William Jones College Preparatory High School
CPS choice · 9-12
At a glance
On the 5Essentials survey, Instruction was rated ‘Very Strong’ (5Essentials spring 2024 survey - benchmarked levels relative to Illinois statewide, spring 2013, not percentages), while school leadership and teacher collaboration were rated ‘Weak’. 94% of teachers stayed from one year to the next - above what's typical for CPS high schools (ISBE Report Card 2025). In 2025–26, 2,953 applications were recorded for 82 offers (GoCPS, 2025–26 school year - the most recent seat data SchoolNav has).
- Cultural fit
- 41% of students were chronically absent in 2025 - below what's typical for CPS high schools (ISBE Report Card 2025).
- Academic fit
- Instruction was rated ‘Very Strong’ on the 5Essentials survey (5Essentials spring 2024 survey - benchmarked levels relative to Illinois statewide, spring 2013, not percentages). On the 5Essentials survey, school leadership was rated ‘Weak’ and teacher collaboration was rated ‘Weak’.
- Social-emotional fit
- The school’s supportive environment was rated ‘Strong’ on the 5Essentials survey (5Essentials spring 2024 survey - benchmarked levels relative to Illinois statewide, spring 2013, not percentages).
Computed from published data with its source and year on every clause - a description, never a grade.
Basics
CPS-published · verified Nov 2024
- Address
- 700 S STATE ST
- Neighborhood
- Loop
- Phone
- (773)534-8600
- Hours
- Unknown - not verified yet
- Before and after care
Supplemental care not found.
SchoolNav searched the school’s website and the main care providers’ pages in Sep 2026 and found no before or after care. Some programs are never posted online, so ask the school office or on a tour.
- Arts and creative
Drawing, Film and Video, Jewelry, Modern/Hip-Hop Dance, Painting, Plays/Acting, Step Dance, Theater, Band/Orchestra, Crochet, Ethnic/Folk Dance, Knitting, Pottery, Student Art Club, Troupe Performances, Graphic Design, Student Music Club, Violin/Strings, Art Studio, Ceramics, Dance, Guitar, Media and Production Workshops, Musicals, Photography, Sewing, Talent Show, Web Design, Artesian Crafts, Choir/Chorus, Drama, Improv, Mixed Media, Piano/Keyboard
From the school’s CPS profile, for the 2026-27 school year. Checked Sep 2026. Offerings change each year, so confirm on a tour.
- Sports
Bowling, Boys' Golf, Boys' Tennis, Cheerleading, Football, Girls' Basketball, Girls' Soccer, Girls' Volleyball, Pom-Pon, Step Dance, Wrestling, Boys' Baseball, Boys' Lacrosse, Boys' Track, Chess, Girls' Softball, Girls' Water Polo, Tennis, Baseball, Boys' Basketball, Boys' Soccer, Boys' Volleyball, Conditioning and Fitness, Girls' Swimming, Basketball, Boys' Water Polo, Dance, Girls' Golf, Soccer, Boys' Swimming, Girls' Track, Softball, Volleyball, Flag football
From the school’s CPS profile and its athletics pages, for the 2026-27 school year. Checked Sep 2026. Offerings change each year, so confirm on a tour.
- Climate survey
- Involved families
- Neutral
- Supportive environment
- Strong
- Ambitious instruction
- Very Strong
- Effective leaders
- Weak
- Collaborative teachers
- Weak
- Safety (student-reported)
- Weak
- Overall organization
- Moderately Organized
UChicago 5Essentials levels from the spring 2024 survey (CPS Progress Reports SY2425, verified 2026-09-25) - benchmarked categories relative to Illinois statewide, spring 2013, not percentages. A school can answer mostly positively and still rate below the benchmark typical.
5Essentials - the latest survey in detail
Classroom Rigor, Expectations for Postsecondary Education, and Rigorous Study Habits are rated above the CPS average; Instructional Leadership, Quality Professional Development, and Teacher-Principal Trust are rated below it this year.
From the 2026 CPS 5Essentials survey (25-26). Scores are benchmarked 1–99 (not percentages) - higher is stronger, and each is shown against the CPS average that same year. This is a newer survey on a different benchmark than the component levels above, so the two aren’t directly comparable.
