COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED AUSL TURNAROUND OF DVORAK MATH SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY

My name is Valerie Leonard, the Co-Founder of the Lawndale Alliance. We are a group of residents who have come together to address issues of concern to the community, including education, TIF reform and mortgage foreclosure. We are here today to oppose the proposed AUSL turnaround of Dvorak Math Science Technology Academy. 1. AUSL turnarounds have not been effective in the North Lawndale community. Of the six AUSL schools on the West Side, none performed as well as the City average in reading on the ISAT test last year. Five of six performed at a lower rate than West Side averages. The North Lawndale cohort of AUSL schools under-performed North Lawndale schools as a group in reading and math.
2. Privatization, closings and consolidations have reduced school choice. Eleven years ago, there was one charter elementary school and one charter high school in North Lawndale. There were no turnaround schools. Today, we have 24 schools and campuses. 4 are managed by the AUSL organization 10 are charter 2 are alternative 8 are traditional public schools AUSL was the big winner in North Lawndale school closings. Receiving school boundaries were drawn such that Herzl received the lion's share of the closing Henson school's old attendance boundaries, even though Hughes was the receiving school. The Johnson school was the receiving school for the now closed Pope school. Even though most Pope students didn't go there, Johnson received millions in capital upgrades, Safe Passage funds and other benefits. The Bethune school was closed without making any significant improvements, which freed AUSL to take over Chalmers, which turned around on its own before it was acquired. The end result was a consolidation of AUSL control of every school in and around Douglas Park.

3. CPS Board President David Vitale is the former board chairman of AUSL, while Tim Cawley, CPS' Chief Administrative Officer, was a managing director at AUSL. Both men are in a position in which they have oversight of AUSL's near exclusive, no bid contract to do school turnarounds. This is an apparent conflict of interest. 4. AUSL's process of replacing the entire staff while keeping students in place disrupts students' relationships with teachers and principals and erodes the powers granted by law to LSC's. We respectfully request that Dvorak is turned around using the Strategic Learning Initiatives model, which has provided sustainable improvement without firing staff, at a fraction of the cost of AUSL turnarounds. In closing, we thank you for your consideration, and look forward to any response you may have concerning our comments. Respectfully submitted, Valerie F. Leonard Co-Founder, Lawndale Alliance 773-571-3886 valeriefleonard@msn.com

West Side Schools 2013 ISAT Reading Results

Public At or Above City Averages At or Above West Side Averages Below City and West Side Averages Total 30 12 52 94 Charter 2 3 6 11 Contract 0 0 1 1 AUSL 0 1 5 6 Total 32 16 64 112

Thirty-two of the West Sides 112 elementary schools performed as well or better than the city average; 16 performed at or above the West Side average, while 64 under-performed West Side average. None of the AUSL schools performed as well or better than city averages. Only one AUSL school did as well or better than the West Side Average. Public At or Above City Averages At or Above West Side Averages Below City and West Side Averages Total 32% 13% 55% 100% Charter 18% 27% 55% 100% Contract 0% 0% 100% 100% AUSL 0% 17% 83% 100%

Thirty-two percent of the West Sides public schools performed at or above city averages. Likewise, 18% of the West Sides charter schools performed at or above city averages. Fifty-five percent of charters and public schools under-performed West Side averages. None of the AUSL schools on the West Side did as well or better than the city average. Only 17% of AUSL schools on the West Side did as well or better than other West Side schools. Eighty-three percent of the AUSL schools on the West Side did below the city and West Side averages.

AUSL schools in North Lawndale under-perform the North Lawndale average in reading and math.