Steinberg: High school similar inside and out

SHARE Steinberg: High school similar inside and out
steinberg_01xx16_12_59657807.jpg

Angie Ballesteros teaches Spanish 1 at York Alternative High School within the Cook County Jail, Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Follow @NeilSteinberg

“Welcome to Mr. Maloney’s Science Class” reads a slide projected on the wall of Room 1306. Posters describe the circulatory system, the skeleton.

“Today we’re going to cool out a little bit and not worry about all our assignments,” says John Maloney, projecting a laid-back teacher vibe, welcoming his new class at Consuella B. York Alternative High School. He outlines the grading system he’ll use, stresses the importance of tidy folders, and says something that indicates we are not in just any of the 176 public high schools in Chicago.

“I want to get your court dates,” he says to his class of 10 students, who are all wearing identical school uniforms: beige scrubs with “DOC” — Department of Corrections — stenciled on them.

York High School is the CPS high school within the Cook County Jail at 2700 S. California. The school has roughly 235 students — enrollment fluctuates day by day as students are incarcerated and released — ranging in age from 17 to 22. Only two 17-year-olds are left in the jail after most were transferred to juvenile custody last year. It has 56 teachers and administrative staff.

Some aspects of York are like any high school: it has a mascot, a tiger. Come summer, there is a graduation with caps and gowns and proud parents.

“It’s a big to-do,” says Marlena Jentz, director of alternative programs and education at the Cook County Department of Corrections. “Lots of crying and Kleenex.”

Some aspects are very different. The school is scattered among various divisions of the jail — male, female, drug treatment, protective custody, maximum security. Students in different wings don’t encounter one another in class.

“It’s almost like having five or six different high schools that you have to run and manage” says Jentz.

OPINION

Follow @NeilSteinberg

steinberg_01xx16_11_59657805.jpg

Students switch classrooms at Consuella B. York Alternative High School within the Cook County Jail. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The Latest
A 34-year-old man was found on the sidewalk in the 200 block of East 111th Street at about 10 p.m., police said. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died.
On Earth Day 2024, companies have a chance to show genuine support for the transition to an economy based on green energy. Federal tax credits and other incentives for manufacturing are helping to fuel the transition — and create thousands of new jobs.
When a child is reeling from stress, trauma or hardship, the thinking part of their brain shuts down. Our money should be spent on high-dosage tutoring and other individualized approaches that are effective against illiteracy.
Thinking ahead to your next few meals? Here are some main dishes and sides to try.