January 31, 2018 The Skanner Page 9
News
Exhibit
ANDREW A. NELLES/U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
cont’d from pg 7
RAHMEMANUEL_02 Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the report a
testament to the hard work, progress and success of Chicago’s
remarkable students, teachers, principals and families. In this
photo, Emanuel speaks during the White House Summit on
Working Families Chicago Regional Forum at the Ralph Metcalfe
Building in Chicago, Ill., April 2014.
Chicago cont’d from pg 8
tively.
In June 2017, WBEZ
in Chicago reported
that even as CPS — the
state’s largest school
district — reeled from
an ongoing budget cri-
sis, an academic turn-
around has occurred.
For decades, the dis-
trict reportedly shoul-
dered a reputation of
being perennially chal-
lenged by poverty and
chronically
low-per-
forming schools.
In 1987, the U.S. Sec-
retary of Education de-
clared CPS the worst in
the nation.
“That’s not Chicago
anymore,” said Paul Za-
vitkovsky, a research-
er with the University
of Illinois at Chicago’s
Center for Urban Edu-
cation Leadership.
Research has also
revealed that Chicago
students, on average,
repeatedly outperform
their peers outside the
city.
Reardon, a leading
expert on education
equality in the United
States, presented an
analysis in November
that revealed Chica-
go’s students learn
and grow at a faster
rate than 96 percent of
school districts in the
country—including
wealthy districts.
Reardon’s
findings
also noted that, among
the 100 largest school
districts in the country,
Chicago has the highest
growth rate between
third and eighth grade;
and each successive CPS
class is outperforming
the class that came be-
fore and improving at
a rate far above the na-
tional average, accord-
ing to Reardon’s report.
“This report is a tes-
tament to the hard
work, progress and
success of Chicago’s
remarkable students,
teachers,
principals
and families,” Chicago
Mayor Rahm Emanu-
el said in a statement.
“CPS students make
Chicago proud every
day. They not only lead
in the classroom, they
lead the country in ac-
ademic growth, and
their achievements are
earning national recog-
nition and respect.”
Kate Phillippo, an
associate professor of
cultural and education-
al policy studies at the
School of Education at
Loyola University Chi-
cago, said she’s excited
to see increased learn-
ing growth in CPS.
“It’s important to note
what Chicago accom-
plished
specifically.
For example, its third
grade test scores are
still below the national
average, but its growth
is unusually high,” Phil-
lippo said.
While there’s no one
secret to success, initia-
tives at the school level
have clearly promoted
growth, she said.
“I think the Every
Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA) has the poten-
tial to support student
achievement,
giving
districts greater flexi-
bility about how they
approach curriculum,
and what learning sup-
ports they provide to
their students,” Phillip-
po said. “ESSA’s provi-
sion for less standard-
ized testing will also
free educators up from
a sense of pressure to
prepare students for
high-stakes tests. Fi-
nally, it is critical that
ESSA has kept in place
protections for eco-
nomically
disadvan-
taged students; that’s
one of the hallmarks of
ESSA.”
Learn more about the
Every Student Succeeds
Act at nnpa.org/essa.
fensive line in the 1970s,
played in all four of their
Super Bowl appearances.
He’s one of only two de-
fensive players ever vot-
ed the NFL MVP. He also
became the first black
justice on the Minnesota
Supreme Court, serving
22 years until he hit the
mandatory retirement
age of 70 in 2015.
The Pages timed the
exhibit to coincide with
the Super Bowl on Feb.
4 in Minneapolis, but he
noted that it also comes
“at this time when white
supremacy is raising its
ugly head” in ways that
he thought he would nev-
er see again.
“We hope the exhibit
will challenge people by
seeing what took place
in the past, and chal-
“
For me it
transports
me back to
that time
and that
place
lenge them in ways that
will cause them to think
about taking action, not
only to prevent them
from happening again,
but to end the effects of
that past, the effects that
still linger today,” he said.
It’s one thing to see
a picture of an artifact
from that era; it’s another
to actually stand in front
of it, said Lois Langer
Thompson, director of
the Hennepin County
Library system. She said
the library’s location on
the Nicollet Mall pedes-
trian zone, the site of a
10-day fan festival with
free concerts and oth-
er attractions, makes it
convenient for visitors
to stop by and see the ex-
hibit — and warm up.
Diane Page started the
collection about 30 years
ago after a friend point-
ed out that missing amid
the sleek decor and a cou-
ple of Andy Warhols on
the walls of their home
were any pieces of Afri-
can-American art or cul-
tural items to educate the
four Page children about
their heritage. Eventual-
ly, the couple would visit
antique stores and work
with dealers to fill their
home, and his Supreme
Court chambers, with ar-
tifacts from slavery and
the Jim Crow era.
“These items represent
facts,” he said. “Not some-
body’s opinion about
what happened. Not
somebody’s view about
what did or didn’t occur,
but actual facts. ... They
help me understand
where we are today. The
disparities in education,
our criminal justice
In this Jan. 11 photo, Alan Page, NFL Hall of Famer and retired Minnesota Supreme Court justice, stands
in Minneapolis. by a photo of Black babies labeled “Alligator Bait.” It is among the artifacts of slavery and
segregation collected by Page and his wife, Diane Sims Page. They went on display at the Minneapolis
Central Library this month in time for Super Bowl visitors and thousands of other people expected to flock
to downtown for the festivities.
system. For me the mes-
sage I get is that we hav-
en’t come to grips with
the discrimination that
comes, that came with
those facts. We haven’t
addressed the present ef-
fects of that past history,
the present effects of that
past discrimination.”
Daughter Georgi Page-
Smith took the lead in
assembling the more
than 100 items on display
in the exhibit, which in-
cludes a “testification
station,” made from her
father’s stand-up desk
from his chambers,
where visitors are invit-
ed to write their impres-
sions in a leather-bound
book.
“We knew it would
be very emotional,” she
said. “So we wanted to
create an area where
people could just stop for
a minute, and do a little
processing, and then re-
flect back to us.”
As part of the exhibit,
Alan Page will give a talk
Wednesday called “TES-
TIFY: It’s Not About the
Flag or the Anthem, It’s
About Justice.” He said
the controversy over
players kneeling during
the national anthem
misses the point.
“That debate about the
anthem and the flag is the
reddest of red herrings.
The point is that we have
injustice. And the ques-
tion is: what are we going
to do about that? Protest-
ing draws attention to
that injustice, but it’s a
tactic. It’s not a program
to end injustice. And so
one of the things I also
hope to do is encourage
those who would be in-
clined to protest to take
the next step, and take
some concrete actions
beyond merely drawing
attention to the problem,
and being involved in
steps to eliminate it.”
S weet
T
aste
FEB 24
of the
2018
A rts
PRESENTS
6:30 pm -
10 pm
DoubleTree by Hilton
1000 NE Multnomah St.
Portland, OR
TICKETS:
$100/individual
$190/couple
$720/table of 8
Attire is semi-formal to formal
(no jeans please).
A portion of the ticket price is deductible.
Join us as we celebrate accomplished local artists at “Sweet Taste of the Arts”
with fine dining, live music and dancing.
Enjoy performances from visual and theatrical artists, and musicians.
Our featured performer is vocalist La Rhonda Steele.
Choose entree, dessert and purchase tickets at
sweet-taste-of-the-arts.eventbrite.com or PassinArt.org.
PassinArt.org
PassinArtTheatreCompany