Simeon Career Academy

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Neal F. Simeon Career Academy
Motto Home of Tomorrow's Leaders
Established 1949
Type Public secondary
Principal Ms. Tamara Sterling
Students 1,638 (2006)
Grades 9–12
Location 8147 S. Vincennes Avenue
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Campus Urban
Colors Royal Blue and Gold
Mascot Wolverines
Website [1]

Neal F. Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School) is a 4-year public high school located in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Simeon was founded in 1949 as Westcott Vocational High School in a building located at 8023 S. Normal Avenue, where it operated until the Kroger company donated a vacant warehouse (located at 8235 S. Vincennes Avenue) to the Chicago Public Schools in 1963. The Chicago Public Schools renamed the school in September, 1998.

Simeon operated in the Kroger building amidst horrible conditions until a new building was built, and opened for students in September, 2003. Simeon, perhaps is well-known in the Chicago area as a high school sports powerhouse, winning IHSA Class AA State Boys Basketball Championships in 1984, 2006, and 2007. Another incident the school is well known for is the tragic murder of Ben Wilson, a star basketball player (then widely recognized as the #1 high school basketball player in the nation) who led the Wolverines to their first state basketball championship and was killed on the eve of his senior season opener (November 20, 1984). After the tragic incident, then Mayor Harold Washington spoke to grieving students, denouncing gun violence in the city and promising a new gymnasium for the school, to be named in Wilson's honor. The gymnasium was completed in 1987. Since then Ben Wilson's number 25 jersey has been retired, no player has worn this number except for Derrick Rose, who was granted this honor from his superior skills and he moved on to become the nation's top point guard in 2007.

Today, Simeon is one of the best-run public schools in Chicago[citation needed], despite its poor test scores and low ethnic diversity (99.6% of the student population is African-American). The school is classified as a career academy, and offers vocational majors to its students.

Contents

[edit] Improvement

Simeon was one of 16 schools nation-wide selected by the College Board for inclusion in the EXCELerator School Improvement Model program beginning the 2007-2008 school year. The project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

[edit] Majors

  • Accounting
  • Architectural Drafting
  • Auto Body
  • Auto Mechanics
  • Band
  • Carpentry
  • Commercial Art
  • Computer Software Applications
  • Cosmetology
  • Food Service/Hospitality
  • Machine Shop
  • Vocal Music
  • Welding

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] External links