What's UP? Urban Prep Academies - America's first public charter high school for boys

The Unyielding Spirit of Urban Prep

• Urban Prep Academies • Season 1 • Episode 1

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Our conversation celebrates the unique journey of Urban Prep that is designed to centralize the complex experiences of young, intelligent, Black and Brown men in Chicago. It features Urban Prep alumni discussing Urban Prep’s mission and how it is achieved through a culture centered on the 4 R’s (Respect, Responsibility, Rituals and Relationships), believing in yourself and brotherhood. The inaugural episode gets into the details of the following aspects of Urban Prep:

• The Mission of Urban Prep 
• The Significance of Knowing Your CHI (Culture, History and Identity)
• The Urban Prep Ties - Symbols of Achievement 
• Urban Prep Rituals (Community, Convocation and Commencement) 
• The Role of SEL (Social Emotional Learning) 
• The Four R’s - Respect, Responsibility, Rituals, and Relationships
• Urban Prep’s Alumni and Fellows Programs Impact 
• The Importance of a College Going Culture
• The Impact of the Service Arc

Thank you for listening. To support or donate to Urban Prep, visit www.urbanprep.org. Follow us on Instagram @UrbanPrep100.

We Believe!

Mr. Ray:

What's up family. This is Reggie Ray. I'm your host here at the what's Up Podcast. Here in Inglewood, chicago, we are Urban Prep. I have two alumni I'm so excited, fired up, we got two alumni from Urban Prep that have come back to give back to the ARC students. I have Mr Harris on one hand, mr Chapman over here also, so we're going to be here today. We're going to tell you how we do it and show you where we came from and where we are. This is the what's Up Podcast.

MUSIC:

I am Reggie Ray, your host, and we believe Welcome to the Urban Prep Academy's podcast, the what's Up Podcast. We believe Investing in our future. We believe and making no excuses. We believe Showing in our future. We believe and making no excuses. We believe Show kindness and respect. We believe Believe in Urban Prep. And now the what's.

Mr. Ray:

Up Podcast. Hello ladies and gentlemen out there in the world. We are Urban Prep. I am your host here, Reggie Ray, at the what's Up Podcast. I have two graduating young men who've graduated from Urban Prep, gone on through college, finished school and have come back to give back and are doing their thing. I have a Mr Harris and a Mr Chapman. I am Reggie Ray here at the what's Up Podcast in Chicago, Illinois, Englewood, Urban Prep Academies and we are here to tell you how we do it, because we do it organically.

Mr. Chapman:

There we go.

Mr. Ray:

Yep, what's up, fellas, how we doing today, doing great brother, happy Tuesday.

Mr. Chapman:

Happy Tuesday, happy Wednesday.

Mr. Ray:

Tuesday, wednesday. We here, it's Wednesday. We here. Baby, come on. Days are blending in on you, huh, mr?

Mr. Chapman:

Chapman yes, sir, been going hard with the kids. Yes, they were freshmen when I first came in, so it's always good to see that growth.

Mr. Ray:

Yes, sir, mr Chapman, tell us about what you do at Urban Prep.

Mr. Chapman:

I'm the Dean of Students at the Bronzeville campus, mr Harris.

Mr. Harris:

I'm the Social Emotional Learning Specialist. We call it Pride Teacher at Urban Prep.

Mr. Ray:

Awesome, and I am the Civics Teacher here at Inglewood. Mr Harris, tell me more about what you do.

Mr. Harris:

So pretty much Social Emotional Learning is definitely needed In our. Would, mr Harris, tell me more about what you do? So pretty much social emotional learning, you know, is definitely needed in our community with our black boys. So pretty much my goal is to mold them and to help them along the journey as far as being young black men in the city of Chicago.

Mr. Ray:

That's awesome. That's awesome. Going to what you do tell us about it Me, dean of Students.

Mr. Chapman:

I started as a substitute teacher, urban prep, moved up from a substitute teacher, paraprofessional, to a private teacher what Mr Harris does and to a dean of students right now. So make sure the students coming on time, make sure they properly dress, make sure a young man knows respects and accountability. That's it. That's it.

Mr. Ray:

So bringing that in, one of the things that we instill in our kids is something we call shy. Now, that's our culture, our history and our identity. Go into it a little bit, Mr Chapman. Tell me how that influenced you and brought you to the point you are today, as a man For sure.

