Jones College Prep has record attendance at Open House

Like Chicago’s other magnet high schools — Lane Technical, Martin
Luther King, Brooks College Prep Academy, Lindblom College Prep,
Northside College Prep, Walter Payton College Prep and Whitney Young
Magnet — Jones College Prep accepts students based on a series of exam
scores.

An applicant’s scores on three separate tests — worth 300 points
each — combined with the student’s 7th grade attendance record – worth
100 points – determines whether he/she is admitted as a freshman.

For the current school year, the mean average score accepted at
Jones was 912 out of 1,000, according to Chicago Public Schools. The
high school has more than 700 students and enrolls between 190 and 200
freshmen each fall.

At its Nov. 15 local school council meeting, members said the
jam-packed Oct. 28 open house for prospective students and their
parents is a sign of the school’s improvement.

Eugene Lockhart, the school’s director of admissions, attributed
the huge turnout to Jones’ successful attempts at reaching out to
under-served communities, something the school has done increasingly
the past decade.

Lockhart also said the fact that Jones moved up in the Chicago
Public School rankings this past year contributed to the crowd. The
school is currently ranked the 4th best high school in Chicago.

Because of these changes, the open house turnout more than doubled
since last year, when about 2,000 people attended, Lockhart said.

Some parents complained about the way the recent open house was
run, said Debra Miretzky, a parent representative on the local school
council.

“I had some parents telling me they felt the afternoon was too
narrowly focused on minority student enrollment,” said Miretzky, whose
daughter is a senior at Jones.

According to Student Representative Juan Kimball, all of the
student guide groups and student panels at the open house were
comprised of non-white students. In addition, a video shown that
afternoon touting the school’s recent Blue Ribbon Award exclusively
spotlighted minority accomplishments.

“I think we should have done a better job representing all student
types to show the school does indeed give everyone an equal
opportunity,” said Kimball.

Jones College Prep, a historically black and Hispanic high school,
has diversified significantly since 1998, Lockhart said, the year
school officials decided to pursue an ethnic balance.

“The school racially is becoming more equally distributed,” said Marcia DuBoff, a parent representative.

DuBoff, whose daughter is a senior at Jones, said the current
administration and members of the local school council believe all
races should be represented equally at the school.

In 1998, 1.6 percent of the student body was white, 64.3 percent
was black and 33.5 percent was Hispanic, according to Chicago Public
Schools data.

This year, 29 percent of students at Jones are white, 26 percent
are black and 31 percent are Hispanic. Nearly 13 percent are of Asian
descent, and the rest are of unknown ethnicities.

In contrast, the racial breakdown of students now attending one of
the 114 high schools citywide, 8.9 percent are white, 51.5 percent are
black and 33.5 percent are Hispanic. Asians make up 3.9 percent of the
student body district-wide, and the rest are unknown.

Jones’ principal, Donald Fraynd, who is caucasian, said the
negative feedback parents gave about the focus on minorities at the
open house is actually good news.

“Generally speaking, it’s a lot easier to make white people feel
comfortable again; going the other direction is really hard,” said
Fraynd.

As far as better organizing next year’s open house, Lockhart said
he plans to hold two — one in October and one in November so attendance
will be more manageable.

“That way, most people will be happy,” Lockhart said. “After all, you can never make everyone happy.”