We ♥ Senn. And we want to encourage as many students as possible to experience its benefits. To have this happen, Senn must remain a general community high school, open to all, dedicated to having each and every student thrive. To help make sure this happens, come out to the community meeting at the high school on Monday, March 10 to be part of rolling out the Senn Strategic Plan. Spread the word. This plan, with input from over 2,000 people, is a path for further improving Senn H.S.

We would ♥ to have Senn remain a school in which the educators can teach students to be creative and think critically about issues and ideas in their lives and the wider society. The Senn Strategic Plan encourages further development of this. It includes opportunities in fine arts and international studies, college and career options. As vision is translated into reality, it should attract many more students.

We would ♥ Senn H.S. to flourish and expand, and for the Naval Academy to be removed from the school building so there can be space for this expansion to take place. This military academy was put into the Senn building over the objections of students, faculty, parents, and the overwhelming majority of the community, and has squeezed existing programs.

Save Senn in particular objects to this naval military academy being part of the recruitment efforts to get more students into the military to fight the illegal and unjust wars of the U.S. government; the recruitment rate of students who are in such military programs is over 40%. Speaking of the navy– It is now a more and more dangerous branch to serve in: Right now the U.S. government is threatening Iran with the possibility of a military attack, with half of the naval fleet stationed right off the shore of Iran. Navy personnel are being used as ground soldiers in the illegal and unjust U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Monday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Senn H.S. The Senn Local School Council and the Strategic Planning Committee will be presenting their plan for the future improvement of Senn High School on Monday, March 10 at 6:30 at Senn. For the last 15 months, students, teachers, parents, and others from the community have been developing a strategic plan to strengthen academics, campus safety, involvement of the community, and a well-rounded and positive learning environment. This plan will presented to everyone at this Roll-Out of the Strategic Plan, students, parents, teachers, other people from the community–everyone. If you have questions, call the school at 534.2365. A student talent show will begin at 6 p.m.

We are asking for the community to attend the student action on

Wednesday December 19th @ 3:30

on Senn’s front lawn (5900 N Glennwood ).

This is a Candlelight/Book rally to support Senn and the Strategic Plan. The action is to promote the students, the school and gather support before our meeting with Arne Duncan on Friday, December 21, 2007. At the event, participants would either hold a candle (representing unity for Senn) or a book (education). [Student-made flier attached in English and Español]

Please spread the word and come out if you are available!

Also—-

2) Saturday, December 15th

9 am

Meet at Dominicks - 6009 N. Broadway Ave

Flier the neighborhood with fliers and post in store shop windows

3) Monday, December 17th

11 am

Parent press conference in front of Senn, 5900 N Glenwood

4) Wednesday, December 19th

Parents speaking at Board of Ed meeting

125 S Clark

Fifteen months ago, Senn students, faculty, parents and community members began a Senn Strategic Plan process. The resulting Senn Strategic Plan is intended to help build on Senn’s strengths to make it into a World-Class, First Choice school for the community. Input was sought far and wide. Over 1200 responded. One of these was Alderman Smith. She helped get funding from the Board of Education for the committee’s work, and appointed her educational staff member to the committee. In the fall of 2007, the Senn LSC approved the plan. Then in a bizarre twist, Alderman Smith suddenly began promoting a scheme of her own, in direct opposition to the Strategic Plan’s conclusion that Senn needs to remain one general community school, a diverse school to benefit everyone.

What is the aim of this surprise attack by Mary Ann Smith? It is identical to her expressed intention of three years ago– to “Close down Senn” and put four small selective and/or restrictive schools in its place. Three years ago the naval academy was all she could get, and Senn survived, despite inequities and hardships. Now, she wants it all. Never mind that the LSC voted no three years ago. Never mind that her own committee voted no two years ago. Never mind that the 48th ward overwhelmingly passed a referendum of inquiry, which both she and the Board of Education ignored. And now, again, never mind the committee’s conclusions derived from a lengthy and inclusive planning process with her involved. It just doesn’t fit with what she wants. It would seem she is convinced that what she wants, she should get. However, the opposition to this latest attack is strong and passionate.

