William Rainey Harper High School was 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
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 ...
located in the
West Englewood neighborhood on the south side of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
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 1911, Harper was 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.
...
district. Harper served students in West Englewood and certain streets of
Chicago Lawn
Chicago Lawn is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the southwest side of the city. Its community neighbors include Gage Park, West Englewood, Ashburn, and West Lawn. It is bounded by Bell Avenue on the east ...
, and was noted as the oldest high school in the West Englewood neighborhood. Harper closed at the end of the 2020–2021 school year on June 30, 2021.
History
Opened in 1911 by the Chicago Public Schools district and Chicago Board of Education, The school was named in honor of William Rainey Harper (1856–1906), a legendary educator who served as president of both the University of Chicago and Bradley University, and who was a champion of modernizing the facilities and standardizing the academic curriculum of the Chicago Public Schools. The majority of the school's students were African-American. In 2008, Harper was the first public school in Chicago to be a part of the Turnaround project started by former Chicago Public Schools CEO
Arne Duncan
Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Du ...
. Harper High School was a non-selective enrollment high school with attendance boundaries. Students within the attendance boundary were immediately enrolled without a form of admission. Those outside of the boundary had to receive permission from the school to enroll. If there are more applications than spots available, the school would perform a computerized lottery. Harper High School had form a program called "B.A.G." which the letters stands for Behavior, Attendance and Grades. Additionally, The school was adopted by
BET Networks
Black Entertainment Television LLC, doing business as BET Networks, is an American entertainment company that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship service BET. It is a subsidiary of media conglomerate Pa ...
as a 100-year anniversary in 2011. Harper had won the AP School Award four times (1976–1977, 1982–1983, 2008–2009 and 2012–2013).
National attention
On April 11, 2006, Harper High School gained national attention when the school was featured on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
''. The show discussed Harper High School's lack of computers and other essential learning tools for its students.
On July 9, 2012, Harper High School was the focus of a 2012
WBEZ
WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...
report concerning the 29 past and present students who were casualties of gun violence in the preceding 13 months. The school was subsequently the subject of a two-episode, five-month
immersive investigation by ''
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...
'' that aired on February 15 and 22, 2013, focusing on gun violence and the lives of students; the series earned a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
.
On April 22, 2013, two Harper senior students; Devonte Tanner and Brittney Knight, won
Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
s. They were the first students in Chicago school history to do so.
On October 29, 2014, School officials reported that 5 people at Harper High School in Chicago's
West Englewood neighborhood were taken to different hospitals after they became ill because of the odor. Fire department officials said they have tested carbon monoxide levels in the school, but found them to be quite low. Instead, a fire department spokesman says the smell appears to be coming from sewer gas, and sanitation crews had been doing work. Students and staff were taken to other schools while the
Chicago Fire Department
The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides fire suppression, rescue services, Hazardous Materials Response services and emergency medical response services to the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chi ...
investigated the cause of the odor. They also shut the boiler down in the school as a serious precaution.
Phasing out and closing
On February 12, 2018, the
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 ...
decided to phase out and ultimately close Harper
[South Side Weekly – Losing Harper High School – March 21, 2018]
/ref> along with three other neighborhood high schools due numerous reasons including low–enrollment, poor academic performance, lack of courses offerings for students and operational costs of the buildings. Harper graduated its final class of 19 seniors and closed after the 2020–2021 school year on June 30, 2021.
Athletics
Harper competed 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 was 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). Harper sports teams were nicknamed Cardinals. The boys' basketball team were Class 2A and 3A to become the four time regional champions. (2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2015–16). The chess team were Class AA only once and finished 8th place. (1975–76). The boys' football team were Class 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A to made team qualifier for state finals twenty-four times. (1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15). On October 3, 2019, This was Harper's 108th season as a football program and sadly this will be their last as Harper is being closed in Summer 2021.
Notable alumni
* Cal Lepore
Leonard Charles "Cal" Lepore (April 15, 1919 – December 7, 2002) was an American football head linesman, line judge and referee. He officiated in the American Football League (AFL) from 1966 through 1969, and then in the National Football Leagu ...
– (attended), former NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
referee (1966–1980)
* John Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
– (Class of 1959), former MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
baseball player (1962–1974)
* James Meeks
James T. Meeks (born August 4, 1956) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, who represented the 15th district from 2003 to 2013. He is also an active Baptist minister in Chicago and chaired the Illinois Legislative Black Caucu ...
– (Class of 1974), founder and senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church, and former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...
* Wayne Smith – (Class of 1975), former NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
football player (1980–1987)
References
External links
School website
from the Illinois High School Association
{{authority control
Public high schools in Chicago
Educational institutions established in 1911
1911 establishments in Illinois
Former high schools in Illinois
2021 disestablishments in Illinois
Educational institutions disestablished in 2021