HJ0064 LRB095 12216 NHT 36583 r

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Youth Connection Charter School (YCCS) in Chicago
3 was established in 1997 to provide a second chance for students
4 through alternative education for at-risk youth who previously
5 dropped out of public high school; YCCS now includes 23
6 different campuses throughout the City of Chicago; and
 
7     WHEREAS, YCCS is the only charter school in this State that
8 provides alternative education programs and services focused
9 primarily on dropouts; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Eighty percent of teachers at the charter school
11 who teach core academic subjects have been rated as "highly
12 qualified" in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind
13 Act of 2001, and 81% of teachers at the charter school have
14 been rated "appropriately certified" by City of Chicago School
15 District 299 in accordance with the School Code; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Over 5,700 students at YCCS who had previously
17 dropped out of traditional high schools have graduated from
18 YCCS campuses; and
 
19     WHEREAS, The charter school's 9-year average student
20 attendance rate is 79% and its 9-year average student retention
21 rate is 69%; and
 

 

 

HJ0064 - 2 - LRB095 12216 NHT 36583 r

1     WHEREAS, Students have achieved an average grade point gain
2 of 1.6 in reading and 1.6 in mathematics for each year enrolled
3 at the charter school; and
 
4     WHEREAS, In 2005, YCCS ranked eighth in the number of
5 students who received a passing or exceeding score in reading
6 on the Prairie State Achievement Examination among Chicago
7 public high schools that had 90% or more of their student
8 population living at or below federal poverty guidelines, and
9 YCCS placed in the upper third for school performance in
10 reading by City of Chicago School District 299 in comparison to
11 all of the other 76 high schools in the City of Chicago;
12 therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
15 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we respectfully request that the
16 Chicago Board of Education renew the charter of Youth
17 Connection Charter School; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
19 delivered to Youth Connection Charter School and the Chicago
20 Board of Education.