Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

College-Bound Urban Prep High School Seniors Honored in Springfield

By Wendell Hutson | April 18, 2013 4:55pm
 State Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) (middle) is joined by seniors attending Urban Prep Academy for Young Men High School in the chambers of the Illinois General Assembly on Thursday, April 18, 2013. Sen. Hunter invited the students to Springfield to honor them for maintaining a 100 percent college acceptance rate for the last four years.
State Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) (middle) is joined by seniors attending Urban Prep Academy for Young Men High School in the chambers of the Illinois General Assembly on Thursday, April 18, 2013. Sen. Hunter invited the students to Springfield to honor them for maintaining a 100 percent college acceptance rate for the last four years.
View Full Caption
Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus

ENGLEWOOD — Students from Urban Prep Academy for Young Men High School were honored by the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield Thursday for their 100 percent college acceptance rate.

State Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) invited the all-male charter school, whose West Side campus is located in her district, to the state's capital for the recognition.

“I am impressed with these young men, their drive and commitment to scholarship,” Sen. Hunter said in a statement. “I was proud to support and acknowledge the gentlemen of Urban Prep when they visited the General Assembly and wish them the best in their futures of continued dedication to academic excellence.”

Tim King, founder of Urban Prep Academies, a Chicago non-profit that operates the schools, said he is proud to see a school filled with predominately black boys maintaining a 100 percent college acceptance rate for the last four years.

"We did it again, Urban Prep. We are sending all our seniors to a four-year college or university. That is something every high school in Chicago cannot say year after year," King said. "These seniors are not going to prison or jail, but to college, and that is worth celebrating."

Besides its flagship Englewood campus, 6201 S. Stewart Ave., it's West Side campus, 1326 W. 14th Place, also saw all of its students accepted to four-year colleges. Urban Prep also has a third campus in Bronzeville at 2710 S. Dearborn St., where the first graduating class will roll out next year.

Kendall Pruitt is a junior at the Englewood campus and said he looks forward to celebrating next year as a member of the senior class.

"My turn is next year and I can't wait. My mother sent me here so I could get a good education but I got more than a good education," said Pruitt, 18, who aspires to own a trucking company. "We come here as boys but we leave as men."