An Alternative Experience

Northside College Prep student joins Chicago's all-star spoken word team

My sixth beat story for Newswriting.

A Northside College Prep senior will be one of six Chicago area high school students representing the city in this year's Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival.

Matt Ramir, 18, won the third-place individual speaker award after competing with his school's slam poetry team at Sunday's Louder Than A Bomb Teen Poetry Festival presented by Young Chicago Authors. The top six individual speakers at LTAB were selected to form an all-star spoken word team and compete at Brave New Voices, to be held at the Chicago Theater this summer.

As a first-time LTAB competitor who joined on a whim, Ramir said the win came as a surprise.

“It was amazing, winning third,” Ramir said. “The shock is still setting in. But I'm so glad people heard me.”

The Chicago team will be one of 50 teams at this year's competition, being held from July 14 through July 19. Brave New Voices is a part of Youth Speaks, America's “leading spoken word performance, education and youth development organization.” For a week, teen slam poets from across the country—and parts of Africa and Europe—perform their poetry for audiences reaching upwards of 10,000.

Ramir has been writing since the 8th grade after his father encouraged him to explore poetry. He admits his first attempts at poetry were “horrible,” but he found his footing through practice and performing at an open mic night at Coffee Chicago in the Uptown neighborhood.

“Living,” the poem Ramir performed at Sunday's LTAB finals, reflects his battle for self-acceptance in the face of negativity and a debilitating ailment: Ramir was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that effects voluntary muscle movement.

“Ruptured uterus,” Ramir’s poem begins, “The worst thing a doctor can tell an expecting mother / Disabled / The worst thing a doctor can call her child / Cripple / A word that has tortured me ever since.”

“When I was born, I was cut off [from] my oxygen for a while, and it resulted in damaging the cerebrum,” he said. “[It] means that my brain tells my hand to do something like wave high, but ... my hands don't get the message clearly and do something else.”

Ramir posted a poem inspired by his childhood memories of dealing with his disability on a gaming website. A commenter laughed at him “for being a cripple,” Ramir said.

“I always felt I was laughed at as a child, and hearing it again when I am older was like, 'Oh, crap.' But I decided to write about it instead.”

Ramir was worried the piece would be “cliché,” a big no-no in slam poetry. But Ramir said his coach, Nora Flannagan, assured him otherwise.

“I write whatever is in my heart, but for the LTAB piece Mrs. Flannagan was like, 'No one has ever done a disabled piece,' so I decided to try it and it somehow worked,” Ramir said.

“He found his voice, and it's a voice that the slam needed to hear,” Flannagan said.
“Entire audiences gave him standing ovations every single time he performed, and I was so grateful for that. The response he got showed him that his voice had a place at the slam - a vital place.”

She added that the performance was a tribute, “to the atmosphere that Kevin (Coval, co-founder of LTAB) and LTAB have fostered, where a kid with a disability can go from feeling like a target in everyday life to being literally center stage.”

Ramir, who will be working towards a computer science degree at University of Illinois in Chicago after graduation in June, said despite his hesitation, he's glad he performed the piece.

“Now that I've performed it, I feel much more strongly about it,” Ramir said. “I hope it speaks to future generations to help them understand the struggles you face with a disability, and the things we do to move past them. [For] me, [it's] poetry.”




You can listen to the poem Matt performed that night here.

Louder Than A Bomb Erupts Sunday Night

On Sunday night I went to the Vic Theater after hearing word of a must-see event: Louder Than A Bomb, a teen poetry slam so fierce, so inspiring, I would be crazy to miss it. It was monsoon-like weather that afternoon, winds blowing so hard rain drops moved horizontally, making the most sturdy umbrella completely useless. But still, I followed the siren call and was not disappointed.

Named after one of the songs on Public Enemy's "It Takes A Nation To Hold Us Back," Louder Than A Bomb, presented by Young Chicago Authors, provides students from across the Chicago area an outlet for their thoughts. On the stage, they command attention. They have things to say and damn it, you're going to listen to them.

During the five hour competition and festival on Sunday, I was continually awed by how poised they were and their talent. If you look back at my old journals, my teenage angst was embarrassing in its...well...insignificance. But these kids are talking about real issues from domestic violence to living with a disability. Even the more "OMG" aspects of being a teenager take on an ironic spin through the deft pens of these young poets.

Take a multimedia walk through the event with me below.

A slideshow of pictures I took at Sunday's Louder Than A Bomb.

Performances

He Still Loves HER from iamchicago on Vimeo.


Gabbi's Ode to Lil' Wayne from iamchicago on Vimeo.

Gabbi's Ode to Lil' Wayne. For a complete listen, click here.

Chicago Public Radio had some of the students record their poems. These poems are posted on their website.

