Latest news with #SullivanHighSchool
Chicago Tribune
12-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Robert Brazil, CPS principal who pushed Socratic method of learning, dies
Robert Brazil was for many years the principal at Sullivan High School in the Rogers Park neighborhood, where he gained a reputation for implementing the Socratic method of teaching and leading efforts that improved student outcomes. 'I often say that children learn more by example than they do by instruction, and here was the living example on an ongoing basis at the elementary and senior high level,' said Carl Boyd, a Kansas City-based urban educator who in the early 1970s taught at Parkside Elementary School in the South Shore neighborhood, while Brazil was Parkside's principal. 'It was remarkable just how many educators depended upon his leadership.' Brazil, 86, died of complications from a rare type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on May 11 at the University of Chicago Medical Center, said his daughter, Patrice. He was a Hyde Park resident. Born in Memphis, Brazil grew up on Chicago's South Side and attended Raymond Elementary School before graduating from Phillips High School. He received a bachelor's degree in physical education from Chicago Teachers College and then earned a master's degree in education from DePaul University in 1965. In 1978, he added a doctorate in education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Brazil's first teaching job was at Martha Ruggles Elementary School in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side, and he later taught at Paul Cornell Elementary School in Grand Crossing and then was the assistant principal at Nikola Tesla Elementary School in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side. In 1971, Brazil became the principal at Parkside Elementary School in South Shore. 'I want to make this school a place where there are activities taking place which meet the interests and needs of the children,' Brazil told the Tribune in 1971. 'I want the school to be a place where the children want to come and be a part of — not something they come to because they have to.' In 1975, Brazil was named principal of Parker High School in the Englewood neighborhood. The school had been called out in a September 1974 Tribune series titled 'Inside Our Troubled Schools,' which described nodding off during class, students gambling in the cafeteria and the smell of marijuana wafting through hallways and restrooms. Brazil led Parker, which later became Robeson High School, until being named Sullivan's principal in 1977. In 1984, he won a grant under the Carnegie Grants Program for High School Improvement to fund the 'Paideia proposal,' an educational program developed in 1982 by philosopher Mortimer Adler and 21 other educators. The Paideia proposal was in essence a call for school reform, championing schools' revival of the Socratic seminar and urging a rigorous academic core curriculum regardless of students' backgrounds or levels. Brazil implemented the Paideia approach at Sullivan, beginning with a seminar in which teachers would question students to enlarge their understanding of the world. Brazil directed students to not only read great works but to talk about them and to think instead of having a traditional teacher-driven lecture. 'The program is an outlet for children who might not be stimulated by a more traditional curriculum,' Brazil told the Tribune in 1988. 'Some kids who are very bright cannot survive in our education system because it is too limiting. Some people think that Chicago Public Schools children can't learn. I wish those people could see these kids.' Brazil's partner, Lynnette Fu, taught French at Sullivan and then went on to become an assistant principal at Sullivan and then eventually to a role at Chicago Public Schools' central office. 'He not only had big ideas, but he made them work. A lot of people have ideas, but they might hand them off to someone else to implement, but he was the one who made them happen,' Fu said. 'He was a fantastic principal — very innovative.' Brazil's work paid off, with the school's enrollment gaining in standardized test scores each year. 'We're getting to the point where kids are learning well, not just based on scores but on how they feel about themselves,' Brazil told the Tribune in 1990. 'When they tell me they feel smart, it makes me feel good.' In 1989, Brazil was one of 20 Chicago Public School principals awarded the first annual Whitman Award for Excellence in Education Management from the Whitman Corp. 'My father genuinely loved teaching people new things. He was a born educator, but he could have been good at anything,' Patrice Brazil said. 'He loved being able to improve a school's performance and was always talking about how well the kids at his school were doing.' Brazil broadened his focus to oversee staff development for other schools following the Paideia program, and he founded the Paideia Institute of Hyde Park and served as the group's executive director. For teachers, Brazil also launched a series of immersion retreats on the Paideia proposal in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, as well as a graduate institute at St. John's College in Santa Fe, N.M. Brazil also worked with the National Board of Teacher Certification to help certify educators. Brazil wrote several books, including 'The Engineering of the Paideia Proposal' in 1988 and 'A Covenant for Change: The Paideia Manual,' which the University of Illinois published in 1991. Brazil also self-published a 100-page memoir in 2005 about his upbringing, 'Memoirs of Bronzeville.' After retiring from Sullivan in 1993, Brazil continued to train teachers in the Socratic method, his daughter said. A marriage to Marilyn Wallace-Brazil ended in divorce. In addition to his daughter and Fu, Brazil is survived by a son, Alan; two granddaughters; a sister, Vera Green. Services were held.
CBS News
22-04-2025
- CBS News
Family says student with autism was sexually assaulted at Chicago public school
The family of a Chicago Public Schools student with special needs said their child was attacked, and the adults at his school did nothing to prevent it. The allegation was revealed in a lawsuit filed Monday. "No one has reached out, which is why the frustration," said the alleged victim's sister. The woman did not want to be identified, because she said her 15-year-old brother with autism was a victim of sexual assault. "We don't want this to happen to any other child," the victim's sister said. "It's very hard. I don't wish this on anyone." Th alleged incident happened between students at Sullivan High School, at 6631 N. Bosworth Ave. in the Rogers Park neighborhood. The lawsuit filed Monday by Disparti Law Group contains hefty allegations about inadequate supervision and protection of the boy with special needs. The boy "experienced a previous incident of forced kissing by another student," the lawsuit alleged. Then, on Jan. 30 of this year, a second classmate allegedly sexually assaulted the teen in a bathroom. "The victim was supposed to have an adult present with him at all times," said attorney Cass Casper. Casper said the 10th-grader's individual education plan, or IEP, "requires full-time teacher-assistant supervision," and says the boy, who struggles to speak, should never have been alone. "His ability to defend himself from a vicious assault like this is sadly nonexistent," Casper said. The victim's family is suing the Chicago Board of Education. The lawsuit also specifically names Sullivan High School teacher Deidre Denault — who is accused of telling the sophomore to "simply ignore the situation rather than advocating for his protection." Assistant Principal John Rosebloom is also a defendant. The lawsuit said he "failed to properly maintain supervision" of the autistic teen and "failed to develop an effective safety plan." A third unnamed employee allegedly threatened the teenager with retaliation if he reported the sexual assault. Attorneys believe she might be related to the alleged student attacker. "Anxious," the victim's sister said. "Sad." The victim is no longer a student at Sullivan High. His family said he is still mentally and emotionally recovering. "If he needs to use the bathroom, he asks us not to leave his side," the victim's sister said. "If he has to speak with someone, he doesn't want to leave our side." CBS confirmed the incident in the lawsuit is under investigation, and released the following statement: "While the District can't comment on any pending or ongoing litigation, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), prioritizes and takes seriously its responsibility to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of all students." No one would say if the student accused in the alleged sex assault was disciplined.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sullivan High School performing 'Cinderella the Musical'
SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— Sullivan High School will be presenting 'Cinderella the Musical'. This musical follows Cinderella, who is forced into a life of serving her stepmother and stepsisters, but dreams of a better life. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on March 13, 14, and 15. Students say they have been working very hard on this musical and hope people attend. 'We've been working on this for like three months,' said Cinderella actress Ezra Porter. 'And this is my first time doing a musical or anything like this. I'm very scared, but I'm very excited.' Tickets will be sold at the door for seven dollars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
