UPPER SCHOOL PROFILE, 2014-2015 Morgan Park Academy is an independent, coeducational, non-sectarian college preparatory school located on the far South Side of Chicago in the Morgan Park neighborhood near Beverly.
Founded in 1873, the school enrolls 430 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, including 160 students in the upper school. The student body reflects the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the Chicago area, with students from more than 70 zip codes throughout Chicago, the surrounding suburbs, and northwest Indiana, as well as approximately 25 international students.
Rooted in small class sizes and strong teacher-student relationships, the MPA program invites students to develop a world view rooted in their own culture while broadening and deepening their thinking beyond the boundaries of campus, city, and country. Beginning with exposure to diverse cultures and traditions for its youngest students, this global focus carries through the middle and upper schools with opportunities for further study, international travel, and service learning.
Graduates emerge as confident young adults, original thinkers, and creative problem solvers. They progress into the next stages of their lives well-prepared for advanced college coursework and poised to meet and exceed the high expectations they refined at MPA.
Our Mission Morgan Park Academy engages the whole child, inspires the independent learner, and prepares the global leader of tomorrow to make a positive difference in the world.
Faculty
Graduation Requirements
Morgan Park Academy’s upper school faculty comprises approximately 20 dedicated members, of whom 75% have earned master’s degrees or higher and more than 50% have lived, worked, or extensively traveled abroad.
Students must accrue a minimum of 24 credits, including these core requirements:
Admissions & Financial Aid
Admission to the upper school is on the basis of entrance examinations or satisfactory performance in our middle school. Approximately 50% of students receive grants under our financial assistance and merit scholarship program. This year, Morgan Park Academy will award more than $1.8 million in aid.
Activities
Students participate in more than 30 clubs and organizations, including 10 interscholastic sports teams. Students annually stage several theatrical performances, including a fall play, a spring musical, and a charity dance performance to support HIV/AIDS education and research. Teams such as Model UN and Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering regularly challenge for awards at the regional and state level, with the WYSE team winning a state championship in 2012.
Service Learning
Morgan Park Academy students are required to perform at least 80 hours of service work before graduation, including approximately 40 hours of self-directed service work outside of school.
• English – 4 credits • Mathematics – 3.5 credits • History, Social Sciences, Global Studies – 4 credits* • Science and Technology – 3.5 credits • World Languages – 3 credits • Fine Arts – 2 credits • Physical Education and Health – 1.5 credits • College and Career Studies – 0.5 credits • Additional electives – 2 credits * Must include at least 1 credit of Global Studies.
Honors and AP Courses
All regular academic courses at Morgan Park Academy should be considered equivalent to an honors-level course in a public school system. Honors courses include: Algebra 2, Biology, Chemistry, English 2, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Physics, and World Language 4-5.
AP Courses include: Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Comparative Politics, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, French Language, Physics B, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Statistics and Probability, Studio Art, and U.S. History. Students are required to take exams if enrolled in an AP course. Depending on student demand, some courses are not taught every year.
Standardized Testing Data students who earned a 75% AP score of 3 or better in 2014 Composite Score 26.7 ACT for the Class of 2014
Morgan Park Academy 2153 W. 111th Street Chicago, IL 60643 phone 773-881-6700 fax 773-881-8409
CEEB/ACT Code # 141040 Theresa Wright College Counselor
twright@morganparkacademy.org p. 773-881-6703 f. 773-445-5687 Administrators
Mercedes Z. Sheppard Head of School
Senior Capstone In keeping with our focus on engaging students in educational experiences beyond the classroom, all seniors, starting in 2015, complete a capstone project in the spring before graduation, working closely with faculty to choose a topic of study.
Project Week
During March, all upper school students travel around the globe, around Chicago, or throughout the U.S. to enjoy handson learning beyond the classroom. Trips scheduled for 2015 include explorations of culture, history, science, religion, and service to others in India, Peru, Vietnam, Hawaii, and the American Southwest.
Grading Policy
Morgan Park Academy does not rank students beyond the recognition of a valedictorian and salutatorian.
Beginning in 2014-2015, the school uses a 4.0 scale for unweighted GPA, while also weighting grades for honors and AP courses. The weighted GPA includes an additional 0.5 for each honors course and an additional 1.0 for each AP course, provided the student receives a final grade of at least an 80.
