Edwin Gilbert Cooley Vocational High School (also known as Cooley Vocational High School and Upper Grade Center, commonly known as Cooley High) 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

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

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

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

neighborhood on the Near North 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 primarily to serve Cabrini-Green in 1958, Cooley was housed in a high school building constructed in 1907. It was 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. ...

district and served grades 7 through 12. Cooley was named in honor of Edwin Gilbert Cooley (1857–1923), who served as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools from 1900 until 1909."Edwin Cooley Is Dead In Chicago; Prominent Educator and Former Head of Cresco Schools Dies at Age of 67."
''The Howard County (IA) Times'', 1923. pg. 3. McCarville, Jill. "Cooley, Edwin G. (1857-1923)." ''www.iagenweb.org'', June 7, 2013."Cooley, Edwin Gilbert (1857-1923)."
''

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...

Digital Edition.'' ''www.digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu.'' Retrieved August 29, 2019."Edwin G. Cooley: The Success of a Clayton County School Teacher."
''Elkader Register and Argus'', February 25, 1909. pg. 2, C4. Johnson, Ken. "Edwin G. Cooley." ''www.iagenweb.org'', June 13, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2019. Cooley closed in June 1979.

History

Building uses

Constructed between 1905 and 1907, The building that housed Cooley located at Sedgwick Avenue and Division Street was the original location for Albert G. Lane Manual Training High School (now known as Lane Tech College Prep), a then all boys vocational school which opened the following year. By 1931, Lane's enrollment had soared to 7,000, which caused over-crowding issues within the building. The Chicago Board of Education chose a new site for Lane which opened in 1934. Once Lane moved from the location, The building then housed Washburne Vocational High School (which later became known as Washburne Trade School).

Cooley

Washburne occupied the building until the neighborhood's population grew to record high numbers. At that time Cabrini-Green, a

Chicago Housing Authority The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is a municipal corporation that oversees public housing within the city of Chicago. The agency's Board of Commissioners is appointed by the city's mayor, and has a budget independent from that of the city of C ...

public housing complex located around the school population had reached about 15,000 residents. Due to this, It became a need for another public high school in the community to prevent over crowding at nearby Lincoln Park High School (then known as Robert A. Waller High School) and

Wells High School Wells High School is a public school located in Wells, Maine, United States. It has an enrollment of 450 students in grades 9 through 12. The school primarily serves students from Wells, as well as a small number of students from Ogunquit, Maine ...

. After Washburne was relocated to the south side of the city in January 1958, Chicago Public Schools purposed a new school for the vacant building to the Board of Education. Proposed was a public neighborhood vocational high school with an upper grade center; seventh and eighth grade program. Approved by the Chicago Board of Education, The school opened as Edwin Gilbert Cooley Vocational High School in September 1958 for the 1958–1959 school year. When the school opened, The enrollment was around 1,700; with the student body being made up of 69% White and 41% African–American. By the end of the 1963–1964 school year, the African–American student population at the school had increased while the White population decreased drastically by 78%. The school's student body was predominately

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

with a percentage of 98%, most of whom lived in Cabrini by 1967. During the 1967–1968 school year, Problems began to emerge within the school and Cooley administration and local school council voiced concerns to school board officials about issues with the school's outdated and aged facilities. In November 1968, School board officials proposed a plan to co-locate Cooley with Waller High School; constructing a building on vacant land near the Waller campus. Cooley's administration objected to the proposal, citing the co–location would phase out its current student body who resided at the north–west end of the district; stating a new school should be built near its current location. Members of the Lincoln Park Conservation Association also rejected the proposal, citing differences within Cooley and Waller school communities. In October 1969, The school board had voted to phase out Cooley once the new vocational annex on Waller campus was completed.Chicago Tribune, New Principal Named At Waller High School, October 26, 1969
Retrieved September 7, 2020. Scheduled to be completed in 1971, The plan was cancelled. By the 1969–1970 school year, Cooley was regarded as one of the city's poorest performing vocational schools with a drop-out rate of 32%. After the co-location plan was canceled, The board still voted to replace Cooley's building which was described as "beyond deplorable" by 1975.

Athletics

Cooley 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). The school's sport teams were known as the Comets.

Closure

In November 1974, the Chicago Board of Education voted on a site for the new school site, named the Larrabee-Ogden-Clybourn triangle. The school board began phasing out Cooley during the 1975–1976 school year due to low academic performance, the poor condition of the building and the lack of vocational programs which failed to attract students from outside the area. The school was closed after the 1978–1979 school year, sending its remaining students to the new Near North Career Magnet High School located north-west of Cooley which opened the following school year. Cooley was later demolished in 1981.

Other information

In 1969, Ralph J. Cusick served as principal of Cooley and Waller High School during negotiations to merge both schools. Dr. Edward C. Bennett served as principal of Cooley from August 1970 until it was closed in June 1979.

Crime

On September 22, 1969, 17-year-old junior Johnnie Veal was attacked in the school's basement, resulting in his throat being slashed. The attack was prompted by his switch in street gang affiliation the previous day. Veal was found around 11:30 a.m. by the school's security guard. He survived the attack.

In popular culture

The high school was the subject of the 1975 film ''

Cooley High ''Cooley High'' is a 1975 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film that follows the narrative of high school seniors and best friends, Leroy "Preach" Jackson (Glynn Turman) and Richard "Cochise" Morris (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs). Written by Eric M ...

'', written by

Eric Monte Eric Monte (born Kenneth Williams; December 25, 1943) is an American screenwriter and TV series creator. He is known for his work in depicting 1970s African-American culture. Monte wrote and co-created several sitcoms for television such as ''Goo ...

, an alumnus of the real-life Cooley High who based the film on his experiences attending the school and growing up in Cabrini-Green. Cooley High was also mentioned in songs by rappers such as

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

and the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

. The R&B group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

named their first album ''

Cooleyhighharmony ''Cooleyhighharmony'' is the debut studio album by American R&B group Boyz II Men. It was first released in the United States by Motown Records on April 30, 1991. The album was mainly written by Boyz II Men members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and ...

'' as an homage to the school.

Notable alumni

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

(class of 1957) – R&B singer–songwriter, commissioner (Cook County, Illinois) *

John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...

, (attended) – serial killer. *

, (attended) –

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Marvin Yancy Marvin Jerome Yancy (May 31, 1950 – March 22, 1985) was an American gospel musician, pastor and Grammy-winning record producer, and former pastor of Fountain of Life Baptist Church. He started his music career, in 1971, with The Independents, w ...

, (class of 1968) – Gospel singer–songwriter,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

and former husband of

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

References

External links

The History of Chicago's Cooley Voc High School
{{authority control Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago Educational institutions established in 1958 Former high schools in Illinois Public high schools in Chicago 1958 establishments in Illinois Educational institutions disestablished in 1979 1979 disestablishments in Illinois Buildings and structures demolished in 1981