“We will aspire to inspire excellence.” 

Our rally cry this school year at DRW College Prep has set the tone for how our staff will inspire our Cheetahs to display excellence in and outside of our building. As part of that, we’re kicking off the 2022-2023 school year with a ton of new and returning things. Check out some of the new, exciting updates at DRW:

Tina Ellis is proud to be the new principal at DRW College Prep. Born and raised on the East Coast, Ms. Ellis considers herself a woman of faith and family. As the daughter of immigrants, she is passionate about immigration reform and equipping students with the skills they need to complete college. Ms. Ellis has worked in education for over two decades in various capacities. Before coming to Noble in 2019, she taught in Boston, Gary, Hammond, and Chicago. During her time in education, Ms. Ellis received recognition for the Core Value Award from Noble Schools in 2020. She also received the Outstanding Educator Award in 2019 and A Disciplined Life Award in 2015.

Students are thrilled to have Ms. Ellis here with us this school year.

“Ms. Ellis being in the hallways during transition periods and also willing to interact with us during anytime of the day is great. To have our principal present in a lot of spaces is always great!” Jemaria Brooks, a DRW sophomore, said.

DRW is also offering one new advancement placement courses and two new honors courses this year – ranging from AP Microeconomics to Honors African American Literature. We’re excited to see the amazing opportunities for our scholars to gain knowledge and college credit through these courses. 

“I asked to be placed into AP Microeconomics because I know colleges would like to see more rigorous classes on my transcript, and also I think learning about economics is pretty interesting,” Kyejuana Gamble, a DRW senior, said, “I hope my experience is great.”

This year, Thrive Chicago is bringing a new Intro to Urban Education course to DRW.

Thrive Chicago is a local non-profit organization that is committed to breaking down systemic barriers to achieve equity for young people and communities. They steward the implementation of the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative in Chicago – which is part of Thrive’s broader strategy to work collectively to address and eliminate inequities for boys and young men of color. This class is a part of their MBK work.

In the class, students will be learning about the socioeconomic, sociocultural, and sociopolitical factors that influence the complexities of both education and identity. Thrive Chicago created the curriculum to educate about the factors that contribute to the low percentage rates of African American males exploring careers in education.

Lashaun Crosby, Dean of College at DRW and instructor of the course, said, “It brings me great joy and pride to teach this course as a Black male educator, certified to teach in the state of Illinois. Teaching these young men has resurfaced the initial passion that I felt when I was first introduced to the profession. I hope to ignite a fire within these young men to pursue careers in education in order to bring about change within the communities that need it the most.”

Students are also excited about the course.

“It feels liberating to have a Black male educator and be surrounded by my fellow male peers working and collaborating on ideas and theory to support our critical thinking on self-awareness and identity,” DRW senior, Maki Mcall, said.

At DRW, we are constantly working to improve our student experience and one of the ways is bringing more enrichment and sports programs. This year, the softball program will return after six long years of being absent from DRW. We are thrilled we have been granted the opportunity to showcase our talent and compete for the Noble League Championship this year. 

“I think that having more options for students to find their interest outside of the classroom is important before going to college, so that they can better understand what their future career choices may be,” DRW student athlete, Iyonna Spells, said,“I also believe that this softball program specifically will allow our female scholars to gain more knowledge on a sport that is not offered in many inner city schools.”

Visit DRW’s social media pages to see more about their opportunities for scholars: