Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson traveled to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to deliver a testimony to a House committee about the district’s struggle against forces like poverty and gun violence that affect how students learn and behave in the classroom.
The latest police statistics show Chicago crime is down compared with last year, including shootings and murders. But despite the trend, violence still wracks the lives of many Chicagoans, especially youth.
Jackson made the point, as did other speakers, that children exposed to trauma are at higher risk of lower grades, poor attendance, behavior problems, and dropping out. Trauma can also trigger mental health issues and substance abuse, she said.
Also on the panel were California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, Oklahoma state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, and Ingrida Barker, associate superintendent of McDowell County Schools in Welch, West Virginia.
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