Witney M. Young Magnet High School

Witney Young is one of the best public (state) high school's in the whole of Chicago and is famously the alma mater of Michelle Obama.   The high school is led by the inspirational leader Dr Joyce Kenner (second from left in the photo) who has been the school's principal for the last 15 years.  Adam (left), Ken Hunter (right) and I (second from right) were fortunate enouchg to visit to Witney Young on June 1st and the day began with an introduction to Dr Kenner and her leadership team who were all comitted and progressive leaders, keen to develop this outstanding school even further.  We learnt so much at Witney Young but the following were particular highlights:

• Community Service.  It is a requirement of high school graduation and college (university) entry to have spent at least 40 hours throughout high school serving the wider community.  This requirement is embraced at Witney Young, with many students exceeding the 40 hour limit.  The leadership team strongly believe in its essential role in developing 'the whole child' and such service develops students' characters and leadership skills in particular. 
• A Differentiated Curriculum.  Witney Young provides a differentiated curriculum throughout the high school which enables all students to achieve their potential.  For example, they allow entry for 7th and 8th graders (entry is usually from 9th grade onward) who perform well in an entrance exam.  However, it is unusal for students to graduate and go to college early.  Instead, the school offers 26 Advanced Programme (AP) courses which are essentially credited college courses which students can opt to study.  At presnet, 74% of Witney Young's students will take at least one AP course.
• Excellent Support.  Students are extremely well supported in all areas of the curriculum and in pastoral areas.  From a curriculum perspective, there is a commitment to developing students as learners and a facility to enable any student to establish their own clubs.  Sport is an outstanding area in this school and students are offered amazing facilities and importantly lots of acces to them; the school is typically open 18 hours a day from Monday to Friday and open all day at weekends.  From a pastoral perspective, there is a well established and successful freshman (first year) mentor programme led by sophomore (second year) students.  Furthermore, student progress is available to parents electronically throught the school's web portal, a facility rare in Chicago's public schools.