King College Prep High School

King College Prep High School
Address
4445 S. Drexel Boulevard Chicago, Illinois, 60653 USA
Coordinates	41°48′51″N 87°36′11″W / 41.8141°N 87.6030°W / 41.8141; -87.6030
Information
School type	Public Secondary
Opened	1971
School district	Chicago Public Schools 299
CEEB Code	140825[1]
Principal	Jeff Wright[2]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coed
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Black      Gold[3]
Slogan	Dare to dream, strive to achieve
Athletics conference	Chicago Public League[3]
Team name	Jaguars[3]
Accreditation(s)	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
Website	http://kingcollegeprep.org/

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. College Preparatory High School is a high school located in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood on Drexel Blvd.,^[5] about one kilometer from Lake Michigan. Commonly referred to as King College Prep or KCP, it is one of the Chicago Public School System's eight selective enrollment schools, which means that its approximately 900 students must apply for acceptance, based on academic achievement and test scores. In 2010, King College Prep was named a "Silver Medal" school by "U.S. News and World Report" in its annual rankings of America's best high schools.

Curriculum

Honors classes and Advanced Placement courses are offered in every subject area. College coursework is accessible through King’s college and university partners. Advanced coursework is possible in Visual and Performing Arts (Band, Orchestra, Dance, Drama, Graphic Arts, Vocal Music), Architecture and Engineering, and Computer Technology. KCP specializes in Architecture and Engineering as well as Information Technology.

Student Life

Athletics

King's teams are known as the Jaguars. The men's basketball team was dominant in the 1990s, produced numerous Illinois Mr. Basketball's, and were nationally ranked on a regular basis. A 1982 graduate, Efrem Winters, was named MVP of that year's McDonald's All-American game. After a college career at Illinois, Winters was drafted by the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. Former NBA player Marcus Liberty, who was a member of the 1989 Illinois Flyin' Illini attended King and was widely regarded as the #1 player in the nation. In 1993, King had 7'2" Thomas Hamilton and 7'0" Rashard Griffith, who led the Jaguars to a state championship. All coached by outspoken Chicago legend Landon “Sonny” Cox.^[6] In 2009-2010, the Girls Swim team won the section championship for the second consecutive year and the Boys Basketball team, Girls Basketball team, and Wresting team won regional championships.

Activities

The King College Prep marching band represented Chicago at the Presidential Inaugural Heritage Music Festival in Washington D.C. where they came in second place in the competition and performed at an inaugural ball. The band won first place in the 2009 Chicago Football Classic. In 2008, they opened for Stone Temple Pilots at their Chicago concert.^[7]

Notable Alumni

• Michael Clark Duncan is an Academy Award–nominated actor (The Green Mile, Armageddon).^[8]
• Rashard Griffith is a former professional basketball player (1995–2004) who predominantly played in European basketball leagues.^[9]
• Thomas Hamilton is a former NBA center.^[10]
• Marcus Liberty is a former NBA forward (1990–94), playing most of his career with the Denver Nuggets.^[11][12]

Notable Staff

• Landon "Sonny" Cox was a jazz saxophone player who served as the school's head boys basketball coach.^[13][14]

References

1. ^ "High School Code Search". College Board. http://sat.collegeboard.com/register/sat-code-search. Retrieved 19 January 2010. 
2. ^ "Principal's Message". letter. King College Prep High School. 15 May 2009. http://kingcollegeprep.org/kcpweb/index.php/about-us/principals-message-. Retrieved 19 January 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Chicago (King)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 8 January 2010. http://www.ihsa.org/school/schools/2734.htm. Retrieved 19 January 2010. 
4. ^ "Institution Summary for King College Prep High School". AdvacedED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=22223. Retrieved 19 January 2010. 
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ . http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/poprock/967116,stp052308.article. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School". Chicago Public Schools. http://www.cpsalumni.org/school/king%2C-dr.-martin-luther-king-jr.-college-preparatory-high-school. Retrieved 19 January 2010. 
9. ^ Travis, Clyde (1 April), "Griffith: I'm Leaving: Ex-King Star Disillusioned At Wisconsin, Will Quit", Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-4221799.html, retrieved 19 January 2010, "Rashard Griffith ... from King High School, said he still is weighing his options for the future. He likely will transfer to another school, but hasn't dismissed the possibility of entering the NBA draft." 
10. ^ "Thomas Hamilton". statistics & biographic info. Basketball-Reference.com. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hamilth01.html. Retrieved 19 January 2010. 
11. ^ Cotton, Anthony (22 December), "Bell Is Starting to Ring Again for Marcus Liberty", Los Angeles Times, http://articles.latimes.com/1988-12-22/sports/sp-899_1_marcus-liberty, retrieved 19 January 2010, "... Marcus Liberty already was regarded as one of the city's all-time great basketball players, right up there with Isiah Thomas, Glenn Rivers, Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings. During his career at Martin Luther King High School, the comparisons went national, his name mentioned with the likes of Magic Johnson." 
12. ^ "Marcus Liberty". statistics & biographic info. Basketball-Reference.com. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/liberma01.html. Retrieved 19 January 2010. 
13. ^ "Sonny Cox - From The Wailer to The Coach", Cousins Vinyl, 25 March, http://cousinsvinyl.com/2007/sonny-cox-from-the-wailer-to-the-coach/, retrieved 19 January 2010, "Sonny Cox was once a wailing saxophone player in Chicago in the 60s, recording this album on the Cadet label. He then apparently got into coaching high school basketball after his career was over, leading Chicago’s Martin Luther King high school to three state championships. He was recently honored was one of Illinois’s 100 Legends of the IHSA basketball tournament." 
14. ^ "100 Legends of Boys Basketball Tournament". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 2007. http://www.ihsa.org/initiatives/legends/. Retrieved 19 January 2010. "Landon "Sonny" Cox - Chicago (King) - Fashioned three state champions at King High School in Chicago, with victories in 1986, 1990, and 1993…also picked up second place in 1987, third in 1989 and 1999 to share Class AA record with Bennie Lewis with six total trophies won…grew up in Cincinnati…played baseball in college at Kentucky State University…is an accomplished jazz saxophonist." 

External Links

• Official Website