Chicago Charter High School creates a culture of learning to pave the road to higher education.

Ashby, Nicole

Jasmine Alamo has changed her family legacy. Though the youngest of five siblings, she will be the first to go to college.

Alamo, who plans to attend Loyola University this fall and later pursue a career as a police officer or pilot, credits her pioneering success to Noble Street College Prep, a public charter high school in Chicago. Had she been enrolled in a different school, she is certain things would have turned out much differently.

"I hear every day [at one of the other area high schools] there are fights breaking out," said Alamo. "At Noble, you don't even get dirty looks, let alone physical contact from people. If I were to go somewhere with that

much violence and that much disregard for education, I don't know how I'd survive. If I went there, I wouldn't care as much for my education and my future as I do now."

Creating a culture "where kids behave in respectful ways conducive to learning" was the primary goal when founders Michael Milkie and his wife Tonya started the charter school, he said. Such was not the case, he added, at the high schools where they previously taught for a total of 13 years on the tough south and west sides of Chicago.

"I think many good teachers in many regular schools are doing great work, but their work is compromised by the culture. It doesn't permit most teachers to really be effective," said Michael Milkie.

Since opening in August 1999 with the intent to prepare the city's largely lowincome, Latino population for higher education, Noble Street College Prep--formerly called Noble Street Charter High School--has recorded an 85-percent graduation rate that exceeds both local (73 percent) and national (71 percent) averages.

More impressively, at least four in five Noble Street graduates progress to college, compared to nine in 20 Chicago Public Schools students. Considering that most students arrive at Noble Street performing below grade level, this is no small feat.

In addition, Noble Street is one of about a dozen high schools in the district that have met the state's adequate yearly progress targets for the past two years, and one of only a few that does not require test scores for admission.

This stellar record of achievement and the promise of a rigorous, world-class education--which includes every student learning Russian as well as trips to Moscow and St. Petersburg made possible with fundraising support by parents and students--have families scrambling to get their children into Noble Street. The wait list unrolls like a scroll, with more than 600 applicants competing for just 150 freshmen slots each year. The only admissions requirement is that students reside in the Chicago area; the ultimate decision is made by a lottery.

To meet the growing demand, two new nearby campuses opened last year while another two are slated to open this fall. Combined with the 480 students at Noble Street College Prep, this will triple enrollment in the Noble Network of Charter High Schools by next school year. "There were no tears at the lottery night for the first time since 1999," said Noble Street Principal William Olsen. "There's such a need for high schools here." By 2009, the network is expected to reach 3,500 students annually by expanding to seven campuses in areas where there are no high schools or where existing high schools are underperforming.

When Illinois passed charter school legislation in 1996, the Milkies decided to put their money where their mouth was with regard to high school reform. Soon after, they joined forces with Northwestern University Settlement House, a longstanding community organization that provided the facility for Noble Street and is currently managing the business operations of the Noble Network. (Michael, who served as the school's principal for six years, is now the network's superintendent, while Tonya is the school's dean of students.)

Exercising the freedom charter schools enjoy over traditional public schools (in exchange for their accountability for academic results), Noble Street's leadership made major changes in the budget, staffing and curriculum by: extending the school day and year to educate students an additional two months; requiring English, math and science for all four years, including a second math course in grade 10; and doubling the district's community service requirement from 40 to 80 hours.

Going above and beyond its traditional counterparts, Noble Street also requires students to earn at least two academic enrichment credits outside of the regular school day. Although it is a relatively small school, the offerings are plentiful and have given students a wider platform for greater achievement. For instance, the Rocket Club finished 41st out of 100 teams in a 2005 national competition. And, last spring, the Poetry Slam Team gained recognition in a citywide festival for the poem "... Bomb," an artistic commentary on the fight against terrorism.

Teacher Ellen Metz says the biggest difference between a school like Noble Street and the typical urban high school "is not with the students. I think that's a misconception. Students are students. They want to learn. They crave structure ... support ... consistency. And I feel like Noble provides that for them. To me, the difference is in the way the school is operated."

A key factor in running Noble Street productively has been reducing the class size. Metz--whose largest class is 23 students, a stark contrast to her previous school where 45 students filled one class--says the smaller class size enables teachers to give more individualized attention, which is particularly critical in urban schools where a student's needs can be great. To make class sizes smaller, funds for employing guidance counselors were redirected toward hiring more teachers. To retain the counseling services, single-gender advisory classes were created in which a small group of students remain with the same teacher throughout their enrollment. The classes, which serve as the morning homeroom period, provide an opportunity for teachers to track students' progress closely and for students to receive the ongoing support they need.

Tim Brown, who has taught at Noble Street since its inception, says he is still in contact with his first advisory group of students--the school's first graduating class from 2003 who will be completing college this year. Over the years, they have called him for advice on what courses to take, whether they should transfer and other matters. "It's an ongoing process that makes it all worthwhile to me," he said. "Knowing that my efforts have allowed them to get a college education motivates me."

In a practical approach to preparing students for higher education, Noble Street offers a class in the senior year that focuses solely on applying to college. Under a teacher's guidance, students research college prospects and fill out applications for colleges, financial aid and scholarships. For many whose parents have not gone to college, it makes the application process far less daunting, says Michael Milkie. Also, through their junior year, students are assessed every quarter according to a set of college-level standards that benchmark academic readiness in reading and math.

And, to give students a taste of the college experience, Noble Street partners with the Right Angle Foundation for a summer program that sends sophomores to college campuses across the country. For three to six weeks students take classes for which they earn credit, visit campus facilities and meet informally with college students. Two years ago, senior Laurence Pommells took an accelerated course in management information systems at the University of Arizona. Pommells, who will be attending Pomona College to major in computer engineering and study Russian, Japanese and Korean, says as early as his freshman year he was encouraged to give college a serious look.

"The thing about Noble is that it teaches you to focus on your goals," he said. "It teaches you to stay determined to win the prize."

Noble Street College Prep

> Grade Span: 9-12

> Locale: Urban

> Total Students: 480

> Race/Ethnicity Enrollment: 83% Latino, 12% African-American, 4% white, 1% Asian

> Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Eligible: 85%

> English Language Learners: 4%

> Special Education Students: 14%

> Percentage Proficient: In math, 53%; in reading, 49% (based on 11th-graders assessed on the 2006 state exam).

> Interesting Fact: Although most of its new students enter the school performing below grade level, Noble Street reports an 85-percent graduation rate that exceeds both local (73 percent) and national (71 percent) averages.