School type Public secondary Closed 2015 CEEB code 140726 District Chicago Public Schools Color Gold | Opened 1972
2016 (re–opened) School district Chicago Public Schools Phone +1 773-535-1825 Grade Ninth grade | |
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Motto "New Century. New Needs. New Direction." Address 555 E 51st St, Chicago, IL 60615, USA Similar DuSable Leadership Academy, Kenwood Academy High Sch, Hyde Park Academy High Sch, Harper High School in, Little Black Pearl Workshop Profiles | ||
Walter Henri Dyett High School For The Arts (formerly known as Dyett Academic Center and commonly known as Dyett High School) is a public four–year arts high school located in the Washington Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school opened in 1972. Dyett is a part of the Chicago Public Schools system and is named for American violinist and music educator Walter Henri Dyett (1901–1969). The school became an arts high school for the 2016–17 school year.
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History
The school opened in September 1972 as a neighborhood middle school. In June 1998, The school graduated its last eighth grade class and transitioned into a neighborhood high school in fall of that year. By the 2002–03 school year, the school's enrollment was at 640. Dyett's drop–out rate rose over the years, hitting a high of 81% during the 2009–10 school year. With a graduation rate of 36.6%, The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Board of Education decided that Dyett would no longer accept incoming freshmen and would be phased out due to its drop–out rate and school's overall poor academic performance in November 2011. Dyett closed after the 2014–15 school year, with a graduating class of 13 seniors. After the school graduated its last class, community members and activists began a petition to re-open the school as a neighborhood global technology high school.
During late–August through mid–September in 2015, A group of education activists went on a hunger strike for over 19 days in an attempt to save the school, which was the only remaining open-access school serving Bronzeville. In September 2015, CPS announced that the school would open again as Dyett High School For The Arts, an open enrollment arts-focused neighborhood high school for the 2016–17 school year. Bronzeville resident and Michele Clark Magnet High School principal Beulah McLoyd was picked by the school board to serve as principal of Dyett in October 2015. The school will also include an innovation lab, which will offer training in technology for the Bronzeville/Washington Park community and nearby schools.
Athletics
Dyett competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and was a member of Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The school's sport teams are known as the Eagles. The boys' basketball were regional champions in 2006–07.