Saturday, October 26, 2019 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews
One morning during this school year, an adult male driving a van near Irving Middle School 805 S. 17th Ave. in Maywood, tried luring who he thought was a 13-year-old into his vehicle. The teenager turned out to a 23-year-old employee of a program hatched and implemented by parents and community organizations in order to avoid just this scenario.
“The worker radioed me, I called the police and they ended up catching him on 23rd and St. Charles,” said Antonette Dorris, the program director for Smart Routes to School — a pilot initiative that launched during the 2019-20 school year. “When all of that happened, we executed what we had been trained to do, but when I got home and my coworker told me, ‘Do you realize what happened today?’ I just lost it. That really could’ve been a 13-year-old girl.”
Testimonies to the success of the Smart Routes to School program have been piling up ever since the program was launched in the fall, District 89 officials and community members have said.
The program is the brainchild of District 89 parents who sit on the Safety and Violence Prevention Committee, an offshoot of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership — a faith-based social justice nonprofit based in Maywood.
In a letter presented to the Maywood Board of Trustees in March, Marche Williams, a parent of two young boys in D89 and the chairman of the committee, said that he and other parents, young people and other community members met throughout the year to talk about issues that concern them.
“We have listened to hundreds of local parents and residents, and what we have heard is that a program that would place community-rooted adults on the streets to help ensure that students can safely walk to and from school in the mornings or afternoons would be a tremendous addition to the Maywood community,” Williams wrote.
The committee drafted a budget $118,000 that called for the creation of Dorris’s full-time position, along with eight part-time route workers who would be positioned at four smart passage routes along major streets near Irving — including Washington Boulevard, Madison Street and St. Charles Road. The village of Maywood, Proviso Township and District 89 each contributed $40,000 — money that, so far, seems to have been well-spent.
“We’ve stopped several fights,” said Dorris during a prayer walk she hosted on Oct. 19 in Maywood along the smart routes she’s responsible for managing. The event was also sponsored by Broadview Baptist Church and the Maywood Park District.
“It’s not like fights happen every day, but the ones that used to happen on Fridays — we’ve stopped that,” she said. “There were also quite a few individuals on 17th who were loitering while our children walked to and from school. They’ve since become respectful of those hours we’re out here.”
Irving Principal Keith Mahone, who was hired earlier this year to replace former principal Michelle Hassan, said that he’s also seen the benefits of the Smart Routes program.
“Infractions after school have gone down tremendously as a result of the families who walk out students home and communicate with them,” he said during the prayer walk. “I’ve seen a difference in students’ behavior and their sense of security. Before, you’d get more parents calling w with issues on this block and that one. Now, there’s a much more positive energy. Students can interact with adults as they’re walking home. There’s that support now. Our data shows it from a climate and culture standpoint.”
Antonette Dorris, middle, prays with attendees at a prayer walk in Maywood on Oct. 19. | Shanel Romain
During an interview in July, Maria Hernandez-Franco, another D89 parent who sits on the Safety and Violence Prevention Committee, said that new program would give her some peace of mind and a stronger sense of empowerment.
“Before, there were issues with bullying, fights, lack of supervision, kids being dropped off at 7 a.m. and nobody’s out there,” Hernandez-Franco said. “That’s how the idea was born. We had listening sessions and Irving students told us what was happening at the school. They were unsafe. That’s where we took it from and developed it from there. Now, the teachers feel supported. The police feel supported. We’re all working together. Plus, it gives community members the opportunity to be involved.”
Dorris said that each Smart Routes worker is trained extensively by area police and fire departments. She said that she extensively documents various data points, such as incidents, on a laptop in her car and shares the data with Mahone and Carmen Rivera, the Maywood Police Department’s community resource liaison. That information, Dorris said, has helped with prevent conflicts.
Williams said that the Smart Routes program materialized because the parents were organized and disciplined about what they wanted. In addition to working with CSPL, the parents also worked with Proviso Partners for Health, an alliance of organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life in Proviso Township.
“This program was obviously needed,” he said. “I think by having the committee, the district saw us as an organized group. We had a list of ideas. We were pushing them, but we weren’t pressuring them to do something they didn’t want to do. If we didn’t have this group, I don’t think the idea would have gotten as far as it did.”
Irving Principal Keith Mahone, who was hired earlier this year to replace former principal Michelle Hassan, said that he’s also seen the benefits of the Smart Routes program. | Shanel Romain
During the Oct. 19 walk, Regina Rivers, a D89 board member and the youth services director for Proviso Township, said that the parents’ message resonated with the board.
“They spoke up about a situation that was a concern to them,” Rivers said. “Those parents brought their concerns to three entities and they met over the course of a year and developed Smart Routes.”
“Continue to speak up, say something and get involved in the school,” said Maywood Mayor Edwenna Perkins during Saturday’s prayer walk.
Rivers said that the program was based on Chicago Public Schools’ Safe Routes initiative. The name Smart Routes, however, was intentionally selected to avoid any negative connotations that Safe Routes may prompt, such as the notion that walking to school was completely unsafe before.
“This is about us all being smart in how we go through this endeavor,” Rivers said. “Once we begin to think that way, it will expand beyond the hours of going to school. It will become part of our everyday life and that’s what we the school district want for our residents. We want our community to feel that they’re safe and to love living here.”
This year, the Smart Routes program was piloted at Irving Middle School. District 89 officials have said that, based on its effectiveness, the program could be expanded to more schools in the district in the years to come.
“This is a huge step for Maywood,” said Mahone. “Hopefully, we’ll extend it to other communities throughout the suburbs.”
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