Chalkbeat

Chicago’s first day of school brings excitement and concerns about possible budget cuts

2026-08-24T20:57:10+00:00

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Eleven-year-old Carter Darling was so excited Monday morning that he was awake before his mom and the sun.

By 6:45 a.m., Carter was wearing his backpack and the school uniform he typically hates: a black cardigan with the school’s name embroidered on the upper left corner, a white collared dress shirt, a plaid tie, gray slacks, and black sneakers.

“I feel good,” he said, smiling, before embarking on the two-block walk to his first day of sixth grade at Robert A. Black Magnet Elementary School in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.

Carter is one of more than 300,000 Chicago Public Schools students who returned to the classroom Monday. It’s a big year for the nation’s fourth largest school district. Mayoral control is set to formally end in January and be replaced by a fully elected school board that will manage a $10 billion budget, oversee district leadership, and set the vision for the city’s more than 600 public schools.

The school board’s decisions directly affect schools like Carter’s. Last month, the current board approved a budget that assumes CPS will get $150 million more in state funding than Illinois lawmakers allocated in May. The additional money would help reverse summer layoffs, but schools could face midyear cuts if it doesn’t come.

Before Mayor Brandon Johnson rang the first bell Monday at George Leland Elementary School in the Austin neighborhood where he lives, he repeated his push for Illinois to implement a state millionaires tax to fund public education.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson walks Chicago Public School students to their first day of school at George Leland Elementary School on Aug. 24, 2026.

“We’re going into a season where we have to demand more from those who have the ability to give more to actually do more,” Johnson said. “You have politicians that have greater expectations of third graders than they do of themselves.”

Back on the South Side, Carter’s mom, Jaciel Cathey, recounted taking a photo of Carter shaking hands with Johnson last year when he visited his school alongside then-interim CPS CEO Macquline King.

Cathey learned more about the district’s budget situation during one of the district’s family webinars last week but said she still doesn’t know what it will mean for her child’s school.

“Why are we including money in the budget that is not set in stone?” she said. “You’re depending on money that is not there.”

Cathey hopes to use her new role on the school’s Local School Council to help address funding and resource gaps, including securing money to fund a crossing guard for the small but sometimes busy streets around the school.

She and Carter are also trying to remain focused on what they can control.

Carter will probably take an admissions test this fall for sixth graders interested in attending the district’s selective middle school programs, known as Academic Centers.

The family is no stranger to navigating CPS through periods of instability. Cathey grew up in the Woodlawn neighborhood and graduated from CPS schools before becoming a CPS teacher and later changing careers.

When Carter turned 3, Cathey enrolled him in a full-day preschool program at Holy Angels, a Catholic school near her Bronzeville home, with hours that allowed her to work.

Before Carter entered kindergarten, CPS schools saw midyear cuts, then received a historic funding commitment from the state. In 2019, the Chicago Teachers Union went on an 11-day strike. Cathey said this unpredictability made her want to keep him at Holy Angels through eighth grade.

“You knew they would have the staff, you knew they would have the resources,” Cathey said of the private school, which costs about $7,000 annually.

Jaciel Cathey walks her son, Carter, to school on Mon., Aug. 24, 2026 in Chicago, Il.

But Cathey felt Holy Angels focused too heavily on the arts and disciplining students and not enough on reading and math. When it was time for kindergarten, Carter applied and was admitted to Walt Disney Magnet School, a coveted public magnet school on the North Side.

They liked the school. But at the end of first grade, a white child called Carter a racial slur on the playground, Cathey said. According to an incident report reviewed by Chalkbeat, staff planned to hold a “restorative conversation” with the other child. She didn’t feel the school was being responsive enough to her or handling the situation well, so Carter returned to Holy Angels for second grade.

“Let’s put him in CPS, see what happens — well, he gets called the n-word,” Cathey said during an interview last week. “OK, let’s go back to what we know.”

CPS now has a Black Student Success Plan, meant to improve outcomes and the school experience for the city’s Black students. But the Trump administration is investigating CPS in part over the plan, claiming that it discriminates against students who aren’t Black.

By the end of second grade, the Cathey family had moved further south to Pill Hill. Black Magnet was just a five-minute walk from their new home. The state has labeled the close-knit, small school “commendable,” and students last year outpaced their peers across the district and state in math and reading proficiency.

Carter enrolled at Black Magnet in fourth grade and in the two years since, hasn’t looked back. He likes the staff, has made friends, and enjoys learning — especially the “pretty fun” projects in science, he said.

Cathey said Carter will stay at Black Magnet through eighth grade if he doesn’t get into an Academic Center. But she wants him to have “consistency” as he prepares for college, and that means leaving CPS for high school, she said.

“We need for him to get the most support that he can get and the most rigorous education that he can get without, you know, Mr. Johnson teaching math on Monday, then Mr. Johnson is laid off because Springfield didn’t send the money,” Cathey said.

As the mother and son walked up to Black on Monday morning, Cathey reminded Carter about their annual tradition of getting ice cream after school on the first day. She gave him a hug and sent him into the building with a tote filled with paper towels and tissues for his classroom.

Mila Koumpilova contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

15 more Chicago campuses join Sustainable Community Schools program

2026-08-03T22:05:41+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools will open 15 more Sustainable Community Schools this upcoming school year, meaning roughly 10% of district schools will receive extra funding to partner with nonprofit organizations and provide wraparound support for students and families.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the expansion Monday morning at Malcolm X College, where he was joined by allied Chicago Board of Education members, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, and several educators whose schools are part of the program or are joining this year.

There are now 51 schools in the program, which CPS launched in 2018 with the CTU. A Chalkbeat analysis last year found the schools have mixed outcomes and have left millions of dollars unspent. The district’s contract with the union requires 70 schools to join the initiative by the end of its contract in 2028. Of the city’s roughly 630 public schools, which includes charters and others run by independent operators, 520 are run by the district.

Schools in the program receive $500,000 annually to work with a community-based organization and provide extra programming and support for students and parents, such as hiring more mental health professionals. Schools must apply to join.

Johnson said the expansion connects to his vision of creating more resources for communities, such as more affordable housing and “holistic solutions” to violence.

“This model provides more than an education,” he said. “It is the hub of wraparound, academic, and social support that’s extended to the entire community.”

The expansion is a sign that the “days of school closures, consolidation, and privatization has ended officially,” Johnson added — a potential nod to candidates for school board he doesn’t align with, who may be interested in closing schools in response to CPS’s dipping enrollment.

District officials, the union, and school leaders have described the program as a godsend for schools with lots of students from low-income families. The office that oversees the Sustainable Community Schools program is slated to spend about 57% more than it budgeted last year, from about $24.6 million to $38.6 million, according to the district’s latest budget book.

But since the program’s launch, schools and their partner organizations have left more than $6.6 million unspent, according to a Chalkbeat analysis last December. Chalkbeat also found that internal tensions and staff turnover sometimes strained partnerships between schools and nonprofit organizations.

