| Whitney M. Young Magnet High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 211 S. Laflin Street Chicago, Illinois, 60607 United States |
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| Information | |
| School type | Public Secondary Magnet |
| Established | September , 1975 |
| Oversight | Chicago Public Schools |
| Principal | Dr. Joyce Kenner |
| Grades | 7-12 (including Academic Center) |
| Number of students | over 2,300 |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) | Blue Orange |
| Mascot | Dolphin |
| Newspaper | The Beacon |
| Website | http://www.wyoung.org |
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School (commonly known as Whitney Young) is a highly selective Chicago public school that opened its doors to students on September 3, 1975 as the city's first public magnet high school. Located in Chicago's Near West Side community area, the school has earned numerous accolades and consistently scores among the top high schools in the state of Illinois. In 2009, Whitney was honored the US Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award. In 2010, Whitney Young sent over 60 graduating seniors to top-20 universities throughout the country.
Admission to Whitney Young is granted based on entrance exam performance and elementary school grades, and is open to all residents of Chicago. Each year, there are more than 10,000 applications for 450 freshman openings. Admissions are based on academic grades, standardized test scores, and entrance exam results.
The school was named after Whitney M. Young, Jr., a prominent civil rights leader.
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Plans for a public magnet school on Chicago's Near West Side began in 1970. A proposal called for a high school to be built at 211 S. Laflin on an empty lot burned out during the riots following 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 under the school's first principal, Bernarr E. Dawson.
Whitney M. Young is known to be a top rate quality high school within the Chicago Public School system. In 2010-2011, Whitney Young students included 11 National Merit semi-finalists, 13 National Achievement semi-finalists, and 8 National Hispanic finalists. During the 2011-2012 academic year, Whitney Young was ranked second in the state by the Chicago Tribune based on the percentage of student who met or exceeded state expectations on the Prairie State Achievement Exam.
The Whitney Young Academic Decathlon team has a history of high performance. As of 2009, Whitney Young's team had won the Academic Decathlon City Championship 25 out of the last 28 years, the Illinois Championship 23 of the last 24 years, and had finished in the top five in the nation 15 of the last 17 years. The team has finished second in the nation twice.
At the 1995 Illinois State Championship, Whitney Young was outscored by the team from Steinmetz High School. Several irregularities were revealed, but Steinmetz refused to submit to a "validation test." After a few weeks of controversy, several students confessed to cheating. It was revealed that Steinmetz had obtained a copy of the test in advance, and that their coach, Gerald Plecki, had condoned the cheating. The Steinmetz team was stripped of the title and it was awarded to Whitney Young. This was dramatized in the HBO film Cheaters.
In recent years, the Whitney Young policy debate team has achieved national acclaim,[1] as the team of Misael Gonzalez and Kevin Hirn won the National Forensics League National Speech and Debate Tournament[2] in policy debate in 2010, the first team from an urban debate league to achieve a national championship.[1] The team also won the NAUDL Chase Urban Debate National Championship[3] in 2010, following a finals appearance in 2009.[4] The team received media coverage from sources such as WGN[5] and Univision[6] for their historic achievements.
Whitney Young has 52 athletic teams of 12 different sports. The football team has had some success in both 2004 and most recently in 2010. In 2004 the Whitney Young Dolphins Football Team went on an incredible run as their Blue Doom defense set the modern day IHSA record with 8 consecutive shutouts. This last year, the boys ended the season in State playoffs with a record of 5-4.
The boy's basketball team won IHSA state championships in 1998 and 2009. The girls' basketball team won the state championship in 2008.
Currently, there are over 100 student organizations available to WYHS students. Whitney Young encourages students to actively participate in extracurricular activities.
The school is known for its Biodiesel Team (The Whitney Young H.E.R.O.E.S), [7] which won the second round of the Lexus Eco Challenge (a $10,000 prize and national recognition for the school). [8]
Whitney Young was one of the first public high schools in the nation to use podcasts for its school radio. 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 students and staff. The 100th episode was recorded in November 2005. Stream TV was added in 2006, and includes shows about the school, as well as news clips and internal features.
The Whitney Young theater company ("The Company") has performed such works as Tommy, Les Misérables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Beethoven's Last Night, Moulin Rouge!, both of which used music transposed by the students, and West Side Story.
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.
In 1996, Whitney Young was the first Chicago Public School to recognize an organization for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender students. Several students worked to organize the student body and find faculty and administration support for the Gay Pride Club. The students were able get the school to recognize the Pride Club, and the organization continues to exist to this day. One of the organization's founders went on to become a member of the Chicago School Board.[9] Also, students Tiffani St. Cloud[10] and Miguel Ayala[11] were inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
The Whitney Young Chess Team won the IHSA state championship in 2010-2011.
The Whitney Young Academic Center is an accelerated program for seventh and eighth graders. Seventh and eighth graders are immersed in an intense high school experience, taking courses for high school credit. Classes include Honors Algebra I and Honors Environmental Science in seventh grade, and Honors Geometry, Honors Survey of Literature, and Honors Biology in eighth grade. In addition, students are allowed to select an elective class each year. Based on ISAT scores, it has been nominated five times as best middle school in Illinois in the Sun Times. There are many extracurricular programs for the students who attend the Academic Center. As of the 2007-2008 school year, the seventh grade math team placed first in Illinois and the eighth grade math team placed second in the Math Counts program. The Academic Center also scores highly in Chicago Area Problem Solving, frequently winning first place.
In 2011, the Academic Center cross country team was the first of both boys and girls in CPS (Chicago Public Schools) to qualify for the Illinois Elementary School Association. The boys team then went on to win the state championship for that year.
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.
Whitney Young principal Joyce Kenner[12] and Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating how students are chosen for admission to the elite public schools. School officials released copies of a July 21, 2009 subpoena demanding the names of every student who applied to be among a select group of students hand-picked by principals of the elite high schools. The subpoena also sought e-mails and other correspondence with "public officials" about applicants.[13] Kenner testified before the federal grand jury in early September 2009.[14]
Chicago Alderman Ricardo Muñoz intervened to help his daughter, whose test scores weren't high enough, get into Whitney Young. On August 13, 2009 Muñoz acknowledged that he called Whitney Young High School's principal Joyce Kenner to find a spot for his daughter who could not get in on merit.[13] Chicago Public Schools' inspector general is investigating whether Muñoz violated rules. Chicago Public Schools District Chief Executive Ron Huberman launched an internal investigation, and the Muñoz case is part of that probe.[15]
On August 24, 2009 Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale (9th) became the second alderman to concede his daughter was admitted (in 2004) to Whitney Young after he called principal Joyce Kenner.[12]
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