts and design, including technology, from an international perspective. The focus highlights how environmental concerns are of global importance, and that solutions to the planet’s problems will be achieved through international innovation and cooperation.

Important Speaker Against the U.S. War in Iraq After School Today

Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi architect and citizen who writes about the war and the politics surrounding it, will be speaking to students at Senn today Friday, November 14th, after the school day in room 105. Raed Jarrar is Iraq Consultant to the American Friends Service Committee and blogger at www.raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com. He has a law suit pending from the time in August 12, 2006 at John F. Kennedy International Airport when he was refused boarding on a JetBlue flight while wearing a T-shirt with the text “We will not be silent” in English and Arabic. Jarrar founded Emaar, an NGO that carried out humanitarian work in southern Iraq.

OPT OUT– STOP MILITARY RECRUITERS FROM CONTACTING YOU AT HOME–OPT OUT

Send a letter like the following opt-out form (or this form) to Office of High School Programs, Chicago Public Schools, 125 S. Clark St., 9th floor, Chicago, IL 60603— I request that the name, address, and telephone number of the following student not be given to the military for recruitment purposes.
Student’s name______________________________ Student ID number____________________
Parent/guardian OR student signature__________________________

This entry was posted on January 9th, 2009 and is filed under News and Updates.