Progress Through Partnership
E-Newsletter for members and friends of Chicago Appleseed
and the Chicago Council of Lawyers

15 February 2007

In this e-Newsletter:
Parental Involvement Under No Child Left Behind
 Practical Solutions for Illinois Communities

caffj no wordsFew people would argue with the notion that parental involvement improves student success in school. Until now, however, little effort has been made to come up with systematic solutions for increasing the role parents play in their children’s education. In a new report, Improving Parental Involvement in Illinois Under the No Child Left Behind Act, Chicago Appleseed offers a model for creating organizational structures that foster parental involvement even in the most disadvantaged school districts.

Based on examination of three Illinois school districts (Bloomington, Evanston/Skokie and Waukegan), as well as interviews with parents, educators and community groups, Chicago Appleseed has developed the “Top-Down/Bottom-Up” model for parental involvement that works to address the weaknesses and challenges of Section 1118 in the No Child Left Behind Act. This model of parental involvement is based on: 1) the terms of NCLB, 2) the essential elements of successful parental involvement programs as detailed by leading policy and education experts, and 3) the priority of increasing student achievement on the part of districts, schools, and parents.

The Chicago Appleseed report, Improving Parental Involvement in Illinois Under the No Child Left Behind Act, contains specific and achievable recommendations for improvement in Illinois school districts based on impact research and expert testimony. This is the follow-up report to the Appleseed publication It Takes a Parent: Transforming Education in the Wake of the No Child Left Behind Act. The work involved 18 school districts in eight states and was done as a collaborative effort by Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice and Appleseed public interest centers in Connecticut, Georgia, Texas, and Washington.

 "Chicago Appleseed: A Decade of Growth" Gala Event on March 7!
 Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan will serve as Keynote Speaker

caffj no wordsAppleseed and Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice are pleased to announce Attorney General Lisa Madigan as the keynote speaker for their upcoming gala “A Decade of Growth.” The 2007 honorees, noted for their exceptional pro bono efforts, are Gloria Santona, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, McDonalds Corporation; Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP; and Michael Freed, Founding Partner, Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC. The “Decade of Growth” event celebrates the anniversary of Chicago Appleseed’s ten-year affiliation with Appleseed, making Chicago Appleseed part of a nationwide network of law and justice centers dedicated to systemic reform of local and national social justice issues.

Event sponsors to date include:

Underwriter Level
Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

Pacesetter Level
Sonnenchein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Holland + Knight LLP
Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Benefactor Level
Huron Consulting Group
Illinois Tool Works, Inc.
Winston & Strawn LLP

Patron Level
Baker & McKenzie LLP
Goldberg Kohn Bell Black Rosenbloom & Moritz, Ltd.
Jenner & Block LLP
McDonald’s Corporation
Mid-Continent Capital LLC

Contributor Level
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP
Much Shelist Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C.


The reception and dinner will take place on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. Tickets for this event are now on sale. For more information, contact Amanda Grant at 312-988-6599, or download the pledge form at www.chicagoappleseed.org.

Donor Spotlight: Patricia Bronte, Jenner & Block LLP
 

dual logoAttorney Patricia Bronte, a member of the Chicago Council of Lawyers’ Board of Governors, is on the phone with the Department of Justice. Her careful choice of words masks her exasperation with their policies—she is trying to get information for her client being held at Guantanamo, and the DOJ is not eager to cooperate. After asking several pointed questions in a tone that leaves no room for ambiguous responses, Ms. Bronte gets her answers. In that conversation, one can easily see why Ms. Bronte won a 2005 service award from Jenner & Block LLP.

Each year, Jenner & Block LLP awards the Albert E. Jenner Pro Bono Award to a limited number of associates and partners for their extraordinary public service work. In December 2006, Ms. Bronte was honored for her efforts on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. She chose Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice/Chicago Council of Lawyers as the recipient of the financial portion of the award: Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers are sister organizations dedicated to many of the same social equity and administration of justice issues. On their shared interests, Chicago Appleseed conducts research and issues reports which the Council then refers to when speaking out on critical issues and taking advocacy positions. “This partnership is the lifeblood of both organizations,” stated Ms. Bronte.

Ms. Bronte is an active member of the Council’s Civil Liberties Committee, and finds information there relevant to her current cases. “The Council’s advocacy work on closed circuit television to conduct bond hearings in Central Bond Court is extremely important.” Chicago Appleseed’s research and the Council’s willingness to speak out on important issues is what first attracted Ms. Bronte to the Chicago Council of Lawyers. “The Council is great. No one else is willing to take on these kinds of issues.”

Members of both organizations feel the same way about Patricia Bronte, and we thank her for her continued service and dedication to both the Council and Chicago Appleseed. In her words, “we are the Chicago Council and Chicago Appleseed, but we have things to offer nationwide.” We couldn’t agree more!