chanel
Silver Member
Urban Prep would be a charter high school. It would bring together some 150 boys from some of the poorest, gang-ravaged neighborhoods and try to set them on a new track. They'd have strict rules: A longer school day -- by two hours. Two classes of English daily. A uniform with jackets and ties.
And Urban Prep had a goal -- one that seemed audacious, given that just 4 percent of the Class of 2010 was reading at or above grade level when they arrived at the school in 2006.
In four years, they were told, they'd be heading to college.
About 85 percent came from low-income families, the overwhelming majority single-mother households. Many kids lagged far behind in academics, but that wasn't their only obstacle.
Urban Prep's dress code -- no earrings, sneakers, baggy pants, long hair or bling -- is essential to a school philosophy that blends discipline with a reach-for-the-stars message.
Every student has at least one mentor -- maybe a coach or a teacher among a predominantly young faculty. About 60 percent of teachers at the Englewood campus (Urban Prep has another school and plans to open a third this fall) are black men. They serve as confidantes and role models to students, many of whom have no fathers in their lives.
It's one of the unorthodox steps taken for a student population that requires extra attention. That's the reason for the longer school hours, the double dose of English and mandatory 20 minutes of reading daily, the assessments every six weeks, Saturday classes and summer school for those who need it.
Chicago school's entire first class college-bound | thetowntalk.com | The Town Talk
What a great story. Too bad regular public schools don't have the flexibility to do something like this.