COMM-ORG Papers 2003 |
Blanc et al.: From the Ground Up |
| Preface | Summary | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Appendices | Cited Works and Notes | Acknowledgements and About Authors |
We, the undersigned, agree to support a city ordinance for BALANCED DEVELOPMENT, stating that developers who are building new housing, doing substantial rehab or condominium conversions must set aside 30% of those units for affordable housing.
· A developer will know upfront that the set-aside will be required
· The developer may use less expensive finishes in the set-aside units to save on costs.
· Set-aside units must meet all Chicago codes regarding floor area standards and must have a similar number of bedrooms as the non set-aside units.
· Up to 50% of the set-aside units should be available for purchase by a qualified not-for-profit developer or public agency to operate as affordable rental.
· The remaining 50% or more of the units will be available for qualified low- and moderate-income purchasers in the community.
· Set-aside rental units must be affordable to individuals at or below 50% of the area median income (currently $32,250 for the Chicago area) with rent at 30% of monthly income. This means the rents in set-aside units must be lower than $850.00 per month.
· All for-sale units will be sold for under $160,000 per unit. Our goal is family size units for around $100,000. The price will be determined by the overall market in the community and the market rate prices in the development the set-asides are in.
· The purchasing family will receive a subsidy of up to $40,000 (based on family size and family income).
· The family must commit to remain in the for-sale unit for at least ten years to quality for the subsidy.
Organization ____________________________________
Official Signature: _______________________________
Date ___________________________________________
This project was undertaken as a collaboration between LSNA and RFA, with the dual goals of helping LSNA’s ongoing work and building general knowledge about the process of building community capacity. In our collaborative research effort, LSNA and RFA focused on the centrality of relationship building and the creation of community within LSNA. In addition, the research included comparative case studies of the implementation and outcomes of LSNA’s approach in two different areas of work: its school-based programs and its campaign for affordable housing.
Over the course of three years, the RFA research team collected and analyzed data about LSNA’s internal processes, its strategies for neighborhood change, and its impact on participants through:
1. More than 150 interviews with LSNA staff, leaders, and others familiar with LSNA’s work in the areas of housing and schools,
2. More than 30 observations of LSNA events including LSNA Annual Congresses, internal planning meetings, community forums, and school-based activities,
3. Analysis of documents such as student achievement data, LSNA budgets, and newspaper archives, and
4. Research and writing conducted by LSNA leaders including community surveys, personal reflections, and observations of public events.
A key component of the project was close collaboration with LSNA staff and leaders. As part of the planning process, RFA team members; LSNA Executive Director, Nancy Aardema; and LSNA’s lead education organizer, Joanna Brown, identified guiding questions for the project. In preparation for the full proposal to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, other organizational leaders helped to refine these questions, as well as helping to identify appropriate data sources. In addition, during the preparation of the full research proposal, LSNA education staff and leaders proposed to conduct community surveys as part of the research project. Throughout the course of the project, RFA staff met with organizational leaders and staff to discuss and refine emerge findings, to identify forums for input by LSNA, and to engage in dialogue about drafts of the document. Research activities are delineated in detail in Appendices III and IV.
Major Focus of RFA Data Collection | LSNA Research/Writing |
Analytic & Feedback
Sessions |
Written Products | ||
1999 | Spring | Round #1 of data collection about schools | Planning grant proposal | ||
Summer | Joint analytic meeting in Philadelphia | ||||
Fall | Round #1 of data collection about organization | Full documentation project proposal | |||
2000 | Winter | Memo about organizational approaches | |||
Spring | Round #2 of data collection about schools | ||||
Summer | Round # 1 data collection about housing | Joanna submits analytic memo about schools | Joint analytic meeting in Philadelphia | ||
Fall | Round #3 of data collection about schools | 1st Community Center Survey, LSNA leader provides analysis of trends in LSNA housing work | Discussion with leaders about emerging themes in schools, Discussion with parents about community center survey process | First draft of memo with findings about LSNA’s work in schools |
Major Focus of RFA Data Collection RFA Data Collection | LSNA Research/Writing | Analytic & Feedback Sessions | Written Products | ||
2001 | Winter | Joanna submits observations and analysis for school chapter | Draft memo about 1st community center survey process, Complete evaluation of Ames Community Learning Center | ||
Spring | Round #2 of data collection about housing Round #4 of data collection about schools | Writing workshop for parent mentor graduates | Develop outline for report on schools, Discuss process of feedback for community centers | Revised draft about LSNA’s work with schools | |
Summer | Community center surveys #2 and #3 completed | Education leaders review and discuss school chapter, Discussion with housing leaders about emerging findings | Memo about emerging findings about housing | ||
Fall | Writing by housing activists | Parent mentor writing published in Real Conditions |
Major Focus of RFA Data Collection | LSNA Research/Writing | Analytic & Feedback Sessions | Written Products | ||
2002 | Winter | Round #3 of data collection about housing | Writing by housing activists | Data about LSNA’s work with schools included in Cross City publications | |
Spring | Housing leaders review and discuss housing chapter | ||||
Summer | Complete report reviewed by LSNA staff | Complete report drafted | |||
Fall | Joanna completes reflections on documentation project | Complete report reviewed again by LSNA staff | Report and executive summary finalized by RFA |
A total of 123 formal interviews of individuals were conducted by Research for Action. 9 focus group interviews with a total of 38 participants were conducted by Research for Action. In these formal interview activities, 110 different people were interviewed. 9 participated in formal interviews 2 or 3 times over the years. A total of 36 discrete activities were formally observed. In addition to these formal interviews and observations, RFA staff participated in numerous informal interviews and observations, which are also written up in fieldnotes.
Other Activities Observed | Other Interviews | Housing Interviews | Housing Activities Observed | School Interviews | Education Activities Observed | ||
1999 | Spring | Annual Congress | LSNA outgoing president, LSNA assistant treasurer, Youth organizer, Block club organizer | Community Center Coordinators and staff (5), Education Organizers (3) | Parent-teacher lunch, Links to Literacy | ||
Fall | Neighborhood tour, Training of outreach workers, Logan Square soccer league, Neighborhood church service, Core Committee meeting (2 Core Committee meetings lead up to Annual Congress) | Writers of Holistic Plan and other longtime activists (8) Block captain and her husband (2) LSNA youth activists (2) | Housing Staff (2) | Neighborhood meeting about development | Local schoolcouncilchair(1), Principal (1), Teachers (2) | Grantmakers for Education meeting at Monroe School, Tour Ames middle school, Meeting between Community Center Coordinators and public health students, professional development for teachers in LS schools. |
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Other Observations |
Other Interviews |
Housing Interviews |
Housing Observations |
School Interviews |
Education Observations |
2000 |
Spring |
Annual Congress |
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Parent focus groups (12) Individual parent mentors (4), Principals (4), Teachers (5), Others familiar with LSNA’s work in schools (3), LSNA staff in schools (3) |
Parent mentors in classrooms (3), Community center activities (1) |
Summer |
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LSNA block organizer |
Neighborhood housing activists (2) |
LSNA committee meeting (1), Neighborhood zoning meetings (2) |
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Fall |
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Teachers (3), Administrators (2), Evening teachers (2), past LSC president (1), LSNA staff in schools (1) |
Community center classes (2), Awards ceremony, LSC election, Bilingual committee meeting |
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Other Observations |
Other Interviews |
Housing Interviews |
Housing Observations |
School Interviews |
Education Observations |
2001 |
Spring |
Core Committee, Annual Congress |
|
Housing leaders (6), Staff (4), Other neighborhood activists (2) |
Planning meeting for Housing Summit, Press
conference about tax abatement, Housing Summit, tour of changes in housing |
Parent leaders (2), Student focus groups (7), Teacher focus groups (7), Parent mentors (5), Community center coordinator (1), LSNA organizer (1) |
Classroom, Local School Council meeting |
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Fall |
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Local alderman |
Housing staff (2), Others familiar with LSNA's housing work (2), Housing leaders (2) |
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Winter |
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Parents on LSNA's school-based housing committee
(2) |
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Parent mentors focus groups (12) |
Activities leading up to parent mentor meeting about
literacy, presentation about literacy activities |
2002 |
Spring |
Annual Congress |
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Sample 1: Interview with School Administrators.
A. Background
1. Name, position, gender, race/ethnicity
2. Brief Professional history (e.g. yrs as adm./teacher, yrs at this school, etc.)
B. Roles/organizational issues:
1. Tell us what you know about Name of partner organization?
2. What are your sources of information?
3. What is the work that Name of organizing group is doing at your school?
4. What was your motivation or rationale for working with Name of organizing group?
5. What is the perception of Name of organizing group among teachers and other school staff? Has it changed over time?
C. Perceptions of Strengths/Problems/Challenges:
6. How would you describe the strengths of your school?
7. What are the most pressing problems facing your school?
8. Given the pressing issues you have identified, how would you assess the significance of the issue(s)that Name of organizing group is focusing on?
