Willa Cather Elementary School
CPS choice · PK,K-8
At a glance
31% of students with IEPs spend most of the school day in general classrooms - below what's typical for CPS elementary schools (ISBE Report Card 2025). In 2024–25, 5 applications were recorded for 0 offers (GoCPS, 2024–25 school year - the most recent seat data SchoolNav has).
- Cultural fit
- Family involvement was rated ‘Weak’ on the 5Essentials survey (5Essentials spring 2024 survey - benchmarked levels relative to Illinois statewide, spring 2013, not percentages).
- Academic performance
- 21% of students met or exceeded standards on the 2025 IAR - in the middle 50% of CPS elementary schools with published results (ISBE Report Card 2025). Adjusted for low-income share, results sit in the middle 50% of CPS schools with published IAR results (adjusted view, disclosed method - ISBE Report Card 2025).
- Academic fit
- Average class size is 21.5; about 9.8 students per teacher, computed from all-teacher staffing (ISBE Report Card 2025). 83% of teachers stayed from one year to the next - about what's typical for CPS elementary schools (ISBE Report Card 2025).
Computed from published data with its source and year on every clause - a description, never a grade. How the adjusted view works
Basics
- Address
- 2908 W WASHINGTON BLVD
- Neighborhood
- East Garfield Park
- Phone
- (773)534-6780
- Hours
- Unknown - not verified yet
- Website
- https://cather.cps.edu
- Climate survey
- Involved families
- Weak
- Supportive environment
- Neutral
- Ambitious instruction
- Neutral
- Effective leaders
- Neutral
- Collaborative teachers
- Neutral
- Safety (student-reported)
- Very Weak
- Overall organization
- Partially Organized
UChicago 5Essentials levels from the spring 2024 survey (CPS Progress Reports SY2425, verified 2026-09-16) - benchmarked categories relative to Illinois statewide, spring 2013, not percentages. A school can answer mostly positively and still rate below the benchmark typical.
Full 2024 report (UChicago)- the survey these levels come from·2026 report- newer survey, new benchmark
5Essentials - the latest survey in detail
Socialization of New Teachers, Collaborative Practices, and Quality Professional Development are rated above the CPS average; School Safety, Student Peer Relationships, and Student Responsibility 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
55 ▬ about the CPS average (56)- Academic Press· students-reported64 ▲ above the CPS average (53)
- English Instruction· students-reported57 ▬ about the CPS average (59)
- Math Instruction· students-reported52 ▼ below the CPS average (57)
- Quality of Student Discussion· teachers-reported47 ▼ below the CPS average (53)
Supportive Environment
50 ▬ about the CPS average (51)- Academic Personalism· students-reported56 ▲ above the CPS average (51)
- Peer Support for Academic Work· students-reported57 ▲ above the CPS average (53)
- Safety· students-reported42 ▼ below the CPS average (48)
- Student-Teacher Trust· students-reported44 ▼ below the CPS average (50)
Collaborative Teachers
71 ▲ above the CPS average (52)- Collaborative Practices· teachers-reported81 ▲ above the CPS average (57)
- Collective Responsibility· teachers-reported65 ▲ above the CPS average (48)
- Quality Professional Development· teachers-reported80 ▲ above the CPS average (56)
- School Commitment· teachers-reported62 ▲ above the CPS average (48)
- Teacher-Teacher Trust· teachers-reported68 ▲ above the CPS average (51)
Effective Leaders
70 ▲ above the CPS average (52)- Instructional Leadership· teachers-reported79 ▲ above the CPS average (55)
- Program Coherence· teachers-reported75 ▲ above the CPS average (53)
- Teacher Influence· teachers-reported70 ▲ above the CPS average (52)
- Teacher-Principal Trust· teachers-reported56 ▲ above the CPS average (48)
Involved Families
55 ▬ about the CPS average (53)- Parent Influence on Decision Making in Schools· teachers-reported66 ▲ above the CPS average (57)
- Parent Involvement in School· teachers-reported50 ▬ about the CPS average (49)
- Teacher-Parent Trust· teachers-reported50 ▬ about the CPS average (52)
Supplemental measures
Additional survey topics UChicago reports outside the five core measures.
- Academic Engagement· students-reported65 ▲ above the CPS average (57)
- Classroom Disruptions· teachers-reported42 ▼ below the CPS average (48)
- Classroom Rigor· students-reported54 ▬ about the CPS average (53)
- Course Clarity· students-reported59 ▲ above the CPS average (54)
- Emotional Health· students-reported63 ▲ above the CPS average (55)
- Human & Social Resources in the Community· students-reported44 ▬ about the CPS average (47)
- Innovation· teachers-reported71 ▲ above the CPS average (52)
- Inquiry-Based Science Instruction· students-reported57 ▬ about the CPS average (59)
- Parent Supportiveness· students-reported46 ▬ about the CPS average (48)
- Reflective Dialogue· teachers-reported75 ▲ above the CPS average (54)
- Rigorous Study Habits· students-reported46 ▬ about the CPS average (48)
- School Connectedness· students-reported50 ▬ about the CPS average (53)
- School Safety· students-reported34 ▼ below the CPS average (54)
- Socialization of New Teachers· teachers-reported74 ▲ above the CPS average (47)
- Student Peer Relationships· students-reported39 ▼ below the CPS average (54)
- Student Responsibility· teachers-reported39 ▼ below the CPS average (47)
- Teacher Safety· teachers-reported52 ▬ about the CPS average (53)
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 (1)
| Program | Entry grades | How seats are offered | Test required | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Open Enrollment Open enrollment | K–8 | Lottery | No | CPS-published · verified Jul 2026 |
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.