Harper 203 to team up with Write-On! Publishing

Harper 203 and the young-adult publishing house Write-On! have  decided to team up to offer students of Engelwood’s own Harper High School a chance to publish their work. Write-On! specializes in print-media publications featuring the work of adolescents and teens. The offer for partnership was graciously extended by Write-On!’s starter, Dallas Woodburn.  This could be the chance of life-time for Harper kids as they will be given the chance to submit and (fingers crossed) get published in anthologies of young adult work distributed nation-wide.

Hooray for collaboration!

Students Gain Ear of Ron Huberman

Students from various "under-achieving" schools have begun submitting proposals to CPS CEO Ron Huberman on how to improve their schools. Not to shamelessly plug or anything, but here is proof that good writing coming from anyone, students or adults, can change things up. From Chicago Public Radio's "City Room":

"High school students are turning in a special assignment to Chicago Public School's chief Ron Huberman this week. Huberman asked them to come up with ideas for improving the city's high schools."

Such proposals have included:

Number 21: students should have an “option of choosing a customized curriculum starting their sophomore year"

Number 2: “all students should be part of an extracurricular activity, outside organization or have a part-time job within or outside the school…”

Number 9: “instead of suspending students…parents should come in…[and] shadow”

Many of the proposals are presented to Huberman by those who wrote them. Students going straight to the top (if there is such a thing in a decentralized school system). 

I think Huberman is on to something here. As much as we can guess at what students need or want in school, there is no way we can ever know. Its about time that CPS embraced two truths: 1) students are intelligent and 2) they know themselves better than we could ever hope to. Given “Turn-Around,” “Gear-up” and the whole score of Charter School approaches that continous role through CPS, why not try an approach given from those who will benefit from it in the end? 

From: http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=36323

Harper 203, The English Experiment

And it’s off the ground.

Welcome to the official blog of Harper High’s Classroom 203. I’m not exactly sure what I can promise will be here, but what ever it is, it will be apt, appealing, and academic. How ‘bout all that alliteration I just used? You like A’s? Well I do. Yeah being an English teacher. 

So, this is my vision for this site. I know there is not much here right now, but really, believe me, there will be more. And it’s going to be awesome. Like, you might want to come here all the time. Like, you might want to schedule at least an hour or so a day to bask in the genius that will be Harper 203. Like, you might want to quit you job, sell your house, cut your phone lines, and tune in 24/7…I mean eventually.

For the first month or so, I will be asking everyone I know to send in interesting and intriguing education/high school/culture/awesome content for me to post and comment on. I’m not looking for a Pulitzer, or even a vast reader base. I am just hoping to get this blog up and running to the point that it looks, feels, and (best case scenario) is legitimate. 

After the first month, the MAGIC will begin.  At that time you can expect to see the first couple droughts of student genius permeate the blogosphere. Yeah, I’ll have a post or two, but it ain’t about me. As my student’s interests and skill-sets grow, so will their involvement in the blog. By the end of 2009-2010, I expect Harper203, The English Experiment to be fully student run. What that will look like is anyone’s guess.