Showing students a world of opportunities
At Independence Charter School, academic stimulation comes with an international flavor.
by Sarah Burgess
Independence kindergartners are busy listening to and reading a song: from left, Hope HuttonJohns, Xavier Randolph, Arely Rojas-Lorenzo, Malaika Gadsden, Aaron Armstrong, and Riley Chobert.
Ericka Morris, better known to her 4th-graders as Teacher Ericka, knows how to engage her students. On this day at Independence Charter School, they stand in clusters outside the U formed by their desks.
One student reads from his letter to President Obama regarding Arizona’s new immigration bill. Students who think the statement is clear and persuasive stand on one side. Students who think it lacks something stand on the other. Those who are unsure stand in the middle. Hands go up and cogent arguments fly as Teacher Ericka facilitates the rigorous round of peer critique that follows.
Scenes like this are not uncommon at nine-year-old Independence Charter School (ICS). The school’s mission is to “provide an intellectually stimulating curriculum with an international focus for Philadelphia youth.”
ICS exemplifies the potential of the charter school movement to shake up American education, especially in urban areas. Its roots were in a group of parents who wanted something different. It has created a rigorous academic environment, organized around a theme, that has attracted an ethnically and economically diverse group of students.
Currently located at the site of the former Durham Elementary on Lombard Street in Center City, ICS serves 747 students in grades K–8, who come from 44 of the city’s 50 zip codes. Eighty percent of the kids are students of color and about half live at or below the poverty level. Of the 64 faculty members, 61 percent are White, 25 percent are Latino, and 14 percent are African American.
CEO Jurate Krokys, who has led the school since its founding, said the activity in Morris’s classroom illustrates the school’s commitment to “intellectually stimulating curriculum.”
“We don’t assume that kids are too young or unsophisticated to do something,” Krokys said.
As a result, while students in 4th grade discuss immigration and human rights, 2nd graders explore Hinduism, 5th graders rewrite traditional fairy tales into “fractured fantasies,” and kindergarteners make Jackson Pollock-inspired splatter paintings.
For math, all students take two classes, one focusing on procedures and the other devoted entirely to more complex problem-solving.
Everywhere, there are opportunities to “Challenge yourself!” – the first of three ICS guidelines posted throughout the halls. The other two guidelines are, “Celebrate and appreciate everyone’s differences!” and “Care for your community!”
These efforts have paid off.
Fourth-grader Justin Kang said that one reason he likes his school is that “the work isn’t boring. It’s fun and we learn from it.”
In addition to providing challenging curriculum, ICS’s “international focus” is also apparent throughout the school. Half the students are enrolled by parental choice in a Spanish immersion program, while 50 percent receive Spanish “enhanced” instruction in which they are taught in Spanish for about 10 percent of the day.
In the middle grades, students are also introduced to Swahili, Arabic, and Mandarin through weekly classes. Beyond studying languages, each grade focuses in depth on two countries a year, with curriculum designed to support the study of these countries.
Comments (16)
Submitted by Friedman (not verified) on Sun, 05/30/2010 - 08:32.
Thanks for the great article. My son is in first grade in the Spanish immersion program...getting him into ICS was one of the luckiest things that's ever happened to us. After a thorough investigation, it became apparent that our local public school wasn't a viable option. Not sure what we would have done without ICS. Great academics, great faculty, wonderful school climate.
Submitted by Jose A. Ramirez (not verified) on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 18:15.
I am a parent at Independence Charter School and my wife and I worked very hard to help the school gain the reputation that it now has. We both believe that there are serious issues of discrimination at the school. There is basically no representation of minorities at the Board of Trustees and the School has had serious issues with Hispanic Staff as well as lack of Black teachers. We are extremely disappointed by the School and will pull out our daughter from the School next year. We have written to the Charter School Office and welcome the City Controller efforts to try to make the system more transparent.
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Sat, 06/19/2010 - 05:14.
This appears to be a personal vendetta tied to a former staff member. I'm a parent with children at the school and I've had a very different experience.
This is a charter school with a Board with many parents and community people. The Board meetings are not only open but all minutes are published on their web site. The Board is not "lily white" but it be should be more ethnically diverse. That said, the Board is primarily composed of parents and some community members. It is not a "power board" of lawyers, Bank presidents, hedge fund operators, etc.
I'm sure there are some disgruntled staff - there are disgruntled staff at every school. This school has some Latino/a staff who are hired because of their first language Spanish fluency. They have to get certified in the U.S. and adapt to U.S. pedagogical trends. Some don't get certified and lose their position.
No school is perfect - far from it. I certainly understand leaving when one is not happy. The Charter Office should follow up on parents' concerns if the school's Board will not. I don't think that is the case. Also, the Controller looks at financial mismanagement - this school's "books" are very open and transparent.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 20:36.
