Admission to Hawthorne
Admission to Hawthorne
Hawthorne is a lottery-based magnet school whose admission process is run and managed by CPS through the Go CPS application system. Hawthorne has no jurisdiction over who is offered admission. All students, including siblings, must apply for admission. There is no testing required to be considered for selection.
FAQ
A comprehensive FAQ about Go CPS and the application process can be found here
When does the lottery open?
The admission lottery for the 2022-2023 school year opens NOW and closes December 2021.
How do I apply?
Go to go.cps.edu. To apply using the online application site, click ‘Apply.’ To apply using the paper application, click ‘Elementary Schools’ and ‘Apply.’
If I live in the neighborhood, can my child automatically attend?
No. Admittance is based on a citywide lottery. There is no neighborhood boundary for automatic admission. All families who would like to be part of the lottery must apply at go.cps.edu.
How are seats allocated?
There are 62 kindergarten seats available each year.
Siblings of current Hawthorne students are given the first seats in each kindergarten class, if they apply. After that, CPS allocates up to 2 kindergarten seats each year to children of staff members, if they apply.
40% of the remaining available seats are awarded via a proximity lottery for students living within a 1.5-mile radius from Hawthorne’s campus who applied to Hawthorne.
The remaining 60% of the available seats are divided evenly through a lottery using the CPS 4 tier system. Again, these families need to have applied using the GoCPS application process. Admission for grades 1-8 is also a lottery, however, the tier system is not used for this lottery. All students whose families applied for seats in grades 1-8 are placed in a citywide lottery by grade. If space is available, a seat is offered to siblings of current students first and then offers are made to other students. We do not typically have more than 1 or 2 seats available per grade in grades 1-8. Sometimes, we have no seats available for some grade levels.
Do you offer school tours?
Yes! Public school tours of Hawthorne are offered throughout the fall, prior to the closing of the application process, and in the spring, after the initial lottery selections have been made. We offer both morning and after-school tours. Please check our website calendar for information on when tours will be held. Outside of scheduled tours, the administrative team tries to meet with families by arrangement if time permits.
Do you offer bussing?
Free bussing is provided through the CPS department of transportation. School bus transportation is available to any student attending Hawthorne who lives more than 1.5 miles but less than 6 miles from the school.
If I don’t qualify for bussing, how can my child get to Hawthorne using public transportation?
Hawthorne is located near several public transportation stops.
We are .4 miles from the Belmont Red, Brown, and Purple line station.
The #22 Clark street bus and the #77 Belmont street bus have stops less than .3 miles from campus.
The #9 and #9X Ashland bus stop is .7 miles away from campus.