Morgan Park High School World Language and International Studies Program
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Program Homepage
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Exchange Homepage
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A high school education should serve as a passport to future opportunities.
A United States Presidential Commission recognized the need for Americans
to speak foreign languages and be knowledgeable of other countries.
In this way, the United States
would be able to compete in the global marketplace, the commission
said. This report inspired Morgan Park High School to began its Language
and International Studies Program.
Initiated in 1982, this program offers students the chance to learn
French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. Morgan Park's
program has identified the following goals: to help students achieve proficiency
in a foreign language; to attain cultural understanding necessary for
international communication; and to
develop the skills to pursue careers in the international arena. Students
who live in Morgan Park High School's attendance
boundaries may participate in the program, which also serves as Morgan Park's
options program. Students
may apply
to take the admissions
test while
they are in 8th grade, between November 15 and January 15 each academic
year. About 100 students from outside of Morgan Park's
attendance boundaries
will be accepted into the program each year. When
students are accepted for this program, they register for an academic program
that meets high school graduation requirements and the more rigorous college
entrance requirements. All of the classes will be Honors level or
above. This program emphasizes the study of English, foreign
languages and social studies as the core of the international studies
curriculum. It also gives students the opportunity to pursue mathematics and
sciences at the same time. One of the highlights of the program is a series of
student exchanges each year. Morgan Park participates in student exchanges with
schools in Austria, France, Italy and Spain on a regular basis. It also has
engaged in special student exchanges with schools in Israel, the Ivory Coast,
Japan and the Ukraine. Morgan Park is the only high school in the Chicago Public
School system that gives students the ongoing opportunity to practice their
language skills while living with families and attending schools in foreign
countries. All Morgan Park students participate in foreign exchanges when
students come to Chicago, live with the families of Morgan Park students and
attend classes at the high school. Other activities enhance the Language and
International Studies Program at Morgan Park: field trips to Chicago's ethnic
museums and international performances; guest speakers, including a special
International Speakers Day; participation in the Peace Corps Global Awareness
Program, including an essay contest with a trip to a Native American community
in the southwest United States awarded to the Morgan Park High School winner;
and Morgan Park Heritage Day, in which students, teachers and parents of various
ethnic backgrounds discuss their experiences. Exhibits from about 17 different
countries are on display on Heritage Day. Participation in the school's
International Studies Club is offered to those students who want to develop
leadership in international projects. Activities include international displays
and attendance at Chicago Council on Foreign Relations lectures. Students who
participate in Morgan Park's Language and International Studies Program will be
prepared to interact in the global society of the 21st century. For more
information, please contact the World Language and International Studies
Coordinator at the address
listed below.
- Ms. Edna Brown
- World Languages and International Studies Coordinator
- Morgan Park High School
- 1744 W. Pryor Ave.
- Chicago, IL 60643
- (773) 535-2550
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Last update: Wednesday, September 15, 2004
by rcoleman@iit.edu