CCE/CIEGSA-led School Tours*

Nicole D. Ortegón
Loyola University Chicago

In March 2010, the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) held its 54th Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois.  The 2010 conference marked the Society’s return to the city of Chicago after an absence of 40 years.  Therefore, the conference was of particular significance to Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Comparative Education (CCE) and the Comparative and International Education Graduate Students Association (CIEGSA).  The CCE and CIEGSA, in cooperation with Michigan State University, organized a tour of two high schools located on Chicago’s Southwest side for CIES conference participants.  CCE graduate associates Magda Banda, Yao Chen, Jason Lemberg, Carmin Montante, and Nicole Ortegón organized the tours and served as guides.     

Little Village High School is a public high school, and Cristo Rey High School is a Catholic high school.  Each school serves immigrant families, primarily from Mexico, living in the Pilsen/Little Village area.  Little Village High School was founded in response to a community-organized 19-day hunger strike intended to communicate the demand for the construction of a new high school in the underserved neighborhood.   That school is composed of four autonomous small schools: Multicultural Arts High School, World Language High School, Social Justice High School, and Infinity: Math, Science, and Technology High School.  Cristo Rey High School is a Jesuit-founded institution with an emphasis on college preparatory education.  One of Cristo Rey High School’s defining features is its Corporate Internship Program (CIP), in which students work five days per month in an entry-level position in a corporate firm.  CIP provides for approximately 65% of the cost of each student’s schooling.  Students have an opportunity to acquire valuable work experience and exercise agency in achieving their educational goals.

The school tours led by CCE and CIEGSA were sold out.  The approximately 40 attendees were from 14 countries, including: Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom, and the U. S.  The majority of attendees were affiliated with universities, but others were from publishing houses, research and development associations, consulting firms, international development agencies, research institutes, and ministries of education. 

Principal Chad Weiden speaks to the CCE/CIEGSA-led group on a tour of Little Village High School.

The attendees were given ample opportunity to communicate directly with the schools’ faculty, staff, and students.  They asked questions on a wide variety of topics, including the schools’ history; organizational structure; pedagogy; hiring practices; teacher turnover rate; student assessment; community involvement; student,  faculty, and  staff demographics; course availability; course content; language of instruction; cost of schooling;  financial aid; and “typical” student day.  Clearly, the many participants on the tours from other countries as well as those from North America outside the Chicago area enhanced the international flavor of the tours, complementing perfectly the content and character of the CIES meeting of which they were a part.

Nicole D. Ortegón
CCE Graduate Student Associate
CIEGSA Vice President
Loyola University Chicago

*This is a reprint of an article in the Spring 2010 issue of the Center for Comparative Education (CCE) Newsletter

** Pictures courtesy of Carlos Aburto, Editorial Norma, from Peru