Farragut Career Academy

Farragut Career Academy
Established	1894
Type	Public Secondary Career Academy
Students	1731 (2010)
Grades	9–12
Location	2345 S. Christiana Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Oversight	Chicago Public Schools
Colors	Blue      Gold
Mascot	Admirals
Website	www.farragutcareeracademy.org

Farragut Career Academy High School is a public 4-year high school located in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. As a Career Academy, Farragut emphasizes a curriculum that combines academic instruction with work-study experiences and vocational training. In addition to Education-To-Careers clusters, Farragut is also home to the General Patton JROTC program which functions as a school-within-a-school. The school is named for David Farragut, a naval hero of the American Civil War who later was named the first admiral in the United States Navy.

School history

The original Farragut School opened its doors on September 4, 1894, as a new primary school. It was located on Spaulding Ave near 23rd Street in the South Lawndale neighborhood.^[1] Its 16 rooms were designed to accommodate up to 900 students. The Chicago Board of Education named the school after Civil War naval hero Admiral David Glasgow Farragut and appointed George R. Plumb to be Principal. On the first day of school, Farragut enrolled about 500 students in grades 1–4.^[2] Those 500 students were among 175,000 students enrolled in Chicago's 200 schools in a year that saw a 15% increase in enrollment.

In its early years, Farragut served as a primary school for thousands of neighborhood students. Two years after opening Farragut, Principal Plumb officiated at a ceremony to dedicate an oil portrait of Admiral Farragut. This portrait was presented to the school by the Farragut Post 602 of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) on June 26, 1896.^[3] The dedication ceremony included speeches by representatives of the Chicago Board of Education and the Grand Army of the Republic and the singing of “patriotic songs” by Farragut students. The portrait of Admiral Farragut still hangs in Farragut's south building. Principal Plumb was dismissed from Farragut in 1901 and was replaced by Mary E. Baker.^[4]

In the early years of the 20th century, the population of Chicago's southwest side continued to grow, and overcrowding at Farragut became a problem. To ease this overcrowding, the Chicago Board of Education approved $150,000 to build a sixteen room addition and assembly hall for Farragut.^[5] At the forefront of the construction effort was Farragut Principal Henry C. Cox, who had taken over from Mary Baker in 1904. Principal Cox believed that the primary reason Farragut students did not complete their high school education was a lack of facilities in the area that could accommodate them.^[6] The addition opened its doors as a high school at Spaulding and 24th streets on September 7, 1909 with Frank L. Morse as Principal.^[7] The original building continued to operate as a primary school.

One of the greatest challenges to keeping high school students in school during this time was the fact that many teenagers worked in factories around Chicago to supplement family income. In 1909, Principal Morse created a plan that would allow students to continue to work and go to school and still receive their income. In cooperation with such employers as the Chicago Malleable Iron Company, the International Harvester Company, and the Kimball Piano Company, students would alternate weeks between work and school. These students would be enrolled in a special vocational curriculum designed to improve their “industrial education.”^[8] Boys between the ages of 14 and 16 would be enrolled in the program and would receive their full weekly salary while in school.

Young women were also part of the vocational education plan for Farragut, although with a different focus. Classes for girls fell under the category of “domestic sciences” and included beginning and advanced sewing, food study and cooking, sanitation and hygiene in the home, and history of industry.^[9] As the vocational programs increased in popularity, Farragut expanded quickly and in 1914, most were transferred to the new Harrison Technical High School at 24th St and Marshall Blvd. With space now available, Farragut opened its doors as a community center two nights a week. Classrooms were made available for organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls. In addition, adult education classes were organized to teach sewing, millinery, cooking, and typing. In addition, English language classes were offered free of charge to neighborhood residents. Young people and adults could also participate in sports, music, and art.

