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Whitney Young High School

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Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
Address
211 South Laflin

Chicago
,
Illinois
60607

United States
Information
School typePublic magnet high school
Established1975
OversightChicago Public Schools
PrincipalJoyce Kenner
Grades7-12
Number of students2,119
Campus typeCity
Color(s)Blue and Orange    
MascotDolphins
NewspaperThe Beacon
Websitehttp://www.wyoung.org

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, (commonly known as Whitney Young), is a highly selective-enrollment 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 2005, the school was ranked among the top 10% of high schools in the United States by U.S. News and World Report. This ranking includes both public and private high schools.

The school was established with the mandate of creating a diverse student body. Admission to Whitney Young is granted based on entrance exam performance and elementary school grades, and is open to all residents of Chicago. More than 9,000 students applied for the 450 spots in the 2007-2008 freshman class. 99% of Whitney Young students go on to college, and graduating seniors average a score of 26.2[1] on the ACT.

The students who began the 2005 school year commute to the school from all over the city. The student population is highly diverse—32% African-American, 28% White, 22% Hispanic and 17% Asian.

The school was named after Whitney M. 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 with seven teachers under the school's first principal, Bernarr A. Dawson.

Academic Achievements

Whitney M. Young is known to be a top rate quality high school within the Chicago Public School system. It holds a long length of academic achievements garnered by its talented and hard working students. 100 graduates were named Illinois State Scholars, and the Whitney Young Math Team finished first at the Chicago Citywide Math League. Additionally, the Class of 2005 had 21 National Merit Semifinalists, the third highest in the State of Illinois.

Academic Decathlon

The Whitney Young Academic Decathlon team has a history of high performance. As of 2008, Whitney Young has won the City Academic Decathlon Championship 24 out of the last 27 years, the Illinois Championship 22 of the last 23 years, and finished in the top five nationally 14 of the last 16 years.

At the 1995 Illinois State Championship, Whitney Young appeared to have been beaten 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 movie Cheaters.

In 2008, Isabel Salovaara broke the individual high score record with 9300 points of a possible 10000. She retains the sixth highest score in the history of the Academic Decathlon[1].

School Sports

Whitney Young's soccer program has a history of success. In addition to winning four city titles, it regularly has successful runs in the IHSA State Playoffs.ihsa.org On May 8, the girls team won another City Championship by beating Payton CP. In 2007, two players from Young signed letters of intent to play for NCAA Division I programs. Alumnus Willy Lara is currently playing with the U20 US National Team and at DePaul University. In 2007-2008, two more players have signed to play Division I soccer. Junior Jasmine Espino was named All-Midwest.

In 2007, Whitney Young Volleyball became the first public league team to win a bid to IHSA state finals. They lost to Neuqua Valley Naperville in state quarterfinals.

The school also has one of the best track and field programs in Chicago. Young, which has won two boys city championships in recent years, was listed among four other schools within CPS that could hold their own against suburban and downstate teams by a Chicago Sun Times Article.

Whitney Young Baseball won its first ever varsity city championship in 2007. In addition, by beating Mount Carmel High School, the team made history by being the first public league baseball team to make it to a state super-sectional. They lost to Saint Rita High School in the super-sectional 4 to 2. The Chicago Tribune ranked the Whitney Young 2007 Baseball team #8 in the state in the final rankings for 2007.[2]

In addition to Whitney Young's recent Chicago City Baseball Championship at the Varsity level, the Whitney Young Sophomore baseball team has won three straight Chicago City Baseball Championships in a row. The Dolphins beat the Lane Tech Indians 14-0 at Northeastern University on May 23, 2007 to secure the three-peat, and the schools first ever sweep of the top two baseball levels. Also, to top it off, the starting pitcher for the Dolphins threw a no-hitter. [3]

The school's rivalry with Lane Tech is one of the most intense in the Chicagoland high school sports.

Extracurricular Activities

Currently, there are over 100 student organizations available to WYHS students. Whitney Young encourages students to actively participate in extracurricular activities, and has over 60 clubs and organizations.

The school is also known as being one of the first public high schools in the nation to use podcasts for its school radio. The school's podcasts have been featured on WLS-TV news. The Whitney Young Streaming Radio Station, known as WY Stream, was started on December 9, 2004 by orchestra teacher Martha Murphy and assistant principal Melvin Soto, as a vehicle to showcase the many talents of the Whitney M. Young High School family. The 100th episode was recorded in November 2005. The podcast can be found here. Stream TV was added in 2006, and includes shows about Whitney Young High School, as well as news clips and internal features. Stream TV is located here.

The Whitney Young policy debate team has recently began to gain significant traction in competition within the state, city, and local levels. Locally, Whitney Young took 2nd place in both the Chicago City Championships[2] and the IHSA State Championships[3] in the 2008-2009 school year. Nationally, Whitney Young's top team came in 2nd place in the NAUDL Chase National Championship in 2009[4]. As of May, 2009, the Whitney Young debate team currently ranks in 11th place for the Unger Cup, a National Forensics League award "that honors the best overall policy debate squad in the country".[5]

The Whitney Young theater company ("The Company") has gained a reputation for taking on large, difficult, and technically strenuous productions. Past shows include Tommy, Les Miserables, 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.[4] Also, students Tiffani St. Cloud[5] and Miguel Ayala[6] were inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.

Whitney Young is also one of the few high schools in the Chicago Public School System to have dance teams compete at the state level. For the 2005-2006 school year, Whitney Young's Pom Pon Team and Guys and Dolls Dance Team each placed in the top ten at the IDTA State competition.

The Whitney Young Chess Team is also one of the strongest in the state. The team has taken third place in 2006 and second place in both 2007 and 2008 at the IHSA State Finals. The team also placed 8th at K-12 national competition in 2008.

The Whitney Young Swim Team placed first in the Chicago City Championship, defeating Lane Tech. This was the team's first city title in ten years. The swim team also won the City Relay Championships for the fourth consecutive year.

Whitney Young's Cheerleading team has gained recognition in recent years for winning the City Championships for 8 of the last ten years.

In 2009, they won the Boys' IHSA State Basketball Tournament, as well as the runner-up for Girls'.

Whitney Young won the Know Your Heritage quiz show tournament, defeating Hyde Park Academy in the finals with a score of 1,370 to 185.

The Academic Center

For more than 25 years, the Whitney Young Academic Center has been setting the standard in gifted education for 7th and 8th grade students. The Whitney Young Academic Center is accelerated, and has been nominated five times as best middle school in Illinois from ISATS scores in the Sun Times.There are many extracurricular programs for the children that attend the Academic Center, including a Math Counts team. As of the 2007- 2008 school year the seventh grade team placed first in Illinois and the eight grade team placed second.

Project 30

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. Dr. Joyce Kenner, who is the school's third principal, said, "I think it is time to let people in the city understand how this school actually got started."

Noteworthy alumni

References

  1. ^ http://acadecscores.gilslotd.com/wiki/Scorers
  2. ^ http://www.cross-x.com/vb/showthread.php?t=990695
  3. ^ http://www.cross-x.com/vb/showthread.php?t=990695
  4. ^ http://www.planetdebate.com/blogs/view/131
  5. ^ http://www.cross-x.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1719667

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