Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory High School

Contact Information

Principal:	Dr. Dushon Brown
Admissions Director:	Constance Buckner
Phone:	773-535-9930
Web site:	www.brookscollegeprep.org
Address:	250 East 111th Street Chicago, IL 60628
Freshman class size:	195
Total enrollment:	745 (grades 9 - 12)

Admissions

The average score of an admitted student jumped from 837 in 2004-2005 to 860 in 2005-2006 (+ 23 points) then was flat over the next several years before moving to 874 (+14 points) in 2009-2010 on the 1,000 point score. With a 2010-2011 score of 775 (on the new 900 point scale), Brooks is still the most competitive Selective Enrollment High School on the south side.

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Programs

Founded in 1998 as South Side College Prep, Brooks was renamed in 2001 to honor the Chicago Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks. Brooks offers a wide variety of Honors-level and Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Brooks emphasizes preparation for college and exposure to the business environment. Brooks has a Department of Education to Careers. With its classes in small business ownership, computer software applications and network design curriculum (in partnership with Hewlett-Packard), and participation in entrepreneurial events such as the Future Founders Competition, Brooks offers students practical exposure to the business world.

Brooks has a pre-law and pre-business advisory program to assist students seeking to enter those professions. Seniors from Brooks won the 2007 Future Founders program, sponsored by the citywide Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.

Brooks offers off-campus programs in specialized areas including Advanced Arts (e.g., video production, sculpture, graphic design, theater, choir, dance, etc.) and Gifted Programs (e.g., Marine Biology, Art History, Dramatic Arts, etc.)

Brooks College Prep students participate in a variety of sports, including baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

Academics

The ACT is the most widely used college admissions test, so its scores are a useful guide for comparing high school academic performance. The test contains four sections: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science, a composite score is the average of these sections. The score of any of these sections and the composite range from 1 to 36.

Selective Enrollment High School students achieved an average composite score of 24.1 (75^th percentile nationally) in 2009. This compares to Brooks' 2009 composite of 21.6 (62nd percentile nationally) and Chicago's 17.3 (30^th percentile nationally).

ACT Assessment Scores: Graduating Class of 2009

Brooks' composite ACT scores are slightly above the national average and significantly above the District (City of Chicago) average as shown below.

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Trends in ACT Scores

From 2005 to 2009, Brooks' composite ACT score has risen from 20.6 to 21.6, up approximately 10% from 50^th percentile in 2005 to 62nd percentile in 2009 as shown below.

sehs_brooks_fig3

For additional academic information about Brooks, click here for a state report card.

Selective Feedback (Parent Testamonials)

I am happy to inform you that both my brother and I were accepted into Northside College Prep. Thank you for helping us achieve this goal and getting into one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Without your program's help, we don't know if we could have achieved this esteemed honor.