URBAN PREP ACADEMIES–BRONZEVILLE CAMPUS

ILLINOIS

SCHOOL WEBSITE

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TEAM MEMBERS

  • Noel Perez, English Teacher
  • Logan Brown, English Teacher
  • Mathias Muschal, English Department Chair
  • Paul Riskus, Science Department Chair

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

  • School Type: Charter
  • Grades served: 9-12
  • Enrollment: 537
  • School Rating: 1

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CORE PROBLEM

Properly supporting our most at -risk Freshmen academically and emotionally.

INNOVATION

An after school program created for Freshmen students under a 2.25 GPA aimed to improve their character, emotional needs, and academic standing.

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KEY LEARNING

Through the design process we learned that it would be crucial to create a program with measurable goals. We also learned about the importance of freshmen year in terms of student success in high school and beyond.

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BY THE NUMBERS

  • Hours input by team: 292
  • Students impacted: 60
  • Additional educators impacted: 10
  • Community members: 30

STUDENT GROWTH

  • GPAs increased from a 1.72 to a 2.4 first semester and from a 1.59-2.17 second semester for those individuals in the program.
  • Freshmen On-Track rate improved over 25% during the 1st semester and move up from a 29% to an 81% during the second semester.
  • Interviews from students showed that this program was significantly improving their Freshmen experience.

 

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PLANS TO SCALE
We plan on conducting data as we have this year, measuring GPAs and Freshmen on Track rates. Next year, we have thought about creating an UPgrade advisory board, composed of Sophomore students who were dedicated participant of the process this year. They will offer their expertise and advice as major stakeholders UPgrade.
Next year, we plan to include mentor students more and also would like to reach out to parents more frequently. Having BBQs, meetings, and other events with parents would make a big difference. Having parents attend UPgrade sessions would be invaluable to our success.
Finally, we plan on offering more tools to students including organizational tools such as binders and planners, opportunities with outside organizations, and other support tools to help increase our students’ grit and character.