All graduating students of Urban Prep Charter Academy were admitted to college for the seventh straight year. Every senior in the all-boys predominantly black charter school based in Chicago committed to a four-year course to a college or university.
The graduating class of 2016 has been admitted to around 220 schools and 1,500 admissions to college. The students have been admitted to schools all over the U.S. including Yale University, Georgetown University and Morehouse College, according to Tim King, founder and CEO.
The types of schools the young men will be attending offer a huge level of diversity, according to CBS Chicago. The senior class has also been offered more than $15 million in scholarships and grants.
During the school's college signing day on Tuesday, each student announced the college or university they will be attending. "We all come from good environments so to see us all going to college is nice," according to Rudolph Long, a graduating student of Urban Prep who is attending Hampton University.
Since 2010, every graduating class of Urban Prep Charter Academy has had a 100 percent student admittance to college, according to Huffington Post. Based on the school's website, students of the school refuse to fall into the trap of negative stereotypes and low expectations.
Urban Prep was started with the goal of making a difference in black male achievement. King explains that all the students proved to him, to the city, and to the world that his school did the right thing when they founded Urban Prep ten years ago.
About 85 percent of students at the Urban Prep Charter Academy come from low-income families. In addition, most of the students started school at least two grade levels behind of where there should be.
Founded in 2006, just four percent of freshmen at its flagship Englewood campus was reading at the appropriate grade level during the start of the school year. Urban Prep Charter Academy has three campuses with the second one located in the west neighborhood. In 2010, the school opened its third campus in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.
The success of Urban Prep is unusual being located in West Side neighborhood known for its disproportionately high rates of violent crime. Parents have even requested for heightened protection for the students due to gang territories.
