Secret to Success

To hear the founder, Tim King, of Urban Prep High School, one gets the notion that there is no "secret recipe for a successful school."  Urban Prep is an all African American male high school with three locations in the city of Chicago.  Of its many claims to fame none stands out more than the fact that all of the 167 graduating seniors will head off to college this fall.

I agree with King that there is no one element or factor that insures a student will be successful in school.  It is clear that many things work in favor of Urban Prep. 

They have an extended school day and school year in addition to an eight period day.  Uniforms are a must...a tie and coat have to be worn.  The school also emphasizes a particular school culture, has a strong college counseling program, is a single gender school and it focuses on the language arts.  In many respects, it mirrors many other schools aside from the single gender format.

Though the school doesn't look at test scores as part of the admission process, I am wondering what factors they consider in the process.  Do incoming freshman need certain grades?  How many children will be accepted that have been in some sort of trouble in the past?  I'm also curious to know what portion of the student body is made up of Educational Services students.

A good number of schools claim they aren't selective - and they might not be on certain criteria - but they can be selective in other ways.  I'm wondering if that applies to Urban Prep's success.

Dick