Northside College Preparatory High School
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| Northside College Prep High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 5501 N. Kedzie Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60625 United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public Secondary Selective Enrollment |
| Established | 1999 |
| Oversight | Chicago Public Schools |
| Principal | Kelly L. Mest |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Number of students | 1,048 (2014-15)[1] |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) | Maroon Silver |
| Athletics conference | Chicago Public League |
| Mascot | Mustang |
| Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools |
| Newspaper | The Hoof Beat |
| Website | School Website |
Northside College Preparatory High School (commonly referred to as Northside College Prep, Northside Prep, NCP, or simply Northside) is a public 4-year selective enrollment high school located in the North Park neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1999, it was the first new CPS high school to be built in 20 years. It is a selective enrollment school, and teaches only at the Honors and AP levels (excluding the P.E. department). Northside has earned a reputation for academic excellence, and has been consistently ranked as the #1 high school in Illinois by US News and World Report.
As of 2014, it was ranked #3 in the nation by Newsweek.[2] The school's establishment, part of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's plan to reinvent the city's public school system, generated controversy in the city and in the education community. The facilities were built with a $52.5 million budget that critics said could have better served other schools in city.
Contents
Admission
Admission to Northside Prep follows the selective enrollment application system. Factors considered in the application include a student's grades from 7th grade, standardized test scores, entrance exam scores, and socio-economic status.[3] As of 2012-2013, the demographic makeup of Northside Prep HS was 42.6% white, 24.4% Asian, 22.6% Hispanic, 6.3% black, and 0.7% Native American. As of 2012-2013, 35.5% of the school's students were low-income, 6% were special education students, and 0.7% were limited English learners.[4]
College admissions and rankings
Northside College Prep is well known for the success of its students in the college admissions process, with over a quarter of the senior class gaining admission to the nation's top universities. Over 99% of the graduating senior class matriculates to college. In addition, the student body as a whole earns a large amount of financial aid from various sources.
- In 2014 Northside was rated the #3 high school in the nation by "Newsweek" [5]
- In 2013 Northside was rated #1 in Illinois and #33 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report[6]
- In 2011 Northside was rated #1 in Illinois and #24 in the nation by Newsweek
- In 2013 Northside was rated the #2 public high school in the nation by "The Best Schools." [7]
Curriculum/scheduling and colloquium
With the exception of physical education classes, all courses in Northside are either Honors or (AP) (Advanced Placement). Northside has 24 advanced placement classes. Northside's math program is unique from most other high schools in that it uses the Interactive Mathematics Program, also known as IMP, instead of a traditional math track. IMP is very writing based, with students writing portfolios and projects instead of simply solving mathematical equations. Aside from four IMP courses, Northside also offers College Math, AP Statistics, AP Calculus BC, AP Calculus AB, and Multi-Variable Calculus.
Northside also offers special education services for incoming students with diagnosed disabilities. The school's Office of Specialized Services helps to arrange appropriate accommodations.[8] Given its extremely competitive academic environment, Northside successfully lobbied the Chicago Board of Education to eliminate class rankings. This effort was led by former principal Dr. James Lalley.
Northside runs on a block schedule. Most classes meet twice a week: Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays. The school day used to start at 8:16am and ended at 3:30pm until the 2014-15 school year when the school day at Northside now starts at 8:00am and now ends at 3:04pm (except for Colloquium schedule where it ends at 3:01pm).[9] Each block is 102 minutes long with an 8 minute passing period between blocks.[10] Wednesdays are reserved for an approximately three-hour non-credit class on five-day weeks (except Consumer-Ed, in which credit is given) called Colloquium. Dozens of colloquia are offered, with a wide range of interest such as motorcycle repair, computers, robotics, consumer-education, sewing, quilting, art, photography, paper craft, and Asian calligraphy, and each relates to one specific theme that changes every year. Classes are chosen by students twice a year (every semester, or otherwise it is year-long); availability is dependent on popularity and student's year ranking: seniors get first pick, then juniors, sophomores, and lastly freshmen; all of this is done online, through sound programming, with student portals opening at 7 am for students to start registering. There are different dates for different year students. These are the only classes in which students either pass or fail. Colloquium clubs vary from year to year.
After colloquium on Wednesdays, Northside College Prep has X and Y block classes. X and Y block classes are classes that students re-pick every week that will help them most that specific week. For instance if a student needs help in math homework they can choose a math tutoring class for either their X or Y block that week(each block used to be about 50 minutes long until the 2014-15 school year where now X and Y are 60 minutes long[9]). Northside recently implemented and utilizes online student programming, in which students access and select their schedules through internet programming for both classes and colloquium. Courses for the upcoming school year are programmed at the end of the first semester of the current school year.
Sustainability
In the summer of 2010, Northside installed a 105-panel solar thermal system on the southern half of its roof. These solar panels work to heat the school's pool and have the capacity to provide hot water to the entire school.[11] This project was head by Northside science teacher Mr. Mike Coy, and Alexandra Rojek, Northside's 2011 valedictorian.
