Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School (commonly known as Clark Prep, Clark Academic Prep and Michele Clark Magnet High School) 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

four-year

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, nickel, ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in the

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

neighborhood on the west side of

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The school is named for African–American network television reporter and Chicago-based

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Michele Clark Michele E. Clark (June 2, 1943 – December 8, 1972) was an American journalist. Clark was the first African–American woman to serve as a television correspondent for CBS News. As a correspondent at WBBM-TV, Clark covered the 1972 Democratic ...

. In 2013, The school joined the Chicago Public Schools' STEM Program.

History

Construction on the school began in March 1971 after the February 1970 decision by the Chicago Board of Education to construct three new schools on the city's west side. The school was to accommodate 1,500 students along with a recreational space conjoined with the

Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...

. The school opened as Austin Middle School in 1972. In 1974, the school was re–named Michele Clark Magnet High School in honor of the Chicago television journalist Michele Clark who's noted as one of the first African-American woman to serve as a news reporter. For the 2002–2003 school year, Clark was converted into a high school.

Michele Clark

Michele Clark was born June 2, 1943, in Gary, Indiana. Clark's family moved to nearby Chicago when she was a child, She attended

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (also known as Lab, Lab Schools, or U-High, abbreviated UCLS) is a private, co-educational, day pre-school and K-12 school affiliated with the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Almost half ...

; graduating in 1961. After high school, Clark moved to Iowa and studied at

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

. In 1965, Clark returned to Chicago and began studying Broadcast Journalism at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

; graduating with her B.A. Clark worked in reservations for United Airlines during her graduate education. While working as a part–time model, Clark studied at the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

, graduating in 1972. Clark once again returned home to Chicago in May 1972, and began work as a reporter for

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's CBS network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington St ...

before working as a

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

correspondent, occasional morning-show host and news anchor in Washington, D.C. Clark died on a flight from Washington to Chicago, en route to visit her parents on December 8, 1972, in the

United Airlines Flight 553 United Air Lines Flight 553 was a scheduled domestic flight from Washington National Airport to Omaha, Nebraska, via Chicago Midway International Airport. On December 8, 1972, the Boeing 737-222 serving the flight, ''City of Lincoln'' registr ...

at Chicago's

Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the city's Loop business district, and divided between the city's Clearing and ...

along with 43 others. Clark was 29 years old.

Athletics

Clark competes in the

Chicago Public League The Chicago Public High School Athletic Association, commonly known as the Chicago Public League (CPL), is the interscholastic competition arm of the Chicago Public Schools. The governance of the CPL is set through the Department of Sports Admi ...

(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 F ...

(IHSA). Clark sport teams are nicknamed Eagles. The girls' basketball team were regional champions in 2004–05.IHSA: Clark (Chicago)
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References

{{Authority control 1972 establishments in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1972

Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

Public high schools in Chicago