D. View of Relationships among parents/community/schools:
9. How would you characterize home-community-school relations at your school?
10. Has the relationship changed over the past several years? If yes, what is the evidence of the change?
11. How do you assess the work of Name of organizing group in making a difference in the relationship?
12. Are the roles of parents at your school changing? If so, how, i.e. what do they do now that they did not do previously?
E. Indicators/measures/changes:
13. What other changes would you attribute to the efforts of Name of organizing group? If not mentioned, prompt for changes in the following areas.
-Students
-Schools
-School district
-Neighborhood
-Community members
-Relationships/how people at various levels relate to each other?
14. From your perspective, what are credible measures that the work of Name of organizing group has made a difference?
F. Challenges/Barriers:
15. What do you see as the challenges or barriers to Name of organizing group having an impact on education in your school?
Sample 2: Interview with Context People
A. Role/Organizational Issues:
1. What is your title, role and responsibilities in Name of Organization (the organization this person is associated with)?
2. Tell me a little about your organization – what is its mission or goals and how does it carry out its mission/goals?
3. How do you know about the work of AOP?
B. Perceptions of Strengths/Problems/Challenges of education/organizational strength:
4. What would you consider to be the strengths of the local schools/school district?
5. How would you describe the most pressing problems of the schools/school district in this City/neighborhood?
6. What are the most important challenges for this city/neighborhood in addressing the problems of the local schools?
C. Identification of issues/decision-making:
7. Given the issues you've identified as most pressing, how would you assess the significance of the education issues that AOP is working on?
8. Are you aware of how AOP identified the issues it is working on?
D. Implementation/strategies:
9. How would you assess the approach of AOP to addressing education issues in this city/neighborhood? How effective is it?
E. View of Relationships among home-community-schools
10. How would you describe home-community-school relations in this city/neighborhood? (Here, probe for specific examples of when people are together -- who participates, what happens, what are their roles?)
F. Indicators/measures/changes:
11. What changes or impacts would you attribute to the efforts of AOP? (Let the informant volunteer a response. If not mentioned, prompt for changes in the following areas:
-Students
-Schools
-School district
-Parents
-Community members
-Neighborhood
-Home-School-Community relationships (how people relate to each other across levels)
12. From your perspective, what would be convincing evidence that the efforts of AOP or other community organizing groups in this city have made a difference/have contributed to improving education and the community?
13. Do you know if such evidence is being collected or how to locate information that would be useful in building that evidence? Are there other groups doing that?
G. Resources:
14. How would you characterize this city in terms of organizational strength and the synergy among organizations related to improving education?
15. What would it take to make a significant improvement in the education of children in this city/neighborhood?
Sample 3: Interview with Parents/Grandparents/Guardians
A. Background
1. Name, position, gender, race/ethnicity (if focus group, use data sheet)
2. Children in the school, ages and grades, present, past, future
3. Brief Professional history (e.g. yrs as adm./teacher, yrs at this school, etc.)
B. Roles/organizational issues:
4. What is your involvement with Name of Organizing Group?
5. How did you learn about and get involved with Name of Organizing Group?
6. How are the issues that Name of Organizing Group is working on decided?
C. Perceptions of Strengths/Problems/Challenges:
7. How would you describe the strengths of your school?
8. What are the most pressing problems facing your school?
9. Given the pressing issues you have identified, how would you assess the significance of the issue(s)that Name of Organizing Group is focusing on?
D. View of Relationships among parents/community/schools:
10. How would you characterize home-community-school relations at your school?
11. Has the relationship changed over the past several years? If yes, what is the evidence of the change?
12. How do you assess the work of Name of Organizing Group in making a difference in the relationship?
13. Are the roles of parents at your school changing? If so, how, i.e. what do parents do now that they did not do previously?
E. Indicators/measures/changes:
14. Has the work of Name of Organizing Group influenced your sense of effectiveness in changing education at the school/ in the district?
15. Has participation in Name of Organizing Group changed you personally?
16. What other changes would you attribute to the efforts of Name of Organizing Group? If not mentioned, prompt for changes in the following areas.
