R.I.P. Bill Campbell

 I'll put this on here since I've mentioned Bill Campbell on this blog. Campbell was well known for his appearances on WLS-TV or ABC 7 Chicago up until 2010 when he retired from the station. It was noted on this blog in 2017 that he was recovering from a stroke and any help that could be contributed to his convalescence was then noted on his former employer WLS [VIDEO].

WLS: Bill Campbell, former ABC7 colleague, recovering from stroke

[VIDEO] When I found this video on WLS' YouTube channel I looked up Bill Campbell's linkedin page. Had no idea he went to Harlan Community Academy and eventually launched his career in local TV until he retired from our local ABC affiliate in 2010. I also heard that he also attended Bennett Elementary School so alright.

In this video it was revealed that he suffered a stroke, and as a fellow alum of both schools wish him a speedy recovery. Now GO FALCONS & because I'm old school and somewhat disappointed that Bennett has changed their mascot GO BADGERS!!!!

Bennett School has a new website

http://bennettes.org/

I'm ecstatic that somehow I found a new website for Bennett School after a Google search. Over six years ago I found a different iteration of this website which has long since went offline.

This website has a lot more information about the staff of Bennett School and hopefully they will continue to add more information regarding the neighborhood elementary school in the future. So far I like and especially emphasized some of the architectural details of Bennett.

If they need any help with content I would be happy to volunteer. They'll probably never ask though. :P

BTW, I will say sometimes I wish the many public schools in Chicago utilize the many tools available to alert the public about their activities. Bennett now has a website but they could also use a Twitter, Instagram or a Facebook page. The surrounding neighborhood should know what's going on there even if they don't have any children going to school their. The local school is a neighbor after all.

ALSO another school neighbor has also updated their website, Harlan High School which is reflective of a new principal change as well. Harlan - GO FALCONS - also developed more of a social networking presence and then mysteriously stopped. This is definitely an example where they should use these various tools to let the community know what's going on there, especially some of the good news involving students.

DISCLOSURE: I'm an alum of both Bennett School and Harlan High School

CPS enrollment: Drops, rises and consequences

Via @ChiTribGraphics

A page you should look at via Chicago Tribune. That in addition to the graphic above:

Chicago Public Schools released 10th-day enrollment statistics and projected changes to school budgets and special education staffing as a result of the changes in enrollment. This is the first year CPS is using this student-based budgeting policy where enrollment is more important than ever. Changes to funding and positions will be finalized based on enrollment as of the 20th day of the school year.

For two of our local schools:

• Bennett
• Harlan 

And of course search for more 10th day enrollment information here.

FYI: Bennett Elementary Parent Advisory Council Meeting

Bennett School - 10112 S. Prairie Ave.

 Received this e-mail on Sunday. Hopefully there is some interest in attending this meeting:

• Bennett Elementary Parent Advisory Council is sending an invitation to the Roseland community organizer to join our first meeting on March 6, 2015 at 6pm. As the new chairwoman, I will like to provide our parents with the best support from Bennett P.A.C, 9th Ward Alderman, and community organizers of Roseland Heights.
  
  
  Bennett Elementary Parent Advisory Council Meeting
  Bennett Elementary School
  10112 S. Prairie Ave.
  Chicago, IL 60628
  March 6, 2015
  6:00 pm
  
  Thank you,
  
  P.A.C Chairwoman
  Mattie Carter
  M.A. Geography Economic Development
  Certified Community Developer
  
  

What to do with the closed Shedd School building?

Shedd School back in April 2012

While not part of the official closed schools list Shedd School, branch of Bennett Elementary School, had been closed down as of this year. While disappointing it probably shouldn't have been a huge surprise.

Having attended many meetings of the Bennett-Shedd Local School Councils it was noted that there have been an enrollment decline attributed to families either moving from the area or wanting to take advantage of other educational options such as charter schools. Whatever affected Bennett also affected Shedd School as well.

Whatever prompted this decision, Shedd School is now an empty building just like many around the city that have been closed in the past year mainly due to underutilization. Many communities affected are probably considering what they can do with these decommissioned school buildings. Can we afford to let them sit empty without a general use?

Over at RAGE's FB page there was an article about how a Kansas City neighborhood has come to grips with this issue. They turned one closed school into a community center.