Mr. Chapman:

The culture at Urban Prep is one of a kind, Like you said in the beginning. It's very organic. We've been doing social and emotional, before it became a topic or a hot word that's used now. So through that social and emotional learning for sure. We became better men. I became a better athlete, became a better brother to my classmates, and et cetera.

Mr. Ray:

I want you to hone in on the CHI, the CHI that we push in community every morning. Some of the things that we do in urban prep is not done anywhere else. Correct, you know what I mean? Our whole rapture, what we do. Let's start with our morning, right, we come in as a community, literally a community. We bring everybody together in the school building. So let's go into that. Mr Harris, Tell me your experiences with that. We're going to start off with the shy culture, our history, our identity.

Mr. Harris:

Well, just starting off with community is basically its first period for all young men and ourselves as teachers. We all link up in auditorium and we do a lot of things. That serves to get our day started as far as just like we have activities, but we do a lot of specific things to get us started. We applaud each other.

Mr. Ray:

So we also have a thing about our gold ties. So our ties are exceptional. It's a whole other part of that organic piece. We can take this whole organic thing and run it like it's a whole Thanksgiving dinner.

Mr. Ray:

So we're going to start with the ties. Right? That's the beginning, right? So we got red ties, we got gold ties, we got striped ties. Go ahead and tell me about what those ties mean. Start with the red tie. That's the first one, when you were a freshman. Go back when you were a freshman, okay. Okay, we're going to dial it back.

Mr. Harris:

Okay, you got, go back a little bit, go back a little bit, tell me how that was and what that was like for you. Well, that was cool. So pretty much freshmen come in with just their white T-shirts. So we have to get our blazers and our red ties. That just pretty much solidifies you as an urban prep man. Just getting that red tie and that blazer. What do you have to do to get? Your tie Y'all go through Freshman Academy. Y'all go to Freshman Academy to get that red tie.

Mr. Chapman:

And what do you have to read? Yup, that creed that creed what you gotta.

Mr. Harris:

Know that creed what you gotta do you gotta know that creed? You gotta believe what you gotta do. You gotta what you gotta believe for sure.

Mr. Chapman:

Yes, sir, for sure. First. Then we have convocation, which is an event that every freshman at Urban Prep goes through. After convocation, they Wait a minute.

Mr. Ray:

Let's not glaze over that convocation. You're right, I had some guys in here earlier and he said that was something to him. That was awesome. It's special. And as a new teacher, someone who came into Urban Prep just to coach basketball had no idea of the culture or the history. I was thrown back from it. I was mad. I was like man, I want to go back to school, I want to have my convocational, I want to have one at my school.

Mr. Ray:

You know what I mean. So, Mr Chapman, just take us back and kind of open us up to your experience and how it was for you.

Mr. Chapman:

Man convocation. It was actually at this campus here at Inglewood. We had all the brothers here. We split off into our prides, we met all the staff and teachers. That's in the building. I just remember Convocation being big because we had two campuses. So that was the first year of two campuses, of Urban Prep. And after that man, I still got the picture. I still got the picture of me donning my blaze on. So it's definitely a very special moment this year. Currently I have a freshman cousin that's at the Bronzeville campus. So it was special, you know, seeing him get his blazer. I was there to put his blazer on.

Mr. Ray:

Right, because you were his relative.

Mr. Chapman:

So that's something they do Exactly indeed. So another thing we do if we have a younger brother or older brother, that's in urban prep, we invite that brother to convocation to make sure brothers get their blazers. So it's a big family thing, for sure.

Mr. Ray:

Yeah, it's awesome, it's a great experience and for someone who is looking out, I'm part of the family now. Thank you for having me. Yes, sir, but looking from the first time seeing it, it takes you man.

Mr. Chapman:

It does. It touches you. A lot of parents and grandparents come through. It's definitely a special it grandparents come through is definitely a special.

