Outpouring of love, sweat and cleaning supplies at Leo Catholic High School
Reprinted from Chicago Tribune By Heidi Stevens, Contact Reporter
Published: September 27, 2016
Leo Catholic High School principal Shaka Rawls put out a call for help, and the community answered.
Boy, did it answer.
In August, I wrote about Rawls and activist Danielle Stipe's idea to host a beautification day at the 90-year-old all-boys school in Chicago's South Side Gresham neighborhood.
"We've probably got 20-year-old dust in the school," Rawls told me at the time. "There's a lot of love in the school, but you walk into some of the rooms, and you feel like you stepped into a time warp."
The beautification day took place Saturday, with some 150 volunteers turning out to wash windows, scrub walls, mop floors and dust shelves.
Method donated 28 cases of cleaning products. The Chicago Blackhawks donated money. Nuance Solutions, a South Side-based janitorial supply company, donated 1,200 pounds of bathroom cleaners, glass cleaners, floor cleaners and more. Fraternities and sororities sent members to lend a hand, as did several law firms. Leo alums and current Leo students joined forces to clean.
"It literally brought me to tears," Rawls said Sunday. "In such a divisive time in our country, to have the school be a galvanizing force in the community, especially with the negative perception of African-American males, to have so many races, colors and creeds come together to support the mission and the work we do at Leo — it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Rawls, a 1993 Leo alum, just started his stint as principal this fall. He's completing his doctorate in educational policy studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and previously worked as an administrator at Chicago Public Schools. He said Leo President Dan McGrath and Mike Holmes, vice president for institutional advancement, backed his idea from the beginning and rolled up their sleeves to help Saturday.
"At the end of day, we can't teach our kids just by exercising power over them," Rawls said. "We have to love them. This showed them, 'Not only do we love you, but there are people in the broader community that love you as well.'"
Leo has a proud history and a 100 percent graduation rate, but it has suffered from dwindling enrollment in recent years. Saturday's turnout was also a reminder how many people want to see it remain a viable, successful anchor in the community.
Jeffery McGee, a transportation manager at Nuance Solutions, said his company decided to pitch in as soon as he and his colleagues saw the August column.
"We just want the neighborhood to know we care," McGee said. "I'm a product of that area. I've been around Leo for over 30 years. I didn't attend Leo, but I played them in some football games."
Artist Carolyn Elaine donated a 6-foot-by-6 foot mosaic of President Barack Obama. Local artisan bakery Lou's Gourmet Sweets showed up with cookies for the volunteers.
"It sends the message to Leo that the community cares about their education," Stipe said. "It says that the environment where they learn and grow matters to people."
Rawls said he's already making plans for a spring break painting project.
"We're creating a loving, welcoming environment that's not just Leo, but the community writ large," he said. "Everyone is invested in the success of these young men.
"They feel believed in," he added.
That means everything.
hstevens@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @heidistevens13