Paul Hollingum recently visited Chicago and spent time at Sullivan High School, which will become a global partner with St Mary Magdalene Academy. Paul reports on his visit.

Sullivan High School is in North Chicago, an area that equates well to Islington, as it has a very diverse socio-economic mix. It is an area of large estates with pockets of increasingly popular upmarket accommodation. The locals say that the area is becoming “gentrified”.

The school faces the same challenges as any inner-city school: underachievement, disengagement, falling roles and challenging behaviour. Their approaches to meeting these problems have both similarities and differences to the way education is handled in the UK.

One way in which Sullivan High School can attract students from other areas of the city is by offering “Magnet Programmes”. These courses are allowed to select and offer place to students beyond their catchment area. Sullivan offers two such programmes:

The Medical Careers Academy – preparing students for a range of careers and offering a high standard of academic preparation as well as vocational opportunities.

Paideia – an honours course based on preparation through developing thinking skills using Socratic debate and seminars.

Although the core curriculum takes up the vast majority of timetabled time, there is an opportunity for students to choose some optional courses (electives) and it is through one such course that we shall establish a link.

They offer a course called “The Global Classroom” which is available to students in their Junior or Senior Year (years 12 & 13). In this course they establish a mini-United Nations and learn about global issues through individuals representing different countries in a debate.

The Assistant Principal, Luis Velazquez, was my host for the visit and is keen that our schools develop our link for the benefit of both staff and students.