Mr. Ray:

It's like a freshman graduation. We're going to let the world know what we do at Urban Prep because we do it different. We do it an organic way that builds our young men up to be successful in this world. Now that leads us. Let's go into our creed man. We believe right, awesome. Or what I teach history? Right, this whole concept of a creed man. We believe right, we believe Awesome. Or what I teach history right, this whole concept of a creed is not new. The Egyptians had it. They had a philosophy called mayat. Same concept when you're taking care of your community, you live with integrity, you honor your brothers and your sisters. It's a community. When I read that man, I said kids, look. I said it's right here in our lines and I showed it to them. I said this is what our people were doing 400, 4,500 years ago. Djembe drums yeah, we didn't talk about.

Mr. Ray:

That Goes back to community. Right, we're beating the drums because. Why? Because community. We're beating the drums because. Why? Because our ancestors in Africa would beat the drums to bring everybody together. Oh man, it's deep. Right, it's deep. We all the way up. Alright, so we talked about the creed. How many lines in the creed?

Mr. Chapman:

14?.

Mr. Ray:

I think so 14? Come on 14 lines in the creed. I'll take 14. We'll fact check 14 lines in the creed. Probably 14. I'll take 14. We'll fact check it later.

Mr. Chapman:

Yeah, you got to fact check that one.

Mr. Ray:

But that creed is awesome.

Mr. Ray:

Look, I know it and people out there that's listening to this. This is what we do. Yes, sir, and see, and what I taught my kids, and I'll tell you something else. I did develop their own personal creed, because a positive affirmation is what that is and that is huge in setting your foundation and manifesting what you want in life, man. So it's awesome. No one does it but us. Absolutely Nobody does it but us. What they know. So we got a couple things else we do, come on Right. So let's talk about on to next. We talked about the ties. We talked about convocational. That's your freshman year.

Mr. Chapman:

We even talked about Christmas assembly. Like freshman academy and convocation is in September, right, we still got Thanksgiving. That we do Not Thanksgiving. But Talk about the Christmas. Black soul food, black soul food, black soul food. We do that at Bronzeville. Every student gets a home-cooked meal for Thanksgiving. For Christmas, we got the winter assembly. Every student at Urban Prep gets a present for Christmas. So the freshmen, they get hats, the sophomores get hoodies, my juniors, they get their vest, their Urban Prep vest, yeah. And my seniors, they get Urban Prep jackets, their senior jackets, yeah. So even that's special.

Mr. Ray:

Yeah, you're talking about the sport jackets. Yeah, the sport jackets. Yeah, they gave me one, I got one. There you go. I got one dog, I got one, he got his, I got a real one you know I love that red, right we're in February.

Mr. Chapman:

So we got our Black History Month showcase at the end of February Coming up in a couple weeks, coming up in a couple weeks. Y'all brothers signed up for that, each department doing their own thing. So it's fresh man, it's live, that's what's up.

Mr. Ray:

Ladies and gentlemen, if you just tuned in, you are here with Reggie Ray and two graduates from Urban Prep who will come back to teach and give back here at Urban Prep Academies in Chicago Illinois. We have two campuses one in Bronzeville, the in Inglewood. We are Urban Prep and this is the what's Up Podcast. Here with Reggie Ray and two great people, young men. Mr Harrison, mr Chapman, thank you so much. So we talked about the creed, now let's talk about on to the next, on to the next. I'm going to start with you, mr Harrison.

Mr. Harris:

Yep. So just everything we talking about is just celebration and love. You know, um, just being at a all-boys school, um, full of young men of like color, just coming from chicago south side. We don't really see love in our community, right? Young, young men or just men overall, are we known as being aggressive or or mad or angry. So just just the culture here is is all about. It's about love and celebrating us, so that that's the biggest thing. So, but specifically on to the next one is to celebrate that you have got accepted into a four-year university or college as a senior and you're going on to the next one, so you're going from high school, going on to the next as far as to college. So that's what that's all about.

Mr. Ray:

Now listen, I want to paint this picture for those out there that's listening On to. The next is a big deal. Everybody comes into the auditorium and you get your name called, but you don't know who it is, because first we list all the universities that you have been accepted to, then they call your name. Everybody cheers you on, so you just got to imagine it. You know what I mean. You're out there listening. You got to be there, you got to see it.

Mr. Chapman:

It's crazy, just to even see the same traditions, because the tradition that was birthed from on to the next one is you carry your classmate on to the stage, right, okay, and what I was in high school, what 10 years ago? They're still doing it today. Oh yeah, no one taught them that, it's just been shown over the years, so it kind of gets adapted through the campuses and et cetera.

