Kenwood Academy

When I got accepted into Kenwood's Academic Center (AC) program I was overjoyed. My sister had graduated from there, I had a brother who was a senior, and another who was a freshman there. The AC was made up of 80 7th graders and 100 8th graders. The students there attended the high school classes and received credit towards early graduation. Kenwood was a step up in a good direction, at least in the academic center. Kenwood itself use to have a reputation for being one of the most successful selective enrollment schools on the south side of Chicago. When it became a neighborhood school, it invited the neighborhood kids into the school as well. Hyde Park, the neighborhood Kenwood is in, is a divide between wealthy white folks, and poor low income black folks. When Kenwood became a neighborhood schools, all of the "bad" kids that use to be forced to go to terrible schools like Bowden and CVS were now allowed to attend Kenwood. The influx of black kids resulted in students and teachers leaving the school. Kenwood lost a lot of funding and eventually the teachers went on strike. Students were the people most effected by the change  in direction Kenwood was taking. Despite everything going on, my educational experience was a pretty good one. I know that going to Kenwood got me further ahead and that the opportunity I got is offered to so few that it's ineffective in the larger scheme of things. Overall my 7th and 8th grade years at Kenwood were great experiences. My educational experiences u to that point combined with my unique identity and my drive for success made me slightly more appealing to high schools than some of my peers.