West Side Education Movement Growing

Every Block a Village has been coalition-building over the past 8 months to develop a community-led strategy to increase enrollment in Austin’s neighborhood schools and provide hope for the future of our children and Chicago’s West Side. Austin Career and College Prep was once the largest high school in the country according to alumni from the school’s Class of 1956. Several alumni have joined Every Block a Village’s Education Committee meetings each Tuesday at 12:00pm. They remember when their school was at full capacity and provided a range of programs for students to take advantage of. 167 students are currently enrolled at Austin CCP.

What was once Douglass Middle School — a former feeder school to Austin High — Douglass High School has only 32 students. Upheaval from dozens of school closures and the proliferation of charter schools has taken children out of their communities, left them at the whim of experimental curricula, and subject for . Students who are not chosen for selective enrollment schools and those who are dropped from charter schools still deserve access to an effective, enriching and inspiring education in their communities.

EBV’s coalition of concerned neighbors, parents, alumni, community organizations and churches is seeking all the support we can get for our efforts to support our local schools through community engagement, advocacy and strategic partnerships. Join our meetings to help us define the vision for the West Side’s neighborhood schools. We strongly encourage parents (CPS and non-CPS) and concerned residents to join our e-mail list.