New Disney High School to Offer 250 New Spots for Freshmen in 2013

IRVING PARK — High-achieving Disney II Magnet School now aims to replicate its success at the high school level, having received approval from the Board of Education to add grades 9 through 12.

All 250 slots in the initial freshman class at the new Disney high school — at a yet to be determined location — will be open to new students starting in the fall.

Students enrolled in elementary classes at the current school will be guaranteed acceptance to the high school if they choose, school officials said.

Disney II, which opened in 2008 as an elementary program, earlier got approval to add 100 spots for seventh graders at its current location at 3815 N. Kedvale Ave. starting in the fall. That will include 50 current sixth graders at the school and 50 new students from a lottery.

Students seeking to attend the high school eventually will be admitted according to CPS magnet school policies: siblings of current students when positions are available, 40 percent of any remaining seats from within neighborhood boundaries, and the rest by lottery distributed evenly across CPS' four socio-economic tiers.

Disney II High School will focus on college readiness, with a commitment to arts and technology, targeting average ACT scores of 23 and a college acceptance rate of 100 percent.

Students will earn at least one professional certification of their choice in the areas of Fine Arts, Culinary Arts or Technology.

Elementary students will continue to report to the school's current location, while officials will shop for an existing Chicago Public Schools facility for the high school, preferably situated near the Disney II campus.

The Board, which approved the proposal Wednesday, will have final say on the location, which is expected to be announced in the spring.

Disney II elementary's performance rating is Level 1 (excellent standing). More than 90 percent of students meet or exceed state standards in reading and math, and 100 percent meet or exceed state standards in science.

Application and enrollment information for the high school is expected to be available within the next two months.

The high school will be led by a shared Disney II administrative team.

Disney II is a "replication" school, a 2007 initiative of Walt Disney Magnet School, 4140 N. Marine Dr.