Young Women's Leadership Charter School of Chicago

History

On December 15, 1999 the Chicago Board of Education awarded a charter to the Young Women's Leadership Charter School of Chicago, the only all-girls public school in the city. The granting of the charter was the culmination of eighteen months of hard work by twenty-three women who were determined to create a school which offers urban girls a college preparatory education emphasizing math, science and technology, areas where women, and particularly women of color, have long been seriously underrepresented.

Two highly qualified co-directors were hired: Mary Ann Pitcher, a veteran English teacher and founder of FACETS, a small school-within-a-school at Harper High School; and Margaret Small, who taught math at Dunbar and Lake View High Schools and co-led a 3 year project to bring professional development and exemplary math curriculum to high school math teachers throughout Chicago. They went on to hire a teaching staff which shared the vision and mission of the school.

An intense period of open houses and community meetings began to recruit our first students: 75 sixth-graders and 75 ninth graders. On August 22, 2000, the Young Women's Leadership Charter School opened its doors.

Background

Social science evidence shows that there are many complex phenomena contributing to girls' disengagement from math, science and technology in adolescence, including:

Peer interactions in coed learning environments
Teaching approaches
A shortage of role model
A set of deeply rooted social dynamics and expectations.

There is also evidence that - especially for economically disadvantaged young women of color - single-sex schools can make a difference in overcoming these barriers.

Vision

All young women have the skills, tools and opportunities to develop as ethical leaders shaping their lives and the world.

Mission

The Young Women's Leadership Charter School of Chicago inspires urban girls to engage in rigorous college preparatory learning in a small school focused on math, science and technology that nurtures their self-confidence and challenges them to achieve.

Governance

Charter schools are public schools approved by and accountable to the Board of Education. By law, charter schools are open to all students and cannot charge tuition or administer admissions tests. YWLCS received its charter on December 15, 1999. It was renewed on December 1, 2004.
YWLCS is overseen by a Board of Directors, which consists of leaders in the fields of law, education, the arts and philanthropy, and men and women who represent parents, teachers, students and the community.
YWLCS is a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.

Core Values

We value equitable access to resources and opportunities for every student.

We value the contribution a single-sex education makes to educating the whole woman and promoting her leadership.
We value inquiry, self-reflection, critical thinking, problem solving and real world experience.
We value the diversity in our school community.
We value parents and families as partners.
We value integrity, honesty, and perseverance.
We value professionalism in education through reflection, collaboration and shared leadership.

Strategic Priorities

Academic Achievement: Enhance learning environments to foster higher order thinking and authentically engage students in order to increase their academic growth.
Career and College Preparation: Maintain school-wide infusion of career and college preparation from grades 7-12 and develop coherent sequence of programming that introduces students to the range of college and post-secondary options and opportunities.
Leadership: Increase leadership opportunities for all students in classrooms, school wide and in the community through coaching and mentoring to empower students to achieve a model of ethical and collaborative leadership.
Personal and Social Development: Provide systems and models for the desired behaviors of the Community Contract, the YWLCS 5 qualities and the foundation for living healthy and fit lives.

Accomplishments

Year-end promotion rate: 79% in 2004; 84% in 2005
Four-year drop-out rate: 8.4%
Class of 2004 four-year graduation rate: 85%
Class of 2005 four-year graduation rate: 77.4%
100% of our graduates are enrolled in post-secondary education or training.
Ninety-seven percent of the class of 2004 and 100% of the class of 2005 are attending college.

Faculty and Staff

YWLCS has 33 faculty members and 22 staff members.
YWLCS's day-to-day activities are lead by a Leadership Team of faculty and staff convened by the Director, Margaret Small and the Assistant Director, Michelle Russell.
More than 60% of faculty and staff have masters or doctorate degrees. YWLCS has the highest percentage of faculty with National Board Certification of any neighborhood or community school in Chicago.
Our faculty and staff is 36% African-Americans, 43% Caucasian, 17% Latina/o and 3% Asian.

Students

We are a single sex school - all girls.
We have 350 students in grades 7-12.
Admission is non-selective. Click here to find out how to enroll at YWLCS.
We represent the CPS student population as a whole-78% African American, 15% Latina, 6% Caucasian, 1% Mixed Race and 1% Asian. 80% of our young women are eligible for free or reduced price lunch.
Students come from all over the city - from 30 different communities in Chicago, with one-third from the Historic Bronzeville, Bridgeport and other Near South Side neighborhoods near the school.
For more information about our students, visit Student Profile.
YWLCS has graduated its first class in 2004
We have more than 150 graduates.
See where our graduates have been accepted to college.