I was furious at my own stupidity; I have officially justified racism to my child, and I think that telling him he should ignore these acts may have encouraged more acts of racism at the Latin School of Chicago. Another person wrote about a fellow student who proudly showed off" a disciplinary note hed received for using a racial epithet. According to its website, High Jump helps prepare elementary students from households of limited economic means for entrance exams and academic success at prestigious public and private college prep schools. Randy, the rising senior from South Chicago, said that he attended a leadership conference with hundreds of other Black youth last year and returned to Latin committed to speaking out against racist abuse. Many children start in preschool and go all the way through high . I don't remember the details, and for confidentiality's sake it would probably be best that I don't share them in any event, but two white students were brought before us for incredibly racist actions against a POC. It is in our bodies. I had students say to my face: low-income students should be grateful theyre even allowed at Latin because if it wasnt for our parents making these donations they wouldnt be here, as if those donations and the price of tuition was enough to compensate for the trauma, she said. 917 Followers. Chicago, IL latinschool.org Joined March 2009. His parents preferred Latin, and his sister, a 2014 Latin grad, praised its academic rigor. The school doesn't report enrollment by specific racial or ethnic groups. She said her parents enrolled her at Latin because she was a gifted child, and they feared that the neighborhood schools would not be challenging enough. Two youth organizers with GoodKids MadCity share what activism has taught them, how it has affected them, and how they want to transform Chicago. Now that shes graduated, Stallworth looks back on her Latin experience with mixed feelings. As I moved into my second year of school, I started to understand how to navigate and become more comfortable in white spaces. `I would not recommend Latin to a Black student'. Its just maybe whats going on in politics after Trump was elected, maybe people feel more emboldened to be how they want to be.. They cited talented and beloved teachers and administrators who supported them. Some five months after the Watts uprising, King arrived in Chicago in January 1966 and announced "the first significant Northern freedom movement ever attempted by major civil rights forces.". Nate Bronstein was a bright, witty 15-year-old . Cactus League report: Drew Smyly is working with a Cubs new catcher and the White Soxs opportunistic plan on the bases, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. For my students at the Latin School, and particularly for my Black and Brown students, I know there is tremendous pain. She was active in Latinx student groups that pushed for more racial inclusion at the school and participated in student focus groups centered on race and equity. The Latin School of Chicago is an elite prep school whose alumni include Nancy Reagan and the Governor of Illinois' children. It is in our art. He said maybe she was having a hard time at Latin because by calling these boys racists she was "inviting" them to say offensive comments and bully her. About 1,200 students attend from Pre-k to 12th grade, with lower, middle, and high school grades in different buildings. Rose Bronstein is the mother of Nate Bronstein, a 10th grader at the Latin School of Chicago, who died by suicide on Jan. 13, 2022. Injustice Watch asked Latin officials for data on school discipline and academic achievement to explore potential racial disparities. It has 1,155 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 8 to 1. She warned her brother, too: "She told me I would have some of the worst experiences I've ever had in my life there," Randy said. Media. Latin School of Chicago. In 2020, during the summer after my junior year, Latin was finally forced to grapple with racial justice at a time when the rest of the city and country was also confronting racism after the police killing of George Floyd. Still, the students and alums characterized Latin as an oppressive environment for people of color where microaggressions and overt acts of racism were overlooked or handled with slaps on the wrist. We're committed to seeing everyone within these walls succeed and reach their full potential through an educational experience that will empower them to tinker, to make mistakes, to ask questions, to change how they see the world around them. I bought into the dream the school was selling, unprepared for what came with it. In a room of more than 300 Black people, we talked about empowering ourselves in our spaces and letting our true lights shine, even if our institutions attempt to dim them. Text Description: I was on Honor Council. Fewer than one-in-four Latin teachers identify as people of color, according to the schoolslatest annual report. Students of color remain vastly underrepresented today, but many of the schools have ramped up recruiting efforts targeting them while extending more