The College Preparatory School (CPS or College Prep) is a four-year private non-residential high school in Oakland, California. The school's motto is Mens Conscia Recti, a Latin phrase adapted from Virgil's Aeneid that means "a mind aware of what is right".
History
Founded in 1960, College Prep's first campus was located in a house in the Claremont neighborhood of Oakland/Berkeley. The school was founded by Mary Harley Jenks, former head of the Bentley School, and Ruth Willis. Miss Jenks, the first Head of School, envisioned a school that valued "high standards of scholarship and conduct."Becoming A Real School 1960-1990 : The Story of The College Preparatory School by Robert Baldwin, Jr. Berkeley, California: Regent Press, 2004. In 1983 College Prep moved to its current campus on Broadway.
College Prep has received accolades for its academic excellence. A 2007 Wall Street Journal article ranked College Prep as the sixth best high school in the United States."How the Schools Stack Up", The Wall Street Journal, 20 November 2007 In 2010, Forbes magazine ranked College Prep as the seventeenth best private school in the United States. Forbes, 29 April 2010 In 2025, niche.com ranked College Prep the eleventh best private school in the nation.2026 Best Private High Schools in America For 2020, niche.com ranked College Prep the fourth best private school in the nation.
College Prep's Heads of School have been Mary Harley Jenks (1960–1969), Robert Baldwin, Jr. (1969–1990), Clint Wilkins (1990–1994), Janet Schwartz (1994–1999), Murray Cohen (1999–2011), and Monique DeVane (2011–present).
Campus
At the current campus, a large central courtyard serves as the center of daily activity to create intimacy and a sense of community between students and faculty. Major projects have been the Scott MacPherson Stapleton World Languages and Cultures Building (created and dedicated in 2011), a new campus master plan (completed in 2014), and in 2020 the school began work on the Hill Project, a new array of buildings on the upper left of campus. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic they leased space at a nearby training center named Seneca and began to host some classes there.
As of January 2022, the Hill Project has been completed, and the Seneca campus lease has ended.
Curriculum
English
In the first two years of English at College Prep, students are sorted into classes that all read similar (or the same) books and have no specific focus. In a student's Junior and Senior years, however, they are allowed to select seminars with specific focuses (for example Poetry or Harlem Renaissance).
In order to facilitate discussion, classes are conducted at Harkness tables: oval, wooden tables popularized by philanthropist Edward Harkness. Harkness believed that the tables encouraged students to actively participate in discussion, and that they constituted a "revolution" in liberal arts education.Christophe G. Courchesne, "'A Suggestion of a Fundamental Nature': Imagining a Legal Education of Solely Electives Taught as Discussions", Rutgers Law Record 29, no. 21 (2005): 26.
History The first three years of history have a preset focus. Freshmen take Asian Worlds, where they look at the history of India and China from its founding to the modern day. Sophomores take The Atlantic World, which explores the development of the European and American history from the conclusion of the crusades through the end of the Enlightenment. Juniors take United States and the World to learn about the history of the United States as a nation, in part building off of the work the previous year in The Atlantic World. In their senior year, students can elect to take seminars similar to those in English.
Mathematics College Prep follows an integrated curriculum that combines numerous topics and strands of mathematics throughout the year. Despite the integrated format, each section does maintain a concentration on a core mathematical field; Math 1 (algebra), Math 2 (geometry), Math 3 (trigonometry), Math 4 (applied mathematics and analysis), Math 5 (AB & BC calculus), and Math 6 (linear algebra)."Math & Computer Science"The College Preparatory School", no date. In addition, there are advanced classes for some levels: Math 3i, Math 4i, Math 5i. Math classes are assigned based on skill entering the school, and classes commonly span several grades. At the start of the year, freshmen take a placement exam, where they are placed into either Math I, Math II, or Math III (very rarely are they placed higher).
Science College Prep's science program establishes a foundation in scientific principles by requiring interdisciplinary study. While most public high schools teach introductory biology courses to freshmen, College Prep follows the Physics First model of teaching basic concepts of physics to Freshmen within an integrated laboratory format. After completing courses in chemistry (Sophomores) and biology (Juniors), students often elect to take other science electives (examples include Molecular Genetics, Developmental Biology, and Physical/Organic Chemistry). Elective classes are offered in most scientific disciplines."Science" The College Preparatory School, no date.
World languages
College Prep offers four-year programs in Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Latin. Depending on skill level, students are placed into level 1, 2, or 3 when they arrive, and after level 3 they are allowed to take seminars. Seminar levels of all world language classes are Advanced Placement preparatory."World Languages" The College Preparatory School, no date. Students are required to take three years of one language or two years of two languages each.
