Future of the Far South Side of Chicago

When looking at the different neighborhoods in this area, it’s hard to put them all into one category. The neighborhoods range from lower class to upper middle class.  Morgan Park and Beverly are upper middle class, Washington Park is middle class, while Roseland and Greater Grand Crossing are upper lower class. These neighborhoods are predominantly African American. Beverly, Morgan Park, and Greater Grand Crossing give support to the children of these neighborhoods through the schooling system, rather than outside programs. Washington Park and Roseland have tutoring/mentoring programs outside of the schooling system. Some of these are organized through churches and small organizations. The reason why tutoring/mentoring programs are needed in this area is because of the high school dropout rates, crime rates, and the lack of positive influences for the children.

A solution to the unsuccessful programs would be to advertise them more, make the activities more appealing to the kids, while also insuring that the general public knows the message and the benefits of participating in them. In order to make these programs more successful, individuals can give their time by volunteering to tutor and mentor kids. Corporations and the government should become more exposed to the needs for financial funding in order to make these programs more effective. The government should take more initiative in helping them because in order to better the education system and the economy, actions should be taken one step at a time, starting from the bottom up.

All information has been gathered about the many communities in Chicago. The next step would be to implement these actions by introducing these problems to the higher authority, meaning the government of Chicago and those in charge of the education system. The next group of students should focus on finding funders for these programs, and find areas that are in need of more programs. They should concentrate their efforts on the schools of communities in need to see what they are offering. They should also focus on encouraging the students to participate in these programs more by asking them what they want and need to be successful. Other than these specific concentrations, future students should not allow these problems to go unrecognized.

Tutor/Mentor Participation Census

Roseland

According to the Chicago Census found online, there are approximately 11,483 kids’ ages 6-18 living in the Roseland area, which consists of the zip codes 60619, 60620, and 60628.  Upon researching, only about 4,112 of these kids attend tutor/mentoring programs in the neighborhood. In these tutor/mentoring sites, a big reason there are not more kids involved is because of the limited space. For example, the Kids Off the Block Program has only enough space to hold 71 kids, and about 80 are on a waiting list.  The area is not very wealthy, which is why the programs are not able to expand. In order to do so, they need money. The majority of the numbers of kids attending these programs belong to the Church.  There are about 3,036 kids involved in Church activities, most likely because they are free, and it is somewhere the kids can go with their parents or families, without having to worry about the cost.  I believe not many kids are involved in their after school programs because they just do not appeal o them.  Having to go to school 8 hours a day, and then going to a program at night does not seem attractive to many kids.  The programs need to be more advertised, have lower costs and more donations, and have a variety of activities the kids can engage in, other than focusing just on studies or worship.

Washington Park

The data received in census that was taken in the year 2000 showed that there were approximately 1682 kids enrolled in school grades pre-k through 12^th grade. 80% of the kids attending the Washington Park Youth Program have remained active in it for at least 4 years. A total of 77% of youth active in the program in 2003 were still participating in 2007. The reason why these numbers are so high is because the program has never had a problem with program space, also because one of the main goals is to monitor each participant’s long term goals.

Morgan Park

A census found online claims there are about 12,204 children aged 5 – 12 in the neighborhood of Morgan Park.  Currently there are 70 students enrolled at the Connections Learning Center.  This program has had up to 100 students enrolled in the past.  Causes for the decreased enrollment are uncertain.  Also approxomately 87% of the students who attend Esmond Elementary School are involved in extracurricular activites in their school.  This number comes out to about 374 students.  The school has many after school programs offered including sports, art, math and reading club.

Beverly

The total population in Beverly is 21,637. There are roughly about 6,000 children living in Beverly. This is the closest estimate I could possible find based on a census formed in 2004. The number of children benefiting from mentoring/ tutoring program are approximately 10-12%. Out of the general population, only 600 to 720 kids benefit from these programs. These numbers show that either the children are not taking advantage of the tutor/mentoring programs or there isn’t a need for them to receive support from these programs.

Greater Grand Crossing

In 2000 the total population in this area was 74,963 and 19,190 are under the age of 18. The census shows that there are about 3,895 16-19 year olds in this area. Out of 3,895 there are 80.1% enrolled and 19.9% not enrolled in school. The census also shows that the population of 18-24 year olds is 6,043 and 73.6% of those people are high school graduates. But only 28.7% enrolled in college or another form of higher education. In total from 3-35 and over years old there are about 21,015 enrolled in school. 3-4 years old is 6.8%, 5-14 years old is 51.9%, 15-17 years old is 15.4%, and 18-19 years old is 6.0%. You can see that has the age goes up the number of people enrolled in school goes down. Basically it looks like people are getting through school, but they could be doing better and getting more children to go into college. This is why this area needs tutoring/mentoring programs to keep children motivated to reach for the best.

Geography of the Far South Side of Chicago

Beverly has access to the Dan Ryan Expressway. The expressway allows people coming into and out of Beverly an easier way of commuting rather than taking the narrow streets. However, Beverly also has access to W. 95th St, which is known as a busy street and brings forth traffic within the neighborhood.

Roseland, Illinois is located right in the middle of the I-57 (Dan Ryan Expressway) to the West and the I-94 (Bishop Ford Expressway) to the East.  North of Roseland, these two expressways emerge into one.   Roseland is also conveniently located in the middle of two different Metra tracks.  Located in the South-East of Roseland is Lake Calumet.  It seems there is a lot of traffic on the outskirts of Roseland, but none of the traffic goes directly through.  The streets are placed on a straight square grid, which makes the area secluded from on-coming traffic.

