High Jump

Program Description

High jump is Chicago's leading tuition-free academic enrichment program for talented and motivated low-income middle school students. In 1989, High Jump was founded by the Francis W. Parker School and Latin School of Chicago with full funding from the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. The organizations set out to combine resources, programs and experiences to ensure that access to competitive secondary school education was not determined by lack of information, limitations of home schools, or personal financial resources. High Jump prepares students for top public, parochial and independent day and boarding schools.

Selected students participate in a rigorous 2 year, six month course of study on Saturdays and daily during the summers in their 7th and 8th grade year. The hallmark of the High Jump experience is a course of study that builds academic and social skills, fosters self-confidence and independent thinking as well as provides critical information about future educational choices through our high school choice programming.

High Jump has made it possible for more than 1000 deserving young students to be prepared for, and to succeed in, some of the most challenging college preparatory high schools in the country.

100 percent of program alumni matriculate to and graduate from top college preparatory high schools and more than 85 percent go on to attend college. We are extremely proud of this record of success and the impact High Jump has on educational attainment and future success.

High Jump has three campuses located at the sites of our partner schools: Latin School of Chicago, Francis W. Parker School, and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Students come to our program campuses from all over the Chicagoland area. Students who apply to High Jump must be in the fifth or sixth grade at the time of application, excel academically, and possess the desire to learn and come from families who demonstrate limited family income.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

• White: 3%
• Asian or Pacific Islander: 7%
• Hispanic/Latino: 41%
• Other: 5%
• African American: 44%

Education Level and
Number of Students

• High School: 540
• Middle School: 285
• Elementary School: 0
• Post-secondary: 0
• Non-traditional: 0

Populations Served

• Academically High-performing

First-Generation

• Between 50% and 75%

Representative
Colleges Attended
by Alumni

• Bates College
• Beloit College
• Boston University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Columbia University in the City of New York
• Connecticut College
• Cornell University
• DePaul University
• DePauw University
• Drake University
• Grinnell College
• Hampton University
• Harvard College
• Illinois State University
• Kalamazoo College
• Knox College
• Loyola University New Orleans
• Macalester College
• Marquette University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Miami University-Oxford
• Middlebury College
• Northwestern University
• Princeton University
• Purdue University-Calumet Campus
• Stanford University
• Tufts University
• University of Chicago
• University of Dayton
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Michigan-Dearborn

Matriculation & Completion

• 4-yr College Matriculation: 85%