Parents at Whitney M. Young High School are against implementation of CPS's "Full School Day" at Whitney Young because the school's current schedule provides students with the perfect amount of time to excel in their academic pursuits as well as their extracurricular activities such as sports, arts, clubs, academic teams and after-school jobs. Whitney Young is one of the few CPS high schools that offers its student a high caliber, well-rounded education with a traditional high school experience.

Whitney Young’s commitment to excellence has led our students to perform at unparalleled academic and extra-curricular levels throughout the city of Chicago and the entire state. Parents are concerned that a longer school day will force their children to take less-challenging course loads or scale back their extracurricular activities. We are also concerned that the fabulous & dedicated teachers at Whitney Young will have to make similar choices and will no longer be available to tutor, coach athletics or sponsor clubs after school.

Because Whitney Young is centrally located in the West Loop neighborhood, most of our 2,200 students have lengthy commutes to and from school. As a result, many Whitney Young students already spend an average of 12 hours or more per day away from home. Once they are home, then they must tackle several hours of homework. This time away from home should NOT be increased in the name of a “Full School Day.”

Whitney Young students are thriving under the current school day schedule and they excel at their academic pursuits & extracurricular activities; to wit:

1. Whitney Young is a National Blue Ribbon School, an award from the United States Department of Education that honors schools that are academically superior and that help close the gaps in achievement among minority and disadvantaged students
2. Whitney Young boasts test scores ranking it the #2 high school in the State of Illinois
3. Whitney Young has been named a School of Champions for its outstanding sports programs
4. Whitney Young has the largest number of AP courses (27) and the largest number of students taking AP courses of any CPS high school
5. Whitney Young has the largest number of clubs and organizations of any CPS high school
6. Whitney Young has won the Academic Decathlon City Championship in 24 of the last 25 years
7. The Whitney Young Chess team is currently ranked #1 in the State of Illinois
8. The Whitney Young Girls Varsity basketball team is currently ranked #1 in the State of Illinois
9. The Whitney Young Varsity & Sophomore Girls Basketball teams each won City Championships on February 4, 2012
10. The Whitney Young Girls Pompom Team won first place at Team Dance Illinois
11. The Whitney Young Band has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall at the end of February
12. A Whitney Young Senior is currently ranked as the top vibraphonist in state of Illinois
13. Whitney Young offers 61 honors-level courses and a nationally recognized Advanced Placement program offering 27 AP courses
14. Whitney Young students consistently place in the top five at national competitions and are perennial winners at science and math fair competitions
15. Whitney Young has 100% of its students admitted to a college or university each year
16. Whitney Young students have been accepted to prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, Duke, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cal-Tech, Howard, Spelman, Hampton and Grinnell and many others.

Extending the school day will negatively impact Whitney Young’s vision to create a positive, diverse, friendly, and challenging learning community where students grow toward fulfilling their potential in academic, artistic, physical, and socio-emotional dimensions. Whitney Young is a successful, thriving and high performing school. We believe that extending the school day will have a devastating effect on our students, teachers, and community by adding stress and unnecessary minutes to a very full and rich educational experience that is already offered at Whitney Young High School.

Bottom line: there is no reason to make changes to a school that is consistently performing at such a high level.