HJ0064

LRB095 12216 NHT 36583 r






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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Youth Connection Charter School (YCCS) in Chicago 
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was established in 1997 to provide a second chance for students 
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through alternative education for at-risk youth who previously 
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dropped out of public high school; YCCS now includes 23 
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different campuses throughout the City of Chicago; and

 
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    WHEREAS, YCCS is the only charter school in this State that 
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provides alternative education programs and services focused 
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primarily on dropouts; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Eighty percent of teachers at the charter school 
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who teach core academic subjects have been rated as "highly 
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qualified" in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind 
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Act of 2001, and 81% of teachers at the charter school have 
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been rated "appropriately certified" by City of Chicago School 
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District 299 in accordance with the School Code; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Over 5,700 students at YCCS who had previously 
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dropped out of traditional high schools have graduated from 
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YCCS campuses; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The charter school's 9-year average student 
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attendance rate is 79% and its 9-year average student retention 
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rate is 69%; and

 
 


 






HJ0064
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LRB095 12216 NHT 36583 r




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    WHEREAS, Students have achieved an average grade point gain 
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of 1.6  in reading and 1.6 in mathematics for each year enrolled 
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at the charter school; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 2005, YCCS ranked eighth in the number of 
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students who received a passing or exceeding score in reading 
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on the Prairie State Achievement Examination among Chicago 
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public high schools that had 90% or more of their student 
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population living at or below federal poverty guidelines, and 
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YCCS placed in the upper third for school performance in 
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reading by City of Chicago School District 299 in comparison to 
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all of the other 76 high schools in the City of Chicago; 
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therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE 
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SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we respectfully request that the 
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Chicago Board of Education renew the charter of Youth 
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Connection Charter School; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
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delivered to Youth Connection Charter School and the Chicago 
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Board of Education.