Crane High School (Illinois)

Infobox Secondary school
name = Richard T. Crane Technical Preparatory Common School
type = Public
students = ~1000
grades = 9–12
principal = Richard C. Smith, Jr.
city = Chicago
state = Illinois
country = USA
oversight = Chicago Public Schools
mascot = Cougars
colors =
newspaper =
established = 1890

Richard T. Crane Technical Preparatory Common School, commonly known as Crane Tech Prep or Crane High School, is a public high school in Chicago, Illinois. It is located at 2245 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago's Near West Side community area.

History

Crane was founded as a males-only school at 12th Street and Michigan Avenue in 1890. It was originally known as the English High and Manual Training School.David Southwell. "Crane polishes tarnished image". "Chicago Sun-Times". December 4, 1991.] In 1903, it moved to its present location and was renamed in honor of businessman Richard T. Crane. ["Children back to the schools". "Chicago Tribune". September 8, 1903. 10.] When the school went co-ed in 1954, it began to de-emphasize its "technical" label, though it continued to offer courses like auto shop and drafting.

Between 1911 and 1969, the school shared its building with Crane College, the first junior college in Chicago. The college moved out in 1969 and is now known as Malcolm X College. ["Top floor work starts on Malcolm X building". "Chicago Tribune". September 21, 1969. W4.]

The Crane community has recently struggled with violence. During the 2007–2008 school year, one student was fatally shot and another was severely beaten by a golf club. A third student, who had recently transferred out of Crane to an alternative school, was shot to death during a dice game. ["About their schools". "Chicago Sun-Times". May 25, 2008. A10.] As an attempt to quell violence, Crane was one of ten schools in Chicago invited to particpate in the Txt2Tip program, through which students are encouraged to send anonymous text messages to police. [Rosalind Rossi and Frank Main. "Students can txt TIPS 2 COPS - Teens in 10 high schools can send messages to alert police about possible violence -- and maybe earn rewards". "Chicago Sun-Times". September 9, 2008. 6.]

Athletics

Crane became a charter member of the Chicago Public League in 1913. Since then, it has won eleven city titles in boys' basketball (1921, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1940, 1957, 1964, 1972, 2003). [ [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bkb/records/chipub.htm IHSA CPL Boys Basketball Champions] . 2008. Retrieved on September 9,2008.] ["City crown belongs to Crane - Cougars overpower Julian at United Center". "Chicago Sun-Times". February 23, 2008.] The school has produced a number of professional basketball players (see below).

Notable alumni

*Tony Allen, professional basketball player [ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/allento01.html Tony Allen statistics] . basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on September 9, 2008.]
*Cory Blackwell, professional basketball player [ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/blackco01.html Cory Blackwell statistics] . basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on September 9, 2008.]
*Will Bynum, professional basketball player [ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bynumwi01.html Will Bynum statistics] . basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on September 9, 2008.]
*Sherron Collins, current college basketball player (University of Kansas) [Scott Powers. "It's academic for Crane's Collins". "Chicago Sun-Times". June 13, 2005. 101.]
*George Halas, founder of the Chicago Bears"Crane Facts". "Chicago Sun-Times". December 4, 1991. 94.]
*Ken Norman, professional basketball player
*Andre Wakefield, professional basketball player [ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wakefan01.html Andre Wakefield statistics] . basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on September 9, 2008.]

Notes

External links

* [http://crane.groupfusion.net/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=42363&sessionid=4ce04252b3f9ad18a8cee68e6671eb6a School website]
* [http://www.cps.k12.il.us/Schools/hsdirectory/crane.shtml Chicago Public Schools directory listing]