Urban Prep West students are African-American males, 85 percent qualify for free-reduced lunch and 29 percent have Individual Education Programs (IEPs). They are victims and survivors of gun violence and trauma—in fact, ten West Campus students have been shot and five killed since the school opened. In addition to the emotional duress that a school closure would cause, the neighborhood schools Urban Prep’s West Campus students would otherwise attend have all failed Black males abysmally.

 

Despite elements of our society working to destroy young Black males, Urban Prep West has continued to fulfill our mission by improving outcomes for our students: