Chicago's Urban Prep Charter School Sending Entire Senior Class to College -- Again [VIDEO]

via aolnews.com

The fat acceptance envelopes keep arriving for students at Chicago's Urban Prep charter school. For the second year in a row, the entire graduating class has been accepted at a four-year college. The senior class of 104 young men has been admitted to 103 colleges or universities so far, and the high school is hoping for at least one invitation to an Ivy League school. Urban Prep Academy is the nation's first all-male public charter high school. It is composed entirely of African-American students. The students at the school's Englewood campus were presented with striped ties Wednesday to celebrate their achievement, local TV station WLS reported. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley attended the ceremony. Aspiring lawyer Alfonso Henderson was accepted by 21 universities and has been offered $719,000 in scholarships. "I have been praying each and every day and just asking God to show me the way," Alfonso, 18, told WLS. "It's so amazing what he's been doing," said his father, Nathaniel Jones. Urban Prep founder Tim King attributes the students' accomplishment to the efforts of the young men, parents and teachers. "It's a huge day for us, the fact that we've been able to have 100 percent of our graduates admitted to college for the second year in a row. The majority of students come to us reading below grade level," King told WLS. The normally fraught-with-tension application process was made even more stressful for Cedric Abdul-Hakeem when a fire broke out in his home on New Year's Eve. "My laptop had all my applications, and most college applications are due Jan. 1," the 17-year-old told the Chicago Tribune. "I figured if my laptop burns, I'm through." After making sure everyone was out safely, Cedric re-entered the smoke-filled house to retrieve the computer. He has been accepted to six schools, including Iowa's Grinnell College, which has offered him a scholarship and grant package that would cover most of his tuition. Urban Prep now has three campuses and wants to replicate the model across the country.

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