Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men
Encyclopedia
Urban Prep Academies is a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 that operates a network of free open-enrollment public all-male college-preparatory high schools in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. Founded in 2002, and receiving its first Charter approval from Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...

 in 2005, it operates the nation's first all-male public charter high school. The network opened a second campus in 2009 and a third in August 2010.

In 2010 and 2011, the organization made national headlines with the announcement that 100% of the seniors in the school's first two graduating classes had been admitted to four-year colleges or universities.

Mission statement

The mission of Urban Prep is to provide a comprehensive, high-quality college-preparatory education to young men that results in graduates succeeding in college.

History

In 2002, a group of motivated African-American civic, business, and education leaders, organized by former Hales Franciscan High School
Hales Franciscan High School
Hales Franciscan High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.-Background:...

 President Tim King
Tim King
Tim King is an American educator and non-profIt leader, and the founder and CEO of Urban Prep Academies, a network of all-male charter public high schools in Chicago...

, determined to establish a new high school in Chicago focused on providing a strong, college-preparatory high school option for boys in under-served African-American communities. African-American males had been, and continue to be, the lowest-performing demographic in Chicago Public Schools. A University of Chicago study published in 2006 reported that only one in 40 African-American boys in Chicago Public Schools will eventually graduate from a 4-year university.

The Chicago Board of Education approved Urban Prep Academies' charter application in 2005, and Urban Prep opened its first school, Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men — Englewood
Englewood, Chicago
Englewood, once known as "Junction Grove" , is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago. At its height, over 97,000 people lived in its approximately 3 square miles , but the neighborhood's population has since dropped dramatically...

 Campus, the subsequent September. It is the first charter high school for boys in the country and currently enrolls 460 students in grades 9-12. Urban Prep’s second school opened in the East Garfield Park community in 2009, and moved to the near west side of the city in 2011. Urban Prep’s third campus, serving the historic Bronzeville
Bronzeville
Bronzeville may refer to:* Bronzeville, a community area of Douglas, Chicago* Bronzeville, a neighborhood in Milwaukee* King-Lincoln Bronzeville, a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio...

 community, opened in 2010. Based on its success thus far, Urban Prep plans to open more schools in the Chicago area and in other low-performing urban centers. Approximately 85% of Urban Prep students are low-income and nearly all are African-American.

Admissions

Admission to Urban Prep is non-selective and determined through a lottery system. Enrollment is open to all matriculating 9th grade boys living in Chicago. Information on the lottery admission process is available on Urban Prep's admissions webpage.

Creed

One unique aspect of the Urban Prep model is the school creed, which is recited by the entire student body in assembly each morning. The school creed reads as follows:

We believe -
We are the young men of Urban Prep -
We are college bound -
We are exceptional-not because we say it, but because we work hard at it -
We will not falter in the face of any obstacle placed before us -
We are dedicated, committed and focused -
We never succumb to mediocrity, uncertainty or fear -
We never fail because we never give up -
We make no excuses -
We choose to live honestly, nonviolently and honorably -
We respect ourselves and, in doing so, respect all people -
We have a future for which we are accountable -
We have a responsibility to our families, community and world -
We are our brothers' keepers -
We believe in ourselves -
We believe in each other -
We believe in Urban Prep -
We believe

Support and Funding

Urban Prep Academies is a 501(c)3 tax-deductible charity
Charity
-Concepts and practices:* Charity , the practice of benevolent giving and caring* Charity , the Christian theological concept of unlimited love and kindness* Principle of charity in philosophy and rhetoric...

 organization, and relies substantially on private donors to support its operations. The organization's largest source of funding is the Illinois State Board of Education
Illinois State Board of Education
The Illinois State Board of Education administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the...

, which funds all charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...

s in the state on a per-pupil basis.
In 2008, Urban Prep received an anonymous donation of $1,000,000. In 2009, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation
Oprah Winfrey Foundation
The Oprah Winfrey Foundation formally The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation is a tax-deductible charity with total assets of $172 million. In 2006, Winfrey added $36 million of her own money to the Foundation....

 donated $250,000.

