Benito Juarez Community Academy, (commonly known as Juarez High School), is a public 4–year

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in the Pilsen neighborhood on the

west side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham E ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. Juarez is named for Mexican president Benito Pablo Juárez García. The school is a part of the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

(CPS) district. As of 2014 it is the largest high school in Pilsen. It was designed by architect

Pedro Ramírez Vázquez Pedro Ramírez Vázquez (April 16, 1919 – April 16, 2013)
Retrieved 2013-04-16. was a

Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently appointed solely by the mayor ...

multiple times but ultimately rejected. This led to protests and boycotts from many Mexican students and families. Finally, in June 1974, the Chicago Board of Education approved $8.9 million in funding to build a high school in Pilsen. Benito Juarez Community Academy opened in 1977 and as of 2017 has a 94 percent Latino student body. The school is decorated with murals and statues that portray Mexican culture and famous leaders.

History

Prior to the opening of Juarez, Pilsen area students attended

Carter Harrison Technical High School Carter Henry Harrison Technical High School was a public 4–year high school located in the South Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.Alvarez, p. 88. Opened and operated by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district, Harrison was founded in ...

. The Pilsen community asked for a senior high school of their own since the students had to cross gang territory to get to Harrison.Acevedo, Carlos.
Benito Juarez Muralists Reunite: A History of Struggles, Aspirations and Unity

Archive
. ''

Lawndale News Lawndale may refer to: Places ;In the United States * Lawndale, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Lawndale, San Mateo County, California, former name of the town of Colma * In Illinois ** Lawndale, Logan County, Illinois, an unincorpor ...

''. September 8, 2011. Retrieved on December 8, 2015. Other factors included racial tensions at Harrison itself and Pilsen parents worrying about their children getting into trouble away from their watch.Alvarez, p. 88. A March 1972 boycott of two area schools, the Froebel branch of Harrison and Jirka School, from Mexican origin people gave impetus to have Juarez built.Alvarez, p. 89-90.

Teresa Fraga Teresa Fraga is a Mexican-born teacher, community organizer, and activist in Pilsen, Chicago.Teresa Fraga Papers'' DePaul University Special Collections and Archives. Accessed February 7, 2017 She is an executive board member and the treasurer of ...

, Mary Gonzales and Raquel Guerrero are the three founding mothers of Benito Juarez Community High School. Gonzales was the head of the Pilsen Neighbors group. In the late 1960s, the three mothers shared concerns for their own children when the only public high school available was Harrison High school. Harrison high school was located in a neighborhood plagued with gang territory and racial tension between African Americans and Mexican Americans. The mothers wanted a safe and conducive school for Spanish speaking students. In June 1973 the Chicago Board of Education approved the construction of Juarez, and the board selected the location in September of that year.Alvarez, p. 92. In June 1974, Chicago’s Board of Education approved $8.9 million in funding to build a high school in Pilsen. By September 1974, due to business owners wanting to increase the final payments made out to them from the loss of their businesses and factory workers who themselves were parents not wishing to lose their jobs, CPS had not yet begun construction of Juarez; this prompted area parents and students to protest and ask the workers and business owners to reconsider their stances.Alvarez, p. 91. Additional boycotts and use of "freedom schools" instead of the regular public schools occurred. In 1975 CPS acquired the land and in 1976 it selected the architect. The city closed Blue Island to prepare for the construction of the school. The contractors who had the school built were Mexican-American. Some

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois sy ...

students suggested naming the school after

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the ins ...

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

, or another revolutionary of Latin American origin,Alvarez, p. 93. but the parents were opposed to that idea.Alvarez, p. 94. When the school opened, the faculty had originated from other Chicago schools. The formal dedication occurred on September 16, 1977. The CPS superintendent, Joseph Hannon, attended and stated that the Juarez school represented "a community that would not take 'no' for an answer."Alvarez, p. 78. René Luis Alvarez, a professor at

Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park wi ...