Students, faculty, parents, and community are not taking this attack lying down. Immediately after Smith’s attack, over 125 people showed up early on a Saturday morning at the scheduled Senn Strategic Planning meeting. Another 100 attended the following meeting of December 1st. Participants strongly expressed support for the Senn Strategic Plan, and expressed outrage at the alderman’s scheme. A need for two initiatives quickly emerged: the need 1) to strengthen and gain support for the Senn Strategic Plan, and 2) to immediately take action to inform and mobilize the community in opposition to Smith’s scheme.

What actions are being planned to defend having a stronger Senn High School and beat back Mary Ann Smith’s plan to break up Senn High School? Look for announcements of an action to be coming up in the near future, perhaps as soon as next Wednesday, December 19. Join in this, and also participate in informing the community with leaflets that have been printed up. (Call 250.3335 if you need information.)

As well, look at and sign the on-line petition that has already been signed by hundreds of students, former students, faculty, and other people. See the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/SennHS/petition.html and on the SaveSenn.org web site. It says:

PETITION The most diverse high school in Chicago is under attack again by Alderman Mary Ann Smith. Four years ago, she undemocratically forced a Naval Academy inside Senn High School, despite a united school and community against the plan. http://www.substancenews.com/content/view/144/81/

The Naval academy continues occupying our school to this day. Only 5% of the Naval Academy’s students come from within our attendance area.

Now, the Alderman wants to take away the rest of our school and open 4 small schools inside of Senn. Despite outright lies by the Alderman, Senn serves 70% of students in our attendance area.

The undemocratic Alderman had an opportunity to make Senn a better school by working with the Senn Strategic Planning Committee. In fact, she had a representative on the committee. The committee was open to the public and included teachers, parents, and community members of Senn. After a year and a half of work, the committee developed a plan to improve Senn. However, the Alderman secretly developed her own plan, which plagiarized language and stole ideas from the Senn Strategic Plan.

Using her stolen ideas, she wants to kick out the type of students attending our school and replace them with “higher class” students. The Naval Academy would stay of course!

Senn is not the first school to be attacked. This is part of Mayor Daley’s Renaissance 2010 plan. Many schools, like Austin and Englewood High Schools have already been shut down. More will be threatened. Help us stop gentrification and the destruction of public education in Chicago!

Our school serves Blacks, Latin@s, Asians and immigrants from all over the world. Our school has students from over 70 countries! Alderman Smith wants to change that. WE WILL NOT LET HER!

We the undersigned are against the Alderman’s undemocratic plan to close Senn. WE SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC DECISIONS AND SUPPORT GIVING THE SENN STRATEGIC PLAN A CHANCE!

Some Comments on the Petition

Christine Godoy, Senn Local School Council Student Representative– Support the Senn’s Strategic Planning committee. Many Senn students are involved in this process to help save Senn High School from being closed so that our current and future students may have the opportunity to have a good education.

Lily Sarmiento– I was against the naval academy being put into Senn High School. I will fight as many times as needed to save the school that gave me the opportunity to become who I am today.

Wendy Boatman, Counselor– Support Senn! Save the high school! Fight Alderman Smith!

Ashley Lepse– I am a graduate of Senn High School. I was in the IB program, which has done an excellent job at preparing me for college. I now attend Illinois State University. Senn’s diversity has given me a huge advantage over many people from rich suburban schools.

Erwin Maldonado– SAVE SENN AND LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. DONT LET THEM TAKE OUR FUTURE!!!

Restrict Military Recruiters in the Schools

A grouping of people opposed to the militarization of the Chicago Public Schools has convinced the Board of Education to put on its agenda proposed guidelines to restrict military recruiters in the schools. Right now in many schools the military recruiters come and go as they want everywhere and anywhere in the school. They may go into classrooms and hallways to find students and talk them into signing up for the military. They do this because they have a quota to meet. The military is having deep trouble recruiting during these years in which the U.S. illegally and unjustly invades countries like Iraq or threatens Iran. They promise the students anything, if only they will sign up, often lying about money for college, not being in combat, gaining citizenship if they are undocumented immigrants, etc. There was an open meeting at the Board of Education on this topic Monday, December 10. The final resolution is scheduled for the next Board of Education full meeting, Wednesday, December 19. The aim is to at least restrict military recruiters to a table, to have them not actively solicit students, to have them not give out valuable items, and to register to enter a school a day or so in advance.