-Students
-Neighborhood
-Relationships/how people at various levels relate to each other?
17. From your perspective, what are credible measures of the changes?
F. Challenges/Barriers:
18. What do you see as the challenges or barriers to Name of Organizing Group having an impact on education?
Sample 4a: Focus Group with Parent Mentors—January 2002
(Explain that the purpose of this interview is to learn more about how parents in the parent mentor program think about education and how they help their own children in school)
1. Introductions: What is your name? What is the most important you have learned so far from participating in the parent mentor program?
2. I'd like to learn a little bit about people's history with school. How would you describe your own experience in grade school? How is this similar or different from what happens in the Monroe School?
3. a. Activity – Give everyone a pen and paper. Ask each person to make two lists of words. On the first list, write down words for your relations with this school before you were in the parent mentor program. On the second list, make a list of words for your relations with the school now that you are a parent mentor. Ask everyone to read their "before" list. Then ask everyone to read their "after" list. Then ask people to explain more about what they wrote. (probes: What kinds of communication did you have before with teachers? How do you communicate now? Why did you come into the school before? Now? How did you help your children before? How do you help now?)
(b. Use this if needed and if there is time - Can you tell a story about something that happened between you and the school or a problem your child was having before you were a parent mentor and how you might handle that situation differently now?
4. I'm sure that everyone one here knows that one of the important things that helps children is when they read at home. Most people read some things at least once in a while, like a lot of people read the Bible. I was wondering if there is any kind of reading that you did before you were a parent mentor? Is there any kind of reading that you or your children do now because you are more involved with school? (probe: go to the library, read over children's homework, do own homework, read other books)
5. Let's talk a little bit about attitudes. I wonder whether any one has a new expectations for yourselves now that you are in the parent mentor program? What about new expectations for your children's future
6. Is there anything else you would like to share about how the parent mentor program has helped you or your family?
Sample 4b: Focus Group with Parent Mentor Graduates
(Explain that the purpose of this interview is to learn more about how graduates from the parent mentor program think about education and how they help their own children in school)
1. Introductions: What is your name? When were you in the parent mentor program? What kinds of things are you involved with now in the school?
2. I'd like to learn a little bit about people's history with school. How would you describe your own experience in grade school? How is this similar or different from what happens in the Monroe School?
3 a. Activity – Give everyone a pen and paper. Ask each person to make two lists of words. On the first list, write down words for your relations with this school a few years ago, before you were in the parent mentor program. On the second list, make a list of words for your relations with the school now that you are more involved. Ask everyone to read their "before" list. Then ask everyone to read their "after" list. Then ask people to explain more about what they wrote. (probes: What kinds of communication did you have before with teachers? How do you communicate now? Why did you come into the school before? Now? How did you help your children before? How do you help now?)
(b. Use this if needed and if there is time - Can you tell a story about something that happened between you and the school or a problem your child was having before you were working here and how you might handle that situation differently now?)
4. Probably everyone one here knows that one of the important things that helps children is when they read at home. Most people read some things at least once in a while, like a lot of people read the Bible. Sometimes people read letters. Other people read recipes. I was wondering if there is any kind of reading that you and your children do at home? ? (probe: go to the library, read over children's homework, do own homework, read other books). Has this changed at all now that you are more involved with school?
5. Let's talk a little bit about attitudes. What expectations do you have for yourself in terms of your education or work? What are your expectations for your children's education? Do you think your expectations are any different than they were before you were a parent mentor?
6. Is there anything else you would like to share about how the parent mentor program helped you or your family?
Sample 5: Survey 2000 Logan Square Neighborhood Association (English)
James Monroe Community Learning Center
Name: _____________________________ Date: __________________
Address: ___________________________
Are you a Monroe School parent _______ student? ______________ teacher? _____________
Do you have children in a different school? Which? __________________________________
Do you or your family participate in the Monroe Community Learning Center? ____________
Which Classes? _______________________________________________________________
1. Do you know about the Monroe Community Center?
2. What is your opinion about the Center?
3. What activities would you like to see in the Monroe Center?
4. What activities could you provide at the center?
5. What suggestions do you have for improving the Center?
6. Have you seen any changes for the better in the neighborhood?
7. Have you seen changes for the worst in the neighborhood? Which ones?
8. What changes would you like to see in the neighborhood, and what could you do to bring them about?
9. Have you been affected by changes in the housing situation? How? (rents gone up? Can’t buy a home because prices are too high? Taxes went up? Do you know people who have had to move out of the neighborhood because of the prices?)
