School Visit Routes

Route A:
Lindblom Math and Science Academy (www.lmsa.cps.k12.il.us)
Lindblom Math and Science Academy houses the largest high school Chinese language program in the district. The school is innovative in that it focuses exclusively on critical language programs (all students must take Chinese or Arabic) and has adopted the year-round school calendar. Lindblom services predominantly African American students and is a selective enrollment school. The Chinese program has 3 full time instructors and includes Advanced Placement Chinese.

Route B:
McCormick Elemenatary (http://www.mccormick.cps.k12.il.us/)
Curie High School (http://curiehs.org/)

McCormick Elementary is a K-3 school which serves a predominantly Latino student population. It was one of the first schools in Chicago to offer Chinese, and ever student in the school recieves Chinese instrcution. Many of the students are from bilingual/ELL backgrounds, which allows them to be conversant in English, Spanish and Chinese. Parent and commuinty involvement are key components to making the McCormick Chinese language program a tremendous success.

Curie High School has over 3,000 students from a variety of racial and economic backgrounds, including Chinese heritage students. Curie is a career academy that places a strong emphasis on acquiring job skills, learning to work as a member of a team, and acquiring aspects of entrepreneurship. Curie is also an International Baccalaureate high school.

Route C:
Andrew Jackson Language Academy
(http://www.jackson.cps.k12.il.us/)
Whitney Young Magnet High School
(www.wyoung.org)

Jackson Language Academy is a magnet school which provides world language instruction as an integral part of the basic program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The goals of the program are to provide the opportunity for proficiency in another language, create the potential for a 13-year sequence in a single language for students who begin foreign language in kindergarten, and facilitate an expanded awareness and appreciation of our ethnically and racially diverse population. Jackson offers Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese and Spanish World Language instruction.

Whitney Young Magnet high School boasts a diverse student body: 31 percent African American, 20.9 percent Latino, 17.6 percent Asian, and 30 percent Caucasian. In both the academic program and extracurricular activities, students of various backgrounds learn that their assorted talents can accomplish greater goals collectively. Whitney Young students have won the state Academic Decathlon for 22 out of 23 years and have consistently placed in the top five at ACADEC national competitions. Students also regularly win awards at annual citywide science fairs, as well as math, computer science, art and music, drafting, subject area, and athletic competitions. Whitney Young is also the Alma Mater of America’s First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Route D:
Alexander Graham Bell Elementary School
(http://www.agbellschool.com/)
Northside College Preparatory High School
(http://www.northsideprep.org/)
Alexander Graham Bell School is a Chicago Public School.  It serves almost 950 students from pre-school through 8th grade.  Bell has 3 programs tracks; Neighborhood, for grades K-8 who live in the attendance area; Regional Gifted, for grades 1-8 with admission determined by testing; Deaf, for grades preK-8 for students with IEPS indicating eligibilityStudents in the neighborhood program, grades K-8, receive instruction in Chinese each week. After-school Chinese classes are available for students in the Options program who also want to study the language.

Northside College Preparatory High School is ranked #1 high school in Chicago Public Schools and was ranked #34 High School in the USA by US News. The school is committed to the teaching of World Languages and offers Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Latin and Spanish. The school has an active partnership with a sister school in Beijing as well as other schools throughout the world. Northside College Preparatory High School was one of the earliest Chinese programs in Chicago Public Schools.


Route E:
Louisa May Alcott Elementary School (http://www.alcottschool.net)
Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (http://www.wpcp.org)

Louisa May Alcott Elementary School provides a cohesive curriculum with an extensive focus on literature and writing that meets the needs of all students (including English language learners, multiple intelligences and individual learning styles, special needs and gifted students) while honoring cultural diversity.  The school provides hands on engaged learning, innovative approaches, fine arts, world language integration and reduced class sizes with parental involvement.

Walter Payton College Preparatory High School offers a unique math, science and world language curriculum. Language offerings include Chinese, Japanese, Latin, French, and Spanish, all supporting and enhancing a global perspective. The state of the art science labs are used to teach biology, chemistry, and physics, up to advanced placement (AP) levels, as well as earth science and astronomy. Coursework is project-based and inter-disciplinary in all core subject areas. Video-conferencing opportunities are scheduled throughout the school year. College credit courses are available through partnerships with universities in the area. A unique combination of modified and block scheduling allows for deeper investigation and meaningful activities in all classrooms. Payton has been awarded the Blue Ribbon Award and the Goldman Sachs Foundation Award for Excellence in International Education. It is also the home of the Confucius Institute in Chicago, the only K-12 housed Confucius Institute in the United States.

*School routes are subject to change.