What You Talking About, Willis?

(Photo of the Sears Tower prior to its renaming, taken by me on an architectural boat tour)

First Marshall Fields, now this. Sears Tower, the largest building in America, will be renamed Willis Tower under a leasing agreement with London-based company the Willis Group Holdings Ltd.

I don't care what the Brits want to call it, it will forever be known as the Sears Tower to me and fellow Chicagoans who take up this call to action: Let our children's children know that this great feat in architecture was and forever will be the Sears Tower!

I only have 10 packets of Lipton Tea, but I'm tossing it in Lake Michigan for my own Boston Tea Party. No taxation without representation and no changing names of historic landmarks, either!

Just the Facts, Man

(Image courtesy of Consequence of Sound)

Lollapalooza, one of the most anticipated summer music festivals in Chicago, is beginning to put its feelers out as we inch towards warmer and warmer months. Little info is out right now, but here are the basics:

When: August 7 - 9, 2009
Where: Chicago's favorite playground in the summer, Grant Park
Who: Right now only headliners are confirmed. Depeche Mode, concert founder Perry Farrell's reunited band, Jane's Addiction and the Beastie Boys

For more information in the coming months check out Lollapalooza's Web site here.

Happy Birthday Chicago

(Editor's Note: I don't need to feel intoxicated to feel incredibly close to Chicago. Chicago intoxicates me. )

Even though I'm going through a private hell of my own making, I still raise a glass to you on your 172nd birthday. You don't look a day over 100!

St. Matthias hopes new pre-kindergarten classes will keep school solvent

Third beat report. You have no idea how happy I was to file yesterday, I've been having such a hard time keeping up with the assignments and learning how to go out and find a "news" story. I was at my lowest Thursday when a story that took me weeks to confirm contacts was deemed not newsworthy. But, I dusted my shoulders off, pulled it together Friday, and turned in this story and got leads on three others.

Courtesy of State of the School Report and 2009-2010 Tuition Information.

St. Matthias Transfiguration School in Lincoln Square sees increase in enrollment despite overall decline in Catholic schools.

St. Matthias Transfiguration Elementary School in Lincoln Square is moving to secure its financial future by adding a new pre-kindergarten class next school year.

As other area Roman Catholic schools scramble to address stagnant or declining admission numbers and an unsure future, the addition of a new class continues a trend of increasing enrollment at St. Matthias.

“We weren’t able to admit any more people,” said Deborah Bukovy, marketing and admissions director at St. Matthias. “So that’s why we decided to open another class so that we could admit people [within and outside of the St. Matthias] community”

St. Matthias will add a new pre-kindergarten class for three- and four-year-old students for the 2009-2010 academic year, doubling its pre-kindergarten program: two PreK for three year olds (PreK 3) and two PreK classes for four year olds (PreK 4).

The idea to add another class first arose in October as families in the school applied for the following school year. St. Matthias had only one PreK 3 class and 20 children from existing families applied, taking up all the available space.

With the new additions St. Matthias will have two classes instead of one per grade up until 2013, when the school projects it will run out of room. “We’ll either look at doing a capital campaign or we’ll cut back the number of children that we enroll so we can use the space we have in the building,” Bukovy said.

The influx of students, which Bukovy attributed to gentrification in the neighborhood, will put the school on “a more stable economic footing,” she said.

“Since we’re one of the only private schools in our immediate neighborhood, they choose us,” Bukovy said. “What we’re seeing is … young people who have children are staying here longer instead of moving out into the suburbs.”

Parents with children in private schools are facing tough decisions during the recession, with some opting to move their children to less expensive Catholic or public schools. Catholic schools require families to raise $100-$500 for the school on top of tuition and fees, which can reach upwards of $8,550 at Gordon Tech High School, on the city’s Northwest Side.

“Everybody makes a sacrifice when they send their child to private schools,” Bukovy said.

Marie Neis, principal of St. Genevieve School in the Belmont-Cragin community, said financial aid needs have increased in the last three years as parents’ incomes are cut because of “reduction in hours and jobs being cut.”

While Neis said St. Genevieve is “very supportive and [tries] to work with families,” she said she is aware of the possibility her school will close if the Archdiocese of Chicago or donations did not continue to cover operating costs.

“We certainly [wouldn’t] be the only school in that situation if that were to happen,” Neis said.

Despite stagnant enrollments at schools like St. Genevieve, St. Matthias’ has grown considerably: Enrollment has increased 25 percent in the last five years, Bukovy said.

By securing students at a young age, the school is looking to retain students and keep its doors open.

“We want to keep them happy and satisfied,” Bukovy said, “and hope they stick with us through the duration of their elementary [schooling].”

