Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

4–year selective enrollment

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

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 ...

and

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

located in the Roseland

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

, near the

Pullman District Pullman National Historical Park is a historic district located in Chicago and was the first model, planned industrial community in the United States. The district had its origins in the manufacturing plans and organization of the Pullman Compa ...

on the far south side of

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. Opened in 1998, The school is operated by

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. ...

district. A

university-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where t ...

, Brooks is named for African–American poet, author and Chicago native

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetr ...

History

The site has been in use as a high school since 1915, though Brooks is the fourth high school to occupy the property.

George Pullman George Mortimer Pullman (March 3, 1831 – October 19, 1897) was an American engineer and industrialist. He designed and manufactured the Pullman sleeping car and founded a company town, Pullman, for the workers who manufactured it. This ulti ...

, upon his death in 1897, bequeathed the sum of $1,200,000 to provide for the building and endowment of a "free school of manual training for the benefit of the children of persons living or employed at Pullman." An additional bequest was made by Mrs. Pullman, and the ''Pullman Free School of Manual Training'' opened its doors on the site in September 1915. The first year class welcomed 106 boys and girls. Although the town of Pullman had by this time become part of the city of Chicago, the school successfully fulfilled the intentions of its founder by serving the children of employees of the Pullman car works and the Pullman-Roseland communities. It was widely recognized at the time for excellence in vocational instruction and effective training of its students, all of whom were concurrently enrolled in core academic subjects such as English, math, and science. By the late 1940s, the endowment that supported the school could no longer sustain the rising costs of the school's operation as it grew to a student enrollment of 600. According to Pullman's will, the school was prohibited from charging tuition. The school's board decided that the only practicable means of carrying out Pullman's intention was to divert the funds from the school into an educational scholarship foundation. The Free School closed in 1950. The school was immediately taken over by the

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

, who established Mendel Catholic High School. The Roman Catholic high school remained in operation from 1951 to 1988. In 1988, Mendel was closed as the school's population dropped, and the property was sold to the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

, which opened St. Martin de Porres High School. The diocesan school remained open only until 1997 because the school's population had continued to drop. The school and property were then sold to the Chicago Public Schools system, which opened the current school in 1998 as Southside College Preparatory Academy. In 2001, the school was named in honor of

, who was a South Side resident, former U.S. Poet Laureate, and consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress. Brooks Rotunda

Campus and facilities

Brooks is located at 111th and King Drive in the Roseland area which is a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, from the Chicago Loop by Lake Calumet. Roseland is near the historically significant

Pullman Historic District Pullman National Historical Park is a historic district located in Chicago and was the first model, planned industrial community in the United States. The district had its origins in the manufacturing plans and organization of the Pullman Compa ...

. Significant landmarks nearby include the

Hotel Florence The Hotel Florence is a former hotel located in the Pullman Historic District on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1881 to a design by architect Solon Spencer Beman. Since 1991, it has been owned by the Illinois Historic ...

, the Arcade Building which was destroyed in the 1920s, the Clock Tower and Factory, the complex surrounding Market Square and Greenstone Church.

Famous Alumni

* Cameron Pickett- 3 Star Wide Receiver Class of 2022, Currently playing football at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana * Lawrence Nalls III- 3 Star Defensive Lineman Class of 2023, Currently playing football at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia

Extra-curricular activities

Sports

* Boys/girls cross country * Boys football * Boys/girls Soccer * Girls tennis * Boys/girls volleyball * Boys/girls basketball * Boys/girls bowling * Boys baseball * Girls softball * Boys/girls track and field * Boys softball * Boys wrestling * Girls cheerleading * Boys/girls swimming * Boys/Girls Fencing

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks College Preparatory Academy, Gwendolyn 1998 establishments in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1998 Magnet schools in Illinois Public high schools in Chicago