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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LITTLE VILLAGE LAWNDALE HIGH SCHOOL (LVLHS) ON ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
WHEREAS, the Little Village Lawndale High School (LVLHS) is a public high school located in the South Lawndale (Little Village) neighborhood of the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, the LVLHS opened in 2005 and serves students from the South Lawndale (Little Village) and North Lawndale areas; and
WHEREAS, the LVLHS originated from the community's fundamental conviction that dignified education is a human right that should be accessible to the Brown and Black young people of the South, West, and Southwest sides of the City of Chicago. Community members and advocates fought for what was promised to them about opening a new high school and led fourteen parents and grandparents to a nineteen-day hunger strike in 2001; and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2001, 14 parents and community activists began a hunger strike demanding that the city move forward with building the promised school; and
WHEREAS, the group known as "The 14" or sometimes the "Hunger Strikers" fasted for 19 days, drinking only water; and
WHEREAS, "The 14" camped outside the site at 31st Street and Kostner Avenue, drawing media attention and political pressure; and
WHEREAS, as the activists of the hunger strike continued to advocate for control of the school model, they collectively went door-to-door asking parents to create an ideal situation in which their children could learn. These surveys produced fascinating results. Parents responded that they wanted a safe, small, and academically rigorous place for their children; and
WHEREAS, out of the survey results, the LVLHS created a structure that encompassed four autonomous schools within its campus; and
WHEREAS, one of the high schools is the Multicultural Academy of Scholarships (MAS) High School that aims to celebrate art, dance, and music as part of the curriculum; and
WHEREAS, the World Language High School aims to value bilingualism and biculturalism; and
WHEREAS, in the surveys, parents also called on the educators to prepare students for the ever-increasing jobs requiring strong math, science, and technological skills, which led to the formation of the Infinity Math, Science, and Technology High School; and
WHEREAS, the final high school was established as the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice (SOJO). This was the result of responses from the surveys that showed a pattern of the community wanting to "keep the values of peace and equity." Parents wanted all the children who graduated from the new high school never to forget the physical, spiritual, and communal struggle it took to achieve justice; and
WHEREAS, the Infinity, Math, Science, and Technology High School prepares students for the ever-increasing jobs requiring these skills; and
WHEREAS, each school has its own principal and teaching staff, and has approximately 385 to 400 students; and
WHEREAS the LVLHS has received the 2006 Cisco Project of the Year, acknowledging the school's building project as a significant success story; and
WHEREAS, in the spring of 2009, each school graduated from its first Senior class. Almost ten years after the start of community meetings and organizing in 1999, children have joined their parents in celebrating both the community's struggle to achieve this milestone and their personal academic and social journeys into the adult world.
WHEREAS, as of now, LVLHS continues to be a beacon of the South and North Lawndale communities, serving approximately 1,400 students in grades 9-12 and offering Advanced Placement (AP) courses, with 29% of the students enrolled.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Cook County Board President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby congratulate the staff, volunteers, and supporters of the Little Village Lawndale High School (LVLHS) on its 20th anniversary and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, this text be spread upon the proceedings of this Honorable Body and that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Little Village Lawndale High School (LVLHS) in honor of its outstanding work.
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