Changing School Culture in a Chicago Middle School

Chicago, Illinois - It has been a time of monumental change at Ames Middle School in the heart of Chicago. When Principal Lorraine Cruz arrived at the school in July 2004, she was the fourth principal in the school's six years and as she says, the school was in turmoil. "The teachers were really disheartened and the morale was very low. Children were running this place-not in a positive way. There were gangs in here," says Cruz, who has been an educator in Chicago for twenty years.

Located in Logan Square, at the border of west Humboldt Park and Hermosa Park, Ames is at the crossroads where four communities meet-in the same neighborhood where Cruz started a one-room schoolhouse for ESL and GED classes years ago.

The first thing Cruz did when she arrived at Ames was bring together the community-all four Aldermen, the principals of the feeder elementary and high schools, parents and community leaders. "As we started to look at the needs of the children and the community, Facing History fell right into place," she says.

Already familiar with Facing History because she taught it as a member of a three teacher interdisciplinary team, Cruz decided to make the program a core element of the school curriculum, thereby impacting the school's culture. Since then, Facing History's involvement at Ames Middle School has grown steadily, with it becoming the first school to participate in the Pritzker grant, a $150,000 gift to support the implementation of an in-depth Facing History curriculum in six Chicago Public Schools over a three-year period.

Facing History serves as professional development for teachers and staff in the areas of instruction, curriculum mapping and implementation. By September 2006, 95% of the entire faculty and staff will have participated in the program's professional development, including all teachers, the school social worker, dean of students, librarian, and support staff.

Cruz says, "Now we have one of the most comprehensive Facing History programs in Chicago.

The teachers have embraced the program because they have a hand in creating thematic units using Facing History resources-with support and guidance from Facing History staff. Cruz also requires anyone who works with the school-including partner organizations, tutors, and after-school coordinators-to be familiar with the program. "Facing History is the core-everything else fits around that.

"The biggest difference has been for students-especially the underrepresented children in this community-to see history and current events from the perspective of their culture, from the perspective of themselves.

Facing History has already made an impact, according to Cruz. "The biggest difference has been for students-especially the under-represented children in this community-to see history and current events from the perspective of their culture, from the perspective of themselves. Who are they and where do they fit into the community? Not just their neighborhood community, but how do they fit into the world? And how are they needed? What are the expectations for them for the future and how can they make change?"

"Facing History has really been a key way to teach kids about the issues at hand and give them an opportunity to form opinions without imposing the opinion of the adults-regardless of which side of the issue they're on. This year in particular, Facing History was at the forefront because we have students who were affected by the immigration situation," says Cruz. Regardless of whether their families were recent immigrants or citizens, ""Students realized we have a lot more in common than not. What a difference where you were born or a piece of paper makes-those became really critical conversations," says Cruz.

In the upcoming year, Ames students will connect with local elders, conducting oral histories that will tell the story of the community through the voices of its grandparents.

"I told someone the other day I'm jumping out of my skin. I wish that it were August 30th. There have been so many positive changes. I can't wait for the school year to begin," says Cruz.