Noble Street Welcomes Two New Campuses
On August 18, the Noble Network opened two new campuses: UIC College Prep and Gary Comer College Prep. The Network is now serving nearly 2,600 students in five different Chicago communities through the operation of seven campuses. Replication of the flagship campus continues to prove that The Noble Way works.
Right: Students learn The Noble Way at Gary Comer College Prep
Comer founding principal James Troupis is already impressed with his students; he says, “Just a month into the school year we are already learning how powerful an impact Noble's model can have in a new deserving community here in Chicago.” Gary Comer College Prep is located in Greater Grand Crossing, a neighborhood new to Noble this year. As Noble continues to expand, campuses are able to benefit from unique and effective partnerships; students at Comer benefit from a strong relationship with the Gary Comer Youth Center, which offers many needed social services and enriching opportunities for youth and families to the Greater Grand Crossing community. For instance, Gary Comer College Prep students use the Youth Center’s excellent fitness center, and many students participated in special summer activities in the Center’s recording studio and with the College Bound program. The Gary Comer College Prep social worker is a joint employee with the youth center. Visit Comer’s website to learn more about this campus….
UIC College Prep is located in Medical Village, and is to be Noble’s most diverse campus this year because of this rapidly changing neighborhood. UIC College Prep’s campus is located adjacent to the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is already benefitting from a strong partnership with the university, focusing on the health sciences departments. This year, freshmen are working on real-world problems in their health science classes and interacting with UIC professors and students during their research process. Simply the proximity to the UIC campus makes college a truly visible goal for UIC College Prep students. UIC College Prep will celebrate its inaugural class of 2012 at the campus’s grand opening event on October 30 at 9:30am where students will be welcomed to the campus by representatives from LSV Asset Management, the university, Abbott, Chicago Public Schools and the City of Chicago. Visit UIC’s website to learn more about this campus...
Principal Interns Anxiously Await Chance to Lead…
The Noble Network has three principal interns who are spending the 2008-09 academic year shadowing a current Noble Street principal at his/her campus in order to learn The Noble Way. Noble takes tremendous pride in hiring caring and highly qualified teachers and administrators, and Tyson Kane, Kim Neal and Garland Johnson exemplify that practice. These three individuals, chosen to become founding principals of Noble campuses opening in 2009 and 2010, have tremendously different backgrounds varying form a former investment banker to a renowned Teach for America alumna to a current PhD candidate and mother of four.
Tyson Kane previously worked in the investment banking sector with Chase Manhattan, was a strategy consultant with BCG and worked in private equity with the Carlyle Group. After working in the business world for several years, he became a high school science teacher in south central Los Angeles. From his untraditional path, Tyson brings to Noble an exciting professional skill set and a refreshing sense of humor. When asked why he came to work at Noble, he says, “The amazing culture, a focus on performance, and the quality of the team. I don’t believe there’s a better model for free, public urban high schools in the country. And the lunches are tasty.”
Kim Neal was a school administrator in Harlem, New York, is a Teach For America aluma and has most recently completed the Summer Principals’ Academy at Columbia University. Kim has high expectations and a critical sense of urgency in regards to urban education. Hailing from St. Louis, she is excited to be able to make a difference with Noble and give back to the Midwest community. As with all of the principal interns, Kim says that being a “learner instead of a doer” is the most difficult challenge of her intern year thus far, though she humbly adds “I am learning about the Noble Way from experts, and I am honored to be here.”
Garland Johnson describes her educational experience as beginning early on; she was one of nine children and observing the different ways her brothers and sisters interacted with school taught her that every child is individually wired to learn in unique and varying ways. Her parents implanted the value of obtaining a good education, a philosophy she continues to pass on to her own four children today. Garland has been a special education teacher for Valley View School District, and an Inclusion Coordinator with the Indian Prairie School District. Her promotion to school team leader is what ultimately led her to pursue a degree in school administration. A former Assistant Principal and current PhD candidate at DePaul University, Garland comes to Noble with equal parts life and professional educational experiences. Garland says, “When I started in the field, my mission was to effectuate quality education on as large a scale possible. The Noble Network is aligned with that mission. I passionately believe in and am proud of what Noble is doing.” See our current Noble principals here.
Noble Introduces Intra-Network Play
After a widely successful 2007-08 athletic season, Noble has implemented a new strategy for its sports teams: intra-Network play. This year, athletes from all seven campuses will play one another in scheduled games in addition to playing other city schools. This new policy is one of many examples of how the Network benefits from replication of its flagship campus. Students cultivate friendly competition to become “best campus”, and just as teachers are able to share successful practices in the classroom, coaches are more easily able to share training tips and eliminate some stress of limited gym space. We are, however, fairly certain they won’t be sharing one thing: the game plan.
Noble Street College Prep varsity football coach, Ramses James, thinks the intra-Network games are great. “I believe strong relationships are formed from the teams within the network playing one another. This helps in creating a constant line of communication between campuses and friendly rivalries between athletic clubs. It's a chance for teams and students to get excited about seeing and playing each other,” says James. As many Noble campuses are fielding their first football teams this year, the chance to play friendly faces is a great one.
