Urban Prep Charter Academy Opens its Doors
07/25/2010-- Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men -- Englewood Campus opened its doors in 2006, as the nation's first all-boys public charter high school. This June, they achieved a momentous goal: 100% of their first graduating class was admitted to a four-year college or university. The Speh Family Foundation congratulates Urban Prep, and these 107 exceptional young men, on this historic occasion.
For Tim King, Founder and CEO of Urban Prep Academies, the journey started years before the school opened. After running a Catholic all-boys school, Hales Franciscan, Mr. King believed that Chicago needed a public school that would focus on the educational needs of economically disadvantaged boys and provide a path to college for them.
When Mr. King, a long-time partner of the Speh Family Foundation, approached us with this idea, our board of directors and staff agreed with Urban Prep's motto -- "We Believe." In 2004, The Foundation provided Mr. King with a three-year, $150,000 planning grant that supported curriculum development, staff development and location scouting as the organization went through the charter school application process. Speh continues to partner with Urban Prep, recently providing a 2-year, $40,000, grant to support their continued efforts at Englewood, the first campus in the Urban Prep network of schools. In 2009, Urban Prep's East Garfield Park Campus opened its doors and in the fall of 2010 the South Shore Campus will begin operations.
The Speh Family Foundation was truly honored to receive the Urban Prep Academies Founder's Award at the organization's first Commencement Exercises on June 12, 2010. The Foundation congratulates the young men, dedicated staff and board of Urban Prep and will continue to say "We Believe."
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