Walter Payton College Preparatory High School

Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (WPCP) is a public 4–year magnet high school located in the Old Town neighborhood on the near-north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 2000, Payton is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. The school is named for Walter Payton, African-American football player for the Chicago Bears and humanitarian. Since 2019, Payton has been ranked the No. 1 public high school in the State of Illinois, and No. 4 in the United States, by U.S. News & World Report.[3]

Walter Payton College Preparatory High School
Address
1034 North Wells Street

Chicago
,
Illinois
60610

United States
Coordinates41.901389°N 87.634444°W / 41.901389; -87.634444
Information
Type
Motto"Courage, Character, Curiosity, Compassion"
Established2000
OversightChicago Public Schools
PrincipalFareeda J. Shabazz[1]
Grades9–12
GenderCoed
Number of students1,226 (2022–2023)[2]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)Navy Blue  
Orange  
Fight song"Go, Go, Go Grizzlies"
MascotGrizzlies
National rankingTop USA Magnet High School (4th)
Newspaper"The Paw Print"
Websitewpcp.org

Background

Payton opened in 2000 by the Chicago Public Schools, The school is named for Chicago Bears star player Walter Payton (1953–1999). In addition to the school being named for Payton, the school colors are blue and orange (the colors of the Chicago Bears) and bare his jersey number (34) throughout the identity of the school.[4] Payton is amongst one of the city's eleven selective enrollment high schools. [5] Payton is known for its advanced academic programs provided within an international model for teaching and learning.[6][7] Payton Concert Choir was one of eight United States choirs to travel to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[8]

Facilities

In May 2006, the Confucius Institute in Chicago was opened at Payton, as a partnership between Chicago Public Schools, the Office of Chinese Language Council International and Shanghai's East China Normal University. It is the only Confucius Institute in the nation to be housed in a high school.

Academics

Payton has been ranked the No. 1 public high school in the State of Illinois by U.S. News & World Report since 2019.[9] In 2015, Newsweek ranked it the top public high school in the state and No. 10 in the nation.[10]

In recent years, Payton also has been the most difficult in which to gain admission among Chicago's elite selective enrollment schools, with freshman applicants needing a minimum cutoff score of 898 out of 900 points to make the first cut for the 2020-21 school year.[11] In 2010, the school won the Intel School of Distinction awards in the categories of Excellence in Mathematics and Star Innovator for incorporating technology into classes, collaborative lesson and course planning, and use of Japanese Lesson Study.[12]

Demographics

As of the 2022–2023 school year, 37.6% of Payton's student body is White, 24.5% Asian, 24.4% Hispanic, 8.9% Black, and 4.6% Other. Low-income students make up 30.2% of Payton's student body. Payton has a 99% graduation rate.[13]

Athletics

Payton competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Payton varsity athletic teams are named the "Grizzlies." Payton's girls volleyball team has made three appearances in the IHSA Class 3A state finals, finishing fourth in 2009, 2011 and 2014.[14] The girls' varsity tennis team won state championships in 2018 and has placed in cities multiple times. Payton boys' cross country team has been in the state meet twice; 2021 (placing 7th) and 2022 (placing 6th).

Other information

On January 21, 2011, President Hu Jintao of China visited the school, where he saw the KAM and AP Chinese classes, and invited 20 faculty and students to China for the following summer.[15] In September 2013, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans to build a new annex behind the original building to house more students. The annex was completed and opened by the beginning of the 2016 school year. The annex features a new gym and a black box theater. The annex cost $17 million to build.[16]

Controversies

In 2014, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, then a first-time candidate for governor and resident of suburban Winnetka, Illinois, was forced to respond to reports on the campaign trail that he had used political clout to get one of his daughters admitted to Payton six years earlier.[17][18][19] Rauner, a venture capitalist who had a second residence in Chicago, initially denied the reports. However, it was later revealed that Rauner had called then-Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan to overturn his daughter's initial rejection for admission. In 2009, the Rauner Family Foundation donated $250,000 to the Payton Prep Initiative for Education, the largest donation the not-for-profit had received up to that point.[20][21]