Student outcomes are mixed. Schools that originally joined the program now have higher graduation rates than schools that didn’t get into the program. Suspensions dropped among all schools in the program, as they did at similar schools outside the program. But chronic absenteeism is higher, and enrollment is lower, at participating schools.

To combat some of these challenges, CPS changed how schools join the program, said Megan Hougard, chief of college and career success at CPS.

Previously, schools and organizations did not meet before schools applied, she said.

This year, CPS expanded the list of nonprofits that schools can partner with. Interested schools then met with the organizations, picked which one to work with, and applied together, Hougard said.

Now, she said, “there’s shared expectations, and then there’s just a checkpoint of, ‘Is this the right match?’”

One of the new schools in the program is Gage Park High School on the Southwest Side. Mike Norwood, a physical education teacher at Gage Parktold the crowd at Malcolm X that he “almost started crying” when his principal told him the 300-student school had been selected. He said the school has a strong environment but “needed a miracle” to help boost resources for its neediest students.

The opportunity will allow the school, which is partnering with the Southwest Organizing Project, to create more clubs and activities for kids, such as job training, he said.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “Now, it takes a school to raise a community.”

Becky Vevea contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s Black Student Success Director Eugene Robinson Jr. talks about the initiative’s first year

2026-07-09T18:08:35+00:00

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Eugene Robinson Jr., Chicago Public Schools’ first director of Black student success, has faced a tricky balancing act over the past year.

Community advocates called for decisive, visible progress on the district’s Black Student Success Plan, the five-year initiative they had championed for years and helped enshrine in state law. Meanwhile, the Trump administration argued the plan discriminates against non-Black students and withheld federal funding over it — a standoff that’s now playing out in the courts.

Against that backdrop, Robinson set out to implement the plan he helped write in 2024. A University of Chicago graduate with a master’s degree in social work, he previously worked as the district’s director of student engagement and led the University of Chicago Charter School’s Woodlawn campus.

The rollout’s first year was decidedly low-key, with lots of public attention focused on delays in naming a new board committee that will help guide the work. The board named most, but not all, of the Black Student Achievement Committee’s members this week.

Chalkbeat spoke with Robinson about what he was able to accomplish this past year and what comes next for the plan, at a time when the district is contending with major budget pressures.

This conversation was edited for length and clarity.

You became the inaugural director of Black student success in June 2024, charged with rolling out a plan that involved a lot of input — and high expectations — from community members. What drew you to this role, and did you have some trepidation?

I’m a product of Chicago Public Schools. I went to Lindblom High School in Englewood. My family has a story that’s connected to why we’re doing this work and to the Great Migration. I am also an uncle of several nieces and nephews who are products of Chicago Public Schools. I’ve worked in higher education, and I’ve participated in a program called Great Expectation Mentoring. In my professional career, I’ve looked at other cities and states doing work focused on Black boys or Black girls. This opportunity allowed me to connect being a product of CPS, growing up in Englewood and Auburn Gresham, coming back to work in schools, working in nonprofits, and as a Black man in general.

Your first task was to write the plan, drawing on recommendations that came through community engagement. The plan sets some concrete goals, but it doesn’t go into detail about how the district will get there. How much work has the district done to figure out the “how,” and how much still remains?

The one thing I like to say is that the Black Student Success Plan is not the work. It is the vision and the aspiration. It is also the item to hold us as a district accountable, and it was written to align with the district’s five-year strategic plan, and with state statute that requires the school board to establish a Black Student Achievement Committee. The goals are very high-level and ambitious. There’s a lot of research and data that talks about certain powerful practices, and there was historical data that we looked at as a district.

But the plan is not the work. Some of this work started at the school level before the plan was actually taking shape. One example is Black student unions — one of the recommendations from the community working group. How do we create these culturally centered leadership and voice spaces for young people?

You led the plan’s first year of implementation in a national climate of intense scrutiny of race-based initiatives. How much were you able to accomplish this year?

The first year was about socializing the plan, letting everyone know that, “Hey, we have a Black Student Success Plan,” and activating that ecosystem for philanthropy with higher ed and community-based partners.

The Black Student Success Working Group didn’t go away. We reconstituted that to look different and to engage differently. We call it the Black Student Success Champion and Stakeholder Alliance Group so we are moving beyond recommendations to how this shows up in schools.

We also were able to establish what’s called the Black Student Success Convening and Collaboration, where we brought together various offices connected to certain goals. For example, we have a goal to increase Black male teachers and Black teacher retention. That’s our talent office.

We walked on a journey of establishing a Black student union framework, so we actually did some focus groups with schools that had Black student unions and schools that did not have them.

Using the two examples you mentioned, did the district’s talent office take some steps this year to make it easier to recruit and retain Black male teachers? Did schools foster new Black student unions?

I would say this is [work that will take place] in Year 3 of the plan. We have never had a Black student union resource and toolkit. We also looked at the history of Black student unions nationally and in CPS, and we actually went into the CPS archives and pulled out photos of Black student unions to understand and make those connections for young people.

We received a small grant opportunity that supports both the Black male educator strategy work and our very first Black student union conference. We are launching a Black male educator wellness cohort with some of this funding. We are working to establish other partnerships to offer professional learning for Black male educators. We’re supporting our grow-your-own work to ensure that Black males in non-teacher roles move up into teaching roles.

How did the Trump administration’s push to get the district to scrap the plan affect your work?

One of the things I would say related to is that we still have that open investigation [by the U.S. Department of Education]. But the district will continue to ground ourselves in the research and the data and our equity framework, which is all about targeted universalism. Targeted universalism is not about taking from one group to support and elevate another group. It is the system recognizing that groups may need differentiated support to achieve the same north star.

We are no different than any other school district having to navigate this climate, like my colleagues that I’m in close connection with in Denver and Los Angeles, who have similar Black student success plans.

Did the fact that the board’s Black Student Achievement Committee wasn’t named earlier this year affect your work on the plan, given the central role it is supposed to play in guiding the initiative?

Even though the committee has not been launched, there is collaboration and communication between the Office of Equity, the CEO’s office, Black Student Success Plan, and the two chairs of that committee. This is all new for us, but there is open communication. The way I will explain it is that the Black Student Success Plan is the work of the district in alignment with the state statute and our five-year strategic plan. The Black Student Achievement Committee will serve as the accountability structure for the district to be able to do this work.

You mentioned the philanthropic funding you lined up. Do you see this work being largely funded through philanthropic contributions going forward, or will the district attach some local or state dollars to the initiative?

There is an overall commitment that the CPS budget process is driven by equity. We are in a budget season now, so I wouldn’t answer that particular question. What I will share with you is that there is momentum to support this work in the philanthropic community, and we’re also looking at other ways of supporting this work.

But I think about the district’s commitment to having an Office of Equity, the positions that come along with that, including my position that never existed before, and also a project manager who works alongside me. Having different offices looking at their data and aligning to the Black Student Success Plan will take people, time, and money. Those offices will identify the resources that will potentially be attached to this work.

What’s high on your to-do list for next year?