Mr. Ray:

And see what the kids told me when they were freshmen and they saw it they couldn't wait, couldn't wait. It like plants that seed in the child and it grows and they want that. You know what I'm saying. They want their day. Yes, sir, yes, sir, man on to the next grade, for sure. But now what I understand is schools trying to bite this. I wonder if we can Copyright it yourself? Yeah, what's the attorney's call when you have something in your mind? You want somebody to steal it? Yeah, so we need to get one of those lawyers because they want to take our signing date. I mean now this, right here.

Mr. Ray:

Ladies and gentlemen, if you're listening, you just got to close your eyes and imagine if you've been in Chicago. We got Daly Center. It's a big outside facility where they do whatever. You can have different festivals and things. But we take it and we put a stage up right across the street from the great City Hall of Chicago and we have all the schools, all the students out, parents and everybody, and the kids get to come up, put their hat on of the school that they've decided to choose. Yes, sir, absolutely. Dave decided to choose. Yes, sir, absolutely. Tell us about your experience, mr Harris, when that day was there for you, I got to tell you before you say anything. First time I went, I wanted to go get back and get me a hat. Get up there, man, tell me about it, man, it was crazy.

Mr. Harris:

It was crazy. It's just the atmosphere. It just felt like you know, of course, us as men, we love sports, right, we love sports, and I remember um LeBron being traded that year, so, um taking his talents to South Beach. So I remember, like, when I get my, I'm taking my talents to wherever I'm going. I went to Beloit College, though. That's why I went. Uh, yeah, I went to Beloit College you enjoyed it.

Mr. Harris:

Yeah, it was. It was an experience. It was an experience I'm thankful. I'm thankful for where I went um, I got a lot of scholarships but they end up giving me the most money. And I ended up with one of my brothers that he works with now and another brother that he led us there. He graduated in 2012. But my experience was crazy. It's just a celebration and a hope. Regardless of what we go through at this school, we still got to go home. A lot of these young men that college thing and who you think you are and all that. I didn't have that experience personally, but I know a lot of these young men that college thing and who you think you are and all that.

Mr. Harris:

I didn't have that experience personally, but I know a lot of these young men do and they talk to me about it, but that's just a moment to have another thing to look forward to, like oh, this is real, I'm really going to college. This is something to celebrate at the Daily Center. This is a monumental place.

Mr. Ray:

Oh man, it was crazy. I'm looking forward to it this year. The weather just got to be right.

Mr. Harris:

Yeah, man.

Mr. Ray:

Cold or hot, oh man, you know Chicago.

Mr. Chapman:

It's cold or hot.

Mr. Ray:

Mr Chapman.

Mr. Chapman:

Yes, sir, tell us about your experience Mine was great because I actually still have a picture. My mom came because she worked downtown close to thealy Center, so she came and just you know what I'm saying showed some support, Absolutely. So that day was definitely humbling because even the hat that I put on wasn't the hat that I attended, so it was like you still have to go through the processes you know what I'm saying seeing what's good for you, seeing what's best for you.

Mr. Chapman:

So even in that, it was a teaching moment. You know what I'm saying. It's never over until it's done. You know what I'm saying. So like you can pick a college today, but tomorrow a different school might give you more money, you know what I'm saying. So just using my experience and telling young men like this is how life works, you know what I'm saying. This is how life works. This is how you mold yourself. Like never get too comfortable, you know what I'm saying.

Mr. Ray:

Enjoy the moment, but it was still a great experience. Great experience, the best. This is Urban Prep. Yes, sir, this is the what's Up Podcast. Come on, mr Harris, who attended Urban Prep, graduated from Urban Prep, went on to college and what they do? They came back For what To give back to our kids. Come on, I'll teach y'all. Hey, listen, this is the what's Up Podcast. This is how we do it all right. Yes, sir, we organic about it. Come on.

Mr. Chapman:

It's real.

Mr. Ray:

We're here in Chicago, in Englewood, serving our kids, making them better, growing them. It's a fabulous thing. One of the things that we do here is the four R's right. Let's step into that a little bit, Okay. And does that mold you as a young man when you were here, and then I'm a two-part question how did that mold you and how did you receive it? And then now, as a teacher, how do you get the kids to accept it and buy into it?

