Whitney M. Young Magnet High School

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
Address
211 S. Laflin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607
United States
Coordinates 41°52′42″N 87°39′49″W / 41.8782°N 87.6636°W / 41.8782; -87.6636Coordinates: 41°52′42″N 87°39′49″W / 41.8782°N 87.6636°W / 41.8782; -87.6636
Information
School type Public Secondary Magnet
Established 1975
School district Chicago Public Schools
CEEB code 141383[1]
Principal Joyce Dorsey Kenner
Grades 7–12
Enrollment 2,153 (2015–16)[2]
Campus type Urban
Color(s) Orange     
Navy     
Athletics conference Chicago Public League
Team name Dolphins
Newspaper The Beacon
Website wyoung.org

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School (commonly known simply as Whitney Young) is a public 4–year magnet high school located in the Near West Side neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Young is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. Whitney Young opened on September 3, 1975 as the city's first public magnet high school. The school consistently scores among the top high schools in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 2009, Whitney was accorded the Blue Ribbon Award. Admission to Whitney Young is granted based on entrance exam performance, standardized test scores, and elementary school grades, and is open to all residents of Chicago. The school was named after Whitney Moore Young Jr., a prominent civil rights leader.

History

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 under the school's first principal, Bernarr E. Dawson. The founding teachers developed and planned the initial curriculum and policies for the school: Joe Korner (English), Jory Chelin (Math), Melanie Wojtulewicz (Science), Larry Minkoff (Social Studies), Roger Stewart (Tech), Sandra McKinley (Librarian), and Dr. William Marshall (Hearing Impaired). The Principal's Secretary was Lillian O'Neill. They met for many months unpaid in the unused John Phillips Sousa School Building while the Whitney Young facility was being constructed.

Math Team

The Whitney Young High School Math Team competes in several local and national competitions, including the City of Chicago Math League, the North Suburban Math League, the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics competition, the American Mathematics Competitions, and the Mandelbrot Competition. They won the 2013 4AA Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) State Championship.[3]

Academic Decathlon

The Academic Decathlon team has won many city and state titles and has finished as high as second place in the nation.[4][5] At the 1995 Illinois State Championship, Whitney Young was outscored by the team from Steinmetz High School, though it was later revealed that Steinmetz had obtained a copy of the test in advance. The Steinmetz team was stripped of the title and it was awarded to Whitney Young.[6] This was dramatized in the HBO film Cheaters.

Debate team

A two-student debate team from Whitney Young won the National Forensics League National Speech and Debate Tournament[7] in policy debate in 2010, becoming the first team from an urban debate league to achieve a national championship.[8] Whitney Young also won the NAUDL Chase Urban Debate National Championship[9] in 2010.

School sports

Dolphin mascot at the 2014 Chicago Public High School League championship basketball game

Whitney Young has 52 athletic teams of 12 different sports. The boys' basketball team won IHSA state championships in 1998, 2009, and 2014.[10] The girls' basketball team won the state championship in 2008, 2012 and 2014.[11]

Extracurricular activities

The Whitney Young Streaming Radio Station, known as WY Stream, was started on December 9, 2004 to showcase the achievements of students and staff. 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 Young Company") has performed such works as Tommy, ', Jesus Christ Superstar, Beethoven's Last Night, Moulin Rouge!, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and West Side Story.

In 1996, several students worked to organize the student body and find faculty and administration support for the Gay Pride Club. One of the organization's founders later became a member of the Chicago School Board.[12] Also, students were inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.[13][14] The Whitney Young Chess Team won the IHSA state championship in 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2013–2014, and 2015-2016.[15]

The Academic Center

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, Honors World History and Honors Biology in eighth grade. In addition, students are allowed to select up to two elective classes each year. There are many extracurricular programs for the students who attend the Academic Center, including basketball, cross country, track and math team.

Investigations into admissions

Whitney Young principal Joyce Kenner[16] and Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating how students were 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.[17] Kenner testified before the federal grand jury in early September 2009.[18]

In 2011, the Chicago Public Schools Inspector General recommended that selective enrollment schools reevaluate their use of "principal picks". Several political figures had used their influence to secure their children's admission into schools like Young. Kenner responded that she had used her principal picks on a wide range of students, and that only one of those students in 16 years had failed to graduate.[19]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ Chicago Public Schools: Whitney Young. cps.edu. Retrieved on September 1, 2012.
  3. ↑ ICTM High School Contest Team Results | Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics
  4. ↑ CPS CEO Brizard Congratulates Whitney Young High School Decathlon Team On Finishing 2nd in National Competition
  5. ↑ Clark, Jack (May 18, 2000). "All the Wrong Answers". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ Ilaina Jones. "No. 2 Spot Lifts Spirit Of Young". Chicago Tribune. April 24, 1995. Retrieved on September 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Whitney Young Wins National Debate Championship - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog". Chicagonow.com. June 22, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  8. ↑ Charles, Alfred (May 29, 2010). "Global Debate: Chicago Debate Chronicle June 2010". Globaldebateblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  9. ↑ "NAUDL : National Association for Urban Debate Leagues". Urbandebate.org. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  10. ↑ Boys Basketball Champions & Runners-Up
  11. ↑ Girls Basketball Champions & Runners-Up They are immensely successful in most sports, including cross country and track.
  12. ↑ "Student Elected (January 1997)". Personproject.org. January 8, 1997. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame". Glhalloffame.org. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame". Glhalloffame.org. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  15. ↑ citation needed
  16. ↑ Rossi, Rosalind; Spielman, Fran (August 25, 2009). "Feds subpoena Chicago Public School principal; Aldermen asked Whitney Young's Kenner to get their kids in". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  17. ↑ Spielman, Fran (August 13, 2009). "Alderman helps his kid get into top high school; WHITNEY YOUNG; Munoz called principal". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  18. ↑ Banchero, Stephanie (September 17, 2009). "Whitney Young principal testifies in probe". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
  19. ↑ Rosalind Rossi. "Inspector: Punish two principals". Chicago Sun-Times. January 4, 2011.
  20. ↑ Sherman, Ed (June 7, 1985), "Katrina Adams Up To New Challenge", Chicago Tribune, retrieved August 20, 2011
  21. ↑ Stephan, Terry (Winter 2004). "Tennis: A Great Match for Katrina Adams". Northwestern Magazine. Evanston, IL, USA: Northwestern University. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Chicago native Sharif Atkins in 'Preacher's Kid'". ABC affiliate WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. January 29, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  23. ↑ Jauss, Bill (November 2, 1998), "Canty's Homecoming A Filling Experience", Chicago Tribune, retrieved August 20, 2011
  24. ↑ "BA #064:'Open' Mike Eagle". Box Angeles podcast.
  25. ↑ "Joan E. Higginbotham: NASA Astronaut (former)". biographic sketch. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). November 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2011. EDUCATION: Graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago, Illinois, in 1982 ...
  26. ↑ "Gift From NASA". Jet. Chicago, IL, USA: Johnson Publishing. 96 (6): 12. July 12, 1999. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved August 20, 2011. They are joined by ... NASA astronaut Joan Higginbotham, a graduate of Whitney Young ...
  27. ↑ "5 - Marcus Jordan". biographic sketch. University of Central Florida. 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011. High School: Whitney Young
  28. ↑ Hamlin, Deana (July 27, 2011), "Local Olympian to hit the big screen", Stafford County Sun, retrieved August 21, 2011
  29. ↑ Marotta, Jenna (April 2011). "Former Chicago Athletes: Where Are They Now?". Chicago Magazine. Chicago, IL, USA: Tribune Company. 60 (4): 17 (of 17). ISSN 0009-3602. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  30. ↑ The Wachowskis’ World beyond “The Matrix” : The New Yorker
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