Urban Prep Announces 100 Percent of 2012 Graduating Seniors Accepted to a Four-Year College or University for the Third Year in a Row

CHICAGO, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third consecutive year, 100 percent of the graduating seniors from the Englewood campus of Urban Prep Academies, the nation's first all-boys public charter high school, have accomplished what some thought would be impossible – every single one of these 85 students has been accepted to a four-year college or university.

As of today, the members of Urban Prep Englewood's 2012 graduating class have been accepted to 128 different four-year colleges and universities, including: Bates College, Georgetown University, Morehouse College, Northwestern University, Syracuse University and the University of Virginia. Students are still awaiting decisions from many other colleges and universities.  In total, this year's seniors have been awarded more than $3.5 million in scholarships and grants to date.

Urban Prep also announced data on the number of alumni from its 2010 inaugural graduating class who enrolled in college for two consecutive years.  Urban Prep's Alumni Office has tracked this data for all graduates and found that Urban Prep alumni are enrolling and persisting in college at record rates.  Data shows Urban Prep alumni rates of college enrollment surpass both Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and national averages. Urban Prep alumni are also persisting in college at record rates: 83 percent of Urban Prep graduates persisted in college compared to only 71 percent for CPS and 35 percent for African-American males nationally.

"I'm incredibly proud of Urban Prep students," said Tim King, founder and CEO, Urban Prep Academies. "At Urban Prep, we work hard to ensure all our students are college-ready. With 83 percent of students persisting in college, I'm confident that Urban Prep's culture, rigorous curriculum, commitment to service and diverse extra-curricular activities are indeed preparing them for success in college and beyond."

Additional report findings include:

• All 107 graduates from Urban Prep's inaugural Class of 2010 were admitted to college and 105 (98 percent) enrolled in more than 76 different colleges throughout the country, compared to 51 percent of other African-American male Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduates. 
• Seventy percent of the colleges in which Urban Prep graduates enrolled were rated in the competitive categories based on Barron's Profiles of American Colleges.
• Of the 2,041 African-American male Chicago Public Schools students who enrolled in college in 2010, 105 of those students (5 percent) were from Urban Prep
• Dispelling an over-reliance on standardized test scores as the sole predictor of likely postsecondary success, Urban Prep graduates with lower composite ACT scores (16 or 17) persisted at similar rates (75 percent to 78 percent) as those with higher composite scores (20).

Urban Prep is committed to the ongoing success of its alumni, and has allocated resources for supporting students once they graduate high school. Specifically, Urban Prep's Alumni Office connects alumni to resources, and provides mentoring and guidance.

About Urban Prep
Urban Prep Academies was founded in 2002 by Tim King and a group of African-American education, business and civic leaders who wanted to improve the educational opportunities available to urban boys. In 2005, this nonprofit organization was approved to open Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men--Englewood Campus. Urban Prep is the country's first charter public high school for boys. Since accepting its first class in the fall of 2006, Urban Prep has been recognized internationally for its success in improving the academic, social and emotional development of urban young men. Urban Prep now operates three schools in Chicago.  100% of Urban Prep's graduates have been admitted to college. The Urban Prep Motto is We Believe.    

SOURCE Urban Prep Academies

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