Media

Urban Prep has been the subject of many national and international news features. Virtually all local television news outlets in Chicago have profiled the schools, as have CNN and the 700 Club on their national broadcasts. Print media on the school has included pieces in the Wall Street Journal, The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...

, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

, Ebony Magazine
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...

 and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

.

During the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, Urban Prep students who had traveled to Washington D.C. were interviewed on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

 with newscaster Don Lemon. During the interview, Lemon referred to the students as the "Little Obamas." CNN has used the phrase "Little Obamas" to refer to Urban Prep students in subsequent newscasts, and Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...

 repeated the phrase when discussing the school in a segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show regarding education in the U.S.

The schools again became the focus of national media attention in March 2010, upon the announcement that 100% of the first graduating class had been accepted to a 4-year college or university. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley visited the Englewood Campus to speak with students, and various national media outlets featured the school. The Chicago Tribune covered the story on its front page, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News all ran short segments on the senior class, and ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer profiled the school as its "Person of the Week." Daley again visited the Englewood Campus at the announcement that the Class of 2011 had followed their schoolmates in having all graduating class members accepted to a 4-year college or university.

School Programs

  • Arcs: Urban Prep structures its educational approach through four curricular
    Curriculum
    See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

     and extracurricular "arcs":
    • The Academic Arc: a rigorous college prep curriculum with added focus on reading, writing, and public speaking skills.
    • The Service Arc: a focus on deepening the students' sense of responsibility and idenfitication of community needs by completing volunteer programs throughout the area.
    • The Activity Arc: a focus on increasing students' confidence, interpersonal skills, and leadership qualities by participating in at least two school-sponsored activities per year (sports, clubs, etc.).
    • The Professional Arc: a focus on providing students with valuable experience in a professional setting by requiring them to spend one day a week within such a setting. This serves to reinforce character and leadership development in students, as well as providing for them a means of work experience.

  • School Culture: A positive school culture is maintained by continued emphasis on the "Four R's":
    • Respect: Students and staff members address each other by surnames (Mr. Hatch, Ms. Johnson) only.
    • Responsibility: Students are held accountable to a strict code of conduct.
    • Ritual: Daily, weekly and yearly rituals such as Community and Tropaia reinforce feelings of community and self-worth.
    • Relationship: Each Urban Prep staff member is issued a cell phone whose number is distributed to all students, allowing for continuous contact.

  • Pride System: Each grade level at Urban Prep is divided into six groups of twenty students, known as "Prides". The "Pride" name is derived from the school's mascot, the Lion. Prides function as smaller units within the school to provide each student with an individualized mentor (the Pride Leader, typically an Urban Prep Fellow), as well as a peer-support network. Prides compete with one-another for points awarded for good attendance, high average GPA, and through intramural athletic competitions. Alternatively, Prides may lose points for dress infractions, attendance violations, or other disciplinary infractions. The Pride with the highest overall point total is awarded the Pride Cup at the annual year-end ceremony, known as Tropaia.

  • Uniforms and Discipline: Urban Prep students are required to wear uniforms and adhere to a clearly communicated discipline program based on community and mutual respect. The Urban Prep school uniform consists of khaki
    Khaki
    This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...

     pants, a white collared dress shirt, solid-red school necktie
    Necktie
    A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...

    , and black two-button blazer
    Blazer
    A blazer is a type of jacket. The term blazer occasionally is synonymous with boating jacket and sports jacket, two different garments. A blazer resembles a suit coat cut more casually — sometimes with flap-less patch pockets and metal buttons. A blazer's cloth is usually durable , because it is an...

     with an embroidered school crest.

  • Summer Programs: During the summer, students participate in academic, professional, and service programs throughout Chicago and around the world. Recently, students have attended summer programs at the UK's Oxford
    Oxford
    The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

     and Cambridge
    Cambridge
    The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

     universities, as well as elite stateside institutions including Northwestern University
    Northwestern University
    Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

     and Georgetown University
    Georgetown University
    Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

    .