Show all measures ▸Hide measures ▾
Ambitious Instruction
81 ▲ above the CPS average (60)- Academic Press· students-reported87 ▲ above the CPS average (55)
- English Instruction· students-reported89 ▲ above the CPS average (65)
- Math Instruction· students-reported80 ▲ above the CPS average (69)
- Quality of Student Discussion· teachers-reported66 ▲ above the CPS average (50)
Supportive Environment
82 ▲ above the CPS average (56)- Expectations for Postsecondary Education· teachers-reported93 ▲ above the CPS average (56)
- Safety· students-reported71 ▲ above the CPS average (49)
- School-Wide Future Orientation· students-reported85 ▲ above the CPS average (62)
- Student-Teacher Trust· students-reported78 ▲ above the CPS average (56)
Collaborative Teachers
41 ▼ below the CPS average (52)- Collaborative Practices· teachers-reported56 ▼ below the CPS average (63)
- Collective Responsibility· teachers-reported37 ▼ below the CPS average (52)
- Quality Professional Development· teachers-reported26 ▼ below the CPS average (55)
- School Commitment· teachers-reported50 ▲ above the CPS average (43)
- Teacher-Teacher Trust· teachers-reported37 ▼ below the CPS average (49)
Effective Leaders
31 ▼ below the CPS average (52)- Instructional Leadership· teachers-reported19 ▼ below the CPS average (56)
- Program Coherence· teachers-reported27 ▼ below the CPS average (52)
- Teacher Influence· teachers-reported55 ▲ above the CPS average (50)
- Teacher-Principal Trust· teachers-reported21 ▼ below the CPS average (48)
Involved Families
60 ▲ above the CPS average (50)- Parent Influence on Decision Making in Schools· teachers-reported50 ▬ about the CPS average (53)
- Parent Involvement in School· teachers-reported70 ▲ above the CPS average (49)
- Teacher-Parent Trust· teachers-reported61 ▲ above the CPS average (50)
Supplemental measures
Additional survey topics UChicago reports outside the five core measures.
- Academic Engagement· students-reported82 ▲ above the CPS average (70)
- Academic Personalism· students-reported80 ▲ above the CPS average (58)
- Classroom Disruptions· teachers-reported62 ▲ above the CPS average (42)
- Classroom Rigor· students-reported96 ▲ above the CPS average (57)
- Course Clarity· students-reported82 ▲ above the CPS average (54)
- Emotional Health· students-reported85 ▲ above the CPS average (57)
- Human & Social Resources in the Community· students-reported51 ▲ above the CPS average (38)
- Importance of High School for the Future· students-reported92 ▲ above the CPS average (67)
- Innovation· teachers-reported38 ▼ below the CPS average (56)
- Inquiry-Based Science Instruction· students-reported69 ▲ above the CPS average (59)
- Parent Supportiveness· students-reported63 ▲ above the CPS average (41)
- Reflective Dialogue· teachers-reported41 ▼ below the CPS average (61)
- Rigorous Study Habits· students-reported91 ▲ above the CPS average (57)
- School Connectedness· students-reported78 ▲ above the CPS average (58)
- School Safety· students-reported77 ▲ above the CPS average (57)
- Socialization of New Teachers· teachers-reported26 ▼ below the CPS average (40)
- Student Peer Relationships· students-reported93 ▲ above the CPS average (65)
- Student Responsibility· teachers-reported62 ▲ above the CPS average (38)
- Teacher Safety· teachers-reported67 ▲ above the CPS average (48)
UChicago Consortium — the 2026 cycle (school year 25-26) is re-benchmarked to spring 2024 (SY25+); it is NOT level-comparable to the spring-2013-benchmarked component levels shown elsewhere.
Programs (5)
| Program | Entry grades | How seats are offered | Test required | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-Engineering Career & technical Your child must take the HSAT to apply. | 9 | Point-based | Yes | CPS-published · verified Oct 2026 |
Pre-Law Career & technical Your child must take the HSAT to apply. | 9 | Point-based | Yes | CPS-published · verified Oct 2026 |
Selective Enrollment High School Selective enrollment Your child must take the HSAT to apply. | 9 | Screening | Yes | CPS-published · verified Oct 2026 |
Significantly Modified Curriculum w/ Intensive Supports (IEP) Special education | 9 | Lottery | No | CPS-published · verified Oct 2026 |
Significantly Modified Curriculum w/ Moderate Supports (IEP) Special education | 9 | Lottery | No | CPS-published · verified Oct 2026 |
Cutoff history
What it took to receive an initial offer here in each cycle CPS has published - by tier for Selective Enrollment, and on the citywide points line for points-based Choice programs. History is context - it can’t predict a future cutoff.