An Open Letter to the Cadets at Rickover Naval Academy (excerpts) By one of the regular distributors of Anchors Away

Cadets: …It’s safe to assume that we all love our country and want the best for it, both for ourselves and for future generations of Americans… Our differences–not with you cadets, but with the people responsible for establishing Rickover Academy at Senn — are by now well-known to you… It is clear to see (and also to understand why) the Navy is providing you with an education that serves to channel many of you into the military.

That wouldn’t be so objectionable if our country was fighting off a threat to our security and freedoms. But those of us in Save Senn, along with the majority of Americans and a great number of widely-respected political and military figures (including many generals and active duty personnel) believe that the war on Iraq is counter-productive and serves wealthy corporate interests at the expense of most Americans…. … keep in mind that critical thinking can be tricky, especially when an issue seems clear—because things aren’t always as they appear at first glance. … Critical thinking is far superior to blind trust in leaders… It simply requires you to evaluate for yourself…assertions so that you can decide for yourself whether or not you buy into it.

In wars today, as well as wars in the past, many young soldiers have committed terrible atrocities. Do you think they were all evil people, or was it that many were taught, trained, and intimidated into allowing others to think for them, to follow wrongful orders, to act in inhumane ways… Had they critically evaluated their leaders—by watching what their leaders were doing instead of simply listening to what they were saying—they might have been effective at amassing the numbers and strength to replace their poor leadership before things got out of control. …Unquestioning faith in leaders is an unacceptable substitute for true patriotism. We at Save Senn can only ask that you ask yourselves these questions:

1. Do I know why our armed forces invaded Iraq in the first place? If no weapons of mass destruction were ever found, and indeed our leaders later admitted that they were wrong, how could those same leaders tell us earlier that they had proof of their existence? And what were the consequences of Americans believing what they were saying without demanding reasonable proof?
2. If Iraq had nothing at all to do with 9-11, why do so many people here still want to connect the two? Who stands to gain by keeping Americans misinformed?
3. Can I “follow the money”—that is, draw a connection between who is pushing a certain agenda and their possible reason for doing so? For example, are the huge profits earned by oil companies being spent to influence the information being provided to us by political leaders and the media (many of whom have significant ties to that corporate wealth)? Does that fact that many in the Bush Administration have ties to corporations growing wealthy on this war indicate anything to me (the Bush family to the oil industry, Cheney to Haliburton, Condaleezza Rice to Chevron, etc…)?
4. If our soldiers are really fighting for democracy in Iraq, how does the benchmark that requires Iraq to turn over most of its oil to American and British oil companies support that mission?…

Hello all I am writing for online support and phone calling help right now.

Also Save the Date – Wednesday Dec 19. 6-8 pm – community action to support our school.

This issue is vital for all who beleive in an education for all students. Our school is predominantly immigrant (from over 70 countries!! Both undocumented and not) and African American. Therefore, is also vital for those who believe in immigrant rights. [37% African American. 39% Latin@. 13% Asian]

It is vital for those who fight against gentrification. It is vital for those who believe in fighting against union busting. It is vital for those who believe in fighting against privation. Renaissance 2010, Mayor Daley’s plan to open 100 new schools does these 3 things exactly.

Please show solidarity in 2 small ways 1) Sign the online petition and send this to all your friends! Let the whole world know that Senn High School fights! (The petition is pasted below, but you must go to the link to sign) Please post positive remarks. If you notice, the first 200 or so are Senn students and ex-students. http://www.petitiononline.com/SennHS/petition.html

2) CALL THE SCHOOL BOARD!! They hate phone calls. Please call and let them know that democratic input is vital before any decisions are made. FLOOD THEM WITH CALLS!!!! 773.553.1600 Petition: The most diverse high school in Chicago is under attack again by Alderman Mary Ann Smith. Four years ago, she undemocratically forced a Naval Academy inside Senn High School, despite a united school and community against the plan. http://www.substancenews.com/ content/view/144/81/

The Naval academy continues occupying our school to this day. Only 5% of the Naval Academy’s students come from within our attendance area.

