The History of Manley

This building was opened in April 1927, as the Hugh Manley Junior High School. In July 1933, the Manley Junior High School was reorganized into a Senior High School with an elementary school housed within the building. The two school levels functioned together for ten years. In 1943, the elementary school moved to another location and the senior high school operated alone in the building until January 1944. At this time, the U.S. Navy took over the facility to develop programs designed for and to aid in the war effort. The high school students were transferred to neighboring schools, such as Marshall, Harrison, and Farragut. The Navy occupied the building through the end of World War II.

In January 1946, the school became a trade and vocational high school, better known today as Cregier Vocational High School. The trade school was relocated in September 1957 and Manley was once again made into an elementary school for grades kindergarten through 6th, and was also used to house an upper grade center for 7th and 8th grades. In June 1969, the elementary school was phased out and in its place a branch of Marshall High School was established. In June 1973, the Board of Education designated Manley as a Senior High School and approved phasing out the upper grade center. The last eighth graders graduated in August 1975. The new school year witnessed Manley as a senior high school encompassing grades 9 through 12. The first senior high school graduating class left Manley in June 1976. At this point in time, the school population had risen to 1,830 from 990 students in 1973-1974.

Manley High School was designated as a General High School in June 1973, and began operating as such in September 1973. At the turn of the century, with several community partnerships such as Bell Laboratories, Ryerson Steel, and Operation PUSH, Manley focused on preparing its students for the work force and became Manley Career and Preparatory Community Academy High School.

Today, Manley Career Academy High School, in partnership with CPS' Career and Technical Education program, formerly Education-to-Careers (ETC), continues to prepare students for their lives beyond the classroom by equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in post-secondary education, advanced career training or immediate entry into jobs with a meaningful career path. After students have successfully completed their first year of high school, students will choose one of the CTE programs in which to participate.

In 2006, Manley Career Academy debuted a Freshman Academy to serve the needs of our incoming freshman students. The following year, Manley became a part of the federal Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) initiative, designed to provide meaningful, personalized learning experiences to all students and improve academic achievement at large public high schools. In 2007, in addition to the Freshman Academy, Team BE and Team RISE were created within Manley. Currently all students belong to one of three Smaller Learning Communities, in addition to enrolling in a CTE concentration.