2019 yearbook incident

In May 2019, then-principal Timothy Devine ordered all of the yearbooks for the 2018-2019 school year reprinted due to contents showing students displaying the "ok" sign with their fingers below the waist, with the intention of getting others to look. It was believed by school officials that the "ok" hand gesture was a symbol of white supremacy.[22][23][24] Reprinting of all of the yearbooks costed the administration $22,485.[25]

Racism/decline in Black enrollment

According to an October 2019 news article published by WBEZ, Payton had dealt with a number of racist incidents, including Black students being called the "N-word" and bananas being thrown at them. In the same article, then-principal Timothy Devine claimed that the incidents were a natural product of students from different backgrounds being brought together. Payton’s Black enrollment dropped from 25% of the student body in the 2008–2009 school year, to 11% in the 2018–2019 school year; proportionally, this equates to a 56% decline in Black student population.[26]

Devine stepped down to resume teaching and was replaced by Melissa Resh of Lake View High School beginning in the 2020-2021 school year. By May 2021, anonymous social media posts described the environment created by Resh’s administration as "a model of white supremacy culture."[27] Subsequent anonymous posts expressed lack of support given to the BIPOC community at Payton and Resh resigned at the end of academic year. She was replaced by Dr. Fareeda Shabazz-Anderson.[28]

References
  1. "School Pages - Payton". Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  2. "School Pages - Payton". Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  3. "Best High Schools in Illinois". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  4. "Evolution of the Bears colors". chicagobears.com. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  5. Lichtenstein, Walter (October 15, 2000). "Never Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Payton". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  6. "5 CPS High Schools Among Top 100 in Nation". news.wttw.com.
  7. "School Pages - Payton". Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  8. Walter Payton College Prep
  9. May, Ashley. "America's best high schools in 2019, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report". USA TODAY.
  10. Illinois, Reboot; process, ContributorA non-partisan organization dedicated to involving Illinois residents in the state's political (25 August 2015). "17 of the Best Illinois High School Ranked by Newsweek". HuffPost. {{cite web}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  11. "CPS Cutoff Scores". go.cps.edu. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  12. MarketWatch.com
  13. "School Pages - Payton". Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  14. "Records & History". www.ihsa.org.
  15. China’s President Hu Tours Walter Payton Prep « CBS Chicago
  16. "Newly Released Walter Payton College Prep Annex Plans Include Gym, Theater - Gold Coast - DNAinfo Chicago". Archived from the original on 2017-06-15. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  17. Hinz, Greg (24 April 2013). "Bruce Rauner clouted kid into Payton high school, sources say". Crain's Chicago Business.
  18. Novak, Tim (13 January 2014). "Rauner gave Payton $250K after daughter was admitted". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  19. Bogira, Steve (21 October 2014). "Bruce Rauner's ethical dilemma". Chicago Reader.
  20. Novak, Tim (13 January 2014). "Rauner gave Payton $250K after daughter was admitted". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  21. "Bruce Rauner defends donations to Walter Payton College Prep High School in Chicago | ABC7 Chicago | abc7chicago.com". ABC7 Chicago.
  22. "Payton College Prep reprinting yearbooks to remove photos of students making 'OK' sign, Officials at the top-rated high school opted to spend more than $22,000 to wipe photos of the gesture associated with white nationalism". May 29, 2012.
  23. "Walter Payton College Prep To Spend Over $22,000 On Reprinting Yearbooks". May 29, 2012.
  24. "Is the OK Sign Racist? Cubs Fan's Hand Gesture Sparks Outrage, Confusion". May 8, 2019.
  25. "Another Chicago-area high school will reprint yearbooks because of 'OK' sign photo controversy". Chicago Tribune. May 29, 2019.
  26. "Racial Issues Flare at Chicago's Elite Payton College Prep | WBEZ". www.wbez.org. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  27. Park, Alexis. "Melissa Resh resigns as principal following controversy". Payton Paw Print. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  28. Lavin, Kate. "Meet Payton's new Interim Principal, Dr. Fareeda Shabazz-Anderson". Payton Paw Print. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
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