Austin Community Academy High School

Austin High School (Campus)
Address
231 N. Pine Avenue Chicago, Illinois, 60644 United States
Coordinates	41°53′06″N 87°45′45″W / 41.8849°N 87.7626°WCoordinates: 41°53′06″N 87°45′45″W / 41.8849°N 87.7626°W
Information
School type	Public Secondary
Opened	1890 2006 (Polytech) 2007 (Business & Entrepreneurship) 2008 (V.O.I.S.E)
School district	Chicago Public Schools
Principal	Ali N. Muhammad (Polytech)[1] Wayne K. Issa (Business & Entrepreneurship) [2] Ennis C. Harvey (V.O.I.S.E)[3]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coed
Enrollment	122 (2014–15) (Polytech)[1] 129 (2014–15) (Business & Entrepreneurship) [4] 231 (2014–15) (V.O.I.S.E)[3]
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Maroon      White[5]
Mascot	Tigers
Yearbook	Maroon & White[6]
Website	austinpolytech.org voiseacademy.org austinbusinessacademy.net

Austin Community Academy High School (now known as Austin Polytech High School) is a public 4–year charter high school located at 231 North Pine Avenue in the Austin neighborhood on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Operated by the Chicago Public Schools, Austin opened in 1890,^[7] and was named in honor of Henry W. Austin, a Chicago real estate developer^[8] In 2004, The online newsletter Chicago-Catalyst.org called it the yellow brick fortress. Austin Polytech shares it's campus with two smaller schools; Austin Business & Entrepreneurship Academy High and V.O.I.S.E. Academy High School.

History

Austin was opened by the Chicago Public Schools district in 1890. During the mid-twentieth century, Austin High was considered one of the best high schools in the Chicago area.^[9] In later years, however, Austin suffered from low test scores, low attendance, and student violence. The Chicago Public Schools began phasing it out in 2004, ordering the school to stop admitting new freshman.^[10] The last graduations were held in June 2007 and the phase-out was completed by the end of summer, 2007.^[11] Many of the old school records from 1890 to 1970 are now preserved at the Chicago Public Library in the Special Collections for Community History.

Renaissance 2010

As part of the Renaissance 2010 program, the school's campus was then converted into three smaller high schools:

• Austin Polytechnical Academy, which opened in 2006,^[12]
• Austin Business and Entrepreneurship Academy, which opened in 2007;
• V.O.I.S.E. Academy High School, which opened in 2008. (VOISE stands for "Virtual Opportunities Inside a School Environment"; the school combines an online curriculum with classroom instruction.)^[13] The schools on the Austin campus share an athletics program. The sports teams are nicknamed the Tigers.^[14]

Athletics

Austin competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Austin sport teams are nicknamed Tigers. In 1937, Austin High School's football team played Leo Catholic High School in the Chicago Prep Bowl at Soldier Field. Austin was led by star running back Bill DeCorrevont, one of the best known high school athletes of his day.^[15] The attendance was estimated to be as high as 130,000^[16]—possibly the largest crowd to ever attend an American football game.^[17] (Sources vary on the exact figure, however; the Illinois High School Association provides an estimate of 110,000 attendees.) Austin won 26-0.^[16]

Austin High School Chess Team

During the 2000–01 school year, Abraham Lee, captain of the undefeated Austin Community Academy Chess Team. The Team had been on the channel four news for being undefeated statewide and became the statewide champions of the Illinois chess teams which also brought media attention in other aspects which include the Austin Weekly and Chicago Tribune. Mr.Lee was undefeated the entire season and was noted as breaking records and making history for the Austin Community Academy High School as there hadn't been a chess team since the early 1980s. The coach was a Richard Dunbar whom was a Detective for the Chicago Police Department who cared entirely about the community and local youth. Abraham Lee is listed in the United States Chess Federation; http://www.unitedstateschessfederation.org

