Chicago Public Schools to Spend $30 Million Stimulus Money

[Alpha Mare]

Chicago Public Schools officials say they'll spend $30 million in federal stimulus dollars on approximately 1,200 high school students who are at risk of committing violence or falling victim to it.

To tackle the problem head-on, CPS will target the 1,200 students most at risk for being shot in the next two years, based on factors like attendance records, number of school disciplinary actions and students who are lagging behind in coursework. Of those, CPS calculates, 200 have a 20 percent chance of being shooting victims in the next two year.
Huberman noted that not a single shooting incident in the last year happened on school grounds but called the number of students shot, more than 500 last year and three dozen killed, “unacceptable.”

“The kids who don’t feel safe go to school less often, do less well academically,” Huberman says. That, in turn, increases their risk of being shooting victims.

http://www.chitowndailynews.org/blogs/The_City_Desk/CPS_wants_to_slash_gun_violence,32091#

Huberman plans to use a large chunk of the $30 million in federal stimulus money to hire an outside group that will provide intensive mentoring to the most-at-risk students. Huberman declined to name the group Thursday.

This morning Chicago Fox TV News had Tio Hardiman on to talk about the new CPS program, and CeaseFire's www.ceasefirechicago.org involvement. 

Tio Hardiman has been referrred to by the Chicago Tribune as a community organizer.  The Englewood neighborhood affiliate for Cease Fire is ACORN.

http://www.aipnews.com/talk/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=7752&posts=4

Here's how that turns out.

"Didn't you get your first check like everybody else," I asked.


"I spent it; I ain't got a dime left." Benny answered. A cell phone buzzed. He pulled out a copper colored, touch screen, flip phone, popped it open and grinned at the message. Deftly playing the keyboard for a moment, he snapped the phone shut and slipped it into the right front pocket of his baggy jeans.


He was one of the hundred-and-twenty-five "At Risk" seventeen to twenty-four year olds, paid $8.15 an hour to attend high school, under money received from the Obama Stimulus package. The first check, for eighty hours of work, was for $640.00 and had been received by most students four days earlier.

A lanky black kid with an empty look in his eye, and a twisted curl of hair sprouting from his pointed chin, he, like many others, had been selected for the summer program based on the number of times he had been expelled, dropped for attendance,or walked away from school.


The other requirement, being poor, was easy to establish. He was unemployed, unskilled, and at twenty-one had fathered four children.

"Come on Jenkins how am I gonna get home. It's hot outside. This is summer. I should be sitting under an air-conditioner.  I can't walk gimme a pass." Benny whined. To enhance the plea he flashed a gold tooth grin.

"Think about my children, you want them to go hungry! I got four babies," He whined louder. "The oldest is...." He went blank for a minute trying to remember faces, names, and dates.
[/quoteContinues...http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/walk_fast.html


I wonder how many schools are doing this.

[thundley4]

More of our money well spent. Do I really need the sarcasm tag here?

[Alpha Mare]

Guess how they spent the money.

"Four-hundred and fifty dollars!" Shaqueenda purred as she paraded the pretentious brown leather purse past her friends. The summer stimulus students, earning $8.00 an hour to attend school, had gathered in the atrium showing off their purchases.

To earn their $64.00 a day, these three, eighteen to twenty-four year old girls were scheduled to clean for five hours and study Math, English, and Life Skills for three hours. After only a few weeks they had parlayed their lunch into an hour and fifteen minute feast, and turned their breaks into thirty-minute romantic interludes with the candy machines.

 Cash in hand, one-hundred and twenty-five low income, low achieving, adult high school students went on a government furnished spending spree.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/the_45000_purse.html

Obama's administration will declare this program a success, and spread it not just acroos America, but throughout the world.

[ColonialMarine0431]

200 have a 20 percent chance of being shooting victims in the next two year.

Good! 200 fewer future welfare kings and queens.

[bijou]

So many of those kids have no chance, they haven't learned essential life skills from their parents and aren't going to be able to reverse that in a short term program.

[Celtic Rose]

hundred-and-twenty-five "At Risk" seventeen to twenty-four year olds

I'm sorry, but in what reality do we consider 17-24 the age for high schoolers?  If at 24 you still need to be paid to learn basic math and English, you've made your choice as far as I'm concerned. 

[thundley4]

I'm sorry, but in what reality do we consider 17-24 the age for high schoolers?  If at 24 you still need to be paid to learn basic math and English, you've made your choice as far as I'm concerned. 

I think that by 17 the damage has been done.  This program might have had some benefit if it were directed at 7-9 graders, and paying them less.  Maybe not even giving them cash, but vouchers for school things or other necessities.

[Celtic Rose]

I think that by 17 the damage has been done.  This program might have had some benefit if it were directed at 7-9 graders, and paying them less.  Maybe not even giving them cash, but vouchers for school things or other necessities.

That seems like a program with a much higher potential for success. 

[AllosaursRus]

I think that by 17 the damage has been done.  This program might have had some benefit if it were directed at 7-9 graders, and paying them less.  Maybe not even giving them cash, but vouchers for school things or other necessities.

Or perhaps, getting them the hell out of these failing schools and sending them to privates where they can actually learn. You know, kinda like W's voucher program, that the left fought tooth and nail and exclaimed it would never work, (so where's the ATV Asshat to defend THIS?), so you do not put the cash into a little criminal's pocket so that he/she is going to spend it on everything EXCEPT education!