In 1924, Farragut underwent another restructuring. The Chicago School Board created a new program that converted several schools into junior high schools housing grades seven and eight. The move was designed to ease overcrowding by reducing some schools from grades K-8 to K-6 and moving the older students to new schools. In September, 1925, 7th and 8th grade students from the Farragut, Burns, Spry, and McCormick schools attended classes at Farragut Junior High School with Isabella Dolton as Principal. Students at Farragut in grades K-2 stayed in the original building, operating as an extension of the Burns school with the remaining students in grades 3–6 moved to the neighboring schools.

By 1928, the continuing problem of school overcrowding led to the construction of an addition to the Farragut building. The plans included a south and west section of the building that effectively doubled its size. That year, Peter B. Ritzma became Principal following Isabella Dolton's election as Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the district. Farragut operated as a junior high school until the Chicago School Board decided to scrap the program and convert the junior high schools in the city to senior high schools in 1933. Farragut's attendance boundaries extended north to 16th Street and as far south as the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

Vocational training returned to Farragut in 1935 following the establishment of the Emergency Education Program (EEP). The EEP was created under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). In the early years of the Great Depression, thousands of teachers found themselves unemployed and seeking relief. Harry Hopkins, director of FERA, realized that there was an opportunity to not only return teachers to work but to also provide educational programs to other unemployed workers.^[10] Under the EEP, Farragut began offering adult evening classes free of charge. Unemployed adults could attend classes in typing, dictaphone, shorthand (advanced and beginning), sewing, millwork, and printing.

On June 8, 2010 Kanye West performed a private concert for the students of Farragut Career Academy for winning the third annual "Stay in School" contest. They competed against six other schools: Manley, Harlan, Clemente, Marshall, Julian and Robeson. Their goal was to have the best overall improved attendance, grades, and behavior.

Academics

Since Farragut is a career academy, it offers several Education-To-Careers (ETC) clusters. The mission of ETC programs is the prepare "students for their lives beyond the classroom by equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in post-secondary education, advanced career training or immediate entry into jobs with a meaningful career path".^[11] ETC programs are designed to combine a rigorous high school academic curriculum with training in career and technical subjects and workplace competencies. Farragut's ETC programs include Culinary Arts, Medical Assistant, Fashion Design, Automotive Technology, Carpentry, Cabinet Making, and Cosmetology.

Student life

At Farragut, students are able to compete in many different sports and competitive activities.

Notable alumni

• Otis Armstrong (1968), former National Football League running back
• Michael Dunigan, Basketball player for the Oregon Ducks
• Ronnie Fields, Basketball player
• Kevin Garnett (1995), NBA player for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics.
• Mack Herron, former NFL and CFL running back
• Kim Novak (1950), actress
• Pat Sajak (1964), host of the game show Wheel of Fortune
• Beverly Shaffer, Recording Artist of "Where Will You Be Boy" 1965.
• Ernie Terrell (1957), former Heavyweight Champion Boxer
• Michael Wright (basketball), University of Arizona basketball

References

1. ^ “They Must Quit Play” Chicago Daily, August 27, 1894, Pg 8
2. ^ “Back to the Books” Chicago Daily, September 5, 1894, Pg 12
3. ^ “Gives the School a Portrait” Chicago Daily Tribune, June 27, 1896, Pg 10
4. ^ “Forty Teachers Under the Axe” Chicago Daily Tribune, June 21, 1901, Pg 7
5. ^ “Millions for New Schools” Chicago Daily Tribune, September 24, 1907, Pg 8
6. ^ “The History of Farragut” Lawndale Crawford Community Collection archived document, Author, date unknown
7. ^ “Children go Back to School Today” Chicago Daily Tribune, September 7, 1908, Pg 4
8. ^ “Alternate Work With Study” Chicago Daily Tribune, September 25, 1909, Pg 3
9. ^ “All Girls to Sew in School” Chicago Daily Tribune, October 12, 1901, Pg 3
10. ^ “The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)”, University of Washington Libraries Digital Collection, Available online at http://content.lib.washington.edu/feraweb/essay.html, Cited July 12, 2007
11. ^ Education to Careers, http://www.etcchicago.com/, Chicago Public Schools

External links

• School website
• Profile from the Illinois High School Association