Mr. Harris:

That's crazy because we were just talking about this in class today, but man, yep, the four R's are definitely relationships, respect, responsibilities and rituals. So just the tradition and the rituals that I learned here, just the sayings. The creed to be on time is to be early, be on time, come on it.

MUSIC:

Time is to be early man, it's easy to be ordinary. It takes courage to excel. To excel what To be on time.

Mr. Ray:

That's why it was big man. I love it. I called my son. I know he got to get up at 8 and be in class. I got a boy, I text him. I hit him with that. You know, what I mean, you know. He be like oh all right dad, all right, cause it's motivating, I use it. No, I set my watch five minutes early. I get up 30 minutes early so I can get here early Like I want to get here early, man you know what.

Mr. Harris:

I mean, that's so big with just those four different dynamics.

Mr. Ray:

I could talk all day. Got time Responsibility respect relationships.

Mr. Harris:

You know just the respect for your brother. You know the respect for your teachers. It's just so much that I learned, that I take on and I still implement into my life today.

Mr. Ray:

So real quick, tie those four R's in to the social and emotional learning.

Mr. Harris:

Man, that's everything, that's everything Tie that in Expand on that.

Mr. Harris:

Man, it's so powerful about what we offer here at Urban Prep because you're not going to find another high school that's actually taking the time to teach kids about social and emotional learning. You know, we, as African Americans, this is what we do. We need therapy, we need counseling. We need to know about our society, about how to learn about our emotions. We need therapy, we need counseling. We need to know about our society, about how to learn about our emotions. So that's everything rituals, relationships, respect and responsibility. So it's such a broad topic. It's just so much we can talk about within those four things.

Mr. Ray:

That's awesome, mr Chapman. Yes sir, tell me about you're a dean, so kids getting out of box or out of bounds? Yes sir, how do you take the four R's and relate that to discipline and restructuring, or re-guiding the kid, redirecting the kid?

Mr. Chapman:

Like I tell my students every day, my philosophy is accountability and respect. Respect is one of the four R's, relationship is one of the four R's. They have to know their responsibility. As a student as well as a young black man, I understand. As a young black man, we can get, we feel entitled. You know what I'm saying. Our emotions get the best of us. We don't, I guess, receive love from men the way we're supposed to or the way we should. You know what I'm saying Teaching my young man what love looked like.

Mr. Ray:

Man. I was just talking to a parent about that today. You see what I'm saying. I was talking to him because you know we were talking about the discipline of the child and redirecting them. And you know he's like man. My boy is 17, 18. You know we can't as men. I don't know if you have children, but I have a child. I have a young man and he gets to a certain age. I mean he's 5, 6, 7. You might have to put your hands on him, spank him whatever, get him in line, but once they become a young man, you don't want to do that because you're sending the wrong message. Telling what I mean yeah, so just getting them to see first.

Mr. Chapman:

Like love has no boundaries, Correct, Unconditional. But also tell them this I can love you but also not give you what you want. You know what I'm saying? Love has its own type of spectrum Sometimes it's tough.

Mr. Chapman:

Sometimes it's tough. You know what I'm saying. I don't love you like your mother loves you, but I love you. I have love for you and I want to see you do good. That's it. That's my job. You see what I'm saying? I can't love you as a parent because I'm not your parent. You understand what I'm saying. So you need to understand this type of love tough love that you're getting from me, because it's going to hold you accountable. It's going to help you build relationships. It's going to help you learn what respect looks like. You understand what I'm saying. So that's how I tie in the four R's to my philosophy. For sure, that's awesome man.

Mr. Ray:

Yeah, that's good stuff. After you graduated, you guys went to school. There's a program we have where we reach out Alumni program. Yeah, so tell us a little bit about that.

Mr. Chapman:

Expand on that for the listeners. Yeah, so alumni program was first with the. I remember Mr Cameron Barnes.

Mr. Chapman:

He was the first graduating class once he went by he now works for, like the Obama Foundation or something like that. Right, shout out to him. But I remember, Mr Barnes. I remember being kicked out of Youngstown for grades right. My first semester I ended up in Juco in Minnesota, somewhere Mr Barnes reached out to me, you know, asked me how I'm doing everything, okay, grades, good, like. What do you need? Are you coming back? And et cetera. So just having the alumni program as a resource for someone checking on me, making sure I'm straight, hearing a brother that I shared the same hallways with you know what I'm saying. Now, hold this position. Checking on me, make sure I'm straight.

