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Whitney M. Young Magnet High School (locally known simply as Whitney Young) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichke ...
magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nicke ...
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper second ...
and
middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
located in the Near West Side neighborhood in Chicago,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...
, United States. Whitney Young is operated by the
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...
district. Whitney Young opened on September 3, 1975 as the city's first public magnet high school. The school is named after Whitney Moore Young Jr., a prominent African-American civil rights leader.


History

The Chicago Public Schools announced plans for a public magnet school on the city's Near West Side in mid–1970. A proposal by community residents called for a high school to be built at 211 S. Laflin, which was an empty lot that had been burned out during the
riots A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...
following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. The school opened on September 3, 1975, as a selective enrollment school under the leadership of the school's first principal, Bernarr E. Dawson.


Founding faculty

The founding staff 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. The staff met for months unpaid in the unused John Phillips Sousa school building while the Young building was under construction.


Background


Admissions and Academic Center

Admission to Young is granted based on entrance exam performance, standardized test scores, and elementary school grades, and is open to all residents of Chicago, Illinois. The school consistently scores among the top high schools in the U.S. In 2009, Young was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award. The 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.


Science Bowl and Math Team

The school's
Science Bowl The National Science Bowl (NSB) is a high school and middle school science knowledge competition, using a quiz bowl format, held in the United States. A buzzer system similar to those seen on popular television game shows is used to signal an an ...
Team won the Regional National Science Bowl Championship in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. They advanced to the National Finals in Washington, D.C., representing the city of Chicago. Notable achievements include placing first in the Division Team Challenge at the National Finals in 2016. Young 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. The team won the 2013 and 2014 4AA Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) State Championship and finished second and third in 2015 and 2016 respectively.


Academic Decathlon

The
Academic Decathlon The Academic Decathlon (also called AcDec, AcaDeca or AcaDec) is an annual high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon (USAD). The competition consists of seven objective multiple choice tests, tw ...
team has been the Illinois State Champions for 34 out the last 35 years and finished second place in the nation in 2012. During the 1995 Illinois State Championship, Young was outscored by the team from
Steinmetz High School Steinmetz College Prep (also known as Steinmetz High School or Steinmetz Academic Centre) is a public 4–year high school located in the Belmont Cragin community area on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. Steinmetz is a part of the Chicag ...
, 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 Young. The situation involving the two schools was dramatized in the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...
film ''
Cheaters Cheater or Cheaters may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Cheaters'' (1930 film), an Australian silent film * ''Cheaters'' (1934 film), an American film directed by Phil Rosent * ''The Cheaters'' (1945 film), directed by Joseph Ka ...
''.


Debate team

A two-student debate team from Young won the National Forensics League
National Speech and Debate Tournament Extemporaneous Speaking (Extemp, or EXT) is a speech delivery style/speaking style, and a term that identifies a specific forensic competition. The competition is a speech event based on research and original analysis, done with a limited-prepar ...
in policy debate in 2010, becoming the first team from an urban debate league to achieve a national championship. Whitney Young also won the NAUDL Chase Urban Debate National Championship in 2010.


Athletics

Young competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the
Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...
(IHSA). Young sports teams are nicknamed "Dolphins". Young has 52 athletic teams of 12 different sports. The boys' basketball team won the IHSA state championships four times (1997–1998, 2008–2009, 2013–2014 and 2016–2017). The girls' basketball team won the state championship three times (2007–2008, 2011–2012 and 2013–2014). The girls' tennis team won the state championship in 2017. The schools' chess team won the IHSA state championship four times (2010–2011, 2012–2013, 2013–2014, and 2015–2016). Michelle Obama is the namesake of a 4.3 million dollar athletics complex opened in 2019. Chicago Public Schools received funding for the complex through Tax Increment Financing (TIF).


Extra-curricular 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 ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...
'', ''
Beethoven's Last Night ''Beethoven's Last Night'' is a rock opera by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, released in 2000. The album tells the fictional story of Ludwig van Beethoven on the last night of his life, as the devil, Mephistopheles, comes to collect his soul. Wit ...
'', ''
Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...
'', ''
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...
'', and ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-19 ...
''. In 1996, several Young 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. Also, students were inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.


Other information


2009 investigations into admissions

In September 2009, Whitney Young principal Joyce Kenner and Chicago Board of Education President Michael W. Scott were called to testify before a federal
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a per ...
investigating how students were chosen for admission to Chicago's elite public schools. According to a July 21, 2009,
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
released by school officials, prosecutors sought the names of students who applied to be among a select group of students hand-picked by principals of schools. The subpoena also sought e-mails and other correspondence with "public officials" about applicants. Two alderman acknowledged that they asked Kenner for help securing admission to the school for relatives and constituents. 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.


Notable alumni

*
Katrina Adams Katrina M. Adams (born August 5, 1968) is an American tennis executive and former professional tennis player from Chicago. She was president and CEO of the United States Tennis Association and chair of the US Open, as well as the chair of the I ...
, tennis player, president of the USTA (United States Tennis Association) * Luvvie Ajayi, New York Times bestselling author, blogger, digital strategist * Sharif Atkins (1993), actor *
Steelo Brim Sterling "Steelo" Brim (born June 5, 1988) is an American television personality, comedian, and actor. He is a co-host and producer of MTV's '' Ridiculousness. Biography Brim was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Tracy Brim, is a ...
(2006), actor, comedian, and television personality * DuShon Monique Brown (1987), actress * Dominique Canty (1995), WNBA basketball player *
Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...
, rapper *
Don Franklin Don Franklin (born December 14, 1960) is an American actor, best known for his roles in ''seaQuest DSV'' as Commander Jonathan Ford, '' Seven Days'' as Captain Craig Donovan, and as one of ''The Young Riders'' (Noah Dixon). Biography Franklin ...
, singer, actor * Dennis Gates,
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
Men's Basketball head coach *
Joan Higginbotham Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham (born August 3, 1964) is an electrical engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She flew aboard Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' mission STS-116 as a mission specialist and is the third African American woman to go into spa ...
(1982), NASA
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally ...
*
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
(2001), former professional basketball player *
Santita Jackson Santita Jackson (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer and political commentator from Chicago, Illinois. As a singer, Jackson toured with Roberta Flack and performed the National Anthem at President Bill Clinton's second inauguration. She has a ...
(1981), singer and political commentator, daughter of civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson * Marcus Jordan (2009), college basketball player, son of basketball player
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
* Arlene Limas, first American to win an Olympic gold medal in taekwondo, 1988 Olympics * Jamilah Lemieux, writer *
Russell Maryland Russell James Maryland (born March 22, 1969) is a former professional American football player. He played defensive tackle for ten seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He w ...
,
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...
player * Jonathan McReynolds, gospel musician *
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, rapper, one of the founding members of the Hip Hop Collective Savemoney * Kamau Murray, tennis coach *
Safiya Nygaard Safiya Nygaard (born July 16, 1992) is an American YouTuber. She gained prominence through her work with BuzzFeed, creating the series ''LadyLike''. Her video explaining why she left the network went viral. She is now known for her solo YouTube c ...
,
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and
Internet Celebrity An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...
* Psalm One, rapper * Joey Purp (rapper), one of the founding members of the Hip Hop Collective Savemoney * Lucas Neff, actor (''
Raising Hope ''Raising Hope'' is an American sitcom that aired from September 21, 2010, to April 4, 2014, on Fox. Following its first season, the show received two nominations at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Martha Plimpton was nominated for Outstanding ...
'') *
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
(1981), former
First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has nev ...
* Jahlil Okafor,
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
basketball player *
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, actress *
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (born February 18, 1989) is an American politician. He has served as the alderman for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18, 2015. He is a member of the Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus, and was elected to serve a ...
, Chicago alderman (35th Ward) 2015–present * Quentin Richardson,
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
basketball player * Craig Robinson, actor and comedian * Nico Segal, musician, widely known as Donnie Trumpet, most famous for his trumpet playing, one of the founding members of Savemoney * Anthony Sparks, playwright and television writer/producer (''
The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...
'', ''
Queen Sugar Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
'') * Ethan Stoller, composer *
John Tobias John Tobias (born August 24, 1969) is an American comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer and writer. Tobias is best known for creating the ''Mortal Kombat'' series along with Ed Boon, to whom he pitched the game concept. Tobia ...
, best known for co-creating the ''
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'' series of video games * Lilly and Lana Wachowski, film directors, writers and producers, most famous for creating ''
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'' * Kay Adams, sports personality *
Bashir Salahuddin Bashir Salahuddin (born July 6, 1976) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Early life and education Salahuddin was born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. His father is originally from Panama and had moved to Chicago wit ...
, actor, writer, and comedian


References


External links


Whitney M. Young Magnet High School

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School on Edline
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1975 1975 establishments in Illinois Young Young