What is knowable right now
This cycle’s cutoffs are not published yet. CPS posts cutoff scores only after offers go out. The first 640-scale cutoffs will exist after offers go out in spring 2027.
CPS-published · verified Jul 2026
High school offers go out to every family on the same day: February 12, 2027.
CPS-published · verified Oct 2026
Pre-Engineering
| Cycle | Min points | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 832 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
| 2025-26 | 825 | CPS-published · verified Oct 2025 |
| 2024-25 | 760.5 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
Minimum point totals from CPS’s published initial offers - points-based Choice programs use one citywide points line (no tiers). Waitlist movement can lower what it actually took, and cutoffs move year to year. Within the current-test cycles above, the minimum has shifted by as much as 64.5 points from one cycle to the next - treat any single year as a snapshot, not a target.
Pre-Law
| Cycle | Min points | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 775 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
| 2025-26 | 814.5 | CPS-published · verified Oct 2025 |
| 2024-25 | 752 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
Minimum point totals from CPS’s published initial offers - points-based Choice programs use one citywide points line (no tiers). Waitlist movement can lower what it actually took, and cutoffs move year to year. Within the current-test cycles above, the minimum has shifted by as much as 62.5 points from one cycle to the next - treat any single year as a snapshot, not a target.
Selective Enrollment High School
| Cycle | Rank min | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 880 | 766 | 825 | 834 | 868 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
| 2025-26 | 880 | 775 | 825 | 834 | 864 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
| 2024-25 | 880 | 761 | 807 | 817.5 | 866 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
| 2023-24 | 895 | 821 | 823.5 | 875 | 890 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
| 2022-23 | 895 | 809 | 853 | 868 | 891 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
| Before the 2022-23 cycle CPS used a different admissions test - the rows below are shown for context only and are never mixed into the likelihood band. | ||||||
| 2021-22 | 889 | 789 | 846 | 859 | 877 | CPS-published · verified Dec 2021 |
| 2020-21 | 891 | 799 | 845 | 855 | 883 | CPS-published · verified May 2021 |
| 2019-20 | 891 | 773 | 846 | 864 | 883 | CPS-published · verified Mar 2022 |
| 2018-19 | 892 | 801 | 844 | 867 | 887 | CPS-published · verified Apr 2018 |
| 2017-18 | 889 | 771 | 823 | 861 | 883 | CPS-published · verified Jul 2017 |
| 2013-14 | 877 | 757 | 811 | 840 | 867 | CPS-published · verified Mar 2013 |
| 2011-12 | 880 | 780 | 810 | 847 | 865 | CPS-published · verified Jan 2012 |
Minimum point totals from CPS’s published initial offers - waitlist movement can lower what it actually took, and cutoffs move year to year. Within the current-test cycles above, a tier’s minimum has shifted by as much as 60 points from one cycle to the next - treat any single year as a snapshot, not a target.
Local School Council
CPS-published· verified Oct 2026The Local School Council is a group of parents, staff, and neighbors who help run this school. They vote on the budget and the school plan. Their meetings are open to the public, so you can go and listen.
Next meetings
- Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, January 13, 2027 at 6:00 PM
CPS lists the date and time. Ask the school office where the meeting will be held.
Members for 2026 to 2028
- Kerry R Dolan · Principal
- Baiju Malde · Parent
- John Hiltz · Parent
- Samuel Finkelstein · Parent
- Kevin Gallick · Parent
- Ruslana Friedman · Parent
- Jana Grabarek · Parent
- Dominique Dallas · Community member
- Joshua Kiggins · Community member
- Tory Waterman · Teacher
- Christina Moore · Teacher
- Troy Hilbrands · School staff (non-teaching)
- Mariella M Herman · Student
- Priyanka Malhotra · Student
- Havyn M Logan · Student
CPS keeps the official list of council meetings and members. See the CPS council list.
Parent questions & conversation
What parents and people who know this school are asking, answering, and talking about - their own words, experiences and opinions rather than verified facts.
Parent notes on this school are visible to signed-in Chicago families. Sign in to read and ask.
SchoolNav is not affiliated with CPS. Details change - each fact above shows when it was last verified. Application decisions should always be confirmed in GoCPS.