Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences

Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences

Learning to do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve
Address
3857 W. 111th Street
Chicago, Illinois, 60655
United States
Coordinates 41°41′25″N 87°43′02″W / 41.6904°N 87.7172°WCoordinates: 41°41′25″N 87°43′02″W / 41.6904°N 87.7172°W
Information
School type Public Secondary Magnet
Opened 1985
School district Chicago Public Schools
CEEB Code 140723[1]
Principal William Edwin Hook[2]
Grades 9–12
Gender Coed
Enrollment 696 (2014-15)[3]
Average class size 30
Campus size 72-acre (290,000 m2)
Campus type Urban
Color(s)      Green
     Gold[4]
Athletics conference Chicago Public League[4]
Team name Cyclones[4]
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [5]
Website http://www.chicagoagr.org

Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences ("CHSAS") is a public 4-year magnet high school located in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The school is operated by Chicago Public Schools. CHSAS opened for the 1985-86 school year in August 1985. The school is located on a 72-acre (290,000 m2) campus, 40 acres (160,000 m2) of which are dedicated to a working farm (it was built on the site of the last farm to survive within the Chicago city limits), and the students commute from all across the city to CHSAS.[6]

History

Opened in 1985 by the Chicago Public Schools as a unique, experimental high school devoted to teaching agricultural science to urban students. The school was founded, in part, to increase the number of minorities in agricultural careers, since most of the African-American farmers in the US had been forced out of business by the racist policies of the US Department of Agriculture.[7] It is located in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of the city. The students benefit from hands-on experience and summer interships, and many do go on to attend universities and major in agricultural disciplines. It was the second high school of this kind to open in the United States.[6]

Academics

All students are members of the FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America).[8] The school claims that it is the organization's largest Illinois chapter, and the fifth largest in the nation.[8]

Athletics

CHSAS competes in the Chicago Public League and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Teams are stylized as the Cyclones. The girls' basketball team were Class A Regional champions in 2003-04. The boys' golf team were Class AA and Public League champions in 2000-01.

Student life

In 2012, CHSAS began a partnership with The Nature Conservancy's Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF) program. This program offers paid internships to a select number of students from CHSAS and helps staff develop resources. The school sponsors six sports for young men and women, an additional four for young men, and an additional five for young women.[9] The school also sponsors athletes who compete in the Special Olympics.[9] The school also sponsors 17 extracurricular clubs and activities. Those that are chapters of nationally notable organizations include the National Honor Society (NHS).[10]

References

  1. ↑ "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  2. ↑ "Principal's Message". Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  3. ↑ "Chicago Public Schools: Chicago Ag". Chicago Public Schools.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Chicago (Agricultural Science)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 30 December 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  5. ↑ "Institution Summary for Chicago High School Agricultural". AdvacedED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "In Chicago, a Model Farm School", New York Times, 5 August 1992: B9, retrieved 31 December 2009, Jason is working on a farm, of sorts. He is a student at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, a public school set on the last farm in the city of Chicago ... When it started in 1985, the high school was only the second of its kind in the country, the first being Philadelphia's Walter Biddle Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences.
  7. ↑ General Accounting Office,USDA - Problems Continue to Hinider the Timely Processing of Discriminatinon Complaints, January 1999
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "What is the FFA?". Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Athletic Teams". directory. Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  10. ↑ "Clubs & Activities". directory. Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 31 December 2009.