I know I talked about Black student unions a lot, but I’m really excited because when we center ourselves on student voice and those who are most impacted and allow them to have a seat at the table, it can make for powerful practice and ignite opportunities for young people.

I am excited that we will be able to host the very first Black Student Union Conference at Malcolm X College on Oct. 21. We have some young people through the Mayor’s Office Youth Works program interning with us to help us plan the conference, and we have collaborated with different partners like Mikva Challenge over the year.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Delays in ramping up work on Chicago’s Black Student Success Plan frustrate some advocates

2026-06-25T21:33:38+00:00

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Coretta Shane, the mom of a Chicago seventh-grader, applied earlier this year to serve on a new committee that would help steer the district’s Black Student Success Plan, a five-year initiative to address academic disparities Black students face.

She got an email thanking her and promising updates in the following weeks. That was back in March.

Shane knows the plan is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has withheld federal dollars from the district over its refusal to scrap it. Still, the silence hasn’t sat well with her.

“I’ve just heard nothing, which is maddening to me,” she said. “I wish there would be some communication.”

Over the past year, district officials have worked to reassure parents and advocates that they are forging ahead with the initiative — while appearing to move slowly and cautiously to ward off further federal scrutiny and fallout. On Thursday, Jitu Brown, the board member slated to lead the Black Student Achievement Committee, announced yet another delay in naming its members. And when the district this past spring challenged in court the U.S. Department of Education’s move to withhold grant dollars over the plan, one of CPS’ arguments was that it hadn’t even started implementing the program.

Those who pushed to codify the committee in state law have voiced impatience with the slow pace — a sentiment Brown echoed at the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday.

Other advocates and experts say they understand the precarious position CPS is in — and recognize the first year of the plan’s rollout was likely to largely involve low-key planning.

“I just remind myself that this is something CPS has never done before,” said Dominique McKoy, the executive director of the University of Chicago’s To & Through Project, who has followed work on the plan. “This is an effort that’s trying to disrupt decades and generations of frustration for a population that historically hasn’t been served well by the city and the school district.”

In a Thursday statement, CPS said it is making headway on the initiative, and recently got a $250,000 grant from a Chicago-based foundation for its work on cultivating Black student unions and hiring more Black male educators. The district is planning a fall conference bringing together members of more than two dozen Black student unions on CPS campuses this fall. The statement also cited an increase in Black student enrollment in Advanced Placement courses and ongoing efforts to reduce discipline for Black students.

The district has pushed back on the feds’ call to kill the plan

CPS unveiled the plan in early 2025 after a yearslong process of gathering input from community members who had decried gaps Black students face on a long list of academic metrics and in access to some advanced courses and other opportunities.

The day after its release, a conservative advocacy group filed a complaint with the federal Department of Education, arguing the plan discriminates against non-Black students, particularly Latinos. The Trump administration began investigating, and last fall announced it would withhold millions in magnet school grants unless CPS scrapped the initiative altogether.

The plan sets a number of sweeping goals, which include hiring more Black male educators and reducing punitive discipline for Black students, who make up roughly a third of the district’s student body. But it doesn’t go into detail about how the district would tackle these goals or what progress toward them would look like in each year of the rollout. CPS also did not spell out a specific budget for implementation.

Brown, a longtime advocate for Black students in the district, said last summer that the first year of the initiative would be about listening to district employees, parents, and students, and figuring out how to replicate practices that have worked well for Black students.

He had initially said the committee to oversee the rollout would be announced last September. The board office said in May that Brown would be available for an interview only after the new committee is onboarded, but it did not give a timeline for when its members would be named. The district in recent weeks has also asked for more time before providing an interview with officials, and on Thursday, it referred questions about the committee delays to the board office.

At Thursday’s board meeting, Brown blamed the delays on an internal “struggle” after the board held two separate rounds of taking applications this past school year. He did not elaborate what exactly was getting in the way but said, “I am very frustrated, very concerned.”

In the meantime, the district held several community roundtables to gather more input on the plan this past spring. District budget materials from last summer also said CPS’ various central office departments would work on their own visions for implementing the plan during 2025-26. In response to a public records request from Chalkbeat, the district declined to provide these department-level plans, citing an exemption for internal documents that are in draft form.

CPS said a first-year focus would be supporting Black student unions at its high schools and expanding their number. McKoy said there’s some momentum on this issue as well as conversations about cultivating closer partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities. Some Black students in CPS have expressed interest in better understanding what these campuses might have to offer, McKoy said.

Sona Fokum, a research project manager at the Black Researchers Collective, said CPS officials had preliminary conversations last year with the group and other local experts about tracking and evaluating the initiative’s outcomes, including by involving students in the effort. But the collective hasn’t heard about next steps more recently.

When it comes to the federal pushback, the plan remains in limbo. In its lawsuit against the feds, the district has demanded that the government reinstate its magnet funding, noting the decision to withhold it happened before the investigation into the initiative was even formally completed. The district argued the plan is on solid legal footing because it sets out to rectify historical discrimination and missteps that have led to measurable disparities between the outcomes for Black students and those of their peers.

“The Plan does not take anything away from non-Black students,” the district said in court filings.

The Department of Education hasn’t filed a response to the district’s complaint in court, and a spokeswoman did not respond to an inquiry about the status of the investigation.

District Superintendent Macquline King was subpoenaed to testify before a congressional education committee earlier this month on CPS’s handling of hot-button issues, including the Black Student Success Plan and policies on transgender students, which are also under a federal investigation. But the plan itself sparked just a brief exchange with a friendly Democratic lawmaker, in which King stressed the community input that went into designing it and its goal of helping “students that have been historically and systematically void of opportunities.”

Committee’s creation lags

Shane, the mom who applied to serve on the Black Student Achievement Committee earlier this year, lives in South Shore, but she drives her daughter to school across the city to the North Side’s Walt Disney Magnet School, where she was recently elected to the local school council.

Shane has long been a critic of the more meager academic offerings — especially when it comes to science, technology, engineering, and math — that some schools in predominantly Black neighborhoods have. She saw the committee as a chance to advocate for more robust programs at the district level.

“The fact that my daughter can’t go to a school in our neighborhood because of a lack of resources really bothers me,” she said.

Koron Nash, the father of two CPS students, attended a virtual meeting about the plan with Brown, the school board member, organized by the parent advocacy group Kids First this spring. Nash, who also applied to serve on the committee, felt Brown’s commitment to advancing the plan was genuine. Nash strongly supports the plan’s goals.

But he wants to see specifics on how CPS will tackle them, with a budget and metrics to track progress: “At this point, we should be well beyond informing people. We should be taking action. We’re behind the eight ball.”

David Stovall, a professor of Black studies at the University of Illinois Chicago, said with any new multiyear initiative, planning and troubleshooting tend to take up the first year.

Still, he said, he is eager to see the district flesh out the plan — and address head-on the issue of its severely underenrolled schools, many of which serve predominantly Black students. He said he got involved with offering input when the district was first crafting the plan. But he left because officials did not seem open to discussing that issue or addressing it explicitly in the initiative.

