Richton Park, IL—(ENEWSPF0)—ABC7 Chicago will conduct a “Friday Flyover” at Southland College Prep Charter High School, Richton Park, Illinois, throughout its “Morning Show” on Friday, September 27. Watch for students from the school 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., followed by a Live Streaming interview at 7:10 a.m.
Anchor Diane Pathieu, producer Darah Languido, and a team of ABC7 Chicago photographers will be on-site to conduct interviews. The team will capture scenes of Southland’s choir, broadcast studio, dance group, Kappa League Steppers, and speech team. Look for cheerleaders, the marching band, other groups, the school’s Commons, the 200-seat Performing Arts Center, and the multi-purpose field house.
“The entire Southland family, students, faculty, administrators, and our parents who will transport their children to the campus by 4 a.m. are truly energized by this unique opportunity to showcase the school’s academics, arts, and athletics,” said Dr. Blondean Y. Davis, founding CEO.
Richton Park Mayor will be On-Site.
School officials said Richton Park’s Mayor, Rick Reinbold, whose office is just across the road, plans to be on-site.
The broadcast will profile Southland’s senior class as they prepare to follow the school’s tradition of all class members earning acceptance to college. Southland’s first 11 graduating classes garnered scholarship offers totaling more than $400 million.
These colleges and universities accepted graduates from the school:
- all of the top 50 national universities,
- all eight Ivy League schools,
- every major public Illinois university
- and the 50 top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Shortly after sunrise, as the “Morning Show” closes, the ABC7Chicago helicopter will arrive overhead. It will fly over students and the Southland College Prep marching band performing in formation on the school’s parking lot.
“Exemplary” Designation from ISBE Since 2018
Southland College Prep is one of five Chicago-area high schools featured in this fall’s ABC7 Chicago Flyover series. It is the only charter high school in the state to earn the Illinois State Board of Education’s highest exemplary designation since the honor began in 2018.
The 14-year-old charter school, whose enrollment the ISBE caps at 600, serves a primarily African American population in Rich Township District 227. Students compete in a well-publicized public lottery for seats in each year’s freshman class. Southland’s rigorous college prep curriculum strongly emphasizes math, science, technology, language, and the arts.