The intra-Network play has also helped to increase camaraderie among Noble students across the seven campuses. Although supporters, staff and administration understand the concept of Noble being one school with many campuses, the notion is often lost on students at the various satellite locations who are focused on academics and other daily challenges high school students encounter. The chance to meet and compete against other Noble students puts the school into perspective for the athletes. One Rauner volleyball player recently said that she likes playing teams from other Noble campuses because “its like playing family.” She was extremely excited for her upcoming game against rival Pritzker because both teams were undefeated. (Pritzker defeated Rauner on September 26.)
The sports program has proven to have a positive effect on students’ physical fitness and commitment to the school, and also on the community’s relationship with Noble Street. Noble’s sports program, which includes a variety of competitive sports teams, is an important part of its health and fitness focus. Individual campuses choose which sports are feasible based on coaching availability, funding and benefit for their student bodies. Across the Network, students are offered boys’ and girls’ cross country, basketball, rugby, and soccer, boys’ baseball, girls’ softball, boys’ football and girls’ volleyball and girls’ cheerleading.
Many Noble students’ grammar schools lacked funding for an extracurricular sports program. Therefore, participating in team sports at Noble Street is the first opportunity to compete in a structured environment and receive instruction for many Noble athletes. With assistance from their coaches, students are able to translate their natural ability into real athletic skill and use those skills in competition, resulting in increased self-confidence and commitment to athletics. Eligibility requirements for Noble athletes reflect the school’s commitment to scholarship, and many students are motivated to work hard in class and maintain a clean discipline record in order to compete in athletics.
Especially at new Noble campuses, the ability to offer sports teams depends on donors’ generosity. While campuses are ramping up, budget lines for sports are lean, so many campuses depend on contributions to increase their offerings. Gary Comer College Prep’s football coaches have raised the money needed to launch their team through social events, personal gifts and other fundraisers. Grants from foundations such as the Baseball Tomorrow Fund and the Chicago White Sox Charities have offset costs to establish baseball and softball teams in past years. Learn more about how to support Noble sports with a donation.
Check individual campus websites for current game schedules to view our new intra-Network match-ups!
CAMP VIDA Sends Students to Grand Canyon
Over two summer weeks in Northern Arizona, 11 Noble Street students participated in Camp VIDA, a Northwestern University Settlement program led by Noble teacher David Biele that brings students together to provide service in different areas of the country. During the program’s second year, the students completed 80 hours of service in Grand Canyon National Park and the Kaibab National Forest, and in the process experienced some of the most magnificent and beautiful scenery the world has to offer. Camp VIDA is truly a life changing experience for the youth involved.
Right: Students gather for a picture overlooking the extraordinary scenery of the Grand Canyon.
The students had three main focuses during the service. The first was collecting data for an environmental study project, which the Grand Canyon Trust was conducting in cooperation with Northern Arizona University. In this process, the students used math skills such as the Pythagoean Theorem and learned to use scientific instruments such as GPS units, laser range finders, compasses and climometers. The second main focus was repairing fences that serve to protect fragile eco-systems. The third area involved participating in a native seed collection project with Grand Canyon National Park’s vegetation program. The students collected seeds from three different kinds of plants native to the Kaibab Plateau. When they weren't working hard, the students relaxed in their down time by hiking, swimming, biking, horse-back riding and watching the sunset. For more information on Camp VIDA, or how to donate to the program, please contact Camp VIDA Director, David Biele.
Left: A Camp VIDA participant holds gathered seeds, a necessary task in order to preserve the native ecosystems.
Exelon Generosity Adds Up!
Students at Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy recently received invaluable tips on what it takes to be successful in the business world. Executives from Exelon Corporation visited students during morning advisory on September 16 to distribute graphing calculators and drawstring backpacks, both a generous gift to the students from Exelon Corporation.
Ten executives visited freshmen classrooms to personally deliver the gifts to the students. The professionals then stayed in each advisory room long enough to talk about their profession and their personal road to success. The messages all spoke of hard work and dedication to success - both key traits that Noble students strive to achieve. Students were given the opportunity to ask questions and share their own thoughts and hopes about life after college. Many of the executives were surprised at how outspoken the Rowe-Clark students were, and Rowe-Clark students were so appreciative to have hands-on supporters visiting their classrooms from Exelon.
If your business is interested in visiting Noble students to speak about college or career options, please contact Rachel Kramer.
Executives pictured above include: Frank Clark, Andy Zopp, John Hooker, Steve Solomon, John Samolis, Dan Hill, George Williams, Anne Pramaggiore, Kathy Combs, Sally Clair, Lisa Olmstead
Noble Alumni Give Back
Noble is working hard to better track alumni and create ways for Noble graduates to remain in touch. This summer, several Noble alumni returned to the halls of their alma mater through summer internships. Seven interns worked 32 hours a week providing back office support and direct service through tutoring and other classroom assistance. Interning at Noble gives alumni real work experience during their summer months away from college, and also allows for them to impact current and future Noble students in a tangible way.
Right: Noble interns attend a Chicago White Sox game during the summer months.
Jessica Lozada just started her senior year at Northwestern University. Lozada spent her Noble internship honing skills necessary to her communications major at NU. She focused on updating and editing publications such as Noble's teacher brochure and annual report. She also worked on replication efforts by doing research for new campus applications.
Intern Shela DeJesus says, "I really wanted to work at Noble because I'd been hearing about other interns' experiences and they sounded great. I also wanted to give back to Noble." DeJesus is a sophomore community health major at the University of Illinois. Noble anticipates the internship program growing in the future as students at all seven campuses begin to graduate and go to college.