On the Scene: The McCormick Foundation Blog

by Christopher Kim, ISBE Student Advisory Council Member, Northside College Prep HS, Chicago, Illinois  foreword by Sonia Mathew, Civic Learning Manager, Democracy Program In planning for the 6th annual Illinois Civic Mission Coalition annual convening, I wanted to be intentional with including experiences that would interest a variety of stakeholders that would be in attendance, including teachers and administrators in the Democracy School Network, civic education partners, and students. I especially wanted to engage students with additional leadership roles in the event and to give them a platform to share their perspective on their learning from the event. As we work with schools across the state to strengthen student voice, the convening was a perfect opportunity to also have student voices heard. One of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Student Advisory Council Members, Chris Kim, accepted my invitation to share his reflection of the event with us. It is a p...

by Shawn Healy, Civic Learning Scholar, McCormick Foundation Free speech and the right to peaceful protest are foundational to democratic governance. They were both celebrated and challenged last Friday at venues blocks away from one another on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). At the UIC Forum, members of the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition (ICMC) gathered to celebrate the #CivicsIsBack campaign. This included recognizing ten new Illinois Democracy Schools , passage of a new high school civics course requirement , and approval of civics-friendly state social studies standards . The event was punctuated by a bi-partisan ceremony where students, civic learning advocates, bill sponsor Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) and Republican Governor Bruce Rauner shared the stage, the latter two offering congratulatory remarks for the ICMC’s recent achievements. The new civics course requires class discussions of current and controversial issues, among the most pr...

by Angela Ford, Executive Director of T.A.G. Foundation In early 2015, I was sitting in a community meeting daydreaming, when someone said in passing “Well, about 10,000 photographs are disintegrating at The Chicago Defender .” I snapped into the present. “What did you just say?!” I replied. The Chicago Defender is one of the few institutions that have chronicled the lives of African Americans in Chicago from the early 1900s to the present. That is why it is imperative that we salvage these damaged images and stories. Through its content, The Chicago Defender has been integral in moving the needle on countless historic issues facing African Americans including segregation in the military, campaigning against Jim Crow era violence, influencing the Great Migration and much more. My organization, the T.A.G. Foundation , is committed to preserving and sharing The Chicago Defender 's photo archives, which is why we are in the process of building a digital platform, The Obsidian...

by Megan Everett, Director, Veterans Program Last August, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, in partnership with Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work and the University of Southern California Center for Innovation and Research on Military Families (CIR), commissioned a study, the Chicagoland Veterans Study . This comprehensive study is intended to survey more than 2,000 veterans in Cook, Will, Lake and DuPage Counties to examine the needs of veterans living in Chicagoland area, and identify gaps and opportunities for program and service development. A range of issues are being surveyed including housing, employment, barriers to care, physical and mental health, and transition from the service to civilian life. In 2013, CIR first conducted this comprehensive study in Los Angeles County. You can find the results of the study here . Veterans can still participate in the Chicagoland Veterans Study . Once completed, participants will receive a $15 gift card. A comprehensive ...

by Francisco Martinez, Communications Associate  On July 26, 1990, our nation committed itself to eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities. The American Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrates 25 years since the passage of this historic mandate. To honor the ADA and raise awareness of barriers still faced by individuals with disabilities, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, in partnership with WTTW/Channel 11, is hosting a McCormick Community Screening at the Chicago History Museum (CHM) featuring the film My Way to Olympia on November 16. This award-wining documentary, directed and produced by Niko von Glasow’s, a disabled filmmaker, follows a group of disabled athletes preparing for London's Paralympics competition. Born with severely shortened arms, von Glasow serves as an endearing guide to London’s Paralympics competition. As he meets a one-handed Norwegian table tennis player, the Rwandan sitting volleyball team, an American archer without arms and a Gre...

by Megan Everett, Program Officer  Have you used the Chicago 311 Call Center recently? In January 1999, Chicago implemented the 311 system to enhance access to all city services and to decrease 911 calls for non-emergency police services. The system centralized satellite call centers so that citizens did not have call several different departments to reach the services that they need. Fast forward to 2015, after a series of meetings with staff from the Mayor’s Office, the Advisory Council on Veterans Affairs for the City of Chicago welcomed the news that the city would enhance the 311 intake assessment to better identify military veterans and active duty service members so they could be directed to specific resources and services. On June 24, 2015 Mayor Emanuel’s office announced that residents who call 311 to request a range of services, including homeless prevention, employment services, senior well-being checks, emergency food, and crisis referral services, will be asked...

The best way to enhance your child's development, simply put, is to talk with them. Dr. Dana Suskind, founder and director of the Thirty Million Words (TMW) initiative recently released a book, Thirty Million Words: Building a Child's Brain that discusses the importance of early exposure to language in a child's development. The book provides an engaging and informed account of Dr. Suskind's experience as a pediatric cochlear implant surgeon, highlights emerging early childhood research and outlines three simple tools, known as the Three T's, that every parent and caregiver can us to enrich their child's language environment. The Three T tool kit includes: Tune in to what your child is doing Talk more by using descriptive words with your child Take turns engaging in conversation with your child It's no secret to speech/language and hearing professionals that children's early language environments are critical to their speech, language, and acad...