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Poverty
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
3:26pm
Tue Jun 11

Report Reveals 1 In 5 Schools Considered 'High-Poverty'

About one in five public schools was classified as high-poverty in 2011, according to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics.

In comparison, about one in eight schools was considered high-poverty in 2000. Schools are labeled high-poverty when 75 percent or more of the enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Over the past two decades, the percentage of school-age children living in poverty has also increased, according to the report, “The Condition of Education 2013." 

“If poverty is increasing, there should be an increase in support for education, and instead our education policies nationally and locally are going the opposite direction,” said Pauline Lipman, professor of educational policy studies and director of the Collaborative for Equity and Justice in Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
4:38pm
Fri Jun 7

Half Of America’s Seniors Have Dangerously Low Incomes, New Report Shows

Nearly half of the country’s senior citizens are economically vulnerable, a new report from the Economic Policy Institute finds.

About 19.9 million, or 48 percent, of America’s seniors have incomes that are less than two times the supplemental poverty line, according to the report.

Jo Reed, director of the Elder Economic Security Initiative at Wider Opportunities for Women, said it is often poorly understood just how economically vulnerable older adults are, particularly women and people of color. Senior debt levels are also reaching record levels, she explained.

“We want to call attention to this reality, and based on this do everything we can to ensure that there are programs and policies in place that bolster the economic security for our elderly,” Reed said.

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PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
3:59pm
Fri Jun 7

Walmart Workers Call For A Living Wage, Better Work Conditions (VIDEO)

Labor

When Larry Born’s privately-owned retail business closed its doors during the recession in 2009, he sought employment at Walmart. He said he didn’t know it at the time, but he walked into a “predatory employer” that pays “slave wages.” Born was one of nearly 100 people who protested outside Chicago’s Walmart Express store, at 570 West Monroe St., to demand better wages and improved working conditions for the employees of the world’s largest retailer.

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
2:35pm
Wed Jun 5

Parent Mentor Program Retains Funding, Hundreds Complete First Year Of Classroom Integration (VIDEO)

Nearly 500 participants in the statewide Parent Mentor Program “graduated” Tuesday morning, as they successfully completed at least one semester of assisting teachers and students in the classroom.

The event marks the first parent mentor graduation since the program expanded across Illinois last spring. From 28 schools last year, to 59 today, trained parents are incorporated into more than 400 classrooms statewide, from Moline to Aurora.

Attendees, numbering roughly 700, also celebrated the reallocation of a $1 million grant from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

The event was hosted at Charles Darwin Elementary School — which had 18 parents graduate — on Chicago’s Northwest Side in Logan Square.

“Many moms, especially immigrant moms like myself, they don’t know how to approach the school, but the Parent Mentor Program opens the doors of the school and they are more likely to bridge some of the barriers they might face in every day life,” said Leticia Barrera, 40, education organizer for the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA). Read more »

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
5:26pm
Fri May 31

IL Anti-Hunger Advocates In A 'Mode Of Outrage' Over Cuts In The Farm Bill

Congress

Anti-hunger advocates in Illinois are warning the proposed cuts in the U.S. Farm Bill will cause great devastation to the more than 2 million individuals and families in the state who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Progress Illinois takes a look closer at the issue. 

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
4:38pm
Thu May 30
1 comment

CPS' Push For Privatized Charter Schools Promotes Inequality, Education Panelists Say (VIDEO)

The ongoing push for charter schools across the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district may infringe upon the fundamental human right to equal opportunity for education, according to a group of panelists who discussed privatization and education at the University of Chicago Wednesday night.

“Leaving people out of education is unacceptable ... Not having access to good public schools is a human rights issue,” said Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), who sat on the panel with David Moberg, senior editor of In These Times and Susan Gzesh, executive director of the University of Chicago’s Human Rights Program.

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Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
10:16am
Wed May 22

Education Activists Trek To Springfield To Lobby For Moratorium On School Closings (VIDEO)

Education activists headed to Springfield early Wednesday morning to lobby for a moratorium on school closings. Their campaign for legislative action comes on the same day as the Chicago Board of Education votes on a proposal to close a record-breaking number of public schools in Chicago. Meanwhile, the Illinois General Assembly has less than one month left in the spring session, which ends May 31.

“We’re going to put pressure on state legislators,” said Hueron Wilks, a senior staff member of Action Now and one of Wednesday’s trip organizers. “Our representatives have failed their constituents, they could have done something about these school closings a long time ago.”

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