“First day of school†has special meaning today for Sherman Elementary at 51st and Morgan in Chicago. After years of failing to make state standards, Sherman is re-opening with a whole new staff. But this is not your typical school takeover. The kids who come to class at Sherman this morning will be the same kids who left last fall-no special selection or application process here. And when students walk through the door this morning they’ll find new desks, and computers, a paint job, and those new teachers...hand-picked by the new principal. Neighborhood parents are excited about the change, but they are blunt about what might hold back progress: uninvolved adults, and children conditioned not to care about school.
Julia McEvoy has the second in our series about efforts to transform Sherman.