Wendell Phillips Academy High School

Infobox Education in the United States
name= Wendell Phillips Academy High School


motto=
motto_translation=
streetaddress= 244 East Pershing Road
city= Chicago
state= Illinois
district= Chicago Public Schools
zipcode= 60653
phone= [phone]
website= http://www.phillips.cps.k12.il.us/
superintendent=
principal= Euel Bunton
schooltype= Public
grades= 9–12
language= English
area= Urban
mascot=
teamname= Wildcats
colors= Blue and White
founded= 1904
enrollment= 830
enrollment_as_of= 2007

Wendell Phillips Academy High School is a public four-year high school located in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of the Chicago Public Schools and is named for the noted American abolitionist Wendell Phillips. It was the first predominately black high school in Chicago.

Curriculum

Phillips is a High School Transformation and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) school and offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses as well as honors courses as part of its academic curriculum. It provides a positive learning environment through an academic curriculum promoting literacy and inquiry-based learning. AP courses are offered in U.S. history, environmental science and English. Honors courses are offered in 15 subjects. Education To Careers (ETC) programs are offered in fashion design, graphic communications, and drafting. Phillips also features a Junior Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (JAFROTC) program [cite web|url=http://www.chicagojrotc.com/airforce/airforce_jrotc_schools.jsp?rn=7784852|title=Chicago Air Force JROTC Schools|publisher=Chicago JROTC|accessdate=2008-06-15] and a state-of-the-art health clinic to serve the needs of its students. cite web|url=http://www.cps.k12.il.us/Schools/hsdirectory/wendellphillips.shtml|title=Wendell Phillips Academy High School|publisher=Chicago Public Schools|accessdate=2008-06-14] Enrollment is open to students living in its attendance area; if space is available, students outside the area may apply. Of the 830 students at Phillips, data gathered from several government and commercial data sources for years 2002-04 reflect that 99% were African American, 53% of the students were male and 47% female.cite web|url=http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/24268|title=Phillips Academy High School: School overview|publisher=Public School Review|accessdate=2008-06-15] With 60 teachers, the teacher per pupil ration was 1:14. The break down of students per grade was:
* Grade 9 - 296 students
* Grade 10 - 237 students
* Grade 11 - 172 students
* Grade 12 - 125 students

94% of Phillips high students were eligible for free lunch under federal guidelines.

History

Phillips opened September 5, 1904 and was named for Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), the staunch abolitionist and advocate for Native Americans. He was one of the leading members of the American Anti-Slavery Society. When the school opened, it was predominately white, by 1907, 90 black students had enrolled at Phillips.cite web|url=http://www.wendellphillips-centennial.com/History.htm|title=A Breif History of Wendell Phillips Highschool|last=McCants Sr.|first=Raymond|publisher=Wendell Phillips High School Centennial Committee|accessdate=2008-06-15] Early yearbooks portray a racial mix in the student body, but by 1920 the school had become Chicago's first predominately African-American high school. During this period, the school's winning basketball team was drafted by Abe Saperstein, a Chicago Parks and Recreation employee, [cite web|url=http://www.wendellphillips-centennial.com/Globetrotter.htm|title=Globetrotters Commemoration Day|last=Sanders|first=Carla |date=2004-01-09|publisher=Wendell Phillips High School Centennial Committee|accessdate=2008-06-15] to form the nucleus of a group that later became the Harlem Globetrotters.They were initially called "the Savoy Big Five", taking their new name from Bronzeville's Savoy Ballroom. [cite web|url=http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,7,1,1,18|title=Chicago's Globetrotters|publisher=WTTW - Chicago|accessdate=2008-06-15] Those players included Tommy Brookings, Hillary Brown, George Easter, William "Razor" Frazier, Roosevelt Hudson, Inman "Big Jack" Jackson, Lester Johnson, Byron "Fat" Long, William "Kid" Oliver, Al "Runt" Pullins, Randolph Ramsey, Ted Strong and Walter "Toots" Wright, all of whom were formerly students at Phillips High. [cite web|url=http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/team/alltime/|title=All-Time Roster|publisher=Harlem Globetrotters|accessdate=2008-06-14]
In 1929, the Board of Education voted to build a new Wendell Phillips High School at 49th and Wabash Avenue. Economic conditions during the Great Depression slowed the work on the building; it was finally completed February 4, 1935. The old school "mysteriously" caught fire January 28, 1935, making it necessary for the students to move to the new school in February 1935.
Now located at 244 E. Pershing Road in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, the school has produced a number of notable African-American alumni, including Nat "King" Cole, businessmen John H. Johnson (founder of "Ebony" and "Jet" magazines) and George E. Johnson, Sr., founder of Johnson Products (a cosmetics manufacturer and the first African-American owned firm to be listed on the American Stock Exchange). [cite web |author= |url=http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php3?id=929 |title=George E. Johnson was a natural businessman |publisher=African American Registry |accessdate=2007-05-18] The school building was constructed in 1904 in the Classical Revival style, and was designated a Chicago Landmark on May 7, 2003 in time for its 100th anniversary. [cite web |author= |url=http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/P/PhillipsHighSchool.html |title=Wendell Phillips High School |publisher=City of Chicago |accessdate=2007-05-18]

