Walter Payton College Preparatory High School

Walter Payton College Preparatory High School is Chicago's newest city-wide selective enrollment high school. Payton Prep serves a student body which is approximately 30 percent African-American, 30 percent Anglo, 30 percent Latino, 6% Asian and 1% Native American. Our motto, "We Nurture Leaders", guides the Payton community in all areas of teaching and learning and inspires a rigorous academic program for all students in a technology-rich learning environment. Walter Payton believes in the potential of all students to learn, strive and excel. An integral part of the Payton Prep experience is making meaningful connections with the area's museums, cultural institutions and universities.

Payton Prep offers a unique Math, Science and World Language curriculum. In language, Payton's offerings include Chinese, Japanese, Latin, French and Spanish which all support and enhance a global perspective. The state of the art science labs are used to teach Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, up to Advanced Placement levels, as well as Earth Science and Astronomy. The mathematics department emphasizes the use of technology, with heavy use of computers (Geometer's Sketchpad, the Statistics package Fathom, and Mathematica) as well as calculators that are both Graphical and Symbolic manipulators. We offer Advanced Placement courses in Calculus and Statistics, and upper level courses in Group Theory and Non-Euclidean Geometry.

Coursework is project-based and inter-disciplinary in all core subject areas. Video-conferencing opportunities are scheduled throughout the school year. College credit courses are available through partnerships with universities in the area. A unique combination of modified and block scheduling allows for deeper investigation and meaningful activities in all classrooms. All courses are offered at the Honors or Advanced Placement levels, and along with our seminar program, challenge students through a wide variety of academic experiences.