financial aid to economically disadvantaged families. Email us at [emailprotected] or call us at (312) 521-0977. In this piece, Randy reflects on his experiences with racism at Latin School and how the school has responded since July. (About 85% of Latin families donated to the school in the 2018-19 academic year, contributing more than $5 million, according to Latins latest annual report.). I thought everything that Ive been taught to strive for, like financial stability and securing safe housing, going to a good college, these things would have been threatened if I spoke up, and I would have basically wasted my opportunity to go to Latin, which is supposed to give you more opportunities to step up in life than you could have ever imagined if you stayed in your neighborhood, she said. A co-ed independent day school for students in grades JK-12. Now Russell has seen students use Lordes teachings to advocate for justice within the school. I grew up here, went to public schools here, and attended college here. The course was meant to address racism and white . (About 85% of Latin families donated to the school in the 2018-19 academic year, contributing more than $5 million, according to Latin's latest annual report.). These profound demographic changes raise . However, studies highlight the social and psychological challenges that students of color, especially Black students, face inside the nations predominantly white independent schools. Similar pages have surfaced in recent weeks focused on other Chicago private schools. But Randy chose the Latin School of Chicago, an independent school on the Gold Coast serving predominantly white and affluent students. Chicago, IL 60610. ", In an email to Latin families and staff several days after Latin Survivors went live, Latin Head of School Randall Dunn, the first Black person to hold that position in Latin's history, acknowledged that "members of our community have reached out to me and others with reports of racial traumas endured both in the past and recently.". Its the individual. Resh told the Tribune she pursued the job to do the work of racial equity and transformative justice.. Dunn's letter also acknowledged that the culture, systems, and practices at the 132-year-old institution "have promoted racism implicitly and explicitly." The teachers never said anything either. She said it took her "two years to learn how to code-switch," and that other students would ridicule her or shoot her strange looks when she did things like say "axe" instead of "ask" or made minor grammatical mistakes. As an eighth-grader in 2017, South Chicago resident Randy Pierre boasted the grades and test scores to get into some of Chicago's top high schools. "It's just maybe what's going on in politics after Trump was elected, maybe people feel more emboldened to be how they want to be.". "I kind of just took it because I felt like if I showed that they were affecting me they would just keep doing it," he said. I began to code-switch just to get by, but that still wasnt enough to avoid prejudice. That includes feelings of marginalization and other problems that may cause depression and stress, dampen their self-esteem, affect identity development, and hurt their academic performance, among other problems. The Bronsteins aren't the only parents who say that the Latin School of Chicago has a toxic culture which includes bullying, racism, hate crimes, and more. A post shared by @survivorsoflatin on Jun 28, 2020 at 11:18am PDT. Bill Conway, whose billionaire father recently donated more than $10 million to fund his unsuccessful campaign for Cook County State's Attorney, is another Latin graduate. But the Pilsen resident still cried as she retold the story to Injustice Watch. We commit to continuing our efforts to change our educational program, the culture of behavioral accountability and our fundraising and allocation of financial resources.. There is no place for racism, harassment or oppression of any kind in Parkers community, and for that matter, in our global community, the statement read. Series link box. I thought that maybe she just had a bad experience, that I would be different., But Randy saw for himself in the summer of 2017, five days into the school year. Randy said he was sitting on a school bus headed to a freshman orientation retreat when a white boy suddenly sat next to him and joked that he didnt have a father.. during a unit on Islam. Several members of the wealthy Pritzker family have attended Latin, including Gigi Pritzker, and the children of Illinois' billionaire Gov. That fell below 10% by the early 1980s. "I thought everything that I've been taught to strive for, like financial stability and securing safe housing, going to a good college, these things would have been threatened if I spoke up, and I would have basically wasted my opportunity to go to Latin, which is supposed to give you more opportunities to step up in life than you could have ever imagined if you stayed in your neighborhood," she said. She also remembers teachers allowing students to get away with comments in social studies classes deriding immigrants and other marginalized