VISION
Gage Park High
School will meet the needs of our students by developing the necessary
skills to be successful in both college and the world of work. Gage
Park High School will provide access for all students to rigorous academic
courses and provide teachers with high-quality sustained professional
development to improve instructional capacity.
MISSION
As members of the Gage Park High School community, we will aspire to excellence and reject “making peace with mediocrity”* for all students, including students with disabilities and English language learners.
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF VISION & MISSION
James Baldwin
was a brilliant writer during a time when people of color were not recognized
as scholars. During this time, he inspired many people to action. Following
is an excerpt from a letter written to his nephew regarding educational
expectations relative to his environment. The thrust of the author’s
anger is deep.
Gage Park High
School adopted his spirit of academic success for all students.
“This innocent
country set you down in a ghetto in which, in fact, it intended that
you should perish. Let me spell out precisely what I mean by that, for
the heart of the matter is here and the root of my dispute with my country.
You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced
because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition
were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society
which spelled out with brutal clarity and in as many ways as possible
that you were a worthless human being. YOU WERE NOT EXPECTED TO ASPIRE
TO EXCELLENCE: YOU WERE EXPECTED TO MAKE PEACE WITH MEDIOCRITY.”
Wherever you have
turned, James, in your short time on this earth, you have been told
where you could go and what you could do (and how you could do it) and
where you could live and whom you could marry. I know your countrymen
do not agree with me about this and I hear them saying, “You exaggerate.”
They do not know Harlem (New York) and I do. So do you. Take no one’s
word for anything, including mine – but trust your experience. Know
whence you came. IF YOU KNOW WHENCE YOU CAME, THERE IS REALLY NO
LIMIT TO WHERE YOU CAN GO.
SCHOOL-COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
Gage Park High
School is a general high school located on the southwest side of Chicago.
The majority of its multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial population
emanates from four communities: Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, New City, and
West Englewood.
The school population
of 1,700 consists of African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian students
as well as others. There are English Language Learners and Special
Education students. The faculty includes veteran as well as new
teachers. Ninety percent of our students are eligible for free
or reduced lunch. Our daily attendance rate is approximately 90%.
Gage Park High School is fortunate to have substantial support from its business/industry and post-secondary partners. Our collaborative/cooperative efforts make it possible for the students in our education-to-careers institutes to earn college credit, at no cost, while they are still in high school. In addition, our business partners guarantee employment to students who complete the programs and graduate.