Chi Prep And Innovations High School Partner

Chicago Prep Elite Sports and Entrepreneurship Academy and Innovations High school have joined in a partnership. PHOTO PROVIDED BY APPREY PR.
Chicago Prep Elite Sports and Entrepreneurship Academy and Innovations High school have joined in a partnership. PHOTO PROVIDED BY APPREY PR.

Chi Prep And Innovations High School Partner

By Tia Carol Jones

Chicago Prep Elite Sports and Entrepreneurship Academy and Innovations High school have joined in a partnership, which would enable Chi Prep students to get a well-rounded high school experience. The partnership began this school year.

Chi Prep was founded by Marcus Spencer in 2020. The high school is geared toward sports. Spencer said he started the school because students from the Chicago area were going to schools like Chi Prep in other states.

 Spencer said during the COVID-19 pandemic, student athletes were not able to engage in their sports because of safety guidelines. Chi Prep offers a fifth year of high school to give students an opportunity to become more mature before going to college, while they are gaining more experience in their sport.

“Chi Prep gives kids who live local the opportunity to participate in the prep school experience,” he said.

The initial goal of Chi Prep was to target elite athletes and help students on their basketball journey to get college scholarships, with the hope they would become professional basketball players. Spencer said he believes since the school was founded, it has met every goal.

When the school was founded, there were 11 students. Generally, a full basketball roster has 12-15 players. The goal is to give each student an opportunity to play games, get basketball minutes and improve their skills. This year, there are 11 students, which is manageable for Chi Prep currently. There is a dean who works directly with the players to ensure they have the classes they need, to ensure they are compliant with the NCAA guidelines and they have everything they need to get into college.

The partnership with Innovations High School allows Spencer and his staff to focus on the sports aspect and work with the students to get them into college and get them college scholarships, while Innovations works with the students on academics.

“It just gives our students the opportunity to have a real school experience, that’s the thing I like about Innovations. It has a lot of opportunities for them to join clubs,” Spencer said. He said with the partnership, the students have an opportunity to serve as leaders at the school.

Every student athlete who has come through the Chi Prep program is playing basketball somewhere, whether at a four-year University or a Junior College. All the students who completed the program who are playing have received a scholarship to play. Spencer said the program’s success comes from his vision and his experiences, which helped him cultivate what Chi Prep could become. He believes the program and brand can grow. It will take manpower to get to the 75 to 100 students in the program.

There are international student athletes in the program who are from London, Iceland and Lithuania. The basketball league that Chi Prep is part of plays games in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Jamaica and Canada. The students are able to receive exposure and be seen by coaches in other places. Spencer wants to expand into track and golf.

Tristan Ford, a Rockford native, is a senior at Chi Prep. He wanted to attend the program because he wanted to play in one of the best leagues in the country. He plays point guard. He is committed to the University of Murray State. Being at Chi Prep he is able to play more basketball. He wants to play in the NBA. This year, he has been working on being more consistent on his routine and prepare for college. Chi Prep has helped him with that a lot.

Spencer said there have been people in the community who have given their time and volunteered to advise the student athletes. Scottie Pippen is one of the professional basketball players who has talked to the students, as well as Sonny Parker. Spencer said the community has embraced Chi Prep and has recognized what the program is trying to do.

“We really want to expand the opportunities for kids to pursue their dreams in sports and make it a reality … We’re trying to get them to focus and get their minds conditioned to believe they can do it,” Spencer said.

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