North Lawndale College Prep Charter High School Earns "A" in Peace

Rally and march planned to celebrate occasion

CHICAGO, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the two campuses of North Lawndale College Prep Charter High School (NLCP) charter school are celebrating 153 Days of Peace with a march and a rally in the North Lawndale neighborhood.

"This gives us an A grade in peace," said John Horan, President of NLCP, "since 153 days out of 170 days is 90 percent. We set this goal for ourselves back in August 2009." Horan added, "We use The Beloved Community, a concept borrowed from the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, as the framework of our entire curriculum. For students to learn effectively, we must first give them a safe environment where they can concentrate on the work set out before them."

The rally will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the NLCP Christiana campus. Students will then march to Douglas Park for the rally where there will be speeches, refreshments, and entertainment for the participants. More than 700 people will attend.

"Creating safe schools is the first step to making those schools effective in improving student achievement. We owe this to our children," said Andrew Broy, President of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. "We applaud North Lawndale College Prep and other charter public schools in Chicago that have found a way to create communities inside schools that make students feel welcome and help them thrive academically. It speaks very highly of NLCP, and of the work going on inside Illinois public charter schools, that they were able to meet their goal."

To implement The Beloved Community, students and faculty alike have focused on conflict resolution techniques that have been taught throughout the year. Any violation of these techniques by someone in the school means the day cannot be counted toward the larger goal.

"We don't have metal detectors at our school," said Horan. "This peace does not come from security guards, it comes from our firm resolve that peace is possible, valuable, and something we can all attain if we work together."

The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) is dedicated to improving the quality of public education by promoting and invigorating the charter school concept. The voice of the state's charter schools, INCS advocates for legislation to strengthen charter schools, educates the public about the value of charter schools, and supports the dissemination of best practices throughout the system.

Contact: Jim Publicover, +1-312-235-0798 ext. 14

SOURCE Illinois Network of Charter Schools