College Prep's Latin curriculum places emphasis on ancient Roman literature and history. All Latin students take the National Latin Exam annually.
Honors and AP Students are not distinguished between enrollment in honors and standard courses, as all classes are taught at the honors level, and are designated as such by the University of California. Students' grade point averages are calculated on an unweighted 4.0 scale. Students are required to take three years of core curricular classes and an extra year of English."Academics" The College Preparatory School, no date. Many formal AP classes are not offered but students are given extracurricular preparation if they are interested.
Arts College Prep students are required to fulfill the University of California Visual and Performing Arts education requirement by completing two semesters of arts classes within two disciplines. The Arts department therefore offers courses in visual arts, drama, music and dance.
The Visual Arts department teaches foundation- and advanced-level classes on creative and technical skills in drawing and design.
The drama program is centered around its Acting class and conducts two major drama productions each year, and is supported by stagecraft, drama tech, and digital video production classes."Drama" The College Preparatory School, no date.
Students in the music program often perform in instrumental ensembles (such as the jazz band or the orchestra), performing both standard and "pop" repertoire. The school also has a dedicated chorus and vocal ensemble. Many students participate in the non-audition Chorus class, but advanced singers can audition for an Advanced Vocal Ensemble. Members of the A.V.E. are regularly selected to perform in the prestigious National Honor Choir organized by the American Choral Directors Association."2009 National Honor Choir Concerts" American Choral Directors Association, 7 March 2009.
Dance classes are offered at all levels, and students perform in high school dance festivals, senior centers, and in theaters throughout the Bay Area. The dance program focuses on modern dance with an emphasis on African American choreographers, and teaches the techniques of Lester Horton, José Limón, Martha Graham, Katherine Dunham, and Alvin Ailey. Guest choreographers regularly visit the school to teach students. Dance is highly popular at College Prep, and the program usually has around 70 dancers at one time."Dance" The College Preparatory School, no date.
Student life
Clubs On-campus clubs usually meet weekly. Though each has a faculty advisor, they are mainly student facilitated. Clubs range from hobbies and interests (Gardening (DIRT) Club, Linguistics and Languages Club, Chess Club), to activism and social justice (Chinese Culture Club, Black Student Union, CPS Against Human Trafficking) to academia (Science Olympiad, Taiwan Club, Latin Club, Only Connect Club, Gimkit Club, Quiz Bowl, Space and Rockets Club, Computer Science Team).
Community service College Prep students participate in service efforts as a class, wherein Sophomores and Seniors are involved in maintenance projects at Point Reyes, and Juniors cooperate with Rebuilding Together to assist in various projects around the Bay Area. Seniors are required to complete a Senior Project in which they help out the greater Oakland community in some way. Students also do outside of school community service such as cooking for men's and women's shelters in Oakland. School-wide participation in Oxfam and Amnesty International is common."Service and Community Based Learning" The College Preparatory School, no date.
The Radar The school has a student-run newspaper called The Radar. The Radar regularly publishes students' art and article submissions to its website and in its newsletters to the student body, which includes the regular "Humans of CPS" and "Artist of The Week" features. The Radar's website is cpsradar.com
Technology In an attempt to combine technology and student life, the school operates three full-service computer labs and four classrooms fully equipped with laptop computers."Technology" The College Preparatory School, no date. Each faculty member is provided a laptop and each incoming student is provided an Apple MacBook Pro laptop. The program is financed by a supplementary "technology fee" to the tuition. Families may opt out of the school-purchase plan if they purchase their own equipment. When students graduate, the computers belong to them."One-to-One Student Laptop Program" The College Preparatory School, no date.
CPS Campus is a student created app, supporting only with iOS and macOS and enables tracking of easily customized school schedules. The app is integrated with other programs such as the Clubs Calendar.
Advising In their first year, students are put into a CAP (compass advising program) advisory group aimed at helping ease the transition to High School. Senior mentors in CAP help freshmen facilitate their transition into high school. After that, students are put in another advisory which they stay with for the remainder of their High School experience. The second advisory groups are aimed more at helping students with any troubles they might have than a rigorous curriculum.
College Prep also offers counseling and health education programs conducted by a full-time health educator and counselor, a trained child psychologist, who provides comprehensive support to students and conducts a mandatory health program for sophomores intended to introduce them to health topics and encourage them to make healthful choices."Advising & Counseling" The College Preparatory School, no date.
Retreats