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Rev. Charlie Walker, associate minister at New Progressive St. James Missionary Baptist Church, and grandfather of one child at Orr High School:
I argued just as harshly as anybody against this turnaround. I felt like something was being pushed off on the community, without us having a say so about whether we liked it, wanted it, or it was needed. Since it became obvious that I had lost the fight, the best thing to do was to become part of the school. But I didn’t see me having a chance of doing that because of how hard I fought against it. I felt like the last person they would want to come to the school would be myself. But one night I got a call from the principal, Mr. Poole, who wanted me to come in. So I came on in and I talked to him. Everything that he said, I liked it. I repeat: everything he said. It’s hard for me to like everything someone says. There’s got to be a catch somewhere. The next thing was to find out how truthful this man was, how dedicated he was to his word. I did my research and found out he was.
Mr. Poole took me on a tour through the school, and the idea he gave me was that they were parent-friendly. They were making sure the kids wear a uniform. They make sure businesses in the area know that if there are students wearing uniforms who are causing problems, to call Mr. Poole and he’ll come and get them. It made me feel good.
You have to come in, roll up your sleeves and get involved. And that’s what AUSL has shown me. I give the teachers a lot of credit. They’re all putting forth 110 percent effort. They have compassion and understanding of students. They show so much concern. The teachers told me face to face that they would rather teach a child to learn what they can use for the rest of life, than just pass a test. I love that attitude.
They allowed me to sit in on teacher’s meetings. It was no problem at all. The principal had an open-door policy. I’m at the school every day. As I go through and check out the classrooms, I see students sitting down and studying, I see teachers walking around and helping the students. I see teachers sitting in circles talking. What I don’t find are boys sitting on desks hugging and kissing girls, I don’t find kids walking in the halls all the time, I don’t find teachers sitting behind the desk reading magazines or listening to music, ignoring the students. Test stores went up. Why not? Kids are studying now.
Before the school opened, the teachers, principal, myself and others walked through the neighborhood. We actually walked up and down the streets, letting the people know AUSL is here, and saying, “Please bring your children to school on Sept. 2.” They even talked to some of the drug dealers about getting their children to school. That impressed me. It’s something this neighborhood had never ever seen before. Another exciting thing is the parent patrol. Parents standing outside with signs saying, “Come in and see our beautiful school, the computers in every room, not just one or two.” The principal stood on the yellow line in the middle of Kedzie with a sign saying, “Come and see our school.”
This is a tough school. We’ve got kids coming in with ankle bracelets on, kids coming directly from jail, kids who got kicked out of other schools. They all flock here to Orr. Orr has become a dumping ground. But Mr. Poole refuses to run up the white flag. I’m going to support Mr. Poole come hell or high water. Probably the last time I saw a principal this good was 1956.
This school came a long way in such a short time. Some people don’t want to admit that they’re wrong. I don’t mind it. I’m glad they didn’t listen to me. If you really care about kids, really want what’s best for kids, you take yourself out of the equation. When I met Mr. Poole he said would I give AUSL a try? I said no, because it ain’t gonna work. I was wrong. It worked, tremendously. I’m proud to be affiliated with AUSL. |
