By Ben Joravsky
The decision to close Jones has more to do with the changing demographics of the South Loop than with anything happening at the school. Even a casual one-day visit demonstrates that it’s living up to its reputation. It’s a two-year school for juniors and seniors, who transfer in from all over the city. There are no academic requirements or entrance exams–it’s open to all. The curriculum has few liberal arts courses beyond the basics like history and English; students concentrate on such subjects as marketing and banking. There’s a rigorously enforced dress code–ties, slacks, and jackets for boys, dresses or skirts for girls. Students are taught the proper way to sit, stand, and walk, and after a morning of classes, they head off to $6-an-hour jobs in the Loop.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
In January Vallas announced to the staff that the school would be “reconstituted” come fall. From now on it would be Jones Academic Magnet High School, with enrollment limited to the highest-scoring students, who would attend a full day of classes.
The changes caused a stir in the larger world after Schmidt, writing under her former name, Sharon Griffin, described them in Substance, an alternative newspaper on education published by her new husband, George Schmidt, an English teacher at Bowen High School. “Board decimates Jones,” asserted the Substance headline; a follow-up story, headlined “Jones tragedy continues,” quoted Vallas as saying, “Those [student] jobs at Jones don’t amount to anything.”