Greater Grand Crossing is located between I-90 Chicago Skyway and I-94 Dan Ryan Expressway. I-90 and I-94 are connected when driving through Chicago, but right when they split into separate roads you can see this neighborhood. If you drive on I-94 you would exit at 59B, 60B, or 60C to arrive there. Some main streets in this area are Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and South Cottage Grove Avenue that run North and South. The cross streets that run West and East are East 71^st Street, East 75^th Street, East 79^th Street, and East 83^rd Street. Going to this neighborhood may be challenging if you are driving during rush hour because of all the traffic you will encounter. Other than the traffic Greater Grand Crossing is simple to visit.

Interstate 57 is located near the East border of Morgan Park.  This allows traffic to pass near by but not necesicarily through the neighborhood.  Western Ave. is the Western border of Morgan Park.  This street runs North and South throughout the city.  It may allow for more access to this neighborhood since it is not a major highway.  There are also a couple Metra stations located in Morgan Park.  The Metra allows easier access to and from the loop.

Tutoring/Mentoring Program

Beverly is one of the few areas in Chicago that has top notch elementary and secondary schools. It is a wealthy area, and parents can afford to send their children off to the best schools in the area. Students receive the proper education that they need, and because of this there is little need for tutoring/mentoring programs. However, if students seem to struggle, the school offers assistance within their own program. There are few programs outside of Beverly’s school for those who want additional help or one on one assistance. The best known tutoring program for this area is named SCORE! Educational Center.

In Roseland, there are five recorded tutoring mentoring programs. The Agape Community Center (tutoring/mentoring), Beulah A.G. Smith (BAGS) Scholarship Foundation (tutoring/mentoring), Christ Temple Cathedral – SAY Y.E.S! Youth Center (mentoring), Kids Off the Block Educational Program (mentoring), and the Southside Educational Center (tutoring/mentoring) are all programs to help keep the youth off the streets.  These centers provide services and informational meetings on child welfare, communities, health care, juvenile justice, and prevention.  These centers also consist of things such as job readiness, violence prevention, scholarship/grant preventions, daily worships and prayers, music, sports, local and local out of town trips, and community service.  The main purpose of these programs is to keep more kids off the street and to help them become successful so they don’t resort to violence and crimes in their future.

Washington Park’s rate of success in education is very low which is why it has one tutor/mentoring program called the Washington Park Youth Program (WPYP) which also serves its surrounding areas. This is a very effective program and its participants remain actively involved and committed throughout elementary and high school. They have a variety of programs that are offered to pre-k through 12^th grade. 85% of the children that attend this program place into a higher education such as high school and college. They have over 175 volunteers that help run the program and also some physicians that offer a free clinic are also available here.

There are not many tutoring/mentoring programs in the Morgan Park neighborhood.  It is a somewhat wealthy area which also has good schools. However there is one program that is available to students in that area.  Connections Learning Center offers professional tutoring for children in Morgan Park.  This program is a pure tutoring program.  They offer help for children of all ages.  Preschool and kindergarten children can get help learning basic beginning skills, college students can get help with their college courses, and every age in between can get tutoring in any subject they need help with.  This organization also offers a variety of different specialty programs including ACT preparation and a special reading program.  If a child has a learning disability, they can come here to receive help also.  The program also just added a speech pathologist to their program for children with language, auditory, and speech disorders.  The organization is open during the school year Monday through Thursday and also Saturdays.  The program uses one on one tutoring in order to help the child succeed.

In my specific area Greater Grand Crossing there are no tutoring or mentoring programs clearly available for these children to participate in. There might be some programs through the schools, but other than those there are none that I can find. The only thing that came up when I researched my area was the Meyering Playground Park on Martin Luther King Drive. The park has many available facilities for the public to use such as a baseball field, outdoor basketball court, playground, and a water playground. The park also includes a lovely walking trail for people to walk, run, rollerblade, or bike on. These facilities are only part of what the park has to offer the community. The park has many programs that they offer for all ages during all seasons. The programs are conditioning, cross training, inner city football, kickboxing, park kids, seasonal sports, and teen club. Each program has a cost that ranges from free to around forty dollars. It is unfortunate that the programs do cost money because some families may not be able to afford to put their children in them.

Influences On Childhood Poverty

Poverty plays a major role in the declining popularity of some Chicago neighborhoods. In our explore class we read the article, “The economic costs of childhood poverty in the United States” from The Journal of Children and Poverty, which gave us an insight on how poverty can effect children and the way they grow up. The article touched on three main points to help back up their argument. The three points were economics, crime, and health problems. The argument for economics is that children that are born into poverty will have a harder time getting out of poverty in their adulthood. Children who grow up in poverty struggle with economic and social problems. As the article states, ” ‘lower class’ youth report committing nearly four times as many violent crimes as ‘middle class’ youth” (49). Health problems also rise when it comes to poverty areas. Children who live in these areas do not get the proper health care that they need because their parents low income cannot afford it.

In the areas that we researched the average annual income ranges from $20,000-$50,000. The areas with the lowest annual income were also the areas that had the highest crime rate. This shows the correlation between economics and crime. The areas with higher incomes do not necessarily need as many tutor mentoring programs, unlike the areas with lower incomes. This is because the higher areas are able to provide better education and guidence programs through the school, instead of going to outside programs. The lower area’s schools are not up to average standards, which makes those children seek outside help. This help is not required therefore some children fall out of the educational program completely.

Getting To Know The South Side Of Chicago

What do you think of when you think of the South side of Chicago? Well normally most don’t think of positive things because of all the crime and poverty, but Chicago is now determined to change the future of this community. The motivation behind these changes is due to Chicago’s nomination to host the 2016 Olympics.

Washington Park is among one of the many struggling neighborhoods in the lower south side but has become the deciding area to which the Olympic  Stadium would be built. This area and its surroundings are run down, high in crime, and are known for their poor statistics.