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A Match made in Edgewater: Loyola and Swift School

Located in the heart of the Edgewater neighborhood, which is home to many immigrants and refugees, Swift Specialty School is an elementary school unlike any other in Chicago. The 700 students at Swift are extremely diverse, both culturally and linguistically. More than 40 languages are spoken by students hailing from over 30 countries. “Every time a conflict erupts in the world, six months later we get an influx of children from that region,” says Harlee Till, principal of Swift Elementary.

Teaching children from such a wide range of backgrounds, and often with limited or no English skills, requires a great degree of dedication. For over 15 years, Loyola and Swift have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, with each contributing to the other on many levels. Loyola education students gain experience by tutoring Swift students, and Swift teachers continue their training by participating in initiatives at Loyola. Swift students benefit from Loyola’s committed tutors and student teachers, and some Loyola students even become teachers and administrators at Swift after they graduate.

Carlos Irizarry (BSEd ’04), an eighth grade science teacher at Swift, tells a story that
illustrates Swift’s diverse student body and some of the challenges it presents to instructors. “When I first started teaching, I had a student who was born in a refugee camp and came to Chicago when he was 12 years old. I saw him splashing in a water fountain and making a mess. I was anxious to maintain control in the classroom so my first instinct was to yell at him—but then I froze. I realized that he had never known a free water fountain. I had to explain to him that water will always be there when he needs it.”
The catalyst for this collaboration is Diane Schiller, professor of education at Loyola. Since 1993, Schiller has worked as a bridge between Swift and Loyola. “The relationship with Swift is essential to the School of Education,” she says. “We have opportunities for every single one of our programs here.” Schiller has brought grants, students, and expertise to the elementary school while offering valuable experience to both undergraduate and graduate students at Loyola. Sylvia Baime, a seventh grade teacher at Swift, sees the benefits of the partnership. “Over the past 15 years I’ve taken many classes at Loyola to improve my teaching,” she explains. “Everything that Loyola is involved with I say ‘yes’ to, and I’ve gotten other teachers involved as well.”

The dedication and expertise of the staff at Swift has paid off, as Swift has seen steadily increasing test scores over the years. Even though 90 percent of the children at Swift live below the poverty level, Swift is one of the best schools in the city. “Eighty percent of our students meet or exceed standards in reading, and 85 percent meet or exceed standards in math,” says Principal Till. “That doesn’t happen unless you have teachers who know what they’re doing and who are committed to getting it done. The training that they receive at Loyola shows.”

In recognition of its long-standing partnership with Swift, Loyola University Chicago was recently awarded second place in the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Awards for Campus-Community Collaboration. The award means that $7,000 will be equally split between Loyola and Swift. The funds will be used to promote service-learning and civic engagement opportunities, further supporting an already productive partnership.