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Recent UPdates
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May 2010 UPdate
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Vote for People's Reader's Choice Hero and Urban Prep Could Win $10,000
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Recent UPdates
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May 2010 UPdate
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Dear Friend,
Five, four, three, two, one...
We hosted our FIFTH Annual Convocation. We held our FOURTH Annual Aces UP! poker tournament. Our THIRD school opened. The SECOND Urban Prep campus continues to shine. And we've already had our FIRST round of college admissions for the Class of 2011.
As this mini-countdown proves, there is
never a dull moment at Urban Prep. I
continue to be inspired by the willingness of our students, faculty and staff
to put in the hard work necessary to achieve success. As you read this month's UPdate, I hope that
you too will be inspired by our work.
We Believe,
Tim
Tim King
Founder & CEO
Urban Prep Academies
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5th Annual Opening Convocation
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| | Urban Prep Welcomes the Class of 2014
Every journey has a Mr. Tullock-Harris gives remarks at Convocation.  | launching point. This month, members of Urban Prep's Class of 2014 began
their journey toward success in college at our 5th Annual Opening
Convocation.
As always, the event was highlighted by two of Urban Prep's cherished
rituals: The Brother's Keeper Ritual, during which community elders stand in
support of the incoming freshmen; and the Credimus Ceremony, during which Urban
Prep's newest scholars don their school blazers, and recite the Urban Prep Creed publicly for the first time.
Convocation 2010 featured appearances by dignitaries
including United States Senator Roland Burris and the presentation of a plaque honoring the
Illinois Network of Charter Schools, which has worked tirelessly on behalf of
Urban Prep and other Charter schools throughout the state.
Members of the Class of 2014 from each Urban Prep
campus gave stirring speeches. Mr. George Tullock-Harris, part of
the incoming class at Urban Prep's new South Shore Campus, stood before the
crowd of fellow students and well-wishers saying, "Today is the first day of
my future. Four years from now, I
will look back to tonight as the night I started to demand greatness of
myself."
Well said, sir. Well said!
The Class of 2014 stands proudly with their new blazers.
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4th Annual Aces UP! a Hit
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| Chicago Celebrities and Urban Prep Supporters Go "All-In" at Aces UP! 2010
Aces UP! hosts Chris Zorich, Richard Roeper,
Tim King, and Alexi Giannoulias.
 | Close to 300 guests joined Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias; Urban Prep Founder & CEO Tim
King; Chicago Sun-Times Columnist and TV/ Radio Personality Richard Roeper; and
College Football Hall of Famer and former Chicago Bear Chris Zorich at the 4th Annual
Aces UP! Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament. This year's event raised $100,000 in support of
Urban Prep's newest initiatives: The Urban Prep Fellows Program and the UP To and Through College Program. With the support of our donors and sponsors, Aces UP! 2010 was a tremendous evening of fantastic food, cocktails and hard-hitting action at the poker tables. The tournament champion, D.C. Crenshaw, even donated half of his prize back to Urban Prep! |
| 3rd School Opens |
| | UP's South Shore Campus expands network
UP South Shore Lion being his brother's keeper!
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This year marks the launch of Urban Prep Charter
Academy for Young Men--South Shore Campus. This school is the third to
open as part of the Urban Prep Academies network.
135 students make up
the Freshman class of our newest campus and each of them is focused on succeeding at Urban Prep and earning a four year college degree. With their first month of classes nearly complete, the young men of the South Shore campus are adapting admirably to the Urban Prep culture. They are well on their way to becoming the types of scholars of which we can all be proud.
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2nd School Continues to Shine on the West Side
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| | EGP represents at TFA event
Mr. Dong, Mr. Mead, and
UP EGP Principal, Mr. Childress.
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Tre Childress, Principal of Urban Prep's East Garfield Park Campus,
spoke passionately at Teach for America's Annual Chicago Benefit Dinner at the
Ritz Carlton last week. Childress, a
Teach for America alum, credited his TFA years as the catalyst for what would
become a life-long passion for education.
Mr. Childress was joined by UP-EGP teacher George Dong, and Lawrence
Mead, a member of the school's Class of 2013.
Speaking about his experience at Urban Prep, Mr. Mead told the crowd of
400 guests, "My future is brighter because at Urban Prep I have the opportunity
to get a great education". He later
urged the attendees to take action saying, "We all need to work to ensure that
every student in the nation has the same opportunity".
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1st Round of College Acceptances for the Class of 2011
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| New seniors on their way to 100%
Members of the Class of 2011 gather on the
steps of Eastern Illinois University.
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Urban Prep's Class of 2011 opened the year with an overnight
retreat at Eastern Illinois University. At the retreat, students met with leaders of several student organizations
and participated in workshops focused on the college admissions process,
financial aid, campus involvement and student life. The EIU Office of Admissions was so
impressed with our young men, that they conducted on-site transcript reviews and interviews. The result: 17 Urban Prep seniors were admitted on the spot!!
Less than one month into the new school year, the Class of 2011 is well
on their way to matching the 100% college admission rate achieved by the Class
of 2010.
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| Keeping UP: The Alumni Spotlight |
| | Urban Prep grads making a mark on campuses across the country.
Mr. Hines at Commencement giving the Salutatorian Address.
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Thanks to the work of the UP To & Through College Program, we will be able to provide readers of the UPdate with the latest on our historic first graduating class.
This month, we turn the spotlight on Urban Prep alumnus Rayvaugn Hines. Mr. Hines is from Chicago's Back of the Yards community and was admitted to a staggering twenty-three colleges.
After much deliberation, he decided upon the University of Virginia--much to the delight of Urban Prep Board member Darryl Cobb who is a proud UVA graduate. Mr. Hines was awarded the incredibly prestigious and competitive Gates
Millenium Scholarship (one of only twenty-nine students from Illinois to earn such an honor). The Gates Scholarship will provide Mr. Hines with tuition assistance and other support throughout college...and graduate school!
Mr. Hines with his roommate in their dorm. | Mr. Hines plans to major in Engineering and minor in Business. At Urban Prep, Mr. Hines was an academic and athletic star. Wanting to keep running with the best of them, he tried to walk-on the Track team at UVA. His dedication, commitment and focus paid off as he has been offered a spot on the team.
We know that Mr. Hines will continue, as UP's Englewood Campus Principal Dennis Lacewell always says, "to sprint to that finish line" in all of the things he does!
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