St. Matthias Transfiguration School is committed to providing a well-rounded Catholic educational experience that emphasizes academic achievement and fosters spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical development among its students, thus enabling them to contribute effectively in a constantly changing world where faith in God, respect for self and others, and hope for the future are essential.

Estelle and Solange Rock Chicago

I went to Estelle and Solange's concert Wednesday evening at the House of Blues for Honey Magazine. Read my review on my Honey Magazine blog here.

And here's a video I got from Estelle's set before security kindly asked me to put away my camera...

Life Lessons from Estelle from iamchicago on Vimeo.

Logan Square ELL parents address ISAT worries

My third beat report story.

A mother takes notes on reading comprehension for English Language Learners in preparation for the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT). (Photo credit: Anthonia A./MEDILL)

Parents at seven Logan Square schools gathered Friday morning to voice concern with the upcoming Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) testing of English Language Learners, saying it places unrealistic expectations on students still learning how to speak, read and write in English.

Over 80 parents, teachers, volunteers and administrators came to the meeting at James Monroe Elementary School to learn more about the test, which is now in its second year for ELL students.

Parents and teachers said students were visibly nervous with the test just a week away.

“They think that [taking the ISAT] is [punishment for] something they did bad so they have to retake it,” said Maria Marquez, a teacher at McAuliffe Elementary. “They’re nervous about not passing [and] going up to the fourth grade.”

Silvia González, resource and parent-mentor coordinator at McAuliffe Elementary School, added: “I see how they struggle, I see their frustration. My heart [breaks] for some of these kids.”

Students in the third to eighth grade will be taking the ISAT between March 2 and March 13. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the ISAT “measures individual student achievement relative to the Illinois Learning Standards,” testing students in reading, mathematics, science and writing. The scores are used to determine a school’s performance and if a student will be promoted to the next grade level. High schools look at a 7th grader’s ISAT scores to determine the student’s chances at enrollment.

Until March of last year, ELL students took the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE) test and the ACCESS for ELLs to judge their comprehension of the English language in social and educational contexts. ISBE stopped administering IMAGE after the U.S. Department of Education decided in November that the test did not meet No Child Left Behind standards. It was not immediately clear why the ISAT did not meet the standards.

ELL students taking the ISAT are eligible for accommodations such as having directions read to them in their native language and having more time to answer questions.

The change came as a total surprise to parents in the community, said Leticia Barrera, an education organizer for the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA).

“We were receiving phone calls from parents asking us if we [knew what was happening],” Barrera said. She said the ISBE and CPS avoided answering parents’ questions; information of accommodations for ELL students trickled in, but not with the urgency or accuracy LSNA said parents needed.

“We have students here,” Barrera said. “We are in the community and they are over there … implementing all these things without our input.”

Last year LSNA brought the community together to teach parents about the ISAT as ELL students took the test for the first time. This year the meeting was comprised of two seminars led by Reading First reading teachers Maureen Hajduke and Carrie Busse, with volunteers translating for Spanish-speaking parents.

Hajduke and a volunteer translator went over the basics of the ISAT in Monroe’s auditorium, teaching parents how to navigate the Illinois State Board of Education’s Web site, what students will be tested on based on grade level, what the test will look like and how to help students prepare for the two-week long exam.

The importance of parent preparedness was stressed.

“Don’t wait for anyone to tell you [what to do],” Hajduke said. “Prepare them yourself.

During the meeting’s second seminar Busse taught parents how to stop students from “regurgitating” information without processing it. Parents took notes Friday and simulated how they would work with their children in groups, using charts, markers and Post-it notes.

“No matter if they’re an ELL learner or a monolingual student, if they’re not exposed to it, they cannot connect to the text,” Busse said.

Organizers said they felt parents left with a better understanding of the ISAT and their children’s concerns.

“At times parents don’t know the stress that the children are going through,” said González, McAuliffe Elementary School’s resource and parent-mentor coordinator. “They think ‘Oh, it’s just a test.’”

“They were given an idea of how to work with the children and how to help them prepare for this test,” Gonzalez said. “Some of these parents left with a lot of questions being answered.”

Monica Espinoza, a parent-teacher mentor at McAuliffe Elementary, said her son is excited to take the test after being transitioned from ELL to monolingual classes this year.

“He’s like, ‘Mommy, I’m very excited because I know I’m going to do well,’” Espinoza said. “And I’m like, ‘I know you’re going to do well.’ But in the back of my mind I have that concern. [I’m just] trying to help him as much as I can.”

I Am Chicagoist

My first article for Chicagoist.com is up. Chicagoist is a very popular local website that covers every nook and cranny of Chicago. I'm honored the editor accepted my submissions. Right now I'm a weekend writer because of my schedule, so check me out every Saturday and Sunday.

New Site Helps Those Jobless In Chicago