Urban Prep Academy is an all male charter school in Chicago. It has done what many thought was impossible. Every single senior attending the high school has been accepted into a 4 year college or university. This is the school's first graduating class.
What is most impressive is that this school is operating in an area where poverty is high and most of their students are considered low income. According to their website, 82% of their students are low income in a district with 85% and a neighborhood with a 93% low income rate.
Furthermore, the school is a public high school open to anyone. They use a lottery system to select the students. The 2010 graduating class started out 4 years ago with only 4% of students reading on grade level.
Since the school offers an 8 hour school day, students typically put in more than 170 extra school days per year than many high schools. The students must take a double period of English every day and 4 years of Math, Science, and Social Studies. Everyone must also take 3 years of Foreign Language.
This charter school could potentially be a model school for schools in this country that are low performing. School administrators should consider sending their diplomats to the school to find out the main reasons for Urban Prep Academy's success.
High levels of low income students in a school generally translates into poor performing schools. Urban Prep Academy has beaten the odds and one has to hope that they have found a formula that can be duplicated and will prove to be successful over time.
ABC News named the school "Person Of The Week."Read the story.
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