perspectives charter schools community newsletter spring/summer 2013

7/28/2019 Perspectives Charter Schools Community Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

1/4

Year ater year, 99% of Perspectives graduates areaccepted to college. As the acceptances roll in this

ear, students are receiving even more good news--millions o

ollars in college scholarships. In 2012, Perspectives graduatesarned more than $10 million in scholarships. Already thisear, three students have received ull scholarships to highly

ompetitive schools through the prestigious Posse Scholars

rogram. Eric Johnson, the CEO o Baldwin Richardson Foods

nd a riend o Perspectives, will ofer a full scholarship or

student to attend Babson College in Massachusettsas he

oes every year.

ony Seiden, the director o college counseling at Perspectives,

aid that the amount o money Perspectives graduates

eceive in scholarships isnt the result o luck or good ortune.

Getting money or college is a priority at Perspectives,

eiden said. Rather than letting students and amilies

avigate the complicated scholarship process on their own,

we spend dedicated time in class teaching students how to

esearch scholarships, write a scholarship essay, and get the

est recommendations rom teachers and other adults.

All Perspectives students submit at least 10 scholarships

uring their senior year. Seiden said that the financial windall that results rom

hese eforts helps students overcome the financial hurdles that oten prevent

alented students rom graduating college. Perspectives graduates persist in

ollege past their reshman year at a rate above the national averagein part,

ecause they can aford to do so, Seiden said.

Scholarshipsfor College-bound Grads

PerspectivesC O M M U N I T Y N E W S L E T T E R

MIDDLE SCHOOLSPUT STUDENTS ONTRACK TO COLLEGE

For Perspectives graduate Armani Buie, the path to co

began in middle school. Ater struggling at his neighbo

school as a 6th grader, he transerred into the first class aPerspectives Auburn Gresham campus. Six years later,attending the University o Illinois with grants and schola

covering his ull tuition.

The diference between Perspectives

and his old school was immediately

clear to Buie. At my last school, I

didnt get challenged, Buie said. At

Perspectives, they dont expect us toail. They hold us to a higher standard.

Buies story is not unique. Every year,

hundreds o students enter middle

school at Perspectives MiddleAcademy in Auburn Gresham, Perspectives RoD. Joslin Campus in South Loop, and at PerspectIIT Math & Science Academy in Bronzevilleand btime they start high school at Perspectives, they are onor college.

The key, according to Perspectives Middle Academy priSauda Porter, is Perspectives unique A Disciplined curriculum and culture, which helps students de

positive sel-perception, healthy relationships, and pe

productivity. Students and staf alike live the principlesDisciplined Lie, creating a school culture that is positive

and ocused on learning, Porter said.

Middle School students at Perspectives also have acce

opportunities and activities rarely available in middle s

At Perspectives Middle Academy in Auburn Greshapartnership with Elev8 program provides a comprehehealth center and dozens o ater-school programs.

studies and community action days take students

corners o the city, rom museums to homeless shelters.

Too many schools wait until high school to ocus on prep

students or college, Porter said. At Perspectives, we that the path to college begins with the opportunities we

in middle school.

SPRING/SUMMERDUCATING FOR COLLEGE, PREPARING FOR LIFE

www.pcsedu.org email: enroll@pcsedu

enrollnowAccepting6-12 grade applications

at [email protected]

or 773-358-6398

Perspectives AluArmani Buie

Living A Disciplined Life


2/4

David designs a guitar during his internship

at IIT.

Manipulating DNA samples, building robots, creating 3D modelsjust another day at the

o ce or Perspectives juniors. More than three hundred Perspectives juniors recently

completed internships at dozens o businesses throughout the city and suburbs, thanks to

volunteer internship mentors who provide students with an introduction to the proessional

world.

Whether they are working in a law o ce, a science lab, or a daycare center, our juniors learn

how to build relationships, communicative efectively, and navigate a proessional setting, said

Perspectives CEO Rhonda Hopps.

David Baker, the director o external afairs at the Illinois Institute o Technology (IIT), has

served as an internship mentor or the past five years. This year, he drew on the vast resources

o IIT to give students experience in a wide variety o areas, rom analyzing tra c patterns to

using state-o-the-art abricating technology to build lanterns.

Our goal is to expose our interns to careers in science and technology, and hopeully get them

interested in attending IIT, said Baker, who is a Perspectives board member. One ormer intern,

Sunny Chan, earned a full scholarship to IIT last year.

David Ermon, a junior at Perspectives/IIT Math & Science Academy in Bronzeville, isgoing to keep visiting a proessor at IIT ater his internship ends to work on finishing a guitar

that they started building during the internship. I will never orget the opportunities I got

through the internship program, Ermon said.

