Zapata in the News

Zapata Academy in the News

Zapata Academy Excels Academically

Emiliano Zapata Academy was listed as #30 on Chicago Magazine's Best Public Schools list in September 2019. We are very proud of our students and teachers!

Zapata Academy was featured in a Chicago Sun-Times article on test scores on October 31, 2016. Zapata topped the CPS and the State PARCC averages.

Excerpt from the Chicago-Sun Times article:
Zapata Elementary Academy, 2728 S. Kostner Ave., focuses on reading and writing, longtime Principal Ruth Garcia said. Most of her staff can teach bilingual students in the top-rated school of about 800 until they’re ready for English instruction.

Staff stability also has paid off, she said, with some 35 percent of students proficient in English and 37.8 percent in math.

“The rules haven’t changed, the outlook hasn’t changed, the vision hasn’t changed,” Garcia said.

Former Chicago Bear Patrick Mannelly Visited Zapata with Bernie's Book Bank

Photo Credit: Nicolas Monaghan

Mayor Emanuel and Alderman Muñoz Visit Zapata Eighth Graders

Zapata Warriors Take Action

Seventh and Eighth Grade students in Mrs. Undda's class wrote to Congressman Luis Gutierrez regarding gun violence. Mrs. Ayala and Mrs. Undda both wrote legislative letters. Mrs. Undda hand-delivered these letters to Congressman Gutierrez's Washington, D.C. office after participating in the MarchForOurLives event in D.C. On the right is the response students received from Congressman Gutierrez. To download a copy of the letter, click the file below.

congressman_gutierrezs_letter.pdf
File Size:	327 kb
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Download File

Zapata students and staff showed our Bears spirit on Friday, December 13, 2019 when former Chicago Bears long snapper Patrick Mannelly visited Zapata Academy with a special delivery of books from Bernie's Book Bank. The special guests visited third grade classrooms and two of the nominees for the inaugural Patrick Mannelly Award read to our third graders. Students in preschool through sixth grade received a green Bernie's Book Bank bag full of six new books to read and add to their home library collection.

Read more about this visit here.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Alderman Ricardo Muñoz visited Zapata Academy and Ms. Juarez's eighth grade social studies class on June 11, 2018. The Mayor spoke with students and taught a civics lesson. Mayor Emanuel and Alderman Muñoz also viewed progress on the Annex.

Zapata Class of 2017: Published Authors

826CHI, Ms. Eliza Ramirez, and the students of the 2017 Young Authors Book Project present their new book, "P.S. You Sound Like Someone I Can Trust." Within this compilation of letters between 8th graders at Emiliano Zapata Academy and 10th graders at Amundsen high school, 62 teens reflect on their identities, share their hopes and anxieties about the future, open up about loved ones’ deaths, and swap K-Pop and Netflix recommendations.

Featured News Stories:

Featured Fox Channel 32 News Segment on 6/19/17: "Letters between students across city published in new book" - Watch the Segment here

Article in the Chicagoist on 6/7/17: "These CPS Kids Can Teach Us A Lot About Resisting Chicago Segregation [Book Excerpt]" written by Stephen Gossett - Read the Article Here

Article in the Chicago Reader on 6/20/17: "A new book from 826CHI shows how friendships develop through letter writing" written by Aimee Levitt - Read the Article Here

Article in City Lab on 6/20/17: "Student Pen-Pals Anthologize Their Lives In a Divided Chicago" written by Krutika Pathi - Read the Article Here

Article in South Side Weekly on 8/7/17: "You Can Always Count on Me" written by Elaine Chen - Read the Article Here

Article in The Atlantic on 9/29/17: "The Risks and Rewards of Student-Exchange Programs" written by Andrew Simmons - Read the Article Here

Purchase "P.S. You Sound Like Someone I Can Trust":
If you or someone you know is curious, you can buy the book at the Secret Agent Supply Store in Wicker Park or online at tinyurl.com/PSBOOK826. Funds go to support 826Chi in offering writing opportunities to more students.

Spotlight on Zapata Academy's
2016 Science Fair

Penny Lundquist, the STEM Institute Director for the Golden Apple Foundation, wrote about her positive experience serving as a judge at the Zapata Science Fair.

Excerpt from The Care and Feeding of Science Fair Judges: It's in the details...:
"Zapata put on a well-organized Science Fair. Students had been working on projects since the first month of school, and that showed in the quality of their work. All students had papers, and judges had the opportunity to read the papers in advance of hearing the students present. And the breakfast and lunch definitely did not disappoint.

The adults at Zapata honored their students and supported their success by being thoughtful in their own planning and organization. They took the enterprise seriously enough to not make a last minute affair of it, an all too common occurrence. They took the time to reach out well in advance of the Science Fair to secure judges, and they set aside time and created a presentation expressly for the judges to make sure that we too approached the task in a thoughtful and prepared manner. No surprise, Zapata is designated a Level 1+ school by CPS. It’s in the details …

Kudos to teacher-organizers Carmen Reyes and Eliza Ramirez and to principal Ruth Garcia for organizing and hosting an exemplary Science Fair. And kudos to their students for doing a great job on their projects!"