Now, the Alderman wants to take away the rest of our school and open 4 small schools inside of Senn. Despite outright lies by the Alderman, Senn serves 70% of students in our attendance area.

The undemocratic Alderman had an opportunity to make Senn a better school by working with the Senn Strategic Planning Committee, the committe created to make Senn better. In fact, she had a representative on the committee. The committee was open to the public and included teachers, parents, and community members of Senn. After a year and a half of work, the committee developed a plan to improve Senn. However, the Alderman secretly developed her own plan, which plagiarized language and stole ideas from the Senn Strategic Plan.

Using her stolen ideas, she wants to kick out the type of students attending our school and replace them with “higher class” students. The naval Academy would stay of course!

Senn is not the first school to be attacked. This is part of Mayor Daley’s Renaissance 2010 plan. Many schools, like Austin and Englewood High Schools have already been shut down. More will be threatened. Help us stop gentrification and the destruction of public education in Chicago!

Our school serves blacks, latin@s, asians and immigrants from all over the world.

Our school has students from over 70 countries!

Alderman Smith wants to change that.

WE WILL NOT LET HER!

We the undersigned are against the Alderman’s undemocratic plan to close Senn.

WE SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC DECISIONS AND SUPPORT GIVING THE SENN STRATEGIC PLAN A CHANCE!

Additional info:

The LSC (Local School Council), along with the Senn community, developed a Strategic Plan. This plan is open and democratic. Mary Ann Smith participated in this plan. She usurped language from Senn’s Strategic Plan, and unilaterally and secretly developed another plan. Mary Ann Smith stole our language and ideas while she was secretly planning to stab us in the back. She chose to not work with the community. The Senn Strategic Plan includes:

Building a school with high academic standards and bringing in more innovative programs, Developing a culture of respect that promotes a positive learning environment, Delivering a safe campus environment by enforcing rules that will increase the safety of all students and reduce gang violence, while providing positive activities and opportunities for all students, Increasing the involvement of parents, businesses, institutions, neighbors, alumni and concerned individuals at Senn, and Educating internal stakeholders (faculty, staff, students and parents) about Senn’s programs, services and facilities This is an ongoing plan where student, teacher, and community input is encouraged.

Alderman Smith’s plan is being recommended to CPS by her. Mary Ann Smith lies and chooses her words carefully. She says that only 35% of students in the area choose to go to Senn. However, 70% of Senn students come from our attendance area. She says “no current students would be displaced.” However, 3 of the new schools would effectively be selective enrollment schools. Therefore, Senn will not serve OUR community students under her plan. Her plan has undemocratically and unilaterally called for:

Senn to stop enrolling Freshmen as of fall 2008 Reopening the building with 4 small schools, which would include Rickover Naval Academy staying. 3/4 of the schools would be magnet or performance schools. This plan circumvented Senn’s LSC and all community input. It would radically change the current student body. Her goal is to open new schools in the Senn building with her idea of the “right kind of student”.

This is the same plan we defeated in February ‘04 whe n Mary Ann Smith began the Senn Tomorrow Committee. We beat this plan once.
WE CAN BEAT IT AGAIN!!!

What You Can Do: Write letters to ALL Aldermen affected. Not Just Mary Ann Smith. Tactic - Getting other Aldermen to also challenge Mary Ann Smith. Senn students get displaced and they have to go to other - many already overcrowded – schools. These other schools will be drastically affected, as research by a DePaul professor with community activists has shown. http://www.uic.edu/educ/ceje/papers.html

· Receiving schools lack necessary resources, staff, and have had inadequate preparation for an influx of new students. · Teachers reported an influx of new students negatively affected academic work of all students at receiving schools. · Transfer of students across gang lines and into unfamiliar neighborhoods contributed to increased discipline problems, violence, and concerns about safety.