Have no clue what this parent is talking about...must have a bad personal experience. The school is completely socio-economically and racially diverse.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/22/2010 - 07:33.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't ICS basically two different schools in one? There is the complete Spanish program, which has much diversity, and then there is the second program, where the classes are mostly in English, which is almost all Black. This isn't a criticism by any means, just wanted a point of clarification.
I have zero personal ties to ICS, FWIW.
Submitted by Jose A. Ramirez (not verified) on Wed, 06/23/2010 - 10:10.
You are absolutely right. And I might add that the issue of diversity on the Spanish Immersion Program is debatable because with the reputation that the School has gained the incoming classes look less diverse and more White. This is a glaring racial injustice to have two programs that are "separate but equal" and yet one finds parents and Board Members happily declaring that the School is completely diverse. What kind of blinders some people have that they cannot see the injustice of this!
I do not want to belabor all of this, but there are a lot of issues of discrimination and racial injustice that have occurred in the School and I am not going to accuse anyone. I simply want to point out , as I have done in the past that as long as the Board of Trustees keeps sweeping all of these problems under the rug, these issues are going to be dormant, but will come back to hunt the School.
Finally, I want to say that I think it is very hypocritical to think that you can be concerned with some foreign culture 5,000 miles away, when you have not even begin to look at the very important issues of racial equality within your own culture. We should start there. Why dont we teach our kids about Black culture to start with? When we have done a good job at this, then we begin to study Somalis and Colombians.
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/23/2010 - 13:16.
I've decided to respond because Mr. Ramirez is providing what I consider a distorted view of ICS. He obviously doesn't appreciate the school since he pulled his child from the school - this is his prerogative. But, throwing around very negative accusations as if there is agreement with his charges, is not fair. I'm also a parent of children at ICS and while the school isn't perfect, I find the Board very open to change and proactive versus reactive.
Yes, there is a demographic difference between students enrolled in immersion (taught in Spanish with an English class) versus FLES (English with a Spanish class once a week). (I have children in both programs and they are not "white.") But, for four years, there has been a concerted effort to have all students in grade K-4 have art, music, dance, etc. classes together. Mr. Ramirez is incorrect regarding the "whitening" of the immersion program - there has been a shift in the past three years with more Latino/a and African American parents enrolling their children in the immersion program. (It is the parent's decision - not the school's decision.) Starting in 5th grade, students from both programs take language arts and social studies in blended classes in English. This continues in 6th - 8th grades with students in all classes other than Spanish language arts/social studies together (e.g. Arabic, gym, math, science, etc.)
Lastly, the mission of the school is not just language acquisition, whether English, Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, etc. (students study a 3rd language beginning in 6th grade), but also global education. It is not a "bilingual" school which caters to a particular ethnic/language group. (There are a number of charter schools in Philadelphia which have this as their mission). Students study U.S. history along with the history of other countries (K-5) and world history/geography beginning in 6th. So, students do study the history of injustice - and concerted efforts for justice/equality - in the U.S. along with other nations.
This year the Board of Directors is predominantly white. The Board is primarily made up of parents. The school holds an annual election for a parent slots on the Board. In previous years, the Board was more ethnically diverse and, I know the Board has discussed this because I read the Board's minutes which are posted on the school's web site. So, hopefully, the Board will be more representative of the student body but, unlike many charters and the SRC Board, it is not just a list of "power people" with ties to money, politicians, powerful community organizations, etc.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/23/2010 - 17:18.
I am also a parent and I enrolled my child in the school because of the Spanish language.
As written in the mission of the school published in the school website, "A key element of our world culture curriculum is a commitment to second language acquisition. Because every indicator of population trends suggests that Spanish will become a more widely spoken language in this country during our students’ lifetimes, ICS has chosen to emphasize Spanish language instruction. Students can enroll in either the Spanish Enhanced Program or the Spanish Immersion Program and receive from 30 minutes daily to 90% of their instruction in Spanish."
And the mission statement registered with the office of Charters in the School District of Philadelphia, their mission reads, "A key element of the school is a commitment to second language acquisition, and indeed fluency in Spanish for all students."
I think the school should make a commitment to have more administrators that at least are familiar with the Spanish language.
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 06:22.
I agree a multilingual/multicultural staff is important, you've only included part of the mission statement from the web site. I'm more concerned about a challenging, "intellectually stimulating curriculum" than fluency in Spanish.
This is the ENTIRE mission statement from the web site:
"ICS’s primary mission is to provide an intellectually stimulating curriculum with an international focus. Our world culture curriculum emphasizes the arts, languages, ideas, and histories of numerous world cultures and supports second language acquisition. All students at ICS study Spanish within two distinct FLES programs: the Spanish Enhanced program, which includes 30 minutes of Spanish daily; or the Spanish Immersion program, in which students begin in Kindergarten with a 90% Spanish and 10% English infusion. By fifth grade that balance is 50/50. Older students are also introduced to Japanese and Arabic in once-weekly sessions, as they continue their Spanish studies. By the time they graduate, all ICS graduates are bilingual and biliterate in Spanish and have introductory knowledge and skills in Arabic and Japanese."