Monica Pickett
Dean of Academics
Tom Drahozal
Upper School Principal Morgan Park Academy is a member of the College Board and the National Association of College Admission Counselors. The Academy is accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Independent School Association of the Central States, and is a member in good standing of the National Association of Independent Schools.
C O L L E G E A C C E P TA N C E S , 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 4 100 percent of Morgan Park Academy students are admitted to and choose to attend four-year colleges and universities. Some students choose to defer to explore non-academic opportunities. Alabama A&M University Albion College American University Arizona State University Auburn University Augustana College Aurora University Ave Maria University Babson College Ball State University Bard College Bates College Baylor University Bellarmine University Belmont University Beloit College Benedictine University Bentley University Berklee College of Music Bethune-Cookman College Boston College Boston University Bowling Green State University Bradley University Brock University Brown University Butler University California Institute of Technology California State University, San Marcos Carleton College Carroll University Carthage College Case Western Reserve University Central Michigan University Claremont McKenna College Clarke University Clarkson University Clemson University Coe College Colgate University College of Charleston College of Saint Benedict Colorado State University Columbia College Chicago Columbia University Concordia University Chicago Connecticut College Cornell College Cornell University Covenant College Creighton University Dartmouth College Denison University DePaul University DePauw University Dominican University Drew University Drexel University Duke University Earlham College Eastern Illinois University Eastern Michigan University
Edgewood College Elmhurst College Emerson College Emory University Ferris State University Florida Institute of Technology Florida Southern University Florida State University Fordham University Full Sail University Furman University George Washington University Georgetown University Grand Canyon University Grinnell College Hamilton College Hamline University Hampton University High Point University Hillsdale College Hofstra University Hood College Howard University Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois State University Illinois Wesleyan University Indiana University at Bloomington Indiana University Northwest Iowa State University John Carroll University Johns Hopkins University Kalamazoo College Kent State University Knox College Lake Forest College Lawrence University Lewis University London College of Fashion Loras College Louisiana State University Loyola University Chicago Loyola University New Orleans Macalester College Manhattanville College Marian University Marquette University Maryville University of St. Louis Menlo College Mercyhurst University Miami University (Ohio) Michigan State University Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millikin University Milwaukee School of Engineering Monmouth College Monterey Peninsula College Moraine Valley Community College Morehouse College Muhlenberg College New York University North Central College Northern Arizona University
Northern Illinois University Northwestern University Oberlin College Occidental College Ohio State University Olivet Nazarene University Oregon State University Pennsylvania State University Pepperdine University Pitzer College Polytechnic Institute of New York University Portland State University Princeton University Providence College Purdue University Quincy University Radcliffe College Rhodes College Roger Williams University Roosevelt University Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Rowan University Saint James School of Medicine Saint Joseph’s College, Indiana Saint Louis University Saint Mary’s College Saint Xavier University San Francisco State University Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art and Design School of the Art Institute of Chicago Skidmore College Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Spelman College St. Ambrose University St. John’s University St. Olaf College Stanford University Stetson University Stonehill College Suffolk University Syracuse University Trine University Trinity College Tufts University Tulane University Tuskegee University United States Air Force Academy United States Military Academy University of Akron University of Alabama University of Arkansas University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Riverside University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Chicago University of Cincinnati University of Connecticut University of Dayton University of Denver University of Florida University of Hartford University of Illinois at Chicago University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Iowa University of Kansas University of Kentucky University of Massachusetts, Boston University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth University of Miami (Fla.) University of Michigan University of Minnesota University of Missouri University of Missouri, Kansas City University of Montana University of Nebraska at Lincoln University of Nevada, Reno University of New England University of New Haven University of Notre Dame University of Oregon University of the Ozarks University of Pacific University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of South Carolina University of Southern California University of Tampa University of Tennessee University of Vermont University of Virginia University of Washington University of Waterloo University of Wisconsin, Madison University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Valparaiso University Vanderbilt University Vassar College Villanova University Virginia Commonwealth University Wake Forest University Washington University in St. Louis Wayne State Wellesley College Wesley College Western Illinois University Western Michigan University Whittier College Wittenberg University Wofford College Xavier University Xavier University of Louisiana Yale University