10. Are you interest in participating in a block club for the benefit of the community? (clean-ups, block parties?)
11. Do you know about Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA)?
12. In which activities would you or your family participate in the Monroe Community Center?
For adults: GED ___ESL _____Literacy _______
cultural activities? __________ which?
For children: Music _____Dance _______Art __________
sports—basketball ____volleyball ___soccer____ other _____________
homework and tutoring ______
Other activities:
Health: dentist ____immunizations ____doctor __________
Information about the community _____
Job training ______________________
Information about immigration, citizenship __________________
Family activities ____________ what kind ___________________
Family counseling ___________________ Youth counseling ________________
Prevention of drugs, alcohol and AIDS __________________________________
Computer classes ___________________________________________________
workshops (about what?) _______________________________________
Other: ___________________________________
Are you willing to be contacted about activities? Yes (telephone #) __________ no __________
Signature: ________________________________________
Name of interviewer: _______________________________Date/time __________________
Sample 6: Interview Questions for LSNA Housing Activists
November 2001
Introduction:
We came are here because LSNA invited RFA to conduct some outside research on its organization, on how it approaches community organizing and specifically how it has been involved in issues around public education and housing. LSNA also wants us to give feedback on what we learn which we will intend to do after we have done the research, analyzed the findings and written up the results. We expect the first formal feedback around housing issues to be available some time in the early summer.
For the past 18 months, people from RFA have focusing on LSNA’s work with the neighborhood schools. Now we are focusing our attention on housing. We’re here because we want to talk with you about Logan Square as a place to live, LSNA as an organization, your involvement with them, and about housing issues you are facing in the neighborhood.
With your permission, we’d like to tape record our interview. We won’t use your name if you don’t want us to. You don’t have to answer any question you don’t feel like and, at any time, if you want us to turn off the tape so that you can talk “off-the-record” we’ll do that too. The only people who will see the actual transcript of this interview will be staff at RFA. Okay? Do you have any questions? [wait time] Shall we begin?
1) How long have you lived in Logan Square? What brought you here?
2) How did you first get involved with LSNA? Can you remember your earliest days with LSNA and describe what they were like? At what point did you become a leader? At what point did you become an organizer?
3) What’s the difference between leaders and organizers? What does leadership mean within LSNA? How does someone become a leader in LSNA?
4) How did you get involved in working on housing issues with LSNA? (How long have you been involved?) What has your experience with LSNA been like?
5) What are you working on now? What strategies are you using to get things done?
6) What are some of the challenges you’ve faced? With getting things done around housing? Working with others?
7) What are some of the successes—however small—you’ve experienced?
8) Who are your current Allies in your work around issues of Housing? Who are you trying to make allies, hoping to make allies? Are there any opponents? Who are they and why?
9) Is there anything that we forgot to ask you that we should have asked you about?
Sample 7: Interview protocol for other housing-related groups
1. What are the current issues that (your
organization) is working on?
Prompt for:
Zoning (residential versus commercial, “upzoning”) and development
Taxes (home-owner tax relief)
TIF
Affordable rents (Chicago low income housing Trust Fund)
Other?
2. What types of strategies is the
organization using to work on these fronts?
Prompt for:
Informing public
Meetings
accountability sessions
workshops
letter-writing/calling campaigns
direct action
partnerships
3. Who do you consider your allies in this
work?
4. Have you done any work in collaboration
with LSNA?
5. What can you tell me about the Logan Square neighborhood?
Sample 8: Housing Activist Update
November 2001
Update
1. What’s been going on since this summer? When we left last time, LSNA was getting ready to do funeral procession at the Taste of Logan Square. What happened with that and what’s been happening since?
a. Some things we’ve heard about: Nov. 1 demonstration; meetings with Brunell properties; working with city on Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods; citywide coalition for balanced development; rescheduled meeting with Deputy Housing Commissioner Manaccio
2. Any more news on future of Lathrop?
3. How has the organizing at Lathrop been going? Are you getting any new help from residents? Any new people playing leadership roles? Has Ocassio taken any more interest in Lathrop?
4. Have the events from 9/11 had any impact on your work? (Foundation support? Economy cooling? Changing meanings of home and family? Changing role of the church?)
5. What do LSNA and/or Lathrop have in the works?