William R. Harper High School's Marcus Williams participated in the 2010 Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education Conference Jump Start Business Plan Competition. In competition with 10 Chicago area high schools and 15 finalists, Williams won first place and was awarded monetarily for his presentation of his Williams Cleaning Services business idea.

Class of 2010 program grads include, top photo, from left: Amber Gordon, Alicia Cifton, Santanna Benford, Lanai Richardson, Shelicia Young, Shamari Shoter, Dyandrea Wells, (kneeling) Leroy Johnson. Defender/Worsom Robinson

Christopher Griffin is the school’s first Posse Scholar. The Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential that may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes.

Pictured are the 8th grade winners of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's Anti-Drug Poster Contest. Sitting, from left: Elizabeth Pender and Arielle Thomas both from Calvary Academy (South Holland), Ryan Sanchez, St. Daniel the Prophet (Chicago), Cara Horan, St. Monica Academy (Chicago), and Arielle Thomas, Calvary Academy (South Holland). Standing, from left: Jim Rose, ABC 7 Sports Anchor; State's Attorney Alvarez; Julie Chavez, Bank of America; and Brian Sexton, Bureau Chief, State's Attorney's Narcotics Prosecutions Section. Photo/Courtesy Cook County State's Attorney's Office

Tyler Traywick is a freshman at Westinghouse High School and considers himself a staunch science fair competitor. With his 4.5 GPA, Traywick ranks seventh in his class of nearly 300.

Left to right: Corliss High School Assistant Principal Latanza Boarden, Austin Polytechnical Academy Principal William Gerstein, Walgreens Director of Community Affairs John Gremer, Corliss High School Junior Ronald Johnson, Austin Polytechnical Academy Junior Shamaine Pryor, AIDS Foundation of Chicago Policy Associate Pete Subkoviak and CPS Office of Specialized Services Coordinated School Health Specialist Ira Rounsaville.

Senior Marcella Hill is the valedictorian of the Morgan Park High School Class of 2010. She has an unweighted GPA of 3.96/4.0 and earned a 25 on the ACT.

Chicago-area students, part of the Safety Net Works Youth Coalition, questioned media, political and mental health panelists about the city's violence woes and obtaining more positive coverage from news outlets during the May 1 youth town hall meeting held at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Funds left over from Chicago's failed 2016 Olympic bid will help finance a quarter of a million programs this summer, aimed at keeping youth safe and busy during their summer break from school.

Students from Urban Prep Academy in Springfield with State Sen. Mattie Hunter, center, and school founder Tim King, left of Hunter. One hundred percent of the school’s grads are headed to four-year colleges and universities.