Senn

As some of you know, I spent the past school year documenting and learning great things from the students and teachers of Senn High School for a citywide project called CPS Lives.. Here's a little tribute to them:

Nicholas Senn High School has a remarkable history. It was built in 1913 to meet the needs of the burgeoning middle to upper-middle-class neighborhood of Edgewater on Chicago’s far north side. The school was the vision of educator Ella Flagg Young, who at the time, was the superintendent of Chicago public schools. Ms. Young, a social reformer and friend and colleague of Jane Addams, was far ahead of her time in her field. She was particularly concerned with promoting professionalism in the teaching vocation, known for her advocacy of equality between the sexes, and for her progressive vision of public education. Along those lines, Young advocated for the embrace of physical education as an integral part of the curriculum of secondary schools. All these ideas were tested out and ultimately implemented at the new high school. 

The school’s imposing neo-Classical building, designed by CPS Acting Architect Arthur F. Hussander , is a reflection of the “City Beautiful” movement, and has been a landmark of its community for over one hundred years. Senn’s list of notable alumni includes well known practitioners of the arts and letters, participants in the world of sports and entertainment, as well as countless other individuals who have made an important mark on the world. 

The school went through troubled times, most notably during last half of the twentieth century when declining enrollment and gang violence, problems endemic throughout much of the Chicago Public School System , began to challenge the reputation of the proud school.

Despite the difficult times, Senn continued to set precedents and establish distinctions. In 1969, Senn was the first CPS school to establish the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program. Senn was a natural testing ground for that program as in 1978, Time Magazine listed it as the most ethnically integrated high school in the country.

Members of one of the many Senn social clubs at Club Day

Long time Senn institutions and traditions that continue to this day, took hold during that period, such as the numerous student clubs devoted to, among other things, the plethora of ethnic groups represented at the school. Taking place on the first Friday of the school year is Club Day (est. 1972), where said clubs set up tables on the school’s massive front lawn to recruit new members. 

Senn moved into the twenty first century by exploring new directions while continuing its commitment to maintain its first mission as a neighborhood school. In 1999, Senn was authorized to create its selective International Baccalaureate, a rigorous college preparatory program which attracts students from throughout the city. Since that time, Senn IB has been expanded and has significantly contributed to the overall increase in the quality of education of the school. 

A Senn IB Student showing me portraits she made of her grandparents

In 2011 Senn added another school to the mix. Senn Arts is a fine and performing arts magnet school where potential students audition and /or present portfolios for admission. From their mission statement, Senn Arts “provides students with an environment that fosters academic, social, and personal growth to cultivate members of the global community.”

True to that cause, this past school year, Senn Arts students took the lead in organizing protests and other initiatives promoting an end to gun violence, as well as registration drives among students who would be eligible to vote for the first time in the upcoming elections.

Senn students, participated in the production of an original play, Columbinus, performed on the stage of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater. The play centered around the school shooting at Columbine High School and its aftermath. Senn Arts drama students participated in the August Wilson Monologue competition, including a young woman who was one of only two students from Chicago selected to participate in the national competition in New York. 

A Senn Arts student rehearsing for her
entry in the national
August Wilson Monlogue Competition

Members of the Senn Arts Chorus were invited to perform in an original one act opera entitled Empower. The opera was written by composer Damien Sneed and librettist Ike Holter, who enlisted the help of several CPS students to create a work depicting young residents of the South Side of Chicago, telling their own stories about their neighborhood, flying in the face of pre-conceived notions and stereotypes. The opera was performed on the stage of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

In March, members of the Senn Arts band and orchestra, were joined by members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago who individually tutored the students on their particular instruments. The day was capped off by a visit of world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who sat in with the combined orchestra and band, taking his place among the second cellists.

In recent years, under the leadership of principal, Mary Beck, Senn High School has regained its standing as one of the highest rated public high schools in the city of Chicago. In many ways, Senn is the best of all worlds, a school with high scholastic standards, set in a metropolitan area which affords countless cultural and educational amenities and opportunities, combined with a student body that represents a significant portion of the world’s population, it’s cultures, languages and religions. With that in mind, the students of all the schools of Senn, benefit in countless ways from this unique combination of attributes.

The tremendous diversity of Senn is what many students cited to me as one of their proudest features of their school. Forming personal bonds and friendships with people coming from vastly different cultures and interests, (thanks to the addition of the IB program and Senn Arts), the Senn experience provides students a unique foundation for living, working, thriving, and leading in an ever diverse and changing world. 

Senn students from Pakistan and Somalia attending "International Night"

 
Looking back on my involvement at Senn over the past six months, I couldn’t help being struck by the notion that these students are our future, and that our future is in good hands.

As it has for over a century, Senn stands at the forefront of progressive education. Ella Flagg Young would be proud.