“It’s nonsense to talk about a success plan when you’re not doing anything to address this glaring issue,” he said. “If you are going to address marginalization, you have to start with the most marginalized.”

McKoy says the district needs the help of other city agencies, academia, and others to address the needs of Black students and families. He believes the district is still genuinely committed to the initiative in the face of the Trump administration’s attack on it.

“There’s no way that’s not having an effect,” McKoy said. “But I am not seeing folks shy away and change the messaging.”

On Thursday, Brown, the school board member, said he will push to finally name the committee overseeing the initiative in July.

“I’m not really interested in any more conversations about it,” he said. “We need to announce this committee and get to work.”

Chalkbeat Chicago reporters Reema Amin and Makiya Seminera contributed to this report.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

CPS eighth graders will take a new, longer high school admissions test

2026-06-04T18:14:00+00:00

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Starting this fall, Chicago Public Schools’ eighth graders will take a longer and different standardized test to help determine where they get into high school.

In an email to principals and a letter to families of rising eighth graders, district officials said students will take the PreACT 9 Secure in October in place of the old High School Admissions Test — known as the HSAT. The new test is a precursor to the ACT exam that Illinois high school students are required to take and is used for college admissions.

All CPS eighth graders take the exam during the school day and private school students take it on a weekend. Their scores can determine whether they get into the high school of their choice outside of their neighborhood. The new test will still be administered on Oct. 7, and there are no changes to the timeline for the high school admissions process for next school year.

The exam will be two-and-a-half hours long versus the hour-long HSAT. In addition to English language arts and math, the PreACT 9 includes sections on reading and science. Additionally, unlike the current HSAT, the exam won’t be offered in languages other than English.

CPS says the new exam will allow families and teachers to receive “meaningful information” about student performance as they enter high school — something the HSAT didn’t do, according to the letter to families.

Districts can use the PreACT 9 “for program placement, high-stakes, or accountability purposes while giving students practice with taking the ACT,” according to the ACT.

The district also said the new test will allow more kids to prepare because it’s a widely used test that has “free or low-cost” prep materials, and it has “greater confidence” that this exam won’t be glitchy like the HSAT has been in recent years, requiring make-up tests. It’s not clear if the school board will discontinue its contract with the company that produces the old HSAT exam.

In its letter to families, CPS did not say that the exam won’t be offered in other languages but did explain that change in a letter to school leaders.

In the letter to principals, CPS said its data show that students who took the test in another language “performed LOWER than English Learners who took the test in English with accommodations.”

Gabriel Paez, a seventh and eighth grade bilingual teacher at Haugan Elementary School, told Chalkbeat he was upset to learn the exam will more than double in length and is “disheartened and distraught” by the lack of non-English options for the new exam.

In his experience, he said, English learners who are newer to the country and are still getting used to standardized testing tend to take the exam in their native language, while longtime English learners tend to take the exam in English with accommodations — which could explain some of the data CPS is citing in its letter to school leaders.

“In the past, it was common to say and to think that English-only was the only right way, and now it sounds like the district is going backwards in time and pushing forth the narrative that having this very important exam in multiple languages harmed our English language learners,” said Paez, who also chairs the bilingual teacher committee for the Chicago Teachers Union.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Illinois education officials vote to overhaul accountability for schools

2026-04-15T17:40:04+00:00

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The Illinois State Board of Education unanimously approved an overhaul to its system for deciding how well schools across the state are performing.

The changes to the federally required school accountability system include some new labels that indicate how well a school is doing. The new system would also calculate the designations differently.

The proposed changes now go to the federal government for final approval; State Superintendent Tony Sanders said he expects a green light. With federal approval, the new accountability system would go into effect by this fall.

Under the current system, schools were labeled as Exemplary, Commendable, Comprehensive, Targeted, and Intensive, with the latter three that deemed a school needed more support.

The new system has the following labels: Exemplary, Approaching Exemplary, Commendable, Developing, and Comprehensive. Using 2025 school data as an example, officials found that this new system would more evenly distribute schools across these designations, with the Commendable label applying to 23% of K-8 schools and 29% of high schools, versus 73% for all schools currently. More schools also would have been considered “exemplary” under the new system — roughly one-fifth of K-8 and high schools, compared with 10% under the current system.

Schools that earn the lowest designations are supposed to get extra state funding to help improve.

Sanders described the changes as one of his biggest goals, and board members described the public feedback process as a thoughtful one that resulted in tweaks to the original proposal.

“Everybody is not going to be happy about it, and that’s OK,” said ISBE board vice chair Donna S. Leak. “What we’re trying to do is find ways to connect to student achievement in a more meaningful way.”

ISBE officials extended the timeline for getting feedback on its proposed changes, which it unveiled last fall. Still, ahead of ISBE’s vote Wednesday, several education advocacy groups remained opposed to some elements of the overhaul, including the removal of a measure for whether ninth graders are on track for graduation and another measure for capturing student attendance that the groups argue isn’t sufficient.

Federal education law has long required states to craft accountability systems for its schools and required them to administer state tests. ISBE created its current system in 2017 after an overhaul of K-12 education law under former President Barack Obama.

The current system, which ranks schools based on a weighted system, was giving many schools “the wrong signal” that they were doing better than they actually are, Sanders said at an ISBE meeting last month.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that I’ve met in public education that would say that our current accountability has worked effectively at moving school improvement for student outcomes over these past few years,” Sanders said.

ISBE spokesperson Lindsay Record said state officials will share resources such as infographics, short videos, and FAQs with the public ahead of this fall to help the families understand the new system.

To earn the new designations, schools will be scored based on what ISBE is calling “core indicators,” or what it considers the most important markers of academic performance; those include student academic growth, proficiency on core subjects, and graduation rates for high schools.

Under the new system, a school’s label is determined by its strongest core indicator. But if any of the indicators score at the lowest “comprehensive” level, then the school’s designation would be knocked down a level. For example, if an elementary school’s student growth ranks at the exemplary — or the highest — level, but its student proficiency is considered comprehensive, or the lowest, then that school would be given the designation of approaching exemplary, or the second highest label.

Schools can earn higher scores if they do well on “elevating indicators,” including how well English learners are growing and if many students are attending school at least 90% of the time — the opposite of the definition for chronic absenteeism.

Some groups have argued that threshold is too low, citing research that has found students do better academically when they’re attending school more often than 90%. In Chicago, the state’s biggest district, the chronic absenteeism rate was around 40% last school year compared with about 25% statewide.

Some education groups have lingering concerns

The department made some changes between the fall and now in response to concerns, such as clarifying the labels for schools and adding an additional indicator for determining whether high schools are successful, according to its amended accountability plan.

But it didn’t reinsert the 9th Grade On-Track measure, arguing that it is important but not “meaningfully” different from a school’s graduation rate. The measure will still be publicly reported on the state report card.

But some education advocacy groups argued that 42 states measure college and career readiness in some way. They said they hope ISBE will explore a process to consider adding these measures back in somehow.

