Posts Written By: Maria@voyceproject.org

USA Today | “‘I don’t think you are ready’: Boys of color fell furthest behind at school amid COVID”

In the fall, short on credits and motivation, Derrick returned to a virtual school that seemed designed to torment guys with ADHD like him. He tried playing monotonous instrumental beats on his laptop as a…
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Chalk Beat Chicago | “Three Chicago teens, one pandemic year: How COVID-19 widened education gaps for boys of color”

As the promise of spring hung over Chicago, three teenage boys tussled with insomnia, sifting through the fallout of a pandemic year’s interlocking crises. In Little Village on the West Side, senior Leonel Gonzalez often…
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WTTW | “Board Approves CPS Code of Conduct Detailing How Administrators Should Deal With Police” 

Jasmine Roach, a student leader with Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE), said she doesn’t believe the revised code of conduct goes far enough. She said the policy only focuses on what happens before…
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Chicago Sun-Times | “Not an emergency? Don’t call cops, CPS tells administrators in new policy”

Arrests should be avoided on school grounds “whenever possible,” the policy said, but if an officer makes an arrest “they should coordinate with the principal or designee to find a private location out of sight…
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WGN9 | “Killing of Floyd Spotlights Fraught Relationship Between Police and Black Community”

In the fraught relationship between police and the Black community there is an agreement that better relations will take time and tolerance. 18-year-old Marques Watts is a junior at Mather High School and a youth…
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Chicago Sun-Times | “Post-George Floyd police reforms in Chicago ‘disappointing,’ community leaders say”

For Marques Watts, the fatal shooting of his friend Caleb Reed last summer was a reality check. He had watched how his friend was turning into a man, speaking out publicly about the need to work toward…
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Chicago SunTimes | “School Cops Won’t Return To CPS High Schools This Spring, District Says”

Uniformed Chicago police officers won’t return to patrolling the city’s public high schools for the rest of this academic year, Chicago Public Schools officials said Friday. The removal of school cops is temporary until the…
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Chicago SunTimes | “Adam Toledo Shooting Reinforces CPS Students’ Views On School Police”

For many teens, processing Adam’s killing has included being there for friends. Thomas consoled a classmate who cried after authorities released body camera footage of the shooting last week. Nathaniel Martinez, a sophomore at Roosevelt…
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WTTW Chicago Tonight | CPS Considers Alternatives to School Resource Officers

While several Chicago Public Schools have removed police officers from their buildings, 55 schools in the city still have school resource officers.   On Wednesday, after months of meetings with students, parents and other partners, the…
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Chicago Sun Times | CPS pushes alternatives to police in schools, but won’t yank them yet

Months after Chicago’s school board narrowly voted to renew a multi-million dollar contract with Chicago police that left uniformed officers in dozens of high schools, school officials are revealing alternative safety recommendations developed in partnership…
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