Principals

* Spencer R. Smith (1904 - 1917)
* Charles H. Perrine (1917 - 1921)
* Albert W. Evans (1921 - 1926)
* Chauncey C. Willard (1926 - 1935)
* William H. Page (1935 - 1937)
* William Abrams (1937 - 1939)
* Maudelle B. Bousfield (1939 - 1950)
* Virginia F. Lewis (1950 - 1961)
* Robert E. Lewis (1961 - 1965)
* Alonzo A. Crim (1965 - 1968)
* William Finch (1968 - 1971)
* Daniel W. Caldwell (1971 - 1975)
* Ernestine D. Curry (1975 - 1990)
* Juanita T. Tucker (1990 - 1997)
* Beverly LaCoste (1997 - 2001)
* Bertha Buchanan (2002 - 2004)
* Euel Bunton (2004 - present)

Extra curricular activities

In addition to its longstanding sports progran, Phillips offers students the opportunity to participate in Student Council, a school Newspaper Club, the Book Club, the Culture Club, a Music Production Project, an Entrepreneurial Project, Junior Achievement, yearbook, and a debate Team.

ports

Phillips athletic teams have had a history of success. In 1975 Phillips basketball team beat Waukegan, Peoria Richwoods and Bloom to win the state Class AA title, ending the season with a 32-1 record. In 1977, in one of the most dramatic basketball games ever played in Illinois, top-ranked Phillips beat second-rated Westinghouse 77-65 for the 1977 Public League title before 12,000 at the Amphitheatre. The 1977 Wildcats finished 28-1, losing to St. Laurence in the state quarterfinals. The 1984-85 girls basketball team was ranked No. 3 in the state after the regular season and finished 27-2, after losing 74-44 in the Public League final to Marshall, which went on to win the state title. Ironically, earlier in the season, the girls beat Marshall 54-48 to win the Mayor's Holiday Tournament title. In football, Phillips has appeared in two Prep Bowl games, losing to St. George 19-12 in 1943 and 40-24 to St. Laurence in 1973. Against St. George, future College Football Hall of Famer Buddy Young ran for both of Phillips' touchdowns. In track, Coach Carl Bonner's track and field team won the 1962 state title.
In 2007 the Wildcats football team posted a 2-6 record, the boys basketball team was 2-17 while the girls basketball team was 10-6. [cite web|url=http://varsity.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/SchoolHomePage.aspx?SchoolID=546&SportID=40&SeasonID=27&Anchor=true#SS|title= Wendell Phillips Academy High School|publisher=Preps Plus|accessdate=2008-06-15]

Notable Alumni

* Maudell Brown Bousfield, Chicago's first African-American public school principalcite web|url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/93/HR/09300HR1161.htm|title=House Resolution|date=2004|publisher=Illinois General Assembly|accessdate=2008-06-14]
* Gwendolyn Brooks, first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize [cite web|url=http://illinoisstatesoceity.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/10/illinois_hall_o_103.html|title=Illinois Hall of Fame: Gwendolyn Brooks|last=Rhoades|first=Mark|date=2006-10-24|publisher= the Illinois State Society |accessdate=2008-06-15]
* Archibald Carey, Jr, lawyer, judge, politician, diplomat and clergyman
* Nat "King" Cole cite web|url=http://www.cityofchicago.org/Landmarks/P/PhillipsHighSchool.html|title=Wendell Phillips High School|date=2003-05-07|publisher= Chicago Department of Planning and Development|accessdate=2008-06-14]
* Sam Cooke Pop and gospel recording star cite web|url=http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/highschool/884851,CST-SPT-spot09.article|title=Phillips Wildcats|last=Bell|first=Taylor|date=2008-04-09|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|accessdate=2008-06-14]
* Vivian G. Harsh: Chicago’s first black head librarian
* Chris Hinton, NFL player, (Baltimore Colts)
* Paul Des Jardien, Member of College Football Hall of Fame
* George E. Johnson, Sr. Founder, Johnson Products, the first African-American owned company listed on American Stock Exchange
* John H. Johnson, founder Johnson Publications (Jet and Ebony)
* Lee Roy Murphy, professional boxer
* Alonzo S. Parham, the second African-American to attend West Point [cite web|url=http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/integrate/CHRON3.html|title=Chronology of African American Military Service: World War I to World War II|publisher=Redstone|accessdate=2008-06-14|quote=Alonzo Parham entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the first black cadet to be accepted since the graduation of Charles R. Young in 1889.]
* Al Pullins: Original member, Harlem Globetrotters
* Ted ‘‘Double Duty’’ Radcliffe: Member of Baseball Hall of Fame
* William Clintard "Bill" Robinzine, NBA (1975–1982)
* Dinah Washington, legendary recording artist

Community Partners

Phillips community and university partners include the University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, Ada S. McKinley Educational Talent Search, Dawson Skills Center, Carnegie Learning, Field Museum, Kaplan, Center for New Horizons, and Project Strive.

Notes