#Perspective: What Room 210 Taught Me about the Miseducation of the Chicago Public School System.
The world is our education. Don’t try to box us in.
Sophomore Year, 2010. I had missed the bell by a few seconds before my high school Biology teacher slammed the door in my face as he stayed firm in his mantra, “Tardiness is unacceptable.” As instructed, if tardy, you must immediately go to Room 210. A hall sweep began, and I made my way down the long hallway lined with lockers. I had heard about Room 210, and without experiencing it, I knew that it was a place I didn’t want to be. Its infamous room number was spray-painted on the wall above the double doors, guarded by the Dean of Students and sometimes police officers who kept a gun holstered to their waist. The room was becoming full as students entered carelessly to claim an empty desk. I had claimed mine and observed the space around me. There were no books, no teacher present to give instructions, no windows, and no order. The Dean of Students waited for the last few students to trickle in, entered, and slammed the door behind him. I had wished more than ever to be outside of Room 210, even in Biology, which I hated so much. Anywhere was better than here.
Room 210 was a disciplinary classroom at Hyde Park Academy, a high school located on the South Side of Chicago, IL, with notable alumni such as writer and poet Gwendolyn Brooks and rappers G Herbo, King Von, and King Louie. During an interview with Rouz Productions, a Chicago-based production company founded by Caprice Williams (Class of 2012), Ralph Bennett, ex-Dean of Students who entered Hyde Park Academy during the 2006–2007 school year, spoke about the creation of Room 210. According to Bennett, “Room 210 was an abandoned theatre lecture hall filled with file cabinets, boxes, and books piled high to the ceiling”. It was not until the year 2006 when the principal at the time and Bennett made it into what I know it as today — a space where students who lacked structure and discipline (and who were tardy) unwillingly gathered to maintain the peace outside of the doors of Room 210.
Reflecting on that time, Room 210 did not register to me as what others deemed to be “detention.” Based on the idea of detention as presented in popular films such as The Breakfast Club and on nostalgic TV shows such as Degrassi, detention did not disrupt the student’s education. For them, detention was served after school or on Saturdays and filled with stereotypical White students from middle-class backgrounds. However, that is not the case for students at Hyde Park Academy. In 2010–2011, African American students made up 99.6% at Hyde Park Academy, and the median household income for a family on the Southside ranges well under $37,000. This means that 100% of the students sent to Room 210 during the day were underprivileged African Americans, and we lost a significant percentage of our education almost daily.
Though Room 210 was created to eliminate classroom disturbance, it is also critical to assess the detriment caused by removing a student from their educational environment. In addition to this form of discipline, students who are a part of the Chicago Public School system, the majority being low-income and Black students, are at a disadvantage resulting in low academic achievement. This is due to teacher shortages, budget cuts resulting from enrollment loss, and learning loss recently caused by the classroom shift due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. Looking at CPS holistically, programs that support the student’s need for mentorship, artistic expression, and best practices for their social-emotional well-being and mental health are absent. Seeking solutions, CPS officials have presented the idea of establishing restorative justice practices to aid in the discipline disparities present within Chicago Public Schools.
According to Chicago Public School, Restorative Justice practices are values, attitudes, and practices that prevent and repair harm, build community, and strengthen relationships, resulting in a positive, supportive school climate. To be proactive, a limited number of Chicago Public Schools received Restorative Justice Coordinators to reduce student punishment resulting in suspensions or expulsion. Schools such as Hyde Park Academy, without Restorative Justice Coordinators, relied on the support of Chicago Police Officers. According to Bennett, having Chicago Police Officers present in Hyde Parks was their version of restorative justice. However, he admits to it being a different format than suggested. This idea is challenged by activists who believe that stationing police officers in schools contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. But as Bennett explains, “…if I didn’t have the help of the police, we would have been in big trouble.” When Caprice reacted to that statement, so did I. I was too reminded of the horrific fights that took place at Hyde Park Academy. And as the Founder stated, at times it was necessary. “…they might even end up in handcuffs because of their behavior, but the goal is to get them out of those handcuffs by talking to them.”, said Bennett.
As a graduate of Hyde Park Academy (Class of 2012 — heyyy!), I can reflect on the education provided to me by the Chicago Public School system and recognize the obstacles I’ve experienced based on the limitations provided. Sitting in Room 210, I knew that I did not belong there. I knew that the other students didn’t belong either. We belonged outside the doors of Room 210 and to an educational and nurturing environment. More than anything, Black students at any school deserve a chance. No one’s learning should be limited by keeping us placed in a room, especially when how we experience the world is our most important education.
“…But the goal is to get them out of those handcuffs by talking to them.”
-Bennett, 2021
Education Tool Box
- Discipline disparities — instances when students who belong to specific demographic groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, sex, disability status) are subjected to particular disciplinary actions disproportionately — at a greater rate than students who belong to other demographic groups
