#CPSAlumni

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Aldridge Garden!

Today we celebrated the opening of our gardens at two Chicago area schools. Here is some footage from Ira Aldridge Elementary School garden pic.twitter.com/B1BgXnEBNb

— CommonGroundFND (@CommonGroundFND) May 8, 2017

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CANTILAN PILOT SCHOOL 2nd Grand Alumni Homecoming #longliveCPS#batch2003#CPSalumni#almamater#2nd (at Cantilan Gymnasium)

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Congrats Cuffe ES!

Congrats Cuffe Academy. It was a honor to deliver the keynote speech for your class today! Many Blessings. Love Y'all!! pic.twitter.com/ZJFmeUBJyr

— Lizzie G (@lizzieeg30) June 19, 2017

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Clissold Elementary and Curie High School alumnus, Elizabeth “Lizzie G” Elie, bringing her positive message to Chicago Public Schools!

A lifelong Morgan Park resident, Lizzie G performs exclusively clean songs — without curse words or profanity. It's an approach that some Chicago-area DJs have told her could be keeping her from a wider audience.

But Lizzie G, 25, isn't about to change. Instead, she's taking her positive message to schools in Chicago and beyond, teaching students about music and culture through the medium she first began toying with at age 11.

Her latest album, "Level Up" debuted in March and includes the song "No Bully Zone." The track encourages students to stand up to school bullying by reporting what they see. And besides performing her songs, she also works with students to create their own music in after-school programs and works as a motivational speaker.

"I want these kids saying, 'Oh yeah, Lizzie G was the artist that motivated me,'" said Lizzie G, a product of Morgan Park's Clissold Elementary School.

She became passionate about hip hop as a student at Curie High School in Archer Heights. Her song "Crank Dat Finess" featured lyrics that included instructions for accompanying dance moves. It remains her most requested song.

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So awesome!

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Author & Alumnus!

What an awesome time at my old Elementary school for Career Day. So many good memories at Haugan. pic.twitter.com/5HNjH8AdNV

— Travon Toussiant (@TravonToussian1) May 12, 2017

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Goudy Elementary alumnus, Anna Oehlberg, is now a student at Boston University School of Education. She wrote this great piece on her experience as an elementary student at Goudy! This is really worth a read.

Goudy is not like any other elementary school. It serves 738 children from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. Ninety percent of the students are from low-income households. Around 43% have limited English skills. 93% of the students are non-white. At first glance, this inner-city school may appear outdated and a stereotypical urban school. Within the brick walls is a culture unlike anything else in the entire world.

Considered one of the worst schools in the country in the late 1980s, Goudy emerged in the early 2000s as one of the best public educations offered in the city of Chicago. This did not lead the principal to limit who enrolled. The doors remained opened for the community surrounding the school. The halls are filled with 27 different languages, and in the classroom sits students with stories of fleeing war, famine, and potential death. In the lunchroom, a variety of cuisine is shared between all the students. The stereotype of an inner-city school is shattered by Goudy.

This was my elementary and middle school. I spent nine years walking the halls, learning from the teachers and from other students, interacting with worlds beyond my own. I would not trade this experience for the world. My best friends were a first generation immigrant escaping from the Bosnian civil war, a second-generation immigrant from Nigeria, and a girl who spoke a unique Spanish-English hybrid. Due to this educational environment, I was not living in a bubble. My bubble was the entire world. This experience allowed me to understand others’ perspectives  because I understood the variety of backgrounds people can come from.

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Evan Moore, Morgan Park High School alumnus, was named a finalist for the Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club. Great big congratulations!

You can read Moore’s piece here.

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RTC receives grant from the Roger Ebert Foundation from Crane alum, Chaz Ebert. #EbertHouse #excellence #cougarproud pic.twitter.com/assvYe2FSZ

— RTC Med Prep (@RTCMedPrep) April 6, 2017

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Busy day for Bulldog Acadec team: prepping at city finals, a surprise visit from Schurz alumni, and post-speech, interview round. pic.twitter.com/24lJ03ToGI

— Schurz High School (@CarlSchurzHS) February 18, 2017

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Congratulations to Fenger High School’s retired history teacher, Mr. Jackey Cason! Wow!

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April 1968

We commemorate @kingcollegeprep becoming the first school in the nation to be named after #DrMartinLutherKingJr in April 1968! pic.twitter.com/jixay7YtxZ

— Forrestville-King (@FKAlumni) January 17, 2017

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Westinghouse honors 3-time @NBA all-star and alumni Mark Aguirre by retiring his number. #GWCP #ImCPS pic.twitter.com/cOSjPdkpEX

— WestinghouseGWCP (@GWCPWarriors) January 12, 2017

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Breakdancing!