CPS Officials Announce New Back of the Yards High School Principal
By: Lucia Anaya – The Gate Newspaper Patricia Barrera-Brekke, principal of the new Back of the Yards High School. Developments for the new Back of the Yards high school were announced Thursday, Oct. 25, including the introduction of its principal and the students’ selection process. In a forum... Read More
Tipping the Scale: Study shows Latinos to be among hardest hit by upcoming obesity epidemic
By : Nyki Salinas-Duda – The Gate Newspaper Obesity rates are still on the upswing and may reach record highs by 2030, a new study reports. In Illinois, well over 53.7 percent of its residents could end up obese with an increased likelihood for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. For Latinos the... Read More
Lara Academy Meets WNBA Player Swin Cash
By: The Gate Newspaper Forty sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls from Lara Academy’s Girls in the Game after school program participated in a basketball clinic on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Sachs Rec Center in Deerfield, Ill. where they met Chicago Sky WNBA player and Olympic gold medalist Swin Cash. The... Read More
New Challenges for English Language Learners
By: Lucia Anaya – The Gate Newspaper With a high number of students who only speak Spanish, a new report shows few Illinois early childhood teachers have bilingual, ESL credentials Elva Garcia’s students begin their day by writing and reading in Spanish. As the day continues, they switch to... Read More
Changing Faces: Are Pilsen’s Changing Demographics Transforming the Culture of the Neighborhood?
By: Lucia Anaya – The Gate Newspaper Walk along any street in Pilsen and you can still see paleteros wearing traditional Mexican sombreros and a horde of Latino children playing by a hydrant on hot summer days. The sidewalks still play host to taco and fruit stands, and the air is filled with... Read More
CTU Suspends Strike, Students Back in School
By: The Gate Newspaper Photo by Eric Allix Rogers via flickr Chicago teachers returned to the classrooms on Wednesday Sept. 18 after spending seven days on the picket line. For the first time in 25 years, Chicago public school teachers were on strike leaving some 350,000 children outside of the classrooms... Read More
City Council Passes Welcoming City Ordinance
By: The Gate Newspaper The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance on Wednesday Sept. 12 that protects undocumented immigrants in Chicago. The ordinance builds on an existing city policy that prohibits agencies from inquiring about the immigration status of people seeking city services, and asks the... Read More
Hoops in the Hood Basketball Tourney Caps Off Summer-long Leagues that Keep Youth Safe, Build Community
By: The GATE Newspaper It’s not all bad news in the ‘hood. While youth violence has captured the headlines this spring and summer, several communities this week celebrated a lack of it – in part thanks to the summer-long programs of sports, arts and education they’ve forged. On Saturday, August... Read More
“People ask me, ‘are you excited to be going?’ I say, I’ll miss Back of the Yards.”
Father Bruce: How Does a Gringo who Failed Spanish in College Become the Best-known Priest in Back of the Yards? After 22 years in the neighborhood, Fr. Bruce Wellems, CMF, pastor of Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, calls it fate. But now, fate takes him to Los Angeles, where he will... Read More
New Back of the Yards High School Update
By: Adriana Cardona – The GATE Newspaper Searching for a principal, drawing school boundaries From left: Craig Chico, CEO and President of Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council; Sandy Traback, chair of the Quality-of-Life education committee; Victor Simon, cheif of school for the Pershing Network;... Read More
