Award Year: 2020
John Hancock College Preparatory High School
4034 West 56th Street
Chicago, IL, 60629-4442
Ms. Vanessa Puentes Hernandez, Principal at time of Nomination
Title I School, Magnet School
City of Chicago SD 299, Chicago Public Schools
John Hancock College Prep empowers students through academic and social engagement to create change in their personal lives and in their communities.
- Black/African American: 2%
- White: 3%
- Hispanic: 93%
- Asian: 1%
John Hancock College Prep HS is a hidden gem on the southwest side of Chicago. With slightly over a thousand students, we are a small selective enrollment high school in the Chicago Public Schools district. Over the past 17 years we have experienced many transitions that have strengthened our resiliency as a community, while developing key systems and practices that drive us as a school today. As a result, we have increased our data in nearly every evaluation metric set by our district including college enrollment, earned college credit, attendance and P/SAT attainment and growth. We have partnered with key organizations throughout the years to increase opportunities for students to engage in a variety of extracurricular activities. From theater programs to 3-D printing or civic engagement, Hancock Eagles are advocating for themselves and their school community in a variety of ways. As a democracy school, our students have collaborated with staff to embed student voice throughout the different aspects of their educational experience; from service learning projects to grade-level workshops, our students seek out opportunities to make all feel welcome. Hancock also knows we cannot do this without our parents! We host a variety of workshops to both empower and educate our parents on different topics. When we aren't working, we are engaging in events planned by school and parent groups- such as our back to school cook-out or Fall comedy show. Hancock goes above and beyond to connect multiple stakeholders for the success of our Eagles.