Regarding “I was a CPS student in underserved neighborhoods, and I was unprepared for college” Nov. 10:
The outstanding letter written by Xavier Morales-Greene challenges CPS to do better, and one way to do that is to address the ridiculously high absentee rates.
CPS celebrates higher graduation rates, but I have always found these figures to be somewhat dubious. Several weeks back, the Chicago Tribune published a nice story about some of the successful stories emanating from students who attended Dyett, Goode, Curie and Prosser.
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While it was absolutely wonderful to read about the experiences of these graduates, it should be noted their former high schools also have high chronic absenteeism where students miss 10% or more of the school year.
According to the Illinois Report Card, Dyett, Goode, Curie and Prosser have chronic absentee rates of 70%, 49%, 69% and 64%, respectively. Even prestigious schools like Northside College Prep and Payton College Prep have unacceptable chronic absenteeism of 25%.
Improving graduation rates looks good on paper, but given the high absentee rates in CPS schools, how is it possible that so many students are learning and graduating?
When I was a teacher working in CPS it was no secret that one of the best ways for teachers to avoid hostile confrontations with parents, guardians and principals was simply to give Ds, which granted class credit to undeserving students that ultimately led to social promotion and graduation.
Teachers quickly realized that lower failure rates resulted in fewer problems with everyone concerned and would lead to better evaluations and job security but, unfortunately, did a real disservice to students who faced a rude awakening when they went to college.
Giving meaningless grades and diplomas is certainly not the answer if we want our students like the well-meaning and totally honest Morales-Greene to be successful in life. But students being present in the classroom on a daily basis and being subjected to academic and vocational rigor certainly is.
CPS should aim for the highest standards possible even if it momentarily leads to lower graduation rates, and it must insist students be in school every day. Being responsible matters, and the more quickly students learn this, the better it will be for them and their future.
Larry Vigon, Jefferson Park
