SelectED

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School is one of Chicago's most prestigious public high schools. Each year, approximately 10,000 students apply for 350 spots at the selective enrollment institution, making the school more difficult to get into than Harvard. Filmmaker Kayla McCormick's documentary follows several students as they navigate their senior year (at a school where excellence is expected in all pursuits), while also chronicling the efforts of prospective students who hope to enter Whitney's ranks. The students' racial and socioeconomic backgrounds are as diverse as their interests, but they all share an intense desire to succeed in their specialties while also being well-rounded citizens, from the top-ranked basketball prospect who stresses academics as he coaches younger kids, to the dancer who heads an afterschool program for disabled classmates. Their unflinching desire and optimism is heartwarming and infectious, although an intense pressure to be “the best” runs high at the school, and not all students can hack it. SelectED balances individual stories with a sharp indictment of Chicago's crumbling public school system, where a chasm exists between selective enrollment schools and other public high schools, with many of the latter struggling and underperforming (no middle ground seems to exists). The fierce competition for spots in top schools argues that parents and students alike are hungry for quality education across the board—a fact that seems lost on Chicago governance, at least based on the facts and testimonials here. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (P. Morehart)