Mr. Ray:

I get goosebumps. You saying that, like I can think about the times I was in school and I didn't have that. Correct, you know what I mean? I didn't have that. All I have is my mama. Correct, you know what I mean? Like man, like the world needs to know that. You know, like they need to know what Urban Prep does. That's like next level. Not only do we make sure 100% of our kids get accepted, but no, after they're in school we're there with a lifeline. Like that is huge. Tell us about it, your experience in school.

Mr. Harris:

How did that relate with you? I had a similar experience, actually, but it serves as a network. You know it serves as a network. This is a foundation, this is a corporation, this is a brotherhood. So you know every holiday, you know they have an alumni event. So you know, as far as in high school, you only know the four years that you know. You know the people that you went to school with, but now you get to come to this Urban Prep alumni event. So, for instance, I graduated in 2013.

Mr. Harris:

Now I get to meet brothers that came after me Right and before you and before me, right, but my personal experience with it, urban Prep, saved me. Urban Prep saved me. It was a resource for me. I ended up getting dismissed from college as well after my junior year. Just wasn't making the right decisions as far as academics, just you know, just being a kid.

MUSIC:

You know, still being a kid, wasn't really?

Mr. Harris:

yeah, 19, wasn't really going into that adulthood and being a man yet. So I reached out. I reached out, you know, and they specifically missed a boy, you know, shout out to Mr Boyd, but I spent a lot of time with him, you know came to the headquarters, we set a game plan in place, you know, and we put it in force. See, and it worked. See what I'm saying. I got back in school, I got my scholarship back and God is I finished.

Mr. Ray:

See, that's what's up, man.

MUSIC:

Burp, burp, burp, burp. You ready for it?

Mr. Ray:

Hey, this is Reggie Ray. This is the what's Up Podcast. We are here in Chicago repping Urban Prep. We have two alumni here telling us about the fantastic things they have done and are doing here at Urban Prep. I am Reggie Ray, I'm your host, I have Mr Chapman and Mr Harris here and we are Urban Prep and we believe let's go With. That being said, tell us a little bit about what do you see yourself doing here with Urban Prep going down the line. Talk to us about it.

Mr. Harris:

At first it's just sharing love. Just within my background, I'm a sociology major and it just so happened that I was put in place to be the SEL instructor, aka the pride teacher. My goal is to pour into them. My goal is to pour into them, educate them. You know how education goes. We have a lot of educators out there that really don't pour into our kids. So that's my biggest thing. It's draining, but I love it.

Mr. Ray:

I pour into them.

Mr. Harris:

My goal is to keep pouring into them love education and guidance, for sure that guy's good tell me about you what you feel.

Mr. Ray:

Chapman, for sure your guy's good.

Mr. Chapman:

Yeah, man, tell me about you, what you feel, chapman, for sure this year for me, being a father of a six-year-old going into my next child for sure, Talk about it. Just patience, having patience with my young man, understanding where they're coming from but also knowing where they're coming from. You know what I'm saying. I have a great relationship with all parents. That's in my school. I'm sorry that. Trust us that young man, it's great to have parents reach out to you on a regular basis. Yeah, does it get frustrating? Et cetera. It can be. You know you're on your weekends and they're calling you, it's after hours and they're calling you. However, just knowing that they have an outlet at the school, that they trust and know and that they know they can call you know what I'm saying.

Mr. Ray:

Hey, I got to tell you something, brother, you're doing something special. I appreciate you, brother. I'm telling you Listen, ain't nobody. Hey, you doing something special, bro, appreciate you brother. Man that is awesome they reaching out to you.

Mr. Chapman:

That's important, man, because you doing something special man, that's important man.

Mr. Ray:

Having that relationship with parents is my philosophy again and I'm going to take a page out your book and I was just talking to someone this weekend and I said the next thing I need to do to improve myself is start calling parents when the students do something good.

Mr. Chapman:

Good, yes, sir.

Mr. Ray:

Absolutely.

Mr. Harris:

Yes, sir.