If I recall correctly, this was something that was proposed by former 6th ward Ald. Freddrenna Lyle when unsuccessfully she ran for re-election back in 2011. Although in this case closing down schools hadn't yet found itself on the city let alone the 6th ward's radar. She proposed that when school is not in session that the buildings themselves be turned over to the community for their use.

So we have plenty of closed school buildings throughout the city perhaps it's time to figure out a use for them or at the very least re-imagine a use for the land they sit on. Hopefully if enrollment doesn't turn around for Bennett in the next few years I could see Shedd School becoming at least the new meeting place for the Roseland Heights Community Association for example

Also, if you want to see one argument in favor of school closings here's one presented by Artistmac in one of his YouTube vids. This is added while recognizing that there are many who are still upset with the school closings this year.

Finally, the pic below shows a sign announcing that for the 2013-14 school year all students will be attending the sister school at Bennett Elementary located at 10115 S. Prairie Ave in the nearby Rosemoor neighborhood. The sign was still posted to the backdoor of Shedd where in the past students would line up before classes would start for the day.

Bennett-Shedd LSC: Principal selection and other issues...

Bennett Elementary School

I like to talk about about what goes on at Harlan's LSC, but I rarely talk about Bennett-Shedd's LSC here. It's not like there's much going on to report at Harlan anyway. Although it's great to hear them trumpet some of there accomplishments at Harlan as far as the students go.

Basically the main thing going on at Bennett-Shedd is that they're just now starting their search for a principal. The process might have started at either the April and certainly the May LSC meeting when they wanted to draft a statement to announce their opening at the elementary school.

If you haven't been particularly familiar with Bennett-Shedd, the original principal was Barbara Ellis who passed away in January of this year. In honor of her legacy Bennett School's library was named the Dr. Barbara J. Ellis Media Center. On the next Monday after the May 2011 LSC meeting there were some events scheduled to commemorate the dedication of the library which was under renovation.

In any event, there should be a posting out there for the Principal vacancy for Bennett-Shedd Elementary School. It should be noted that that the assistant principal, Roberta Fields, announced at the May LSC meeting that she planned to apply for that position . She could be an interesting choice and provide a certain amount of continuity.

So, I've been attending these LSC meetings since October 2010 when Mrs. Ellis was still principal. Of course in the wake of her untimely passing it was noted - mainly by the LSC chairman Mr. Cartman - that Mrs. Ellis took care of a lot of things that LSC was supposed to have taken care of. Now that she's gone they have to take care of business now.

Since about February or so, the LSC meetings have been attended by a CPS representative who breaks in to give the council pointers on how to conduct their meetings. It could be on parliamentary procedures, on how the LSC needs to stay focused, taking the roll such as noting who's not physically in the room, in addition to urging LSC members to start their meetings on time. Yesterday's meeting was close to 30 minutes overdue!

It's safe to say that during the months when it was time to start a principal search, there are some things that need to be done differently. At that hopefully the sooner they start searching the sooner that Bennett-Shedd will find and offer a contract to the best candidate for Principal. This would definitely be a case of staying focused.

Another thing noted is that the CPS representative wants the LSC to be sure that they publicize the date of their next meeting on the agenda that's passed out at every meeting. They could also announce that date during the course of the meeting. While I did have a list of dates for LSC meetings during the 2010-2011 year sometimes they would change the scheduled dates. In fact there have been some specially called meetings and I would have little idea until I either see the board at either Shedd or Bennett or notice the agendas of other meetings that were missed.

Well I believe it was noted at this month's regular meeting that there will be a special meeting called and that should take place on Monday @ 4:30 PM. The LSC went into a closed session near the end of the meeting to further discuss the Principal vacancy. The main point of this meeting was to have parents give feedback on the process but only one parent showed up and she was involved with the Parent Advisory Council. In addition they wanted to create surveys for not only teachers but for parents. They also wanted to possibly offer a survey for the surrounding community as well.

There is a question that should be asked by all concerned about the Principal vacancy. What are they looking for in a new Principal? That would be my question, shall report on the answer!

FYI: Bennett School is located at 10115 S. Prairie Ave and its Shedd School branch is located at 200 E. 99th Street.

EDIT: Had to fix the address for Bennett School sorry about that!