The student body was approximately 95 percent white, as was the faculty. Since the 1990-91 school year, however, the school has experienced dramatic demographic shifts. People of color have moved here from Chicago. There has been a large influx of Asian and East European immigrants from Poland and Russia. The structure of the school, its policies, and its curriculum are essentially the same as they were before 1990.
Most classes are college prep with four tracks per academic subject, including advanced placement.
The composition of the upper tracks is predominantly native-born white and Asian American, while the lower tracks consist primarily of Latino, African American, and Polish students. There are twice as many males as females enrolled in upper-level math and science classes. The curriculum is fairly traditional and Eurocentric in its orientation, although one week is set aside for black history and one day is devoted to women's history. The school has numerous extracurricular activities, including cheerleading, sports, academic clubs, a debate team, Junior Achievement, band, foreign language clubs, National Honor Society, foreign language honor societies, yearbook, and school newspaper. Fifty percent of the teachers have been teaching for more than 20 years and will soon retire.