Back-to-School Bash for Network 9 on Friday, August 9

The Network 9 (and Network 17) Back-to-School Bash will be held at Williams Prep High School (4934 S. Wabash) on Friday, August 9 from 2pm-5pm.

There will be music, food, games and performances. Students will receive free school supplies and there will be lots of information for parents.

Click here for more information.

Public input needed re: selection and training of police officers in schools

CPS has partnered with Chicago Police to discuss feedback regarding selection criteria & training for police officers who serve in schools. Several meetings with different days/times are being held: 

Saturday, July 20 - 10-noon - Hamilton Park - 513 W. 72nd St

Monday, July 22 - 6-8pm - Piotrowski Park - 4247 W. 31st St

Wednesday, July 24 - 6-8pm - Warren Park - 6600 N. Western Ave

All of these meetings are open to the public.  

No HPKCAC meetings in July & August; next meeting on September 25

The Hyde Park-Kenwood CAC will take a break this summer and not meet in July and August. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 245 at Dyett HS at 6pm.

At the September meeting we'll discuss putting on a third Jane Averill Community Reading Day. Please come with a picture book you think would be good for us to use for the event.

Have a good summer!

Workshop on best practices for school facilities and programming on July 12-13

RYH and Blocks Together are putting on a special workshop, 

Schools as Anchors: Communities Planning for Their Schools,

coming up on Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13, at Beidler Elementary school in Garfield Park. All the details are in this eventbrite.

Parents and community leaders are invited to learn more about best practices in planning for school facilities and programming from Mary Filardo, Executive Director of the 21st Century School Fund.

Through practical workshops guided by national experts and local practitioners, your school community will learn best practices for:
• the joint use of buildings
• proposing new attendance boundaries
• developing new programs to recruit students
• potential school mergers

Please reach out to Joy Clendenning (joy@ilraiseyourhand.org), Jennie Biggs (jennie@ilraiseyourhand.org), or Jianan Shi (jianan@ilraiseyourhand.org) with any questions.

Click here for the flyer.

Next HPKCAC meeting on Wednesday, June 26 at UofC's Edelstone Building

The next meeting of the HPKCAC will take place on Wednesday, June 26 at the University of Chicago's Edelstone Building, 6030 S. Ellis, room 190, from 6-8pm.

There is a parking lot at 61st and Ellis (immediately adjacent to the building) that is free after 5pm and available for you to park in; street parking should also be available.  

We'll be hearing from Representative Tarver about his work in Springfield and we'll be discussing Eve L. Ewing's book, Ghosts in the Schoolyard.

Everyone is welcome.

LIFT offering support to families with children

The group LIFT works with parents who have children to help them achieve their goals. The goal is to have a 2-generational impact. They now have an office at 47th and Cottage Grove (710 47th Street) -- open by appointment. Families are identified in a variety of ways and HPKCAC members are invited to spread the word. LIFT has been around for 20 years and on the South Side for 4 years. 312-316-1899; chicago@whywelift.org; WhyWeLIFT.org.

They offer free, personalized career coaching; free financial coaching; support with pursuing education and career goals. Members are eligible for ~$600 stipend for participating in the coaching program.

Click here for the flyer.

Interested parents should complete this form.

Next HPKCAC meeting to take place Wednesday, May 22 at Dyett HS

Our next meeting will take place this Wednesday, May 22 at Dyett HS from 6-8pm. 

Topics for the meeting include 1) follow up ideas after hearing from Chief Equity Officer, Dr. Maurice Swinney, last month and 2) a presentation about how to use Twitter effectively by Lorraine Richardson. Using social media effectively can be a good way to advocate for our schools.

Everyone is welcome.