Weighing school performance based on graduation rates without another readiness measure “can obscure whether students are truly prepared for what comes after high school,” said Hal Woods, chief of policy for Kids First Chicago.

In Chicago, a Chalkbeat and WBEZ investigation found that student absenteeism was growing as the graduation rate grew, even as research shows that absenteeism is linked to lower academic performance.

Perla Santoya, senior government relations associate at Advance Illinois, said losing such an indicator sends “an incomplete message about the experiences and skills we want our young people to have.”

Still, some other educator groups said they were pleased by the changes and praised the state for being open to feedback.

“What you have in front of you today, I believe, is fair,” Emily Warnecke, chief of staff at the Illinois Association of School Administrators. “It is reflective of the great work that is happening in our schools across the state, and it still maintains very high expectations for our students.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools new CEO King faces big challenges. How do Chicagoans want her to tackle them?

2026-04-02T22:39:32+00:00

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Interim Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King, who will become the district’s permanent leader in July, has major challenges ahead of her.

The district is facing a projected budget deficit of at least $520 million next school year. At the same time, enrollment is declining, and the chronic absenteeism rate — when kids miss at least 10% of school days — has remained around 40% for the past few years.

Another challenge will be meeting the demands of a diverse community with different ideas and needs. One Local School Council member is vehemently opposed to the closure of her severely underenrolled school, but a parent at a nearby high school wouldn’t mind if their schools combined. Many parents don’t want to see cuts at their schools, but one parent leader said she’s interested in seeing where her child’s school can pare back on staffing in order to save money.

King has said she plans to engage communities around Chicago to shape her leadership on tough issues. While the Chicago Board of Education ultimately votes on major policies and budgets, King is in charge of proposing and implementing changes, as well as a budget plan.

As she settles into the permanent role, parents and members of school leadership teams shared what they would like to see from King.

CPS again faces a budget deficit

Budget woes and how King will tackle them are a primary concern for parents and educators. The deficit could grow as large as $1 billion, King has said, meaning the district will either have to find more revenue or make cuts before approving a budget this summer for the 2026-27 school year.

Overall state funding for CPS has increased nearly $390 million over the past five years. Still, the district is $1.6 billion short of what the state considers adequate funding.

Most Chicago adults want the state to provide more money, according to a survey conducted by Kids First, an education advocacy organization. Of the 1,361 respondents, two-thirds want state lawmakers to provide more money. Three-quarters want the corporate income tax raised, and roughly that same percentage want income taxes raised on people earning more than $250,000.

But Gov. JB Prtizker’s proposed budget doesn’t do those things and would instead provide a slightly smaller increase in funding than usual for K-12 schools.

King has said she will keep fighting for more state money. Earlier this week, she told reporters “everything has to be on the table so that we don’t compromise the progress that CPS students have made.”

On the school level, parent leaders told Chalkbeat they don’t want to see cuts to meals, tutoring, extracurricular activities, and arts programming. One of those parents — Princess Shaw, who was recently elected to the LSC and has a daughter at Oscar DePriest Elementary School in the Austin neighborhood — said she wants to take a closer look at whether the school needs all the staffing it has.

Jessica Keirns, who is on the LSC at Foreman High School in Portage Park, said King should consider more cuts at the central office level and invest in efforts to prevent long-term expenses for remedial help. For example, she wants schools to be able to hire more librarians, noting some research that links librarians to growth in student literacy.

Schools that are well-resourced “should pull [their] weight in the sacrifice,” Keirns said.

The district’s relatively new funding formula has moved away from basing funding on enrollment and provides staff positions based on a school’s needs. Many selective enrollment and magnet programs with higher enrollment had aired concerns about cuts under the new formula.

“When I hear people complain that they can’t keep their four different foreign languages … they’re forgetting about schools that are only offering Spanish in a place where the majority of the students already speak Spanish fluently,” Keirns said.

The district’s growing number of small schools

Chicago Public Schools enrollment has largely dipped over the last dozen or so years, with a nearly 3% drop again last fall. That drop has resulted in dozens of severely underenrolled schools, often in aging buildings that are costly to maintain: 43 schools are at one-third capacity, and roughly half of district-run schools are considered underutilized by district measures.

A Chalkbeat investigation last year found small schools tend to have less access to a variety of courses and extracurricular activities and are more likely to see higher dropout rates and truancy.

But school closures are highly fraught in Chicago, where mass closures in 2013 under then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel left many low-income, Black and Hispanic communities feeling scarred and unheard by the district — and many left the city. Political leaders have since largely avoided addressing the issue.

After the board voted to hire King permanently, appointed board member Michilia Blaise said she wants to craft a vision for underenrolled schools “without just closing doors.” For her piece, King recently told reporters that a solution will require figuring out “the challenges” and how “to ensure that all students have a high-quality student experience regardless of where their school is situated.”

At Douglass High School in the Austin neighborhood, where only 27 students were enrolled at the start of the year, longtime LSC member Catherine Jones said she is “flatly” against a closure or combining with another school, and she wants more resources for the tight-knit campus she loves, such as a performing arts program.

“I would like [King] to sit down and talk to us as LSC members and see what the community would like the school to be,” Jones said.

On the South Side, Cecile De Mello, executive director of Teamwork Englewood, a group that advocates for more investment in the Englewood neighborhood, said King should revamp the CPS facilities master plan, which in part maps out building needs, and consider with school communities how to use vacant school spaces instead of closing buildings.

Jaciel Cathey, a newly elected LSC member for a school on the South Side, said King should focus on retaining teachers within the same school. She believes having familiar, consistent faces can help build trust with families and keep them in the community, she said.

CPS has made various efforts to recruit and retain more teachers within the district, for which rates have slightly improved in the last decade, according to state data.

Still, Cathey, who transferred her son from a private school, said families often “don’t know who’s teaching third grade” or “who’s teaching fourth grade” year after year.

Chronic absenteeism remains stagnant

Before the pandemic, about a quarter of CPS students missed at least 10% of school days — known as chronic absenteeism. Today, roughly 40% of CPS students are chronically absent, a rate that’s remained stagnant in recent years. It’s a critical issue: Lower attendance among middle and high school students is linked to lower grades and test scores, according to a recent study from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

John Boggs, a veteran teacher and now International Baccalaureate program coordinator at Bogan Computer Technical High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side, rattled off a few of the reasons for why kids aren’t showing up: They’re caring for siblings; they’re navigating bad relationships with parents; or they’re just uninterested by their classes.

“When you’re looking at the low attendance rate for a kid, there’s a story there, and you just got to find out what it is,” Boggs, who also serves on the districtwide LSC advisory board, said.

King told WBEZ in January that CPS doesn’t have a strategy to improve attendance but she is talking to a foundation to help fund a plan.

Boggs said under King, the district should work harder to ensure parents know how to access their child’s attendance and grades online so they know when there’s a problem. The district has a web page instructing parents how to use the student information portal, but many families may not know it exists. Several other parents told Chalkbeat that schools should work to build relationships with parents — something the research study links to better attendance.

