In Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn signed a law this summer that doubles the number of charter school licenses available in the state. That’s good news for Tim King. He’s the CEO of Urban Prep Academies, which holds one of those licenses for its high school in Englewood. As that school’s fourth year gets underway, King is already planning their expansion – including a second not quite charter school in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. Urban Prep stands out as the only all-boys public schools in Illinois. There, students have a longer school day and take nearly three times as many Language Arts credits as the typical high school student. The long-term goal is to graduate every single student and get them all through college. Richard Steele went to the Englewood campus to speak with Tim King and two students who are part of Urban Prep’s first ever senior class.

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Music Button: Nujabes, “In Position”, from the CD Samurai Champloo: Impression, (Victor Entertainment)