I believe in my heart that this is the best school in... the... nation.

I believe in my heart that this is the best school in... the... nation. By the end of this year you are gonna be leaders. You all are the future of this place. Whitney Young is loved because everyone wants to be here. Everybody wants to attend what is perceived to be the best. It's like one big movement. A competition to do well. We have 27 different AP courses, over 100 clubs... We are all high achieving students, all competing for good colleges, and the best teams... The building is buzzing with artists of various kinds. Students find their niche. And once they have their niche, they blossom... This year we have the number one basketball player in the country, Jahlil Okafor. In two years he will be playing basketball as a professional. and today he walks the halls of Whitney Young as just a regular student. Excellence is expected across the board here. Both in Sports and Academics. The high expectations come from our history. From a school that was absolutely ahead of it's time. In the 1970's Chicago was a very very segregated city. A lot of the neighborhood schools were segregated as well. The first Whitney Young Principal, Mr. Dawson, he had this vision of kids and faculty of different races and different ethnicities and that really really excited me. The neighborhood where the school was built had been decimated by riots. The first time I drove past I said, "They're gonna put a school here?" You could just walk two blocks over and pay for a cheap ***. We had to have a strong program. Winners at the Science Fair... at the Academic Decathlon // to convince parents to send their children here. Coach Slaughter: They built a fully integrated school that 38 years later has sustained the test of time. My name is Caleb and I am applying to Whitney Young. Even in a very good school you may not be getting the intellectual challenge that you are ready for... My son is an exceptional learner. When we look in our neighborhood I don't see any options for him. Here at Whitney Young we are not afraid of the word gifted. Whitney Young will put him in a great place so he can have the best future. These are my babies. I look good for having 2200 babies! 2200 students and just a little bit of pouch. But it's okay. These are very coveted seats. People are doing everything they possibly can to get in. There is a really small chance that you will get into Whitney Young. The cut off for WY is like 875 out of 900 and that's crazy! So much hope lost if you get one B. What's unfair about the system is not how hard it is to get in. The problem is that these opportunities aren't available to anyone who wants them. On the South Side where I live. There is a lot of violence, a lot of my friends became pregnant at a young age. A lot of the guys became gang bangers. When you come from a low income area. Education is definitely my ticket out. Here at Whitney Young, we still deal with poverty, we still deal with students who are coming from very violent neighborhoods in the city. And they know that this school is an oasis for them. Kenner: We are having more issues with mental health for our students this year than ever. The first day that you enter here, you have to hit the ground running. Most students are able to adapt. But it sometimes becomes overwhelming. We grew up being the smartest kids in our classes. We got thrown in this environment with all the other smartest kids and it's not so clear anymore. This idea of competition.... where does it ever stop? There are 500 people lined up out there waiting to take your place. What is it that you are passionate about? What is it that you would like to become? As parents, it's our job is to make sure they get there. The margin of error is this thin. It could be one silly mistake that gets you out of Whitney Young. The majorty of the parents' goal is to get their child into a top tier schools. And so the pressure for me is on as a principal. Within Whitney Young we allow learning to happen in so many different ways. And that's what wonderful. I want every student that I teach to know that every other student next to them had to fight to get into that seat.