MAYOR EMANUEL CONGRATULATES URBAN PREP ACADEMY CLASS OF 2015
Urban Prep Seniors Admitted to 180 Colleges and Universities and Received More than $11 Million in Total Scholarship Value
Mayor Rahm Emanuel visited students at Chicago’s Urban Prep Academy in the Bronzeville neighborhood to celebrate the achievement of this year’s graduating seniors at all of the school’s campuses. Urban Prep Academy will graduate 260 seniors – all African-American young men – at three campuses, including Bronzeville, Englewood and West campuses. This is the sixth year in a row that 100 percent of the graduates were accepted at a 4-year institution.
The 2015 graduating class were admitted to more than 180 colleges and universities across the country, received more than $11 million in college grants and scholarship, and had six Gates Millennium Scholarship winners – more than any other school network in the state.
“Six straight years of 100 percent college acceptance is no exception – that is the expectation of every child in the City of Chicago,” said Mayor Emanuel. “The young men of Urban Prep are continually raising the standard of academic excellence, both here in Chicago and nationally. Congratulations to the students, parents and educators on this incredible achievement.”
The 260 seniors graduating from Urban Prep this year have been accepted into more than 180 colleges and universities across the nation, including Cornell University, Dartmouth College, DePaul University, Fisk University, Florida A&M University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Indiana State University, Marquette University, Morehouse College, Northern Illinois University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This year, for the first time, Urban Prep seniors have also been admitted to Amherst College, Brown University and Princeton University.
“It is not chance that for the sixth year in a row 100% of Urban Prep seniors have been admitted to college, but rather it’s because of the hard work of our students and staff and the culture we’ve built at Urban Prep. Our students are changing the narrative for young Black men from one of negative stereotypes to the real story of being college-bound young men,” said Tim King, Founder and CEO, Urban Prep Academies. “I’m always proud, but never surprised, by the achievements of our young men.”
Urban Prep is the country’s first network of charter public high schools for boys. Since accepting its first class in the fall of 2006, Urban Prep has been recognized internationally for success in improving the academic, social, and emotional development of urban young men.
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