![]() Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.Ĭlick here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation. Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Slater will stay on as the local school council chooses a new principal, Martinez told Jones families this week.Ī meeting to discuss the matter is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tensions reached a fever pitch when Powers reversed a previous decision to allow a female cross country athlete to train with the boys’ team due to inadequate facilities for the girls’ teams.ĭespite pressure from some students, parents and staff demanding Powers be fired - and a vote supporting the move from Jones’ local school council - Martinez refused to fire Powers in April 2022, citing “insufficient evidence.” CPS launched a Title IX investigation into Jones after allegations of discriminatory practices involving the school’s athletic teams. ![]() Several members of Jones’ local school council pushed to oust Powers last year, accusing the principal of ignoring problematic teachers and doing little to disrupt a culture of racial and gender-based discrimination. ![]() They also said Powers and other school leaders ignored or downplayed racist and sexist incidents, including one in which a student used a “Build The Wall” reference in the high school yearbook in June 2022. Former students told Block Club that racist behavior was common at Jones. Students staged a sit-in after Powers’ removal, calling on school leaders and the district to end the bigotry harming the school. It also comes at a time when hateful speech and hateful attacks are on the rise, especially against Jewish Americans,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez wrote to the Jones community after Powers was removed.ĬPS launched an investigation soon after, though it is unclear what the results of that were. “This incident caused harm to many students and staff, and it is completely inconsistent with our values as a school district. Powers was placed on indefinite leave four days later and replaced by retired principal Arthur Slater. Powers initially downplayed the incident, telling students and staff in an email the uniform was “an East German (communist era) border guard uniform probably from the 1980s,” referencing a visit to the country around that time. Powers was removed in November after a student dressed in a “Nazi-like uniform” was allowed to goose-step in the school’s Halloween Parade. I am confident the Jones family will to live up to our school’s motto - ‘Soaring Toward Excellence.'” … It has been both an honor and a pleasure to be your principal. “I am very proud of our school’s growth and progress over the past 15 years. “It has been my privilege and the capstone of 50 years as an educator to be principal of Jones College Prep,” Powers wrote. Powers, who spent 15 years as Jones’ principal, said he was leaving because of health concerns he and his wife have faced recently and a desire to spend more time with family. ![]() Joseph Powers announced his retirement Monday in an email to students and staff. SOUTH LOOP - The principal of a prestigious South Loop high school stepped down this week after controversy led to Chicago Public Schools putting him on leave last year.ĭr. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |