Jones College Prep

[SE High Schools]

Jones College Prep

FACTS
Grade 9-12
Students ~ 825
Zone: West/Central/South
Principal: Dr.Paul J Powers
Opened: 1908 (became Jones College Prep in 1999)

RESOURCES
Jones College Prep High School Web Site About JCP, U.S. News Gold Medal, Spring Musical, Email Newsletter, News, Announcements, Athletic Calendar, Upcoming Events, etc.
CPS Summary Page for William Jones College Prep High School Overview, Scorecard, Enrollment and Admissions, Progress Reports, Key Dates, etc.
Wikipedia Page for William Jones College Preparatory History, Academics, Awards and Recognition, Student Publications, etc.

CONTACT
606 S State St
Chicago, Illinois 60605
Phone: (773) 534-8600
Fax: (773) 534-8625

MAPS
Location in Bing Maps
Google Street View
Bing Maps Bird's Eye View


Click the button "Reply to Thread" to note changes or add additional information. Go Eagles!

[Eric Fall K Dad]

Some info about the discussion over plans for the new and old buildings --

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...t-a-new-school

[HSObsessed]

During the teachers' strike, Jones quietly unveiled how they're going to integrate 75 neighborhood kids into Jones, starting in fall 2013, when they move into the new facility. Kids within a to-be-determined boundary can apply to a pre-law or pre-engineering program at Jones. Once they're admitted, they have to take one course per year in that area, and all the other classes will be with the Jones kids who were admitted through the regular selective enrollment process.

I still think that the citywide kids are getting somewhat shafted here in that there are no additional citywide SE spots created with the new, bigger school. The old facility housed 900 students total, and 225 were admitted each year citywide. The new facility houses 1200 students, so 300 per year will be admitted, but now it's 75 from the neighborhood, and still 225 from citywide. It will be a great re-election platform for the alderman who pushed this through, though!

http://www.skylinenewspaper.com/News..._kids_detailed

Plus, there are still those in the area who want to use the old Jones facility for a new neighborhood high school:

http://www.reusejones.org/

[HSObsessed]

We went to the Jones open house today. Got there at 11:15, got inside nearly 1.5 hours later, spent a lot of time shivering in the cold. But the volunteer kids were all over, ready to answer questions while everyone was in line. Then there was a 20 minute intro to the school in the auditorium, then people were let loose to self-tour by walking around the building, where most classrooms were open, and there were some teachers and lots of Jones students present (as well as some Jones parents) to answer questions. The building is in great shape, and I hope it's re-used for something by CPS and not knocked down! Principal Powers mentioned briefly that 75 spots would be available for "kids that live close by" through a pre-law or pre-engineering track, and said that more information would be available on their website in mid-November, by which I assume he meant the boundaries will be mapped out and posted. So all around, it seemed like a happy, friendly environment. The three 8th graders I toured with all said they loved it and would love to go there but when pressed for reasons why, they seemed to mostly like the downtown location. However, they also liked the student art work we saw everywhere. The new building is being finished up, is right next door, and the fall 2013 class will be the first freshmen class in the new building, which will have many more arts/theater/sports facilities, including a swimming pool.

[Jones Parent]

HS obsessed - thanks for your write-up of Jones. I hope it's helpful. To clarify, one of the reasons kids love Jones and are not necessarily able to express why is because it's about an overall "feel" - downtown certainly being part of it.

Some "givens" that are to be expected in SE schools: Jones is a top selective school with an advanced curriculum (only honors and AP classes), has the full line up of sports, clubs and activities, and the students go to top colleges

Unique to Jones: Downtown location, high quality of visual and performing arts classes at a college prep school, unique staff and teachers look to promote their kids and the school, excellent leadership, equal opportunities for all kids to shine while working to their fullest potential, competitive sports teams especially track, mix of students both culturally and economically that enjoy a special camaraderie, block scheduling and much more.

Thanks to all that waited in line to explore a taste of the Jones community. Best of luck to you all!

[HSObsessed]

So the latest on the Reuse Jones website seems to make it sound like they're going to try to expand the number of spots for neighborhood kids upward each year.

We DO know that the new Jones, which will open next fall, will have a special CTW program, focused on Engineering and Law. 25% of the seats will be open to children living in the neighborhood borders of Jones. The goal is to open approximately 25% seats, which translates to 75 out of 300 students - progressing this number every year with every new class.

They have also posted the boundaries of what is considered the Jones "neighborhood" for purposes of giving preference to admitting kids. It's very big, with the lake on the east, 26th St on the south, Ashland on the west and Grand on the north. However, I'm not sure many middle schoolers live within the boundaries right now, except maybe in Chinatown and Pilsen. If a lot of the young families in the South Loop, West Loop, and Fulton Market areas stay a few years, however, there will be.
http://www.jonescollegeprep.org/apps...pREC_ID=386772

[Another Jones Parent]

Ben Joravsky wrote about Jones recently in the Chicago Reader --

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago...nt?oid=8425462

"How Mayor Emanuel could turn Jones high into a neighborhood school—and win my almost undying support"

What do you think?

Here's his conclusion:

I predict that if Fioretti and residents apply enough pressure, the mayor will call a press conference to announce he wants to turn Jones into a neighborhood school because it's really important to keep the middle class in Chicago—like it was his idea all along.

....

If things go really well, maybe CPS will even create a vocational program, like the one at the old Jones Commercial School, which, in my humble opinion, should never have been destroyed in the first place. But hey, it's never too late to try and rectify old mistakes.

[HSObsessed]

What do I think? I think that a new neighborhood HS in the old Jones building would be hard pressed to attract enough kids to fill it. The stated boundaries would be Grand on the north, Ashland on the West, and 35th St on the south. This would mean kids whose current nabe HS is Wells, Phillips, Tilden, Juarez and Crane would now have this school as their "fall back". Most of these same kids are applying to Jones SE, Jones CTE program, Payton, Young, Westinghouse, 6 Noble HSs (including Muchin in the heart of the Loop), and Ogden IB as their first choices. The truth is that there are already enough "fall back" options out there. There's just no way that there will be 200+ kids every single year who would enroll in a new Jones neighborhood HS. Fioretti tweeted about this article that they need a new Jones nabe HS because Phillips is "too far".

[HSObsessed]

Newest: Jones CP will take over both buildings, new and old, and expand total enrollment. Letter from the principal:

January 25, 2013

Dear Prospective Jones Parents and Students,

The number of students seeking admission to Jones College Prep and other selective enrollment high schools has grown steadily in recent years; the number of seats for incoming freshmen has not kept pace with this growth. Earlier this week it was announced that Jones will expand by merging the present building with the new facility soon to open next door.

Merging the two facilities will allow Jones to accept 425 new freshmen and expand our enrollment over the next 4 years to approximately 1700 students. Of the 425 seats, 350 will be selective enrollment and 75 will be for our new Pre-Law and Pre-Engineering Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs for students living in the vicinity of the school. The Jones expansion will provide hundreds of well-qualified Chicago students greater opportunity to attend one of the best high schools in the country.

The current Jones building will become the North Campus, and the new facility the South Campus. Between now and the opening of school next fall, the North Campus will undergo significant renovation, including the repurposing of some instructional spaces to provide additional art, physical education, and media center space. A covered walkway will link the two buildings on the ground floor level. Both buildings will serve students in grades nine through twelve.

I can assure you that our growth in enrollment will not alter the essential character and mission of Jones College Prep, as stated in our "Ideal Graduate at Graduation" vision statement. Our goal will remain to provide all our students with the best possible education in a safe and caring environment.*Our signature “Freshman Connection” and “College Knowledge” programs, as well as our Honors/ Advanced Placement curriculum and rich extra-curricular programs will continue to serve the needs of all Jones students.

After selective enrollment letters go out in February, we will be holding “Freshman Welcome” meetings during the first week of March so that applicants can learn more about the school prior to the acceptance deadline.*Specific dates and times will be included in the invitation letters from Jones.

If you have selected Jones College Prep, you can be confident that we are committed to our mission to help students develop themselves as leaders through a rigorous college prep program that focuses on educating the whole person.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time at 773-534-8606 or pjpowers@cps.edu.

Sincerely,


P. Joseph Powers, Ph.D.
Principal

[Eric Fall K Dad]

Makes sense to me, no need to have two separate administrations right next to each other.

With enrollment growing to 1,700 I was curious if that would make it one of the largest schools in Chicago, but there are actually several huge schools, Lane has almost as many students as the population of the small town where I grew up!

• Lane Technical High School Total Enrollment: 4,278
• Kelly High School Total Enrollment: 3,155
• Curie High School Total Enrollment: 3,062
• Taft High School Total Enrollment: 2,578
• Youth Connections Charter High School Total Enrollment: 2,507
• Schurz High School Total Enrollment: 2,417
• Clemente Community Academy High School Total Enrollment: 2,384