Submitted by Jose A. Ramirez (not verified) on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 07:24.
I feel compelled to answer to Mrs. or Mr. Anonymous.
Mrs. or Mr. Anonymus, this is actually what I am talking about. Instead of assuming that my opinion is a distortion of reality, you could be culturally open and see that perhaps my experience with the school is different than yours. I know that it is hard to understand what we can not experience but perhaps for a person with children that are not totally White, it would be important to at least try to understand some of the experiences that your children would be facing as Non-White people.
A White prism is not the only truth and that is why diversity is so important. People are so afraid to discuss these issues openly, and yet, so proud of teaching multiculturalism. You make it sound as if having 8 White, and 1 Latino board members and the 3 White school administrators (none of whom speak any Spanish) is coincidental; so are we to expect that next year the school will have 8 Black, 1 Latino, no White Board members and 3 Black administrators? That will actually better reflect the students’ body. This is what I am talking about. If you think I am throwing things around, let us see the school publish their records on discrimination.
With respect to what you say about language acquisition, I am very discouraged to see that someone can say that they teach English, Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, etc. I guess the etc. refers to Japanese, of which the students can only say hello, and not all of them; perhaps we should also add Klingon to the list, it will be all the same. This Mickey Mouse view of language acquisition is so outlandish, that of course it does not and cannot stand a rigorous assessment. Even the Spanish level of children who have been studying for six years in elementary school is declining, because it has been so watered down in middle school. And I challenge anyone to show me that this is not so.
PS- Mrs. or Mr. Anonymous, another difference between you and I is that I write my name in front of my opinion.
Submitted by Jose A. Ramirez (not verified) on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 21:44.
I have been accused of vendetta, another easy way to stereotype a Latino. Stereotyping me is surely easier than responding to my concerns and ideas seriously. To me, being multicultural is not painting colored people in a mural, it is to have them as equal partners in the Board of Trustees and the Administration.
Submitted by Jose A. Ramirez (not verified) on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 21:50.
It is true that the school population is diverse, but not if you look at the Board of Trustees and the Administration. If you think about it there is not one Administrator at the top level who speaks Spanish. The first person who speaks Spanish at the level of the administration has the title of "world language coach". How can a School that is supposed to teach Spanish fluency to kids have none at the Administration that speaks Spanish. And for that matter the few people that speak Spanish in the Board speak a very rudimentary Spanish except for the one Latino on the Board. One Latino and eight white people. Great diversity!
Submitted by Anthony (not verified) on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 16:42.
My daughter went to this school K to 8 & just graduated this year, I also have my son going into 1st grade in the Spanish immersion program. I can't tell you how lucky we feel to have had our daughter go here and are looking forward to another great experience with my son. They helped my daughter through some difficult learning problems and any time there was an issue it was addressed immediately. The staff as well as a huge parent involvement make this school a model of what ALL schools should strive to be. God bless Jurate Krokys and her staff. They actually care about the students they teach and truly see the importance of their work. ROCK ON ICS, you’re the best!
Submitted by Jack (not verified) on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 16:44.
@ Jose A. Ramirez, positions should be given on merit not because of the color of your skin or the language you speak!
Submitted by Barbara (not verified) on Thu, 07/22/2010 - 16:07.
Proud Parent of a 2010 ICS Graduate here. I love the article Ms. Burgess.
Our child is heading to one of the best High Schools in Philly this fall and she isn't alone, so many classmates had several choices. How much more can you ask for in proof that the school works? Some of her classmates tested out of HS Spanish or into Advanced levels, as well into Advanced Math and English Classes.
She was there from the first year the school opened, we've watched so many people give their time and efforts just felt we should support our school. We cannot thank the Founders enough for following thru on a dream, because all that hard work and determination you gave really was appreciated.
Jack, we are in full agreement that positions should be granted and maintained by merit only.
Submitted by fran melmed (not verified) on Fri, 07/23/2010 - 16:38.
i've read these comments with great interest. i only want to respond to one that i don't think has been fully addressed. the board is not the only way that parents get involved and support the school. as the story notes, parents helped to establish the food program. these committees typically include a broad array of parents, based on their interest and availability. as for the board, it's fully aware of any imbalance and has made concerted efforts to ensure representation from the spanish enhanced program as well as of all viewpoints and backgrounds. as someone pointed out, the board invites parents to submit an application for the parent and community seats. this means it is somewhat dependent on who applies. the board can only expand its diversity, whether in terms of race or any other factor, if people volunteer their time and energy.
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