groups, saying things like why do we have to learn about terrorists? during a unit on Islam. At this moment we are trying to make a change, but until that change happens, I dont think its a good environment.. She says the faculty member who fielded the complaint, a woman of color, threw it out and supported her. But, said a last post, the work is not over. His parents preferred Latin, and his sister, a 2014 Latin grad, praised its academic rigor. In a statement emailed to Injustice Watch, Dunn acknowledged that students and alumni were sharing their traumas on social media. Hundreds of stories of racism, xenophobia, and abuse at the Latin School of Chicago have surfaced via an anonymous Instagram account, Latin Survivors. Text Description: I came to Latin in 5th grade and throughout my years at Latin Ive had my classmate pull on and touch my hair, anytime I would ask them not to they would and I remember on one particular occasion I was wearing my hair natural and a girl ran up behind me and grabbed a fistful of my hair. Mexican American Immigration, and Discrimination, Begins. A leaked email from her tenure at The Latin School of Chicago reveals that Denevi sent administrators an NPR . Payton has a new principal, Melissa Resh, who began just days after the Instagram page was created. Students wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus walk in a single file through a bridge on the campus of the Latin School of Chicago. Earlier Saturday, Marist defeated Montini Catholic High School, 34-0, in its homecoming football game. Students wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus walk in a single file through a bridge on the campus of the Latin School of Chicago. "We pledge to ongoing introspection to build our individual and institutional racial awareness and literacy, and to continue to identify and overcome obstacles that keep us from realizing our goal of becoming an inclusive, anti-racist community.". Bill Conway, whose billionaire father recently donated more than $10 million to fund his unsuccessful campaign for Cook County States Attorney, is another Latin graduate. "But I would not recommend Latin to a Black student. His first choice was Whitney Young High School, a . "I had students say to my face: low-income students should be grateful they're even allowed at Latin because if it wasn't for our parents making these donations they wouldn't be here, as if those donations and the price of tuition was enough to compensate for the trauma," she said. The white segregationist Senator from Mississippi until 1978 has a surprising imitator in Chicago . One of Latin School of Chicago's school buildings on the Gold Coast. This anonymous form allows students to share their stories of bias and receive a response from a faculty member, letting them know that someone has read the story and some form of action will be taken. Vote totals continue to come in, but we now know who will face off in the April 4th runoff election for Chicago mayor. ", But Randy saw for himself in the summer of 2017, five days into the school year. In the U.S., elite independent schools such as Latin have historically catered to a mostly white and affluent population. Latin breeds incredibly motivated students that are ready to change the world. 298 people like this. Russell said Payton has traditionally catered to students from families of means, rich in resources, while offering space for a few exceptional kids who are able to beat the system. By Scott Holland. Officials did not respond to the request. BOSTON With court-ordered desegregation of public schools unfolding violently across this city in the mid-1970s, Boston Latin, then about 90 percent white, began admitting more . One student dressed "as a Mexican" for Halloween. She said it took her two years to learn how to code-switch, and that other students would ridicule her or shoot her strange looks when she did things like say axe instead of ask or made minor grammatical mistakes. A lot of these stories havent been taken seriously, said Warren. "It was a little more covert, people weren't openly saying the N-word, at least around me," she said. But in the world of remote learning and without the peer-to-peer conversations we would usually have, its hard to say yet whether or not these changes are effective. Tuition ranges from about $33,000 to $37,000 depending on grade. The school treated violations like isolated incidents and rarely punished offenders, she said. The girl in that story, Alex Moreno, is now a 21-year-old woman attending college. The majority of the participants are students of color, unlike Latin's student body. I didn't know how to deal with it; I decided to not speak, assuming he had a stressful day at school. Dunn, who is Black, wrote that it is important that these stories have been brought to light, and said the school will now engage in a collaborative process to institute change. Still, the students and alums characterized Latin as an oppressive environment for people of color where microaggressions and overt acts of racism were overlooked or handled with slaps on the wrist. 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