Mr. Ray:

And I started. Yesterday I called a kid's parent because man, this young man, shout out to Mr Johnson, jay Johnson, he's just been exceptional. Yes, sir, starting in the class, sitting down being locked in If he's not finished asking to stay getting it done right. Just the presentation, just being locked in, man, that's the flowers man, that's the flowers.

Mr. Chapman:

Once you like. Just today, one of my students shout out to Mr Anderson, one of my juniors beginning of the year, suspension, suspension, suspension. Just wasn't doing what's asked of him. You understand what I'm saying. He's been on the up and up. I talk to his teachers. They praise him.

Mr. Chapman:

You know what I'm saying. They say oh, I'm coming in the classroom like yeah, deion, I don't know about Mr Anderson and this, and that they're like no, he good, he doing great. That's shocking me. You, you see what I'm saying, because I only see what I see sometimes. You know what I'm saying. So I definitely wrote him a gold tie and he got it today. But I had to pull him to the side and tell him, like you know what I'm saying, I'm proud of you, like, I see you. I might not tell you all the time, you know what I'm saying. You might not get the accolades, but I wrote that for you. You, those are the flowers that I want. You know what I'm saying. Students turning around and doing something good for themselves. You know what I'm saying. Not for me, that's awesome, so for sure.

Mr. Ray:

What skills do you think that you've developed to really help you with the kids every?

Mr. Harris:

day man. Like Mr Chapman said, patience, definitely patience. I have a young girl myself. I have a four-year-old daughter. Whew, whew, it's tough. It's tough man. It's teaching me patience. We come in as educators, we come in with our baggage, we come in with our mess, our life. We have a life outside of teaching these students. They have a life outside of being students. It just teaches me to have the patience and more understanding when I do that and and I sit down okay, let me not fight fire or fire, let me sit down and let me breathe, let me see what's going on with him.

Mr. Ray:

Yeah, that's something I do before they come into class. I line them up and I call a temperature check.

Mr. Harris:

Check in, yeah we got to check in every day.

Mr. Ray:

Man, but you'll find, you know, I catch a few Because sometimes our kids have situations, like you said, outside of school. Yeah.

Mr. Harris:

You know what I mean.

Mr. Ray:

And you can see it sometimes. So you know, I grab them, pull them to the side and say, hey, man, you cool, you can see it on their face.

Mr. Chapman:

Yeah, you can feel it, you can feel it too.

Mr. Ray:

What you need, we got you. You know, yep, yes sir, yes sir, here at Urban them up, making them strong young men, well-rounded young men, absolutely. We got our creed, we have all of our rituals that we do that help to formulate and build these young men. That's what brought you here today, that's what motivates me every day.

Mr. Ray:

Come on, I mean, I love it, that's good you know what I mean, and it wasn't something I set out for. It's a scary thing, yeah, when I think about it. Cap on it. What I went to school for is this Wow, that deep. And the other thing too, right, we haven't talked about it, but 100% college acceptance, all of our students. I don't know if I dialed in on that, but let's not let that be glazed over.

Mr. Chapman:

No, for sure.

Mr. Ray:

Our kids are accepted in college.

Mr. Chapman:

It's a beautiful thing to know, like Ms Lacewell always says, that you have an option. You know what I'm saying. It might not be the option for you, and that's fine, but to have that option to have an acceptance letter from a college that's 300, 400 miles away, you know what I'm saying that's an accomplishment that each and every young person should have some type of growth for it. You understand what I'm saying, but it's not to be glazed over. However, I would say are we the only school doing it? No, but we going to make sure that we, the school that blasts it out there, you know what I'm saying Showing that we care about young men, Showing that they are doing great in this world. There's plenty of schools shout out to all these high schools out here that have 100% college acceptances, having students doing dual enrollment programs. Shout out to them. You know what I'm saying. I'm not taking nothing from them, but Urban Prep is going to make sure we show everyone exactly what we're doing.

Mr. Ray:

And we're taking a step forward.

Mr. Chapman:

Taking a step forward, and that's okay.

Mr. Ray:

We're taking a step forward, that's okay, you all are proof of it. Come on, you know Absolutely. When you struggled in college, who could you turn to? Yes, sir Urban Prep. Yeah, you know Now who's doing that. Are they doing that at St Rita? I don, I know we're doing it here at.

Mr. Chapman:

Urban Prep in.