Support the LSC *** Support the Strategic Plan *** Support Senn High School

Following is the contact information for all of the Alderman whose wards are within Senn’s attendance area.

46th Ward Alderman Helen Schiller 4544 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60640 Phone: 773-878-4646 Fax: 773-878-4920 Ward46@cityofchicago.org 47th Ward Alderman Gene Schulter 4237 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60618 Phone: 773-348-8400 Ward47@cityofchicago.org 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith 4544 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60640 Phone: 773-784-5277 Fax: 773-784-5033 info@masmith48.org
49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore 7356 N. Greenview Ave. Chicago, IL 60626 Phone: 773-338-5796 jmoore@cityofchicago.org 50th Ward Alderman Bernard L. Stone 6199 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, Il 60659 Phone: 773-764-5050 bstone@cityofchicago.org 40th Ward Alderman Patrick J. O’Connor 5850 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60659 Phone: 773-769-1140 Ward40@cityofchicago.org

Closing Senn High School could affect the following high schools: Sullivan (49th Ward), Lake View (47th Ward), Amundsen (47 th Ward), Mather (40th Ward).

FIGHT FOR OUR SCHOOL!

Senn is for OUR youth!

YOU CAN’T TAKE OUR SCHOOL AND GIVE IT TO “HIGHER CLASS” STUDENTS!

We have a right to a good education too!

WHY CAN’T MARY ANN SMITH ADD THESE THINGS TO OUR SCHOOL WITHOUT KICKING OUT OUR STUDENTS?!

Mary Ann Smith double crossed the Senn Strategic Planning Committee. Her representative attended the meetings. She stole some of our ideas to make herself seem like the “good guy.”

DON’T LET MARY ANN SMITH LIE!

This change is not for our students!

THIS CHANGE WOULD KICK OUT OUR STUDENTS!

All students are welcome in our school.

Immanuel Lutheran Church 1500 West Elmdale (one block north of Senn’s parking lot)

chicagotribune.com Students fear Senn split Some worry alderman’s plan could force them out By Stephanie Banchero

Tribune staff reporter

November 23, 2007

Students at Senn High School have long prided themselves on being the city’s most diverse and inclusive student body. A sort of global village, the Edgewater school boasts teenagers from 70 countries who speak 30 languages.

But now, students and teachers at the Far North Side campus say the school’s diversity is threatened.

A proposal championed by Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) would break the sprawling campus into four small distinct schools, including a selective program that would take only the highest-scoring teenagers.

Senn students fear the plan would replace their multicultural school community with white, middle-class students who are moving into the rapidly gentrifying Edgewater community.

“They want to make it a school that we can’t get in to, a school where everyone looks the same,” said Asad Khan, a 17-year-old senior born in the United Arab Emirates.

“I’m angry because I feel like they don’t care about us,” added Jennifer Garcia, 14, a freshman born in Mexico. “I think diversity is a good thing, and I think they should want schools to be diverse.”

Garcia, Khan and a group of Senn students have organized to fight the alderman’s proposal. They plan to meet weekly and hope to get an audience with Smith.

“We have ideas to make our school better, too, and they should listen to us,” said Luci Salinas, a 17-year-old senior leading the charge.

The current student body hails from across the globe, with roots from Afghanistan to Nepal to Nigeria to Croatia. About one-third were born outside the United States, and two-thirds speak a language other than English at home.

Nearly 95 percent come from low-income homes and about 40 percent of students either enroll late or leave early.

“We have a vibrant community at this school, but we also have students that face great academic challenges,” Principal Richard Norman said.

Only 14 percent of Senn students passed the state Prairie State Achievement Exam, compared with a district average of about 30 percent. The average ACT score is 16.3 out of 32, also below the district average. And only about half the freshman are on track to graduate on time, according to district data.

Currently, Senn houses four academic programs: The general enrollment Senn; Rickover Naval Academy; an International Baccalaureate program; and a quasi-junior high school for 8th graders who have been held back so many times, they already turned 16 and are too old to stay in an elementary school.