, stated that the school's establishment, " many ways", originated from the

Chicano movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento, was a social and political movement in the United States inspired by prior acts of resistance among people of Mexican descent, especially of Pachucos in the 1940s and 1950s, and the Black ...

and its desire for greater recognition of Mexican-American history and identity. The school was established in 1977.Finding Room to Grow: Benito Juarez High School Expansion Study
" City Design Center,

. 1997. Retrieved on December 12, 2015. During the opening ceremony, a bust sculpture of Juárez and the

flag of Mexico The national flag of Mexico ( es, Bandera de México) is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these thre ...

were presented, and the anthems of the United States and of Mexico were both played. The choice of the day of the ceremony was influenced by the fact that September 16 is the anniversary of the

Cry of Dolores The Cry of Dolores ( es, Grito de Dolores, links=no, region=MX) occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War ...

, the Mexican independence day, as well as near the beginning of the school year in Chicago. In its first year the school had grades 9-11, with 12th grade coming later. By 1997 CPS officials were considering expanding Juarez since it became one of the most crowded community high schools in Chicago. In December 2022, Brandon Perez, aged 15, and Nathan Billegas, aged 14, were killed by gunfire on school grounds following a dispute about their

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

affiliation.

Campus

The school is located at Blue Island and Cermak avenues. The campus was designed by Mexican architect

Pedro Ramírez Vázquez Pedro Ramírez Vázquez (April 16, 1919 – April 16, 2013)
Retrieved 2013-04-16. was a

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

pyramids were intended as an homage to

Mexican culture Mexican culture is primarily influenced by its Indigenous inhabitants and the culture of Spain. Mexican culture is described as the 'child' of both western and native American civilizations. Other minor influences include those from other regio ...

. The school includes "La Esperanza," a 1979 mural depicting the struggle for Mexican-American young people. It was professionally commissioned by mothers who had advocated for the construction of the school. The artists were Malú Ortega y Alberro, Jimmy Longoria, Oscar Moya,

Marcos Raya Marcos Raya (born 1948 Guanajuato, Mexico) is a Mexican artist based out of Chicago, Illinois. He became known in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen for his street murals. His studio is in the Chicago community area of New City. Early life Bo ...

, Robert Valadez, and Salvador Vega. Various other murals with Mexican nationalist and pre-Columbian motifs were painted by Mexican-American artists. Juarez was expanded in 2010 to include a larger campus, an auditorium, and a soccer field. Technology is integrated, and there are ten modern computer labs.

Academics

Programs include

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

(AP) courses in Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Chinese Language and Culture, Computer Science, English Language and Composition, English Literature, European History, Physics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Statistics, Studio Art–Drawing, Studio Art 2–D Design, U.S. Government/Politics and United States History. The school offers a variety of curricular options, including: *College Bound Licensed Practical Nursing *Project Lead the Way *Transportation Academy *Police and Firefighter Training Academy *TV Production *Work Experience Cooperative Education Program (WECEP) *

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

(JROTC)

Athletics

Juarez competes in the

Chicago Public League The Chicago Public High School Athletic Association, commonly known as the Chicago Public League (CPL), is the interscholastic competition arm of the Chicago Public Schools. The governance of the CPL is set through the Department of Sports Admini ...

(CPL) and is a member of the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...

(IHSA).IHSA: Chicago(Jaurez)
/ref> The school's sport teams are nicknamed Eagles. Juarez boys' cross country were Class AA in 1995–96. The boys'

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team were Public league champions in 1995–96, Class AA in 2007–08 and Class 2A in 2010–11.

Notes

References

* Alvarez, René Luis. "A Community that Would Not Take 'No' for an Answer: Mexican Americans, the Chicago Public Schools, and the Founding of Benito Juarez High School," '' Journal of Illinois History'' (2014) 17:1 pp 78–98.

External links

Official Website Of Benito Juarez High School
{{authority control 1977 establishments in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1977 Lower West Side, Chicago Mass shootings in Illinois High school shootings in the United States Mexican-American culture in Chicago Public high schools in Chicago