INTERNSHIPS OPEN A

Fity Perspectives students traveled to Washington, DC or the second inauguration

o President Barack Obama, thanks to a donation rom Perspectives board chair

Larry Ashkin. Hundreds o students wrote essays or the opportunity to attend

the inauguration, and the winners traveled overnight on a charter bus with their

teachers. They watched the ceremony with CBS correspondent Jay Levine, who

shared interviews with students and teachers during the CBS Evening News.

Student Jamari Jackson said the experience was mind-blowing.

Obamas speech exemplified so many o the A Disciplined Lie principles that

our students learn and practice every day, said Perspectives CEO Rhonda Hopps.

He spoke o solving conflicts peaceully, showed compassion or Americans oall backgrounds, and gave our students a great example o how to communicate

efectively.

Ater the ceremony, students walked the National Mall beore another overnight

bus trip that arrived in Chicago just beore the start o school the next day.

Perspectives High School o Technology teacher Allison Novak said the students

were exhausted but grateul or the once-in-a-lietime opportunity. This trip

reiterated how amazing our scholars truly are, Novak said.

Students Travelto DC for

World of Opportunity

INAUGURATION

www.pcsedu.org email: enroll@pcsedu

Laura interns with Vida Winans at IIT.

Living A Disciplined Life


3/4

GRAD TALKS ABOUT ANEDUCATION SECRETA DISCIPLINED LIFE

By Miguel Jimenez, Joslin 03

As a young student, I was resistant to A Disciplined Life (ADL). Like manyteenagers, I was critical of anything that looked like a rule. I quickly realizedthat ADL wasnt a set of rulesit was a way of being. Perspectives providedtime and space to reflect on the 26 principles of ADL, practice them, andrecognize their positive impact on our lives.

We lived ADL every day. On the bus or train, we showed compassion and

generosity by giving up our seat or someone in need. We would listen actively

by taking notes during a lecture or museum visit. We asked questions because

we were intellectually curious. We listened closely to others because we knew

that to communicate efectively we needed to listen respectully.

I graduated rom Rodney D. Joslin Campus in the South Loop with a sel-

awareness and sel-reflection that people recognized and praised in college.

At DePauw University, I earned a bachelors o arts in Creative Writing. I then

earned a masters in fine arts at Caliornia State UniversityFresno.

I am now a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Istill value the ADL education given to me at Perspectives. This past semester,I was stunned to learn that one o my students was a Perspectives graduate.

We talked about Perspectives and ADL at length. Here she was, my student, 10

years in age diference, and we were chatting about ADL like it was the secret

to lieperhaps because it was the secret to both o our lives.

I recently ended a class with an unrehearsed pep talk, and ound mysel

reerencing principles o ADL. You have to think critically and be inquisitive,

I told my students. I caught mysel directly quoting A Disciplined Lie, and I

thought o Perspectives, and o my studentthe Perspectives graduate

sitting in ront o me. On a whim, I asked her to finish of my pep talk with an

ADL principle. Accept only quality work rom yoursel, she said, smiling at our

inside knowledge, smiling at our secret.

email: [email protected] Living A Disciplined Life

SELF-PERCEPTION

Accept only quality workfrom yourself

Take responsibility foryour actions

Seek wisdom

Be open-minded

Think critically and beinquisitive

Love who you are

Demonstrate honesty,integrity, and decency

Be generous Be a life-long learner

Live a healthy lifestyle

RELATIONSHIPS

Communicate effectively

Challenge each otherintellectually

Show gratitude

Solve conflicts peacefully Respect each others

differences

Be positive and supportivof each other

Show compassion

PRODUCTIVITY

Demonstrate a strongwork ethic

Use your time wisely

Listen actively

Be punctual and prepared

Be organized

Be reflective

Be reliable

Take initiative

Demonstrate perseveranc

PRINCIPLESA DISCIPLINELIFE26

THE


4/4

PerspectivesC O M M U N I T Y N E W S L E T T E R

CHARTERSCHOOLS

1530 S. State Street

Chicago, IL 60605

773.358.6105

Our SchoolsRodney D. Joslin Campus

Grades 6121930 South Archer AvenueChicago, IL 60616

Perspectives Middle Academy Grades 68Perspectives High School of Technology Grades 912Perspectives Leadership Academy Grades 9128131 South May StreetChicago, IL 60620

Perspectives/IIT Math & Science Academy Grades 6123663 South Wabash AvenueChicago , IL 60653

4

3

5

1

2

www.pcsedu.org

email: [email protected]

Like us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/perspectivescs

Follow us on Twitter

http://twitter.com/pcsedu

perspectives charter schools community newsletter spring/summer 2013

Documents