Jones College Prep High School

Jones College Prep High School
Address
700 S. State Street Chicago , Illinois 60605 United States
Coordinates	41°52′25″N87°37′41″W / 41.8737°N 87.6280°W / 41.8737; -87.6280
Information
School type	Public Secondary Magnet
Established	1938
School district	Chicago Public Schools
CEEB code	140905 [1]
Principal	Kerry Dolan [2]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coed
Enrollment	1,957 (2020–2021)
Campus type	Metropolitan
Color(s)	Navy Blue   White
Athletics conference	Chicago Public League
Mascot	Eagles
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [3]
Website	jonescollegeprep.org

William Jones College Preparatory High School (commonly known as Jones College Prep) is a public four-year selective-enrollment high school located in the Printer's Row neighborhood in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. Jones is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. Jones was named one of “America’s Best High Schools” for 2010 by Newsweek magazine. Jones is rated as a 10/10 high school by GreatSchools.org, the leading school information site. ^[4]

Named for Chicago's first school superintendent, William Jones, the school has undergone several name changes related to its focus, from Jones Commercial High School, to Jones Metropolitan High School of Business and Commerce, to Jones Academic Magnet High School. Jones adopted its current name and focus on college preparatory education in August 1998. ^[5]

Academics

Jones College Prep is rated a 10 out of 10 by GreatSchools.org, a national school quality information site. ^[6] GreatSchools’ Summary Rating is based on four of the school’s themed ratings: the Test Score Rating, Student or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, and Equity Rating and flags for discipline and attendance disparities at a school.

History

Jones was established in 1938 as Jones Commercial High School when the Chicago Board of Education decided a school was needed to serve the downtown area of the city. ^[7] The site chosen, at South State Street and West Harrison Street, housed a former elementary school. The old building was later demolished and replaced by a modern six-story structure in 1966. In addition to being a high school, Jones had a two-year program that offered a wide range of training for skilled office work.

During the 1981–1982 school year, the school was renamed Jones Metropolitan High School of Business and Commerce after becoming a part of the Chicago Public Schools "Options for Knowledge" program. By the 1997–1998 academic year, Jones' business and commerce program was phased out and it became a college preparatory school.

The school is one of 11 selective-enrollment schools offered by the Chicago Public Schools. These schools are generally for academically high-achieving students and require a test and high grades and test scores in order for applicants to be accepted. Other selective-enrollment schools in Chicago include Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, and Hancock High School.

Demographics

As of December 2021, the racial makeup of Jones is 36.9% White, 29% Hispanic, 11.6% Black, 15.2% Asian, and 7.3% other. 35.5% of Jones students are categorized as "Low Income" and 1.1% as having limited English. ^[8]

Campus

The original six-floor campus was designed by Perkins+Will in 1967 and served as a compact downtown school.

For the 2001–2002 school year, Jones was temporarily located at Near North Career Metropolitan High School building while the site on State Street underwent renovation. ^[9] In the early 2000s, the City of Chicago filed suit against Pacific Garden Mission, a Christian-based homeless shelter then located next door to Jones, in order to expand the school. Work began in 2011 on a new south building, designed by Chicago-based architecture firm Perkins+Will. Jones' new building opened for the 2013–2014 school year. The existing six-floor building was set for demolition until it was merged with the new building to increase capacity to 1800 students. The Chicago Sun-Times called the building, with its price tag of over 100 million dollars, the most expensive school that the city has ever built. ^[10]

The seven-story building completed in 2013 features a pool and gymnasium on the seventh floor as well as a library and terraces. The building also has a theater for performing arts and school assemblies. The original building is six stories tall and features weight rooms, a theater, and additional classrooms.

Awards and recognition

In 2007, Jones College Prep was awarded a Gold Medal from U.S. News & World Report in their issue featuring the top 100 high schools in the nation based on college readiness, and in 2006 the school received the Blue Ribbon award from the Department of Education. ^{[11] [12]} Jones was recognized as one of “America’s Best High Schools” by U.S. News & World Report and was ranked in the top 100 high schools in 2010. Jones ranked in the Top 10 among Illinois public high schools on the PSAE state assessment (2008 and 2009). ^[13] In 2019, Jones College Prep was ranked 91st among Best High Schools by U.S. News & World Report. ^[14]

Athletics

Jones competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). ^[15] In 2012, Jones' boys cross-country team won the IHSA 2A state title. ^[16] From 2001 until 2014, the athletic program utilized the former Near North High School building at 1450 N. Larrabee Avenue. ^[17]

Notable alumni

• Chance the Rapper (2011), hip-hop artist, Grammy winner ^[18]
• Andre Reynolds II (2019), soccer player ^[19]
• Victor Bezerra (2019), professional soccer player ^[20]

See also

• Chicago Police Dept. v. Mosley

References

1. "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
2. "Jones College Prep names new principal nearly a year after previous one was removed amid controversy". Chicago Tribune. October 12, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
3. "Institution Summary for William Jones College Preparatory High School". AdvancED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
4. "Best High Schools in Chicago, IL | GreatSchools". greatschools.org.
5. History Archived 2013-04-07 at the Wayback Machine . Jones College Prep.
6. "Best High Schools in Chicago, IL | GreatSchools". GreatSchools.org. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
7. A Contest Without Winners - How Students Experience Competitive School Choice - By Kate Phillippo · 2019
8. "School Details Page | Chicago Public Schools". www.cps.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
9. Fountain, John W. (15 May 2003). "Chicago Looks for Home for Shelter for Homeless". The New York Times.
10. Novak, Tim (2016-06-24). "The Watchdogs: Tab for Jones College Prep could reach $127 million". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
11. http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2006/public-high-schools.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
12. Best High Schools Rankings | Top High Schools | US News
13. Jones College Prep Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
14. "Jones College Prep High School" . Retrieved 2019-10-22.
15. IHSA Chicago(Jones)
16. Boys state cross-country | York, Jones take team titles
17. Jones College Prep: Athletics Archived 2012-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
18. "CMJ 2012 Artist Q&A: Chance The Rapper". Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
19. "Student Andre Reynolds Signs with Fire". www.jonescollegeprep.org. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
20. "Victor Bezerra - Men's Soccer". Indiana University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-09-27.

External links

• William Jones College Preparatory website