On the West Side, sophomore Stanley Scales transferred to Austin College and Career Academy from a private school at the start of this school year. Scales said he likes his new school, but he’s noticed some kids regularly don’t show up to school, where last year the chronic absenteeism rate was 87%.

Austin College and Career Academy is pictured on the first day of the 2025-26 school year.

Scales suggested the district should fix up the building, which he’s heard people describe as “depressing.” The nearly 100-year-old building needs almost $90 million in more immediate and long-term repairs, among the costliest bills for West Side schools, according to the district’s most recent facilities master plan from 2023.

A 2016 study in New York linked poor building conditions to lower student attendance.

“Maybe if they fixed the school up and like, make it more likable for students, maybe they would want to attend school more,” Scales said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Why this Chicago principal welcomed Education Secretary Linda McMahon despite community pushback

2026-02-06T00:43:03+00:00

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The reaction was decidedly mixed when Ike Muzikowski told students and staff last week that Education Secretary Linda McMahon might visit their Christian private school bordering Chicago’s West Side.

A religious private school like Chicago Hope Academy seems like an obvious choice for McMahon, whose administration has shown strong support of school choice and has criticized the city’s public schools.

But as word spread, Muzikowski received six emails from parents who were opposed to her visit. He also heard from parents who were “pumped” and wanted photos of their kids at the event.

Muzikowski, Hope’s principal, knew that a Connecticut public school had just canceled McMahon’s visit in response to outcry from parents.

After he received confirmation of her visit, he opened the floor to students at a town hall attended by more than a third of the school’s students. They talked about the visit for so long that dozens of them missed their next class. The days leading up to the visit were “filled with discussions, sometimes arguments” about how the Trump administration’s policies have been harmful to many in their school community, which is predominantly Black and Hispanic.

“While that challenge exists, can we host people from different political backgrounds, with different political interests, with different political agendas?” Muzikowski wondered.

He decided yes.

Ike Muzikowski, principal of Chicago Hope Academy, speaks during a visit by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon at Chicago Hope Academy, a private school.

And so McMahon visited the school Thursday morning as part of her 50-state “History Rocks!” tour, timed for the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday. The Education Department is coordinating the tour with the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, which includes conservative groups like Turning Point USA and Moms for Liberty. About half of the school’s students participated in the optional event, Muzikowski said.

Two sophomores led McMahon on a tour of the school and to a U.S. History class. A large photo of Booker T. Washington, a prominent Black educator and leader from the late 1800s to early 1900s, hangs at the top of a stairwell. A religious poem, painted in both English and Spanish, adorns another wall. In a hallway, outside of Muzikowski’s office, hang bulletin boards including one that shows how the three branches of government coexist and another featuring prominent Black Americans. College banners line the wall above the bulletin boards.

The girls told McMahon about their future business ideas, summer travel plans, and why the school celebrates Black History Month, Muzikowski said.

A wall hanging at Chicago Hope Academy, a private school, on Thursday, February 5, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.

Later, in the school’s chapel, McMahon spoke for a few minutes about her time as a presidential delegate for the U.S. Special Olympics, Muzikowski said. Then the group played general audience and team trivia games about U.S. and Illinois history.

McMahon told reporters after the event, which the press was not invited to out of concerns about students’ privacy, that it was “totally nonpartisan” and “absolutely about civics.”

“It’s kids having fun, competing,” she said. “It’s really making history fun, and you can see the enthusiasm that was in the audience.”

McMahon also spoke briefly about Illinois state history, highlighting the state’s importance in helping the Union win the Civil War, Muzikowski said. She didn’t wade into current politics or name prominent Illinois leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln or Barack Obama, who has also visited the school, he said.

McMahon complimented the family feel of the school, which was founded by Muzikowski’s parents in 1995.

“We understand, hey, that the approach to education from her office might be different than our execution of education in this building,” Muzikowski, dressed in a backwards baseball cap and tie with the word “HOPE,” told reporters after the visit.

It’s not a surprise the visit caused a stir, even at the type of school that is likely to draw praise from the Trump administration.

On top of the criticism McMahon has faced from Democratic lawmakers amid the Trump administration’s plans to eliminate the Education Department, Chicago is a fraught place for a Trump cabinet member to visit right now.

The federal government’s immigration raids last fall left many of Chicago’s Hispanic communities feeling scarred and fearful of federal officials. And the Trump administration has pulled $23 million in federal grants for the city’s magnet schools, claiming that Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Plan, which is meant to improve academic outcomes and school climate for Black students, as well as its policies for transgender students, are violations of civil rights laws.

Muzikowski said he wished he had more time to make a decision about McMahon’s visit “as a community.” Still, he said he came away proud of his students.

While he didn’t get “100% co-sign on the event” from students, “I am very glad that we did it and that our students are able to learn from someone who may think differently.”

After the event, a student walked through the hallway holding a paper American flag from the trivia game.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board to reopen applications for Black Student Achievement Committee

2026-01-28T20:49:02+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education is reopening its application for joining the district’s Black Student Achievement Committee, the board office announced Wednesday.

The board had originally opened applications in late November with a deadline to apply by Dec. 15, 2025.

The application will be reopened Feb. 2 with a deadline of Feb. 9 “to ensure that all key stakeholder groups have a fair and accessible opportunity to apply following the holiday season,” said Shelia Pegues-Porter, board communications manager, in an email. Chicago residents, including students, parents, and CPS employees, can apply to serve a 1-year term on the committee.

The new application window comes as advocates have expressed concern about the delay in establishing the committee, which was officially launched last April and is required by state law.

The board office did not say how many applications it has received so far.

The Black Student Achievement Committee is supposed to help the district implement its Black Student Success Plan, which focuses on boosting the share of Black teachers, reducing Black student suspensions, and implementing more culturally relevant lessons in schools.

The plan, released last February, faced an immediate legal challenge and investigation from the Trump administration, which has opposed diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Trump officials say CPS’ efforts to focus on Black students violates other students’ civil rights, which CPS has denied. The Trump administration has also said it will withhold millions of dollars in magnet school grants if the district forges ahead with the plan. CPS has defended its efforts and says it will not shelve the plan.

The committee will have 14 seats. As of last month, the board had sent about 500 applications to people interested in joining the committee, according to elected school board member Jitu Brown, who will chair the committee.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board accepting applications for Black Student Achievement Committee

2025-12-01T21:17:57+00:00

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The Chicago school board is seeking applicants for its Black Student Achievement Committee seven months after its members voted unanimously to launch it.

The committee will help steer the district’s implementation of its Black Student Success Plan, an initiative that sets out to boost the number of Black teachers, reduce Black student suspensions and embrace more culturally responsive curricula. The plan landed in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts shortly after the district unveiled it in February.

The plan is under an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Officials at the dwindling federal department have said they will withhold millions in federal magnet school grants if the district does not scrap that initiative and its transgender student policies.

Chicago Public Schools leaders have said they won’t do that.

