Instant Messages: 'Inside Room 206'

Last Updated: August 7, 2006

On Friday, Sunday and Monday, the Chicago Sun-Times chronicled the first year at the new Donoghue campus of the University of Chicago Charter School.

I am a parent of two Donoghue students. In the fall, I will enroll my third child. I am proud my children are among the first students to attend an outstanding new school. If Kate Grossman had interviewed me, as the chair of the school's Parent Teacher Community Organization, this is what I would have told her:

-The school's goal is to provide all its children with a rigorous academic program. It welcomes all families who want their children to be engaged in hard, intellectual work. We parents are united in wanting our children to be prepared for college.

-All year long, my children's teachers taught my sons to the highest standards of learning. I have observed other teachers doing the same for all their students. They never wavered in their dedication and always believed in our children's capacity to learn.

-Not only were my sons taught by their classroom teachers their first year at Donoghue, but they also benefitted from the instruction of the literacy coordinator, the after-school instructors and the Urban League, which runs the Boys Leadership Institute every Saturday.

-Donoghue's students are diverse, but the diversity doesn't stem from socioeconomic class. The overwhelming majority of Donoghue's students — 85 percent — are eligible for free or reduced lunch. The diversity is seen in the richness of their individual interests and passions. One of my sons was among the artists who created the beautiful mural on the outside of the school.

-At the start of the year, only 13 percent of the children met the reading benchmark. By the end of the year, this figure rose to 52 percent. Students learning and achieving is what the articles should have highlighted — not one teacher's struggles over the course of the year and not one parent's views on other parents and their children.

Enabling all children to learn at high levels is the single biggest challenge facing public schools in Chicago and cities across the nation. In its first year, the Donoghue campus of the University of Chicago Charter School has produced results for children that show remarkable progress toward this goal. Last fall, only 18 percent of Donoghue's kindergarten students met or exceeded the expected prereading benchmark. By June of this year, a remarkable 84 percent were reading at or above benchmark.

Over the course of the year, more than 100 parents, the majority of Donoghue's parents, participated in each of 11 family nights held by the school. The family nights served to deepen understanding of the school's literacy and mathematics programs and to enable families to connect with each other and the faculty in support of the academic achievement of Donoghue's students.

Every single Donoghue teacher enabled students to make more than one year of progress in learning how to read. This summer, every single Donoghue teacher is participating in mathematics, literacy and writing institutes to hone their instructional knowledge and skills.

Donoghue was able to produce these outcomes because it is a school singularly focused on providing all its children with rigorous instruction and comprehensive social supports that will enable every single student to learn and achieve at high levels.

I am speaking on behalf of several supportive mothers and fathers of students that attend Donoghue. We think it is fabulous to have a charter school in our community with a very strong structured academic program developed by the University of Chicago. We also think it is fabulous to have our children surrounded with children "who look like them." You know, the guinea pigs you spoke about in your article. We are hurt that you would be so graphic to describe the living environment and behavioral issues of some of our children. We thought it was hurtful, degrading, and unnecessary, and the majority of the parents are offended!

You emphasized everything that is negative. But we subscribe to the premise that children can learn and succeed, no matter what the living environment may be. They just need someone to care about them, give them that mustard seed to believe that all things are possible, and we can just sit back and watch them blossom into beautiful, smart, respectful, successful, responsible adults.

INSIDE ROOM 206 Week by week, Kate N. Grossman watched the bold experiment unfold from inside Room 206 at the U. of C.'s new Donoghue campus.

• Part One: One classroom, many classes
• Part Two: Doubts emerge in school experiment
• Part Three: Grading the school year
• Instant Messages: Readers respond to series
• About this series: Inside Room 206

It is our responsibility, as parents, to make sure our children shine, and we will do just that! We would like for you to print the abundance of positive things going on in Donoghue and what Donoghue is doing for this community (not just one paragraph but a three-part series). Write that our director visits classrooms daily, teaches subjects at times and knows EVERY student by their name. Write about the Parent Center that is filled with resources open for the community. Write about the parents that worked very hard to have six successful fund-raisers that raised over $5,000. Write about our partnership with the Urban League and 100 Black Men that dedicate their time and energy every Saturday to teach our young boys how to grow into men. Please give credit to our amazing teachers, who go beyond the call of duty to teach our children and parents!

As parents, we will not sit back and allow you to hurt our children, teachers, and community. We are proud parents that love our community and school. We may be poor financially but we are rich in so many other ways. We are a family, and we will not allow you to portray us into something other than that. This is not an experiment, it is a collective effort to educate our children, and we will succeed!

-- Robin Colbert, chair of Donoghue parent fund-raising committee

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The things that Kate Grossman said about Donoghue School and me [''1 classroom, many classes: New U. of C. charter school mixes poor, better-off kids -- will it work?'' Part 1 of three-part series ''Inside Room 206: An experiment in class,'' July 21] was a huge embarrassment to my mom and I because she wrote that I was one of the most problem students in class. Because of what Kate Grossman said in the Sun-Times, people at my barber shop where I get my haircut think I act up in school. I used to, but I changed. I hope my new fourth-grade teacher wouldn't think bad of me because of what Kate Grossman said. Mrs. Brady also embarrassed me because she told Kate Grossman all those bad things. But Mrs. Brady told me to talk to her if there is a problem. So if I did, she would say not right now, so I tried to handle it myself, then I got in trouble. Now my mom's friends think I'm a bad kid.

-- Justyn Standford, third grade, Donoghue School

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That was one of the best pieces of education reporting I have ever read. How refreshing it is to hear a detailed description of the ups and downs of a new school and its classrooms from the points of view of students, parents and teachers. These three stakeholders are the least heard voices in the efforts to improve schools, and your article provided a wonderful window into their diverse perspectives. Thanks for your hard work and illuminating reporting.

-- Brian Brady, executive director, Mikva Challenge

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I just read your article in [Friday's] Sun Times, and although some points made in the article ring true, some opinions of some of the other parents I don't agree with. I'm a firm believer that although income can play some parts, it does not have to dictate your child's behavior. It's fundamentally true that every parent wants the "Best" for their child; however financially they may not be able to provide it, you can still nurture that desire to learn and want the best in that child. The mix of socioeconomics can have its advantages and disadvantages. I think it's up to the parents of Donoghue and the staff to make sure that everyone succeeds. I was impressed with some of the workshops and classes that Donoghue offers its parents and students.

I feel you should get a broader poll of how parents really feel. 'So far so good' is my thought. Just this week, I went to a parent and child workshop (free) and the topic was Conflict Resolution and Disciplining. The help is out there and I commend the staff.

--Monique

Donoghue parent

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Excellent article in the Sun- Times. You have really captured the challenge of teaching in the inner city. Thank you very much. But one question -- you end the article [in part one], "It's up to Donoghue to give them a reason to stay." True -- the teacher plays a very important role, but suddenly the corporate establishment behind the Renaissance 2010 plan to privatize Chicago public schools is putting all the blame on the teachers for "failing schools." But there are many factors the teacher cannot control, as your article has pointed out (you're actually asking for a superhero to save these kids).

-- Jim, Chicago Public School teacher

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I really enjoyed your article. It is an admirable thing that U of C is doing, but the path is not an easy one. You did a good job showing the pros and cons of the situation.

-- Kris, South Shore