Chicago is my home. Moreno graduated from Latin in 2017 and says she is still unpacking the trauma from her experience. In 2010, Black students were about 27% of the student population, according to state figures. These profound demographic changes raise . The page administrators also omit the names of anyone whose behavior or words is called out by the authors. Those revelations come on the heels of recent outcry over racist transgressions at other highly touted Chicago schools, including the private University of Chicago Lab Schools in Hyde Park, and Walter Payton High School on the Near North Side. She said she had a strong drive to be successful at Latin because shes the child of immigrants. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Latin School of Chicago | We are committed to fostering a school and classroom culture, and a curriculum that supports cultivating an inclusive and supportive climate for all constituents. The administration created student and faculty leadership teams aimed at dismantling systems of oppression in the Payton community and also brought on a director of transformative justice, to help develop procedures for when an incident occurs. Within CPS, 94% of JROTC students are Black or Hispanic, while those students account for 83% of total enrollment, according to CPS data. Another private prep school near Latin, Francis W. Parker School in the Lincoln Park community, and St. Ignatius College Prep, a private Jesuit school on the Near West Side, also have Instagram pages documenting students' experiences with racism and anti-Blackness. "She didn't like how I talked about race.I was very blunt," Marilyn Pierre said. After a lengthy, painful deliberation (where some people on the body's biases were clearly showing), we decided to give them both an out-of-school suspension. Scenes of happy students filled the screens of televisions mounted on bright orange walls. One student dressed "as a Mexican" for Halloween. FILE - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot participates in a forum with other Chicago mayoral candidates hosted by the Chicago Women Take Action Alliance Jan. 14, 2023, at the Chicago Temple in Chicago. I thought everything that Ive been taught to strive for, like financial stability and securing safe housing, going to a good college, these things would have been threatened if I spoke up, and I would have basically wasted my opportunity to go to Latin, which is supposed to give you more opportunities to step up in life than you could have ever imagined if you stayed in your neighborhood, she said. Hundreds of stories of racism, xenophobia, and abuse at the Latin School of Chicago have surfaced via an anonymous Instagram account, Latin Survivors. The school treated violations like isolated incidents and rarely punished offenders, she said. A post shared by @ survivorsoflatin on Jun 21, 2020 at 2:24pm PDT. The parents of Nathan Bronstein, the 15-year-old boy who took his own life in January, say the Latin School of Chicago knew of their son's extensive bullying prior to his suicide and that school . Statements. imported from Wikimedia project. Media. Warren Skalski/The Washington Post via Getty Images. Hearing these things sent shockwaves down my body, and I saw the consequences of not asserting myself. Resh told the Tribune she pursued the job to do the work of racial equity and transformative justice.. But it got worse, to the point where people, white people, were just saying the N-word around me as if I wasnt there.. private school in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Jan. 30, 2016. Within the first weeks of the new school year, the students said, there were already incidents where racial slurs were uttered during remote learning, including by someone who apparently crashed an online session. If I wanted to spark change, I would have to face the challenge head-on. Community Organization. It has 1,155 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 8 to 1. Officials did not respond to the request. The difference between her experience at Latin and her brothers is that, while she endured microaggressions and overt marginalization, people seem even bolder now, she said. I talked to some of the adults I trusted most, and they told me something I didnt know what to do with at the time: Im here to change the space, the space is not here to change me. 338 people follow this. Eventually it started to get uncomfortable and he grabbed my butt while still hitting on me. The spokesperson said the group is also drawing inspiration from the ongoing uprising against white supremacy and police violence in America. Diversity and equity should no longer be a numbers game, Instagram page administrators wrote. The school treated violations like isolated incidents and rarely punished offenders, she said. His first choice was Whitney Young High School, a . That isnt to say she didnt fight back at Latin. Similar pages have surfaced in recent weeks focused on other Chicago private schools. "It's just maybe what's going on in politics after Trump was elected, maybe people feel more emboldened to be how they want to be.". Its the individual. Thirteen percent of students get financial aid from the school, which reported more than $50 million in revenue last year. According to its website, High Jump helps prepare elementary students from households of limited economic means for entrance exams and academic success at prestigious public and private college prep schools. I really felt that by showing it wasnt just one group of people and that these werent isolated incidents, (that) its part of a bigger problem at our school and other schools across the city I feel like it would really show that a change needs to happen, Warren said. Despite the challenges, many Black students and students of color still show resilience in such environments. In a statement emailed to Injustice Watch, Dunn acknowledged that students and alumni were sharing their traumas on social media. Randy said he was sitting on a school bus headed to a freshman orientation retreat when a white boy suddenly sat next to him and joked that he "didn't have a father.". Tel: (312) 582-6000. www.latinschool.org. Latin School of Chicago, founded in 1888, is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school for students in junior kindergarten through grade twelve. Tuition is $33,425 for the highest grade offered. The statement did not specifically address the demands from the @fwpanonymous group. Via Telephone: Submit complaints to 773-535-4400. Latin School currently takes out permits for this area and other park district facilities, as do other schools and private sports clubs like AYSO, Little League and the Chicago Sport & Social Club. Several members of the wealthy Pritzker family have attended Latin, including Gigi Pritzker, and the children of Illinois billionaire Gov. We are acting in solidarity with movements across our country demanding structural change in the government, the spokesperson said. Dunn promised to do better, and listen. He invited the Latin community to continue engaging in discussions about race and to provide feedback in a survey that would help inform a specific plan of action to be unveiled in July. She said many of the experiences shared are not overt racism but "a lot of microaggressions and covert racism that happens Payton.. ", But Randy saw for himself in the summer of 2017, five days into the school year. Everything started out pretty casual, until later in the evening, when one of my teachers, who was already getting kind of drunk, kept hitting on me and telling me how hot I looked in my dress and how grown up I looked. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "I didn't believe her. That includes feelings of marginalization and other problems that may cause depression and stress, dampen their self-esteem, affect identity development, and hurt their academic performance, among other problems. I grew up here, went to public schools here, and attended college here. For my students at the Latin School, and particularly for my Black and Brown students, I know there is tremendous pain. In response to a long history of allegations of racism within Latin-most notably, perhaps, a string of resurfaced racist text messages sent by two alumni-an online group known as the Survivors of Latin was born. Revenue: $25 to $100 million (USD) Competitors: Unknown. Before Latin, she had only ever attended predominantly Black schools in Austin, the West Side neighborhood where she lived at the time. Once one of their parents lawyered up, the administration unilaterally overturned the sanction. In this piece, Randy reflects on his experiences with racism at Latin School and how the school has responded since July. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. She remembers videos and social media posts circulating among classmates that called Black girls ugly or said they all had AIDS. We pledge to ongoing introspection to build our individual and institutional racial awareness and literacy, and to continue to identify and overcome obstacles that keep us from realizing our goal of becoming an inclusive, anti-racist community.. At the Latin School, the operators of @survivorsoflatin went on hiatus, saying they needed to focus on other parts of their lives. Bruce Rauner, a millionaire, also attended. I began to code-switch just to get by, but that still wasnt enough to avoid prejudice. She said it took her two years to learn how to code-switch, and that other students would ridicule her or shoot her strange looks when she did things like say axe instead of ask or made minor grammatical mistakes. To continue moving forward, we must keep the same energy that we had over the summer to hold ourselves, our peers, and our community leaders accountable and demand change when we feel its necessary. ", The spokesperson said that a group of current and former students is crafting a set of demands for Latin's administrators that "span from increasing the power of marginalized students' voices relative to the board of trustees, to hiring more BIPOC administrators and teachers and restructuring our required curriculum across the school to incorporate the stories and histories of our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students. In the U.S., elite, private schools such as Latin have historically catered to a mostly white and affluent population. Her father was applying for his citizenship at the time, she said, so the comment hit close to home. She said she had a strong drive to be successful at Latin because she's the child of immigrants. "We pledge to ongoing introspection to build our individual and institutional racial awareness and literacy, and to continue to identify and overcome obstacles that keep us from realizing our goal of becoming an inclusive, anti-racist community.". Despite the challenges, many Black students and students of color still show resilience in such environments. Its just maybe whats going on in politics after Trump was elected, maybe people feel more emboldened to be how they want to be.. A post shared by @ survivorsoflatin on Jun 24, 2020 at 10:15am PDT. Latin resides in the Gold Coast, one of Chicago's wealthiest neighborhoods. But, said a last post, the work is not over. Black student reflects on confronting racism at top Chicago private school: Keep the same energy, including the private University of Chicago Lab Schools, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. A spokesperson for Parker said the school is committed to making the student body more representative of the city and said fundraising efforts have focused on diversity, access and affordability. The teachers never said anything either. Editors Note: South Chicago resident Randy Pierre, 18, is a senior at the Latin School of Chicago, one of the citys top private schools. One of Latin School of Chicago's school buildings on the Gold Coast. Randall Dunn, 57, head of the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Independent Schools, has run the Latin School of Chicago since 2011 but will take over the top job at the posh Rye . A similar Instagram account, Latin Survivors, has shared stories of racism at Latin School of Chicago, another prominent private school. This school has prepared me for college and life beyond like no other possibly could. One of Latin School of Chicagos school buildings on the Gold Coast. For a long time I felt guilty, as though I had done something to have led him on, but I know now that I didnt do anything wrong and that his behavior was completely inappropriate. I had no idea what this meant, so I gave him the whole "ignore them, it's fine" type of speech. Fellow students also advised against speaking out, and told her she should expect racism, xenophobia, and misogyny, which was a hard truth to swallow for a 13-year-old. Series link box. Now that she's graduated, Stallworth looks back on her Latin experience with mixed feelings. I would not recommend Latin to a Black student. The Bronsteins aren't the only parents who say that the Latin School of Chicago has a toxic culture which includes bullying, racism, hate crimes, and more. 22 Latin School of Chicago jobs available in Chicago, IL on Indeed.com. Earlier Saturday, Marist defeated Montini Catholic High School, 34-0, in its homecoming football game. But Randy chose the Latin School of Chicago, an independent school on the Gold Coast serving predominantly white and affluent students. A white classmate reassured me during my sophomore year that my presence at Payton was meaningful because I helped them meet the quota. Nevermind all the hard work I put into testing into Payton and keeping up with the rigorous curriculum, wrote a member of the class of 2013. The shock of everything made me so uncomfortable that I ended up leaving prom early. 0 references. And the system inside the school, as much as the system outside the school, is producing the stories that are coming up on these Instagram pages. Indeed, several current Latin students and alums interviewed by Injustice Watch told stories of confronting authority figures about racism and sexism, raising their voices to fight against oppression, and organizing other students of color. Later during high school, she wrestled with anti-Blackness directed toward Black girls and women at Latin. We do not recommend Parker develop hard, unmovable policies for minor violations, but instances of hate speech, assault, harassment, and other similar violations must have a standardized response, the letter states. Our 134th year of teaching and learning begins with sustained commitment to our liberal arts foundation, as well as the promise to continually define excellence in education for the world our . However, studies highlight the social and psychological challenges that students of color, especially Black students, face inside the nations predominantly white independent schools. 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