Text Support Team

Diversity Accommodation Plan

Laura Nowak, Chris Zbasnik, Jordan Wankoff, & Osiris Alday

Diversity within Hamilton High School

Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, features extraordinarily diverse
communities. Throughout the 77 neighborhoods, dozens of cultures and languages animate
the city with some schools home to multiple languages. Hamilton High School reflects this
diversity. Our population of students includes
45.6
% of students who identify as Hispanic;
39.3 %
African American;
9.4 %

white;

and 3
.6 %
Asian
. Additionally
,2
.1 %
of our students
identify as other, such as Native American Hawaiian, Alaskan, American-Samoan and
multi-racial students.
Chart 1: Racial Demographics of Hamilton Students by Percentages

As with most public high schools, especially in urban communities, Hamilton High School
services students with special learning needs. Students from low socio-economic status
households as defined by qualification for free or reduced priced lunches represent 81

% of our student body. Additionally, students with diverse needs include 14 % of our
students with Individualized Education Plans to address learning and other disabilities, and
17 % of students who are English language learners.
Chart 2: Hamilton Students' Needs by Percentages

Despite the challenges presented by the students needs, Hamilton draws upon
phenomenal strengths. Our students have an attendance rate of almost 95 % with low
rates of chronic truancy and mobility. Our class sizes range from 17 to 24 students, with
much smaller student-teacher ratios in the special education and ELL instructional classes.
Over half of our teachers have a Masters Degree or higher, and all are licensed in their
fields of study. Our staff represents multiple cultures with many teachers bilingual or
multilingual. In addition to teachers who specialize in working with diverse learners, the
Tech Support Team is implementing this literacy intervention program to ensure that all
students are successful.