Full Text of SR0154 096th General Assembly
SR0154 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Every hour of every school day, 16 students become | 3 |
| dropouts in the City of Chicago; the majority of these students | 4 |
| are African American and Latino; and
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| WHEREAS, Youth Connection Charter School is a | 6 |
| not-for-profit charter school association that caters to drop | 7 |
| out students, allowing them a second chance to earn a degree | 8 |
| and providing them with professional skills to achieve | 9 |
| rewarding careers; and
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| WHEREAS, The average dropout rate for Chicago Public | 11 |
| Schools for the past five years was 41%; alarmingly, the | 12 |
| average age of a student who drops out is 18 or 19, and the | 13 |
| average reading comprehension is at the 7th grade level; 40% of | 14 |
| these dropouts read below a 6th grade level; and
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| WHEREAS, 75% of America's state prison inmates are high | 16 |
| school dropouts; additionally, young adults who become | 17 |
| dropouts are over three times more likely than high school | 18 |
| graduates to be arrested in their lifetime; and
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| WHEREAS, It is tragically clear that a high number of high | 20 |
| school dropouts do not achieve at the same level that people | 21 |
| with high school degrees, are more frequently incarcerated, and |
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| are predominately African American or Latino; and
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| WHEREAS, Chicago Public Schools has been battling the | 3 |
| problem of high drop out rates, but, sadly, the number has not | 4 |
| been able to drop below 40%; and
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| WHEREAS, Youth Connection Charter School re-enrolls high | 6 |
| school dropouts and achieves a higher graduation rate than | 7 |
| Chicago Public Schools with this already marginalized | 8 |
| population; and
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| WHEREAS, Youth Connection Charter School has a current | 10 |
| waiting list of 1,200 students; sadly, these students who are | 11 |
| unable to enroll face the same challenges and negative | 12 |
| consequences that other dropouts face, despite the fact that | 13 |
| they are trying to obtain a degree; and
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| WHEREAS, It is our obligation as a society to ensure that | 15 |
| all students regardless of race or socioeconomic status have | 16 |
| the right to achieve a high quality secondary education; Youth | 17 |
| Connection Charter School has the ability and the capacity to | 18 |
| help more young adults reach the achievement of obtaining a | 19 |
| high school diploma; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 21 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we request that the |
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| Chicago Public Schools allocate 2,100 seats to Youth Connection | 2 |
| Charter School over a seven-year period in order to address the | 3 |
| immediate and urgent need to help as many young adults as | 4 |
| possible achieve an education; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 |
| presented to Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman.
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