Board member Jitu Brown, who will chair the committee, told Chalkbeat last summer that he was considering a cross-section of district employees and community members for the committee. In September, Brown said he would introduce the committee members that month.

Some community advocates have voiced frustration with the delay in announcing the committee’s membership, arguing board members must bring urgency to the task of addressing the academic and discipline disparities Black students have long faced. The committee was mandated in a bill Illinois lawmakers passed in 2024 that set the stage for Chicago’s transition from a mayor-appointed school board to an elected one.

Brown said last week that the board remains adamant about forging ahead, but it rethought the approach to picking committee members more recently.

“I do understand the sense of urgency because this institution has not historically done right by Black children,” Brown said. “It’d been a place where inequity has nested. We’re committed to disrupting that.”

But Brown added that “We wanted to have a process that the public can trust.”

He said the board sent about 500 applications to people who had expressed interest in serving on the committee.

Students, parents, CPS employees, and residents can apply for one-year terms on the 14-member committee. They must live in Chicago, complete the district’s vetting process for volunteers, and have a “demonstrated commitment to racial justice and public education.” A school board press release said applicants would complete ethics, Freedom of Information Act, and other training before their names are announced publicly in early 2026.

Those interested can apply here. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on Dec. 15.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Families ‘horrified’ after daycare teacher pulled out of preschool by armed federal agents: parents

2025-11-05T23:42:37+00:00

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Federal immigration agents pulled a teacher from inside a North Center daycare Wednesday morning, causing a chaotic scene and “traumatizing” workers, parents and children, neighbors and officials said.

At least three agents showed up about 7 a.m. Wednesday at Rayito de Sol daycare, 2550 W. Addison St., where they detained a worker who cares for infants, witnesses said. A video shows them taking the worker out of the daycare while holding her arms behind her and at her sides, with screaming and shouting audible.

The agents had followed the woman as she drove to her job and chased her inside the daycare and preschool, Ald. Matt Martin (47th) told Block Club after the incident. The teacher got into the daycare’s vestibule, but the agents “tore her away,” Martin said. The agents, who were armed but did not draw their weapons, pushed other people who were looking to intervene, he said.

Agents also went into the daycare and preschool center to inquire about other staff, disputing a claim from a Homeland Security spokesperson that the officers did not “target” a daycare, elected officials said at a press conference.

Both incidents happened in front of parents and children, said Martin, citing video of the incident. Other workers became afraid to come in, and the center closed for the day, parents said.

“It’s some of the most chilling video footage I have ever seen, certainly in my time in office,” Martin said. “We are, of course, demanding that she be released immediately.”

The teacher who was taken works with infants at Rayito, and she is a mother, said Tara Goodarzi, a parent with a child at the center. Parents and officials said they believe the woman had permits to work in the country.

“I am horrified by what has happened here today,” Goodarzi said. “Our community has been shattered. Our families have been traumatized. The children were crying; the parents were crying.

“It’s a scene that I don’t think any of us have ever witnessed before and will ever forget.”

Children, teachers left ‘terrified,’ parents say

The immigration law enforcement operation caused a chaotic scene at the bilingual daycare and preschool, teachers and parents said.

Nathaniel Meadow, a parent at Rayito de Sol, said parents arriving during the incident left their kids in their cars “to spare them from their teachers crying.” A crowd of parents formed by the agents shouting “shame.”

Several teachers fled with a student and hid in a back of a pickup truck, “terrified of being found,” Meadow said.

“They weren’t sure what was going on. ICE, an attack on the school — they didn’t know,” Meadow said.

One Rayito teacher was working with a 3-year-old when the agents arrived, U.S. Rep Delia Ramirez said. The teacher took the young student and hid because the teacher “was afraid that she may die today,” Ramirez said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the local immigration enforcement campaigns, said agents attempted to pull over the woman while someone was driving her, but she proceeded to her place of employment. The woman who was arrested is from Colombia and does not have legal immigration status, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

“ICE law enforcement did not target a daycare,” McLaughlin said in a statement.

Despite the arrest occurring in the facility’s vestibule, security video from the incident shows the federal agents walking into other rooms throughout the daycare and preschool, according to Martin and Ramirez.

Ramirez said security footage from the center shows agents entering the building multiple times. Agents were also seen in footage questioning a worker and escorting them to their locker to “prove she has papers,” Ramirez said. Rayito has yet to release any security footage.

“They didn’t just walk in chasing one person, they went into multiple rooms asking and looking for teachers while children were present,” Ramirez said. “This is an agency that has gone rogue and it an agency that believes that as long as they can cover their face, they can get away with anything.”

The detention was “traumatizing,” said parent Abby Salat, whose son goes to the center. Salat said her husband arrived about 7:15 a.m. and said federal agents were gone by then.

“The idea of a child seeing their caretaker with whom they have a strong attachment to being taken away in distress, it’s going to impact every single child whether they saw it or heard about it,” said Salat, who works as a school psychologist.

Rayito de Sol is a Spanish immersion daycare and preschool with locations in Edgewater, Lincoln Park, Uptown and the suburbs. The Addison Street location sits across from Lane Tech High School.

Sarah Wirth said her husband was on his way to drop off their young son at the daycare when the parents were “bombarded with messages not to go.”

“Other teachers are not coming into work because they’re terrified,” Wirth said.

‘They’re Supposed To Be Going After The Worst Of The Worst’

Rayito parents, who have been communicating in group chats since the incident, believe the employee taken had legal documentation to work in the United States, Wirth said.

“These are human beings we trust to take care of our children every day,” Wirth said. ”We’re all shell-shocked.”

During a Wednesday news conference, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley said he and his colleagues are demanding the teacher be released. He said the teacher had a work permit. The congressman also said daycares, schools, shelters, churches and hospitals were considered sensitive locations and were protected from immigration enforcement under former President Joe Biden. President Donald Trump ended these protections in January.

“They can say they aren’t targeting a daycare, but that’s where they were this morning,” Quigley said. “They’re supposed to be going after the worst of the worst, if they’re now trying to tell us that what’s left of the worst of the worst is someone with papers whose educating kids at a daycare than I think everything they say comes into question.”

Parents have already organized a GoFundMe to help with the teacher’s legal fees. As of Wednesday evening, the GoFundMe had raised more than $10,000. Parents also started a Change.org petition calling for local and federal elected officials to take action and help get the teacher released.

Martin’s office is coordinating with other North Side groups to stage a rally against immigration officers targeting educators at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Northcenter Town Square, 4100 N. Damen Ave.

This story originally appeared in Block Club Chicago.

Attendance drops at Chicago schools in communities with increased immigration enforcement

2025-10-31T20:19:47+00:00

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At Mather High School in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, music teacher Eriq Vazquez said as many as 10 of his students have told him they were staying home because of Operation Midway Blitz — the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the city.

Some students said they’re afraid of being picked up by masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents, he said. Others are babysitting younger siblings who are being kept home or are working extra shifts because their parents, who are undocumented, fear going to work.