  • Athletics: Urban Prep campuses operate independent athletic programs that participate separately, and occasionally compete against one-another, in the Chicago Public League. The Lions currently compete in the following sports:
    • Baseball
      Baseball
      Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

    • Basketball
      Basketball
      Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

    • Bowling
      Bowling
      Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

    • Cross Country
      Cross country running
      Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

    • Football
      American football
      American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

    • Golf
      Golf
      Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

    • Track and Field
      Track and field
      Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

    • Wrestling
      Wrestling
      Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...


Urban Prep Fellows Program

The Urban Prep Fellows Program, launched at Urban Prep in 2009, recruits recent college graduates from around the nation to work as full-time volunteer mentors, leaders, and educators for students at Urban Prep for a period of one year. Urban Prep Fellows are matched with a group of about twenty students - called a 'Pride,' of which there are six in each grade level - to provide mentoring, academic support, social and emotional guidance, and instruction in one course. In addition to their service to the students, Fellows participate in ongoing community activities and a seminar series to connect their experiences with leaders and ideas shaping change in urban communities. During the Fellowship year, Fellows are provided with housing, transportation, health benefits, and a monthly living stipend.

Urban Prep Alumni Program

Due to the school’s emphasis on success in college, the Urban Prep Alumni Program was launched in 2009, before the first senior class had graduated. Based out of the school’s office at 420 North Wabash, the Alumni Program maintains contact with and helps provide for the unique needs of each of Urban Prep’s graduates. In addition to publishing a regular alumni newsletter, the Alumni Programs helps graduates navigate the intricacies of applying for financial aid and finding tutoring help, as needed. Urban Prep graduates have matriculated into a wide array of public and private colleges and universities, including Georgetown, Cornell, Northwestern, Grinnell, Morehouse and the University of Virginia.

Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men - Englewood Campus

History

Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men - Englewood Campus opened in the fall of 2006 as the United States' first all-male public charter high school. The school's charter was granted in 2005 by the Chicago Board of Education with support from Mayor Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...

 and Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan
Arne Duncan
Arne Duncan is an American education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.-Early years and personal:...

's Renaissance 2010
Renaissance 2010
Renaissance 2010 was a program of the Chicago Public Schools school district of Chicago, Illinois, United States.In 1997, the Illinois General Assembly approved 60 charter schools for the state...

 initiative, which aimed to open 100 new schools in Chicago before the year 2010. During its first year of operations, the school was located in the former facility of Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...

 Robert Lindblom High School. In the Fall of 2007, the school relocated to its present home, another CPS facility, at 6201 S. Stewart.

School Traditions

  • Convocation: At the start of each academic year, incoming freshman students from all Urban Prep Academies campuses gather together for an evening event to mark the transition into high school. Urban Prep's Convocation ceremony is rife with rituals, including a procession of the organization's board members and faculty in full academic regalia, speeches by noteworthy public figures, a public show of support by the schools' "Brothers' Keepers," presentation of crested uniform blazers for the freshmen, and the students' first public recitation of the school creed.

  • Red and Gold Bowl: The first football match between Urban Prep's Englewood and East Garfield Park campuses occurred in 2009, and was referred to as the "Red and Gold Bowl." Due to the fact that 2009 was the inaugural year of the East Garfield Park campus, and the campus only had a freshman (and not a junior varsity or varsity) football team, only the schools' freshman teams played one-another.

  • Tropaia: At the end of each academic year, a school-wide banquet is held to honor students' achievements in the previous year. Individual awards are given for the student at each grade level with the best attendance record, most improvement in GPA, and highest overall GPA. The Pride Cup is awarded to the Pride which has accumulated the most points in the previous year. The name of the ceremony is derived from the Greek word meaning 'trophy.'

  • Speaker Series: Past guest speakers at the Englewood Campus include director Spike Lee
    Spike Lee
    Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....

    , U.S. Congressman Bobby Rush
    Bobby Rush
    Bobby Lee Rush is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is located principally on the South Side of Chicago. It is a minority-majority district and has a higher percentage of African Americans than any other congressional district in...

    , U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
    Arne Duncan
    Arne Duncan is an American education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.-Early years and personal:...

    , McDonald's
    McDonald's
    McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

     President and COO Don Thompson, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, and Major League Baseball star Gary Sheffield
    Gary Sheffield
    Gary Antonian Sheffield , nicknamed "Sheff", is an American retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for eight major league ball clubs from 1988 to 2009, primarily as an outfielder.-Biography:...

    .

History

Urban Prep Academy for Young Men - East Garfield Park was granted approval to operate as a Contract school by the Chicago Board of Education in 2008. The school opened welcomed its first freshman class in September 2009. After operating in a Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...

 facility shared with Willa Cather Elementary School for two years, East Garfield Park was rechristened as Urban Prep Academies - West Campus and moved to its present location at 1326 W 14th Pl in fall 2011.

After Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law in the summer of 2009 raising the cap on charter schools, Urban Prep Academies applied to the Chicago Board of Education to convert the school's legal status from Contract School to Charter School. The application was approved in the fall of 2009 for the school to occupy Charter status beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.

History

The South Shore Campus opened in a temporary facility in the North Kenwood/Oakland community area in August 2010, and moved to its present location within Chicago Public School's Williams School Complex at 2710 S Dearborn Ave the following year. The school's leadership consists of two transfers from the Englewood campus - veteran principal Benjamin Blakeley and assistant principal Richard Glass Jr.

Notable people

  • Board of Directors
    Board of directors
    A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

    • Judith Armstead, Malcolm X College
      Malcolm X College
      Malcolm X College is a two-year college of the City Colleges of Chicago located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, USA, at 1900 W Van Buren St. It was founded as Crane Junior College in 1911 to serve graduates of the nearby Crane High School, and was the first of the City Colleges to be...

       (Retired)
    • Kendrick Ashton, Perella Weinberg Partners
      Perella Weinberg Partners
      Perella Weinberg Partners L.P. is an independent, privately owned, global financial services firm providing corporate advisory and asset management services to clients around the world. Launched in 2006 by Joseph R. Perella, Peter Weinberg, Terry Meguid and several other partners from prominent...

    • Darryl Cobb, ACT Charter School
    • Merl Code, Nike, Inc.
      Nike, Inc.
      Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

    • Alexandre du Buclet, The Exeter Group
    • Oscar Johnson, The Private Bank
    • Loann King, Kennedy-King College (Retired)
    • Paul King Jr., UBM, Inc.
    • Tim King
      Tim King
      Tim King is an American educator and non-profIt leader, and the founder and CEO of Urban Prep Academies, a network of all-male charter public high schools in Chicago...

      , Urban Prep Academies
    • Joseph McCoy, Perkins Coie
      Perkins Coie
      Perkins Coie is an international law firm based in Seattle, Washington. It has been listed on the Fortune Magazine "100 Best Places to Work in America" for the past nine years. It is noted for its intellectual property, Labor and Employment, and Products Liability practice groups, and for its...

    • Stephanie Neely
      Stephanie Neely
      Stephanie D. Neely is the Treasurer of the City of Chicago, Illinois. She was sworn in in December 2006.Stephanie Neely is a native Chicagoan with deep ties to the City and a strong commitment to its civic and financial well-being....

      , Treasurer, City of Chicago
    • Mary Pattillo, Northwestern University
      Northwestern University
      Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

    • Steven Rogers, Kellogg School of Management
      Kellogg School of Management
      The Kellogg School of Management is the business school of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, downtown Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. Kellogg offers full-time, part-time, and executive programs, as well as partnering programs with schools in China, India, Hong Kong, Israel,...

    • Tim Russell, Quaker Tropicana Gatorade
    • Kurt Summers, Tidal Capital Partners
    • Joe Terry, Oprah Winfrey Show
    • Chris Zorich
      Chris Zorich
      Christopher Robert Zorich is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.-Early life:...

      , Christopher Zorich Foundation

External links

  • School website
  • Mark Mardell Success for a Chicago school in a poor neighbourhood BBC News
    BBC News
    BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...

    8 October 2011
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