Notable alumni

• Alf Bauman – NFL player^[7]
• Roy Brown – puppeteer and performer-"Cooky the Clown" of Bozo's Circus^[18]
• Larry Canada – former NFL player^[19]
• Bill DeCorrevont – NFL player^[7]
• Jack Drees – Chicago television sportscaster
• Bud Freeman – jazz musician, member of Austin High Gang^[20]
• Arte Johnson (1945) – actor, comedian^[21]
• Jim Lanigan – jazz musician, member of Austin High Gang^[20]
• Art Lopatka – MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies)^[22]
• Phil Masi – MLB catcher (Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox), played in 1948 World Series^[23]
• Dick McPartland – jazz musician, member of Austin High Gang^[20]
• Jimmy McPartland – jazz musician, member of Austin High Gang^[20]
• Eric Morris (actor) né Fred Stein (1949) – actor and acting teacher^[24]
• Pete Pihos – NFL player^[7]
• Robert Townsend (1975) – actor^[7]
• Frank Teschemacher – jazz musician, member of Austin High Gang^[20]
• Bobby Wilson – NFL player
• Abe Woodson – NFL player^[7]

References

1. "Chicago Public Schools: Austin Polytech". Chicago Public Schools.
2. "Chicago Public Schools: Austin Business and Entrepreneurship". Chicago Public Schools.
3. "Chicago Public Schools: V.O.I.S.E". Chicago Public Schools.
4. "Chicago Public Schools: Austin Business and Entrepreneurship". Chicago Public Schools.
5. IHSA: Austin High School (Chicago)
6. Amazon: 1966 Austin High School (Chicago, Illinois) Yearbook
7. "Austin at a glance". Chicago Sun-Times. September 8, 1993. 85.
8. Michael Smith. "Austin High School bears name of pioneer who subdivided village". Chicago Tribune. May 13, 1965. W1.
9. Michael Marsh. "Austin gets with programs". Chicago Sun-Times. September 8, 1993. 85.
10. Rosalind Rossi. "Carothers, leaders demand new West Side high school". Chicago Sun-Times. June 28, 2007. 27.
11. Chicago Public Schools : CPS Completes Phase-Outs of Three High Schools. Cps.edu (2009-11-12). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
12. Yasmin Tara Ramohan. "New high school to focus on high-tech manufacturing". Chi-Town Daily News. May 31, 2007. Retrieved on January 31, 2010.
13. Paul D. Bowker. "New Austin high school focus of meeting". Chi-Town Daily News. December 1, 2008. Retrieved on January 31, 2010.
14. Austin Poly/Austin Business & Entrepreneurship/VOISE Academy Basketball. MaxPreps. Retrieved on August 25, 2012.
15. Liam T. A. Ford. Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City. University of Chicago Press, 1937. 83.
16. IHSA Boys Football All-Time General Records. Illinois High School Association. January 8, 2010. Retrieved on January 31, 2010.
17. Steven A. Riess, Gerald R. Gems. The Chicago Sports Reader. University of Illinois Press, 2009. 18.
18. "Roy Brown". Chicago Television. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
19. "Larry Canada". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
20. Austin High Gang. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved on January 31, 2010.
21. Ney, Annette (April 24, 1985). "Grads Who Made The Big Time". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
22. "Art Lopatka Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
23. "Phil Masi Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
24. Morris, Eric (2007). The Diary of a Professional Experiencer: An Autobiographical Journey Into the Evolution of an Acting System. 8004 Fareholm Drive, Los Angeles, California 90046: Ermor Enterprises. Retrieved 2013-12-02.

External links

• Austin High School Reunion page This one seems targeted towards classes around the 1940s and 1950s
• Austin Business and Entrepreneurship Academy
• Austin Polytechnical Academy
• VOISE Academy
• www.Catalyst-Chicago.org has searchable index with articles on Austin Community Academy HS
• Chicago Public Library Special Collections AHSC contain Austin HS records 1879 - 1979 (AUHS)
• CPS.edu is Chicago Public Schools with a search for Austin High School articles Phased-out 2004 to end of summer 2007
• Facebook: Austin Community Ac High School