Published: 2 years 26 days ago
College acceptance: At Chicago's Urban Prep charter school, all male and all black, every member of the first graduating class got into a four-year college.
In Chicago, the graduation rate for African-American boys is about 40 percent, and only about half of all students are accepted to some form of college. The chances of young black men going to college – particularly young men from the poorest neighborhoods – are not good.
But the Urban Prep charter school, located in the city's tough Englewood neighborhood, has produced a very different statistic. In March, this school, which is made up of young African-American men, announced that all 107 boys in its first graduating class have been accepted to a four-year college. Just 4 percent of those seniors were reading at grade level as freshmen.
It's a remarkable achievement for any urban high school, but particularly one with a population that some people are inclined to write off. It has educators examining what aspects of the school are responsible – and how replicable they are.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0408/Inner-city-Chicago-charter-school-has-perfect-college-acceptance-rate/%28page%29/2
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