Loyola University Chicago

Community Relations

archive

Loyola Continues Successful Partnership with Senn High School

Loyola Continues Successful Partnership with Senn High School

LUC/SENN Partnership – February, 2015

The Senn High School Partnership focuses on three key areas: college admissions and retention, support for Senn academic programs and support for Loyola academic programs. There have been many accomplishments to date, many which are provided below.

College Admissions and Retention

  1. Loyola University Chicago has admitted 49 Senn students to next year’s incoming freshman class.  Of these, 12 have been admitted to Arrupe Junior College, eight have been admitted to the Bridge Program.  In April, Loyola will award five Senn Scholarships on a competitive basis; the scholarships will cover all unmet needs, including on-campus housing.
  2. Recent Senn student applicants and admissions:

Fall 2013 – 11 admits, two enrollees

Fall 2014 – 11 admits, eight enrollees

  • Loyola offered 11 scholarships to cover all unmet needs

Fall 2015 – to date 49 total admits (29 direct, eight bridge, 12 Aruppe)

  • Loyola will offer five Senn Scholars Awards (similar process to Cristo Rey)
  1. Senn graduates at Loyola are receiving support through the Office of First Year Experience intended to ensure academic success and four-year degree completion.  Support includes: a dedicated advisor who meets with each Senn graduate monthly, weekly facilitated study sessions, preferential access to work study and tutoring opportunities, and retreats and special program addressing key skills and knowledge for college success.
  2. Undergraduate admissions provided extra support to Senn seniors including additional information sessions, campus tours, and a workshop discussing successful strategies for admissions and scholarship interviews.

Supporting Senn Academic Programs

  1. Ongoing Loyola involvement across many units – Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Biology, Chemistry, School of Communication, School of Social Work, School of Education, Institute for Environmental Studies, University Libraries, Admissions.
  2. Departments of Biology and Chemistry collaborated to pilot a summer science lab internship program last summer with funds from the National Science Foundation and Loyola University Chicago Provost’s office.  Last summer, three Senn juniors were paid interns in two Loyola science labs, assisting in lab research projects.  Several proposals have been submitted to expand this program to six Senn students on an annual basis.
  3. School of Communication has delivered and started installation of a broadcast studio and digital media lab at Senn.  The equipment, totaling over $30,000, was purchased with a McCormick Foundation Grant.  The studio will serve as the hub for the Digital Journalism program and a new documentary film class to be offered next year.
  4. Senn is a key partner in the School of Education’s Chicago Community Trust “Language Matters” grant project, which provides Senn teachers and administrators with resources, professional development, and cross-school collaboration opportunities to more effectively teach students learning English language.
  5. Building on the IB curriculum, the Pulitzer Center is connecting Senn students via the Everyday Africa program, with an IB school in Mombasa, Kenya.  The Pulitzer Center has also organized four events at Senn where visiting international journalists have met directly with Senn students to discuss their profession and major world events.
  6. Loyola University Chicago libraries hosted a session for approximately 50 Senn students providing an orientation about how to conduct library research. 
  7. Loyola’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability hosted over 70 Senn Global Environmental Studies students for a day in October to meet with undergraduates, hear presentations from faculty, tour the IES facilities, and take part in a Q&A session about careers in Environmental Science.  With support from the IES, Senn has been accepted into the CPS pilot program for school composting, which will be run by Senn students. 
  8. Students from the IB Theory of Knowledge class visited the exhibit “Race: Are We So Different” at the Illinois Holocaust Museum.  They also toured the museum.  The visit was coordinated by the School of Education.  Given Loyola’s support for the exhibit, the museum provided free admission for Senn students and reimbursed the school transportation costs.
  9. Eight Loyola undergraduates serve as volunteer after-school tutors at Senn, and two others have been hired through the Gear Up program. 
  10. Professor Dan Killela and his lab assistants are available to assist Senn science teachers with classroom lab experiments.  Senn teachers have taken up the offer at a rate of roughly once a month since October.
  11. Approximately 250 Senn students have taken Loyola campus tours since June.
  12. With support from Brigid Schultz, Senn is preparing four applications for dual credit recognition from Loyola.  Since Senn is the first CPS school to take part, Dr. Schultz and Principal Lofton have been collaborating to meet the CPS guidelines for dual credit programs.

Senn's support for Loyola Programs

  1. Approximately 50 School of Education students and faculty at Senn throughout the week work directly with faculty and students.
  2. Senn hosted three Loyola student teachers, as well as two more in the current spring semester.