Located behind the school is the Joy Garden, a continuation of Northside's efforts to become a more sustainable institution. The Joy Garden is a 10, 000 square foot situated adjacent to the eastern front of the building and was built entirely through the efforts of students with the help of Urban Habitat Chicago. The garden is equipped with the latest in green technology, including a self-sustainable storm water management system and permeable concrete. However, it is more than just ecologically functional and friendly. This garden was built with a particular emphasis on providing a stimulating environment for special needs students. It extends from a traditional garden environment to one that is accessible to all students.[12]
Athletics
Northside competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The girl's varsity softball team were regional champions in 2011-12, 2012–13; and became the city champion. In 2013, The girls' varsity volleyball finished first in their conference (Red North). Pom-Pons team placed 1st in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) city championship and placed 2nd in the IDTA state competition in 2013. Sports Offerings:[13]
- Fall:
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- Cross Country
- Men's and Women's Golf
- Men's Soccer
- Men's 16" Softball
- Women's Swimming/Diving
- Women's Tennis
- Women's Volleyball
- Winter:
- Men's and Women's Basketball
- Men's and Women's Bowling
- Cheerleading
- Chess
- Pom-Pons
- Men's Swimming/Diving
- Wrestling
- Spring:
- Baseball
- Men's and Women's Lacrosse
- Women's Soccer
- Women's Softball
- Men's Tennis
- Men's and Women's Track & Field
- Men's Volleyball
- Men's and Women's Water Polo
Clubs
[14] Northside offers a wide variety of extracurricular clubs:
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- Academic Decathlon
- Acafellas
- All For Christ
- Anime Club
- Aquarium Club
- Archery Club
- Art Club
- Asian Club
- Badminton Club
- Baile Sorpresa (Mexican Dance Club)
- Ballroom Dancing
- Belly Dance
- Best Buddies
- Bike Crew
- Black Student Union (BSU)
- C.A.R.E.
- Chinese Fan Dance
- Chinese National Honor Society
- Club Forte
- Country Line Dancing
- Cricket Club
- Cupcakes for a Cause
- Dirt Actualizers (D.A.) Beasts
- Dazzle
- Debate
- Doing Something Wonderful (DSW)
- Drama Club
- Elderly Appreciation Society
- European Dance
- Film Club
- Forensics (Speech) Team
- French Honors Society
- Future Business Leaders of America
- Generation Y
- Girls/Guys Call Out
- Global Initiative
- Harry Potter Club
- Hawkey Club
- Hypnotik (Hip Hop Dance)
- Indonesian Hand Dance
- Indo-Pak Club (Desi-Club)
- Irish Dance
- Isang Hakbang
- Jama'ah Club
- Japanese National Honor Society
- Jewish Student Connection
- Junior Statesmen of America (JSA)
- Key Club
- Knitting Club
- Korean Fan Dance
- Latin Club
- Latino Club
- MAP (Magical After School Place)
- Make it Work Fashion Club
- Math Team
- Micro-finance Club
- Modding, OverClocking and E-Sports
- Model UN (United Nations)
- National Honor Society
- Nintendo Club
- Northside Alliance
- Northside buildOn Chapter
- Northside Poetry Slam Team
- Northside Rec Football
- Ohana (Hawaiian Dance)
- ONE
- Organization of Albanian Culture
- Passion Dance Ensemble (contemporary ballet)
- Pep Club
- Phoenix (Greek Club)
- Ping Pong Club
- Polish Club
- Poongmul (Korean percussion)
- Recycling Club
- Red Cross
- River Club
- Robotics
- Rocketry Club
- Sabor Latino (Latin Ballroom Dancing)
- Ski & Snowboard
- Soran Bushi Dance Team
- Spanish Honor Society
- Stage Crew
- STEMpact
- Student Council
- Tari Saman (Indonesian Hand Dance)
- Tech Crew (Student volunteer IT service)
- Tech², a technology club that won first place in 2011's Capstone competition.
- Ten-Minute Dance Party
- The Unbelieveables [sic]:Atheist/Agnostic Alliance
- United Leagues
- Undocumented Student Alliance (U.S.A)
- Venture Capitalist
- Verve Literary Magazine
- Viet Mua
- Yacht Club
- Yearbook
- Yoga Club
Extra-curriculars
- Northside's weekly school publication, The Hoofbeat, is updated online every Tuesday.
- Northside has an annual literary magazine, Verve, with an online edition, Verve2, at http://www.verve2.org/.
- Northside has its own student-led food magazine, The Buffet, which can be found online at http://northsidebuffet.com/.
- Notable creations of Northside's radio club, Left of the Dial, are available online at https://soundcloud.com/northsideleftofthedial
- Northside has an annual yearbook, The Stampede. The 2010 edition of The Stampede was a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist.
- A notable Northside tradition is the annual Cubby Walk, a five-mile trek from Northside to Wrigley Field. Students raise money for the privilege to walk to the field and watch the Cubs game.
- Every year Northside holds its International Night event, showcasing many cultural dances practiced at Northside.
- At the end of each semester, Northside holds the "20 Hour Show," in which upper level art students are able to showcase their artistic endeavors.
- Every year, the Northside art department holds an outreach project and art showcase called Elephant with Riders. This free community event features student taught art workshops and exhibitions of student artwork. In an attempt to foster partnerships with area elementary schools, the exhibit also features artwork by middle school students.
- The Northside debate team has consistently qualified for national championship tournaments (including 2012, 2014, and 2015)
Notable alumni
- Cullen Omori, Max Kakacek, and Cameron Omori of the band Smith Westerns[15]
- Marisa Buchheit- Miss Illinois 2014 [16]
References
- ↑ CPS: Northside College Prep
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- ↑ http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-schools-2014
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- ↑ http://www.thebestschools.org/blog/2013/03/27/50-public-high-schools-u-s/
- ↑ Special Education Information
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://northsideprep.org/ncphs/Programming/Block%20Schedule.pdf
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.nscollegeprep.cps.k12.il.us/ncphs/activities/sports/index.htm
- ↑ http://www.northsideprep.org/ncphs/activities/clubs/NCP%20Clubs.pdf
- ↑ Miles Raymer. "Big Kids; If the garage-rock scene had a deep end, the teenaged Smith Westerns would be ready for it.". Chicago Reader. Retrieved on February 16, 2012.
- ↑ "[1]" Retrieved on December 17, 2014.
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