Kellogg Mission Addition
Mission Addition & Capital Expansion Talking Points
In August 2020, Alderman O’Shea announced nearly $3 million worth of upgrades to Kellogg. This investment is longer overdue – Kellogg hasn’t seen meaningful investment for two decades. However, while welcome, the proposed plan fails to address our needs. We are advocating for responsible, equitable, long-term investment. Our modular is crumbling. It is not a matter of if we need this replaced, it is a matter of when.
What we need:
-We need an addition to replace our modular. An addition should include a kitchen, cafeteria, and classrooms. If we are not getting an addition this year, we need a timeline, plan, and commitment for replacing our modular.
-We need a working boiler.
-We need improvements to make our building ADA accessible. The improvements should not reduce precious instructional space.
-We need updated bathrooms.
-We need the Kellogg LSC to be included in the planning process to ensure that money is spent wisely and in a way that addresses the school’s needs.
-We need equitable investment in our school. We have a high-performing, 90 percent-black school that is suffering from many decades of chronic underinvestment in terms of capital investment. Our students should not be an afterthought in the 19th ward.
What we do not need:
-We do not need any improvements or changes made that prevent an addition from being built.
-We do not need money spent on things that are not prioritized needs, such as a playlot, ramp, and stage lift.
-We do not need wasteful spending at Kellogg.
-We do not need any renovations made that will reduce our instructional space.
What is being offered vs what we need:
-We are offered an elevator that would prevent an addition from being built.
-We are offered a playlot when we have one that works.
-We are offered a stage lift, when our stage cannot be used because the auditorium does triple duty as a gym and a cafeteria.
-We are offered a ramp at the front door when we have one at the back door. A front-door ramp would radically alter the profile of our school and destroy a brand-new outdoor classroom paid for with a grant.
-We are offered new bathrooms. WE NEED THESE AND APPRECIATE THIS INVESTMENT.
What we need:
-We need an addition to replace our modular. An addition should include a kitchen, cafeteria, and classrooms. If we are not getting an addition this year, we need a timeline, plan, and commitment for replacing our modular.
-We need a working boiler.
-We need improvements to make our building ADA accessible. The improvements should not reduce precious instructional space.
-We need updated bathrooms.
-We need the Kellogg LSC to be included in the planning process to ensure that money is spent wisely and in a way that addresses the school’s needs.
-We need equitable investment in our school. We have a high-performing, 90 percent-black school that is suffering from many decades of chronic underinvestment in terms of capital investment. Our students should not be an afterthought in the 19th ward.
What we do not need:
-We do not need any improvements or changes made that prevent an addition from being built.
-We do not need money spent on things that are not prioritized needs, such as a playlot, ramp, and stage lift.
-We do not need wasteful spending at Kellogg.
-We do not need any renovations made that will reduce our instructional space.
What is being offered vs what we need:
-We are offered an elevator that would prevent an addition from being built.
-We are offered a playlot when we have one that works.
-We are offered a stage lift, when our stage cannot be used because the auditorium does triple duty as a gym and a cafeteria.
-We are offered a ramp at the front door when we have one at the back door. A front-door ramp would radically alter the profile of our school and destroy a brand-new outdoor classroom paid for with a grant.
-We are offered new bathrooms. WE NEED THESE AND APPRECIATE THIS INVESTMENT.
