West Town Academy

West Town Academy [1] has been a part of Greater West Town Community Development Project [2], a communitarian non-profit organization working toward development on the west side of Chicago, since 1992.

WTA originated as a GED program aimed at Chicago high school dropouts. It became a fully state-certified high school in 1998 and, as cited in a November 11, 2003 article in the Chicago Tribune entitled "1 in 5 blacks drop out" and a Chicago Sun-Times January 9, 2004 article entitled "Schools pressured to dump bad students, critics say", has been retrieving "disenrolled" minority students from the Chicago Public Schools system through its association as a campus of Youth Connection Charter School. It also operates as an independent high school through the enrollment of students who are wards of the court and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. This unique situation makes West Town Academy both a public and private school simultaneously.

Over the history of its existence, WTA and its parent agency have hosted many notable local, statewide and national politicians. Then newly elected state senator Barack Obama was the commencement speaker for the class of 2000. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Illinois governors Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner have all used it as a podium to make policy statements. Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry and then candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois Obama held a campaign event in its original location during the 2004 campaign.

William Leavy, founder of West Town Academy and director of its parent organization, established the school both to serve the drop out population and to serve as a model of how such students could be retrieved and helped to achieve a high school diploma. Leavy has been an outspoken advocate on issues involving drop outs and under-served communities both locally and nationally, quoted in Chicago area publications as well as the New York Times. Leavy, the staff of the school and its students have engaged in various acts of public activism on the topic both in Chicago, and at the state capital in Springfield, IL.

West Town Academy moved to its new location, 534 N Sacramento, Chicago, IL, in June 2010.

Grossman, Kate N. Chicago Sun-Times. Schools pressured to dump bad students, critics say. January 9, 2004. pg. 8. Olszewski, Lori. Chicago Tribune. 1 in 5 blacks drop out. November 11, 2003. pg. 1.
Rowe, Anitra. Wicker Park Booster. Academy gives drop outs a second chance. November 29. 2006. http://www.pioneerlocal.com/booster2/news/152319,b2-dropouts-112906-s1.article