Chicago Matters: Re-forming Englewood
Original Airdate: October 4, 2006
Aired: WBEZ Chicago Public Radio

Initiatives, reforms, changes in philosophy—the Chicago school
district has been trying to bring better education to students for
decades now. Yet less than 10 percent of Englewood High School
students meet state standards and it’s been that way for years. Our
documentary looks at the history of education at Englewood Tech
Academy, and the reasons for its subsequent label by Chicago Public
Schools CEO Arne Duncan as a “culture of failure.”

The documentary follows the transfer of Englewood students to Hyde
Park, another low performing school, and the newest version of
educational reform: charter schools. By exploring Englewood Tech
Academy and its closure; the effect on Hyde Park; and the birth of
Chicago’s first all-boys charter school, Urban Prep, this documentary
explores the past, present and future of education in a neighborhood
with some of the city’s poorest test scores.