Catalyst called a number of schools to see how their transition students were doing. Here are the responses.
Lincoln Park has tracked the five students who arrived in the fall of 1997. Three have grade- point averages below 2.0, which is a C, reports Assistant Principal Michael Tippett. The other two are doing average or slightly above average work.
One student, for example, has a 2.6 grade-point and has passed all his classes since entering high school. Another student failed three subjects first semester.
Although Roosevelt has not tracked its transition students, Assistant Principal Willard Uber believes they probably are doing alright. “My impression is that they are doing at least as well as those who came to us from the elementary schools. They are the kind of kids who stuck with it over at the transition center. I’m not saying they are going to be the top of the class, but I think there’s a certain personality trait that got them here.”
James Breashears, principal of Robeson High school, says the school has been gathering data on students who entered last fall but has not analyzed them yet.
Principals and assistant principals at several schools, including Kelly, Englewood, DuSable and Taft, said they have not tracked their transition students. Alan Uppstad, assistant principal of Kelly, says his school has not had the time and personnel. Tony Dieppa, assistant principal at Taft, says that students are difficult to track because “They are all over. We didn’t put them all together. They are just regular freshmen.”