In the four weeks since the start of the high-profile immigration operation, attendance at the 1,662-student school dropped by 4 percentage points — nearly three times the attendance drop citywide, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat through an open records request.

Similar attendance declines are playing out in other immigrant and Latino enclaves around the city, data show. Many families are scared of going to school as they curtail activities like grocery shopping or going to restaurants to avoid being detained by federal agents, according to nearly 20 interviews with parents, educators, public officials, and community organizers.

“It’s generated a great level of fear within families,” said Jeff Bartow, executive director of the Southwest Organizing Project, a community-based organization that operates parent mentor programs in 19 CPS schools.

“Do I take my child to and from school, or do I find someone else they can walk with?” he said, describing the questions he’s heard from parents. “When do I come, when do I go? ”

The fear of immigration enforcement is especially intense during school dropoff or pickup, with multiple people comparing it to the anxiety of leaving home during the COVID-19 pandemic. School staff and district officials are trying to calm fears and make sure immigrant students don’t fall behind. But there are signs that many students — like those in Vasquez’s class at Mather — are staying home.

During the first month of school this year, student attendance across all CPS schools was about the same as it was last year, according to data Chalkbeat obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and analyzed.

But in the second month, after the Sept. 8 announcement of the immigration sweeps, attendance rates dropped by 1.25 percentage point — more than double the drop in attendance between the first and second month of school the last two years, according to Chalkbeat’s analysis.

What’s more: 38 of Chicago’s 77 official communities saw attendance drop more sharply than the district; about 40% of those are home to large immigrant or Latino populations.

CPS officials said the attendance rate among English language learners, many of whom are immigrants, also dropped by 1.3 percentage points during the first nine weeks of this school year compared to the same period last year.

The immigration crackdown in Chicago has garnered headlines across the country for federal agents’ aggressive tactics and military-like scenes playing out in residential neighborhoods. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino has drawn scrutiny from a federal judge over tear-gas usage and told WBEZ some of the agency’s arrestees were targeted, in part, based on “how they look.”

Some students have protested against ICE. And a few immigration enforcement actions involved young people, including two high schoolers being detained and released by federal immigration agents last week, according to local elected officials.

Other U.S. school districts are reporting attendance drops coinciding with Trump’s second term and more aggressive immigration enforcement. A recent Brown University study found “significant” drops in average monthly attendance and increases in chronic absenteeism among Connecticut’s English learners since Trump’s inauguration in January. A Stanford University study found an average 22% increase in student absences after the inauguration in a California region with many Latin American immigrants.

Asked to respond to criticism of ICE agents and the idea that their presence could impact student attendance, an ICE spokesperson said, “The reality is simple: if you are not breaking the law, you have nothing to fear. If you are, the responsible choice is to self-deport rather than continue placing your children in harm’s way and disregarding their well-being.”

Several Chicago Board of Education members are advocating for a remote learning option in response to worries about student attendance, which CPS has so far declined to do.

Vazquez said he tells students that school is the safest place to be and has sometimes suggested they make a plan, such as walking to Mather with a friend.

“I haven’t come up with anything that can totally stomp out those fears,” said Vazquez, the music teacher. “I’m not a parent, but maybe if I was, I would be thinking twice about sending my kid to school, especially if they had my skin color.”

Several Latino communities saw school attendance drop more sharply after Operation Midway Blitz started

Of the 38 communities seeing bigger attendance drops than the rest of the district after Operation Midway Blitz was announced, include Belmont Cragin, Albany Park, Pilsen, Little Village, and Back of the Yards — all places where ICE activity has been reported.

Many of the immigrant and Latino communities that saw drops in attendance during the second month of school this year also saw attendance decrease during the same period last year. Just three saw attendance drop by as much as they did this year.

The absences raise fresh concerns about student learning and mental health, especially for English learners, who on average perform behind their peers academically.

Mary Ann Fergus, a spokesperson for CPS, said the district told school staff and principals in September that they can allow excused absences for “circumstances that cause reasonable concern for a student’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being.”

Under this policy, students can make up missed work, and “teachers are instructed not to penalize students for excused absences related to these concerns,” Fergus said.

Chicago schools encourage attendance for immigrant students but acknowledge fears

Alejandra, a mother of three kids in Pilsen who asked that her full name and immigration status be concealed out of fear of being targeted by federal agents, has lived in the U.S. for 18 years, most of that in Pilsen, one of the city’s Latino strongholds.

Pilsen is in a community area that saw attendance drop by slightly more than the drop citywide after Operation Midway Blitz began. Alejandra said she already pulled her kids out of outdoor sports in the fall fearing potential run-ins with ICE agents. She and other neighborhood parents she knows are hesitant to send their kids to school, she said through a Spanish translator.

Alejandra’s children are U.S. citizens, but she said she’s still worried given reports of citizens being detained. Her teenage daughter goes to school and an internship by herself.

“My fear is that one day my daughter doesn’t come home,” she said through tears.

About 10 miles northwest, in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood, the attendance rate at Henry Lloyd Elementary School, which is usually stable this time of year, dropped by nearly two percentage points during the second month of school – after immigration enforcement ramped up – compared to the first, data show.

Residents and community groups have reported seeing ICE agents on the Northwest Side since Operation Midway Blitz began, including at a Home Depot in Belmont Cragin, an area that saw the attendance drops larger than schools citywide.

Laurel Salgado, Lloyd’s principal, said he had heard about ICE activity about one-and-a-half blocks away from the school. The possibility of encounters with ICE is scaring parents, he said.

One mother told Salgado that relatives or neighbors help her with tasks that require leaving her home, such as grocery shopping. Salgado explained that it’s important for her kids to attend school. She responded, “‘You don’t understand my situation … because you’re not undocumented,’” Salgado recalled.

Some parents and teachers push for virtual learning, but CPS is hesitant

Salgado, who just celebrated securing a Spanish dual language program at Lloyd, is exploring ways to encourage fearful parents to send their kids to school, such as sending staff to help pick up or drop off students.

“We don’t want kids to fall behind,” Salgado said.

Alejandra, the mom from Pilsen, said she planned to ask CPS for a remote learning option so that kids can receive instruction from home and not get marked absent if their parents are fearful of taking them. Other parents and some school board members have called for the same.

The Chicago Teachers Union, which has advocated against aggressive immigration enforcement, has asked the district to open more seats in its Virtual Academy.

In a statement to reporters, the district said the Virtual Academy serves about 500 students who have specific medical needs and provides nearly 3,000 others with part-time accelerated courses, such as algebra.

“While CPS can explore expanding this model in the future, it would not effectively meet the needs of English Learners or other populations most affected by federal immigration activity,” Fergus said.

CPS would otherwise need the governor to declare an emergency, similar to the pandemic, to allow a remote learning option for other students, Fergus said. She added that remote learning “brought real challenges for our students — from learning loss to increased feelings of isolation and stress” during the pandemic.

In Chicago’s historically Mexican-American neighborhood of Little Village, mom Ana Espitia asked her son