Mr. Ray:

Englewood, in Chicago and Bronzeville, and we've been doing it now for what? 19 years? We're working on 20, right, I got the number right. Right, yeah, 20. We all the way up. We all the way up Because we believe, let's go, come on.

MUSIC:

Let's talk.

Mr. Ray:

With that being said, this is Urban Prep. I am your host. I am your host. I am Reggie Ray, civics teacher here at Urban Prep. I have the pleasure to be sitting with two fabulous young men, mr Harris and Mr Chapman, who graduated from Urban Prep, who've come back and given back to our kids in a fabulous way. A fabulous way, guys, before we go, what do you have to give? What do you want to?

Mr. Harris:

say About 100%. I think I was going to say, like a lot of institutions, they focus on completion, that would be 7th, 8th grade, even before high school. They focus on graduating Graduating class 7th 8th grade, graduating class from high school, graduating class from college but it's about the on to the next. We focus on something that we don't have to. The purpose of a high school is to get your high school diploma period.

Mr. Harris:

You come to high school, get a high school diploma, but we focus on on to the next and following you and seeing what you're going to do. But, like Mr Chapman said, you have the option. You have the option to go to college. The consistency is just amazing. You know, I come back and it's the same. It's the consistency, it's amazing. I come back and it's the same. It's the consistency, with that focus on getting these young men accepted into a four-year university college. That's powerful, that's just real powerful.

Mr. Chapman:

Let me take it a step further. The incentives they have to do to get they written gold ties. You know what I'm saying. I believe this year or two years they now make our seniors registered voters.

MUSIC:

Yes, that's big, that's dope man, that's big. Well, you know, we all on it.

Mr. Chapman:

That's big. You know what I'm saying. Like these brothers aren't voting, these brothers aren't voting before they go off into college. My kids, man, they have a responsibility.

Mr. Ray:

I had them write a bill. They wrote a bill against. You know, they got these kids that are making these ghost guns, Okay. And then there's another weapon. I'm not a big weapon guy, so please forgive me I forget the acronyms. It's LCFD or something like that, some automatic clip thing. But they wrote this piece of legislation. It's fabulous. So I've got Senator Napoleon Harris to come up here. I want to see it.

Mr. Harris:

Wow, that's big man Congrats, that's big.

Mr. Ray:

I try every year to get someone in here so they can talk to and see what they can be and what's available to them, and that civics is a whole other branch that schools don't offer. It's big and that points back to our creed, because we have responsibility to who Family, family.

Mr. Harris:

Community World.

Mr. Ray:

That's what we build here at Urban Prep Academies. Yes, sir. So before we go for all those out there, we want to recite what we're proud to have as our creed. You guys ready for it? Don't worry, come on. So let's give it to them in full right. So you have a pride that you belong to. You have one that you belong to. I represent a pride. We're going to announce our pride and we're going to do it.

Mr. Chapman:

Mr Chapman, class of 2013,. Pride of relentlessness.

Mr. Harris:

Mr Harris, class of 2013,.

Mr. Ray:

Pride of integrity, Mr Ray class of 2025, pride of accountability.

Mr. Chapman:

We believe we are the young men of urban prep Class of 2025. Pride of accountability we believe we are the young men of urban prep. We are college bound, we are exceptional.

Mr. Harris:

Not because we said, because we work hard at it.

Mr. Ray:

We will not falter in the face of any obstacle placed before us we are dedicated committed and focused.

Mr. Harris:

We never succumb to bureaucracy uncertainty or fear we never, fail. We never give up. We make no excuses. We choose to live honestly nonviolently and honorably.

Mr. Ray:

We respect ourselves.

Mr. Harris:

In doing so we respect all people.

Mr. Ray:

We have a future we are accountable.

Mr. Harris:

We have a responsibility to our families communities and the world. We are brothers, keepers. We believe in ourselves, we believe in each other.

Mr. Ray:

We believe in our prep. We believe let's go baby. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I am Reggie Ray. This is the what's Up Podcast here at Urban Prep Academies in Inglewood, chicago. Our other camp is Bronzeville. We want to say thank you for listening and remember we are here for your children. Urban Prep Academies. Thank you so much.

MUSIC:

That's it today for the what's Up Podcast with Urban Prep Academies. Thank, kindness and respect. We believe, believe in Urban Prep.