Whitney Young High School

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Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
Established 1975
Type Public (magnet) secondary
Students 2,155 (2005-06)
Grades 7–12
Location Chicago, Illinois USA
Oversight Chicago Public Schools
Mascot Dolphins
Newspaper The Beacon
Website www.wyoung.org

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, (commonly known as Whitney Young), is a Chicago public school that opened its doors to students on September 3, 1975 as the city's first public magnet high school. The school has earned numerous accolades and consistently scores among the top high schools in the state of Illinois. It is considered by many to be one of the most prestigious high schools in Chicago. In 2005, the school earned recognition as one of the top schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report, ranking it among the top 10% of high schools nationally. This ranking includes both public and private high schools.

The school was established with the mandate of creating a diverse student body. Admission to Whitney Young is granted based on entrance exams and middle school grades, and is open to all residents of Chicago. More than 9,000 elementary students applied for the 425 spots in the 2005/2006 freshman class. 99% of Whitney Young students go on to college, and graduating seniors average a 26.2[1] on their ACT scores.

The 2,155 students who began the 2005 school year commute to the school from all over the city. The student population is highly diverse—35% African American, 27% White, 21% Latino and 17% Asian.

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[edit] History

Plans for the school started in 1970, for a school to be built at 211 S. Laflin on an empty lot that was burned out by arson fires from the turbulence of the rioting that had been sparked by the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in April, 1968. The school opened on September 3, 1975, as a selective enrollment school with seven teachers, headed up by the school's first principal, Bernarr Dawson.

[edit] Academic Decathlon

Whitney Young is known for its record of achievement. The Academic Decathlon team won their 20th state title and finished fourth at the national competition in 2005, 100 graduates were named Illinois State Scholars, and the Whitney Young Math Team finished first at the Chicago Citywide Math League. Additionally, the Class of 2005 had 21 National Merit Semifinalists, the third highest in the State of Illinois. The Academic Decathlon Team have been longtime champions of the Academic Decathlon (USAD); in 1995 the Whitney Young team was beaten by the team from Steinmetz High School who had obtained a copy of the test in advance. This was dramatized in the movie Cheaters. Whitney Young has been the winner of the City Academic Decathlon 24 out of the last 27 years (beaten by Northside College Preparatory High School in 2003), state champion for 22 of the last 23 years, and finished in the top five nationally for 14 of the last 16 years. The coaches are Mr. Brian Tennison and Mrs. Susan McCannon, two teachers known for their unwavering dedication to the team and its competitive excellence. Every year that the Academic Decathlon team goes to the National Finals, the school holds a pep rally in support of the team.

[edit] School Sports

Whitney Young has a tradition of excellence in sports and also a wide variety of sports to choose from.

Its girls and boys soccer programs are some of the most successful in the city. In addition to winning three city titles, it regularly has successful runs in the IHSA State Playoffs. Most recently, the 2006 boys (19-5-5) were the last Chicago Public School team standing in the State Tournament. Its shootout loss to St. Ignatius in the Elmwood Park Sectional final was a heartbreaking affair. The Dolphins dominated Ignatius the entire match, but was held to one goal in regulation and two overtimes. Young outshot Ignatius 30-4 and held possession for over 70 minutes in the 100 minute match. They lost in the shootout 3-4. In 2007, two players from Young have signed letters of intent to play for NCAA Division I programs. Central Attacking Midfielder, Wilfrido Lara will be attending Depaul University. Goalkeeper Elliott Wall will attend Colgate University. Next year looks promising for Young as it returns to the Pepsi Showdown and plays an intense regular season schedule.

[edit] Extracurricular Activities

Whitney Young encourages students to actively participate in extracurricular activities, and has over 60 clubs and organizations.

The school is also known as being one of the first public high schools in the nation to use podcasts for its school radio. The school's podcasts have been featured on WLS-TV news. The Whitney Young Streaming Radio Station, known as WY Stream, was started on December 9, 2004 as a vehicle to showcase the many talents of the Whitney M. Young High School family. The 100th episode was recorded in November 2005.

The Whitney Young theater company ("The Company") has gained a reputation for taking on large, difficult, and technically strenuous productions. Past shows include Tommy, Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Beethoven's Last Night, Moulin Rouge!, both of which used music transposed by the students, and West Side Story. Although The Company has its merits, the productions they undertake have a substantial cost and usually result in a loss of cash flow for the high school because of the fact that their shows are not well attended.

Whitney Young Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps. (NJROTC) is one of the top NJROTC programs in the nation. Students within the NJROTC program are involved in such teams as the Physical training, Orienteering, Color guard, Armed Exhibition drill Team & Unarmed Drill team.

Whitney Young is also one of the few high schools in the Chicago Public School System to have competing dance teams compete at the state level. For the 2005-2006 school year, Whitney Young's Guys and Dolls Dance Team placed in the top ten at the IDTA State competition.


[edit] Project 30

On October 29, 2005 Whitney Young celebrated 30 years of providing education in Chicago. In conjunction with the school's celebration, known as Project 30, the school kicked off the "A Bridge To The World" campaign to raise $300,000 in funds to enhance the school's programming, development and facilities. Dr. Joyce Kenner, who is the school's third principal, said, "I think it is time to let people in the city understand how this school actually got started."

[edit] Famous & Noted Alumni

Samuel M. Sharp, Broadway actor (Rent, Caberet, Pippin)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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