Northside College Preparatory High School

For schools of the same name, see Northside High School (disambiguation).

Northside College Preparatory High School
Location
5501 N. Kedzie Avenue Chicago, Illinois, USA
Information
Type	Public (Selective Enrollment) Secondary
Established	1999
Oversight	Chicago Public Schools
Principal	Mr. Barry Rodgers
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1,100 (2010)
Color(s)	Maroon And Silver
Mascot	Mustang
Newspaper	'The Hoof Beat'
Website	Northside College

Northside College Preparatory High School (commonly referred to as Northside College Prep, Northside Prep, or simply Northside) is a Chicago Public-Selective Enrollment School. Founded in 1999, it was the first new Chicago Public High School to be built in 20 years. It is a selective enrollment school, teaching at the Honors and AP levels only (excluding the P.E. department). Northside quickly earned a reputation for academic excellence, and has been consistently ranked as the #1 public high school in Illinois by US News and many other publications.^[1],^[2] Since its inception, it has scored very high in the state on the Prairie State Achievement Exam scores, administered to juniors. In 2003, the school's Academic Decathlon ("acadec") team defeated Chicago's Whitney Young High School to take first place in the state; it was the first time in 18 years Whitney Young had not gone home with this title. It went on to win the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) Division III National Championship.

The school's establishment, part of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's ongoing 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 the city.^{[citation needed]}

The student body comprises approximately 1,100 students. Given its extremely competitive academic environment, Northside successfully lobbied the Chicago Board of Education to eliminate class rankings. This effort was led by Dr. James Lalley.

College Admissions

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 matriculate to college.

Statistics

• #1 Public High School in the State of Illinois 2001- 2010 (2010)
• Gold Medal School by US News & World Report 2007-2009

• In 2010 Northside was rated #37 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report
• In 2011 Northside was rated #24 in the nation, and #1 in the state of Illinois by Newsweek

Curriculum

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 offers 6 foreign languages (Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish), more than any other Chicago Public School except Whitney Young Magnet High School and Lane Technical College Prep High School, which also have six languages to offer (most, if not all, languages offer levels I-IV and an AP class). All languages (except Latin) offer overseas Study Abroad and Exchange experiences; the Latin program is renowned for its success at national and state competitions, having won the past eight Illinois Junior Classical League conventions and numerous Illinois Certamen League championships.

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. IMP is extremely different from a regular mathematics program, and like everything, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Aside from four IMP courses, Northside also offers AP Statistics, AP Calculus BC, AP Calculus AB, and Multivariable Calculus.

Scheduling and Colloquium

Northside has college-like Block Scheduling: classes are 100 min. per block, 50 per half block (most students get half block of lunch, and half block of another class) but meet twice a week: Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays; classes start at 7:55am, end at 3:14pm; in between each period, there is an 8 minute passing period, during which music (upon request) is (normally) played—out of all CPS high schools, Northside has the longest passing period (8 min. versus the normal 4 min).

Wednesdays are reserved for a three-hour non-credit class on five-day weeks (except Consumer-Ed, in which credit 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; 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.

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.

Sports

• Sports Offerings:^[3]
  • Fall:
    • Both Sexes: Cross Country & Golf
    • Men's Sports:
      • Soccer
      • 16 inch Softball
    • Women's sports:
      • Swimming/Diving
      • Tennis
      • Volleyball
  • Winter:
    • Both Sexes: Cheerleading (co-ed), Basketball, Bowling, & Chess
    • Men's Sports:
      • Basketball
      • Bowling
      • Swimming/Diving
      • Wrestling
    • Women's Sports:
      • Basketball
      • Bowling
      • Pom-Poms
  • Spring:
    • Both Sexes: Track & Field (co-ed), Lacrosse
    • Men's Sports:
      • Baseball
      • Volleyball
      • Tennis
      • Lacrosse
      • Water Polo
    • Women's Sports:
      • Soccer
      • Softball
      • Lacrosse
      • Water Polo

Clubs

Northside offers a wide variety of extracurricular clubs, including:

• Academic Decathlon
• African American Club
• All For Christ Club
• Ancient European History Club
• Animal Rights Club
• Anime Club
• Art Club
• Asian Club
• Atheist Club (The Unbelievables)
• Badminton Club
• Ballroom Dance Team
• Beatles Club
• Black Student Union (BSU)
• Book Club
• Card Club
• Chicago Teams Discussion
• Chinese Dance
• Chinese National Honor Society
• Computer Club
• Comedy Club
• Creative Writing
• Cycling Club
• Dirt Actualizers (D.A.) Beasts
• Debate
• DECA
• Desi
• Doing Something Wonderful (DSW)
• Drama Club
• Dr Who Club
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
• Fencing (épée)
• French Club
• Gay-Straight Alliance
• Global Initiative
• History Club, Coalition of Gamers (C.O.G.)
• Hype: The Northside Club for Fashion Consciousness (Fashion Club)
• Hypnotik (Hip Hop Dance)
• Indonesian Dance
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• German
• German Honor Society
• Irish
• Isang Hakbang
• Jama'ah Club
• Japanese National Honor Society
• Jazz Improvisation
• Jewish Student Union
• Journalism
• Junior Statesmen of America (JSA)
• Key Club
• Klub Polski
• Knitting
• Latin Club
• Latino Club
• League of Extraordinary Seamsters
• Left of the Dial (radio/podcast)
• Mahjong Club
• Martial Arts Club
• Math Team
• Middle Eastern Club
• Model UN(United Nations)
• Multicultural Club (COMIT)
• Mustang Motion Pictures Film (filmmaking)
• National Honor Society
• National Organization for Women (NOW)
• No More Silence
• Northside Acafellas
• Northside Conservatives
• Northside Critic Association
• Northside Habitat
• Northside Poetry Slam Team
• Northside Students for Sweatshops
• Operation Fly, Inc.
• Pep Club (peppy club)
• Photography Club
• Ping Pong Club
• Pottery Club
• Radio Club
• Recycling Club
• Red Cross
• Revival
• Sabor Latino (Latin Ballroom Dancing)
• Soran Bushi Dance Team
• Spanish Honor Society
• Ski & Snowboard
• Stagecrew (Theatre Crew)
• Star Wars
• Student Council
• Tech², a technology club that won first place in 2011's Capstone competition.
• C.A.S.E. (Community for Alternative Sources of Energy)
• Verve
• Vocal Jazz Ensemble
• Yearbook

Extracurriculars

• Northside has its own newspaper, called the Hoof Beat, which has print, online, and broadcast editions, all of which can be found at http://www.thehoofbeat.com/.
• Northside has an annual literary magazine, Verve, with an online edition, Verve2, at http://www.verve2.org/.
• 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.

References

1. ^ "America's Best High Schools". US News. http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-high-schools/listings/illinois/northside-college-preparatory-high-school. 
2. ^ "Top 100 high schools in Illinois". Suntimes. http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/3973381-418/story.html. 
3. ^ http://www.nscollegeprep.cps.k12.il.us/ncphs/activities/sports/index.htm

External links

• Northside College Prep HS Home Page
• Student Council of Northside Prep
• Profile from CPS
• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12551652/site/newsweek/
• 2007 US News and World Report Gold Medal Listing of America's 100 Best High Schools
• Academic Decathlon Win
• About the Selective Enrollment process