A year ago, Senn officials launched a strategic planning initiative to further revamp the school. The committee completed its first draft last month. The 37-page proposal addressed diversity, safety and community involvement. But it had few specifics about improving academic achievement.

A few weeks later, Smith came out with a different, far more dramatic proposal.

That plan, which was presented to Chicago Public Schools officials earlier this month, calls for breaking Senn into four distinct schools within Senn’s walls.

The Rickover Naval Academy, already located in Senn, would remain. The other schools would be the selective enrollment program, a vocational education program focused on theater and technical arts, and a college-prep language arts academy.

Nancy Meyerson, Smith’s education aide, said the alderman’s proposal meshes with the school-created plan, which calls for developing more fine arts and international studies.

Meyerson pointed out that Senn’s enrollment has steadily declined, and that only 35 percent of students who live in the schools’ boundaries actually attend it. (Because Chicago allows students to apply to any high school, on average, a Chicago high school attracts about 45 percent of children in its attendance area.)

“There is a group of neighbors out there who are not sending their children to Senn, and we think we have an idea that will attract all the neighbors,” said Meyerson, who was a member of the school’s strategic planning committee. “This is a plan of inclusion, not exclusion. In many ways, I think the school would become more diverse.”

Chicago school officials said they have been briefed on the alderman’s plan, but said there are no immediate plans in the works to overhaul Senn.

But Senn students argue that if the alderman is unhappy with the academic performance of the school, she should pump more money into it. They complain about chipped paint on the walls, lackluster biology and chemistry labs, and a shortage of textbooks.

“If they want this school to be better, than give us the things we need to be successful,” said Ibrahim Sablaban, an 18-year-old senior enrolled in the IB program. “Don’t make us do without and then turn around and blame us.”

sbanchero@tribune.com

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

 Some students and others have wondered why the Save Senn Coalition continues to publish Anchors Away and continues to call for moving Rickover Naval Academy out of the Senn High School Building. It’s a done deal, some say. We say that continuing  the struggle is the path to a possible victory, and a needed victory since Senn High School needs its full space to be able to provide the highest quality education it can. Persistence is the way victories are sometimes won. And, in the meanwhile, people get better organized for the many other struggles that lie ahead. Here are some recent examples in which continuing struggle has led to some victories. Some may seem to be small victories, but a victory is a victory and can open the way for an even more victories for the people and democracy, for peace and justice. 

1. Reading, Writing, and Recruiting? The Save Senn Coalition and others in the city have pointed out that military academies in the Chicago Public Schools are a hidden way for the U.S. government to recruit young people for illegal and unpopular wars, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government over the years has had so much trouble recruiting young people for the military, that it has resorted to setting up military academies. As the Chicago Board of Education’s web site has pointed out, this has led to a recruitment rate of 40%, which is very high. The Board of Education isn’t dealing with the fact that allowing military recruiting within its programs is illegal– General Eric K. Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, testified under oath to the House Armed Services Committee, in reporting on the JROTC program “…we don’t recruit them [students]; as you know, we’re not permitted to do that…” (February 10, 2000). The victory so far here is that, as a result of the efforts of the Save Senn Coalition and others, a much bigger debate on the issue of military academies in the schools has taken place this past month. It has come up in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times and even been reported on by National Public Radio and the New York Times. When a new Marine Academy in the Chicago Public Schools was dedicated on October 15th, the Chicago Tribune recognized the issues involved with a big headline on top of the page 1: “Reading, writing, recruiting? Debate rages as city’s newest facility is dedicated.” Many people wrote to the editor to express their views. For example, Professors Erica R. Meiners and Therese Quinn wrote, “As faculty members who prepare educators to teach in Chicago’s schools, we know that Chicago’s students hope for skills and opportunities. Instead…the city’s administration is directing them to the armed forces…These Department of Defense (DOD) run schools enroll predominately low-income families of color… .We call for an immediate moratorium on the establishment of any DOD run military public schools in Chicago.”

2. Opt-Out Forms–Many people opposed to militarization of the Chicago Public Schools have urged the Board of Education to make opt-out forms easily available to students and parents to stop military recruiters from calling students at home. The Board of Education agreed two years ago, though it has not followed through well in making the forms easy to understand and readily available. However, for Report Card Day, The Tribune and Sun-Times reported that the Board of Education had agreed to have them for parents and students. So, this is another victory, though initial investigation shows that the opt-out forms were not available as easily as needed. If you did not get an opt-out at school, please request one.

3. Restrict the Movement of Military Recruiters–Those opposed to militarization of the Chicago Public Schools have also raised the issue of military recruiters freely roaming throughout the schools, harassing students, taking them out for hard-sell talks and getting them to sign forms. As a result of this issue being raised, the Board of Education is supposedly going to restrict the movement of military recruiters in the schools and insist that they follow the same guidelines as business or college or counter-military recruiters.

Senn Strategic Plan Calls for “Reclaiming Space”

The Senn Strategic Five-Year Plan has now been approved by the Local School Council (LSC) and many others. To be carried out, there will need to be an expansion of Senn H.S., and reclaiming of space taken by Rickover Naval Academy. The Senn Strategic Plan statement makes clear it is a vision of the future for Senn, building on Senn’s strengths, with the aim of transferring that vision into an actionable plan. The Plan proposes developing programs such as International Studies and fine arts, etc. To accomplish this, the plan states the need to “Identify/Reclaim space for these innovative programs,” with the LSC, alderman, and CPS listed as parties responsible for this. The work for identifying or reclaiming space is to begin before the end of December and be completed by May 2009. The Strategic Planning Partners who helped develop this plan include: Senn LSC, Senn Faculty, American Society for Training and Development, Alternatives Inc., Cardinal Point Learning, Deloitte Consulting, Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Edgewater Community Council, Executive Service Corps, Friends of Senn, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Alderman Patrick O’Connor, Organization of the NorthEast, State Representative Harry Osterman, Alderman Mary Ann Smith, Voices of Students. If everyone holds firm to the plan to make an improved and exciting future for Senn H.S., it follows that Rickover Naval Academy will have to leave the building.

What Is the Board of Education So Worried About? “From: Communications [of Chicago Public Schools], October 5, 2007, To all CPS personnel, Pleased be advised that the high school area formally known as the “Military Area Office” will now be called ‘Area 26.’ The Area 26 high schools are: Carver Military Academy, Chicago Military Academy, Marine Academy, Phoenix Military Academy, Rickover Naval Academy.”

Support the Anti-War Struggle and Struggle for Freedom of Speech at Morton H.S.

 On All Saint’s Day, November 1, a large number of students at Morton High School in Berwyn, Illinois staged a peaceful, non-violent protest against the U.S. war in Iraq and against the regular presence of military recruiters for that war in their cafeteria. The school administration, instead of praising the students for their  concern about the political and moral issues of our day, decided to punish them with suspensions and the threat of expulsion and harassment,   violating their right to free speech and  to assemble peacefully in the open  space of the cafeteria and nearby, especially since they were not   interfering with other students or classes. 
In response to the administration’s decision to punish the students, people from all over the country wrote in to support the students, including 5,000 on an on-line petition. Many, including from Senn H.S., attended and spoke out at the Board of Education meeting on November 7th.  The protest gained coverage far and wide, including in the New York Times. Even the Sun-Times took an editorial stand in support of the students and their right to protest, and against the arbitrary law and order stand of the school administration (“Unfair penalty for students who spoke up,” Sun-Times, 11/8/07).
Students at Senn would do well to extend as much support as they can to their fellow students who stood up against the illegal and unjust war, and think about what forms of protest they can to take up. As we said in the opening article, a victory in ending the U.S. war in Iraq, and preventing an illegal and unjust attack on Iran is possible. In case you don’t know, if there is an attack on Iran by the U.S. government or by its proxy Israel, there will be an emergency protest downtown at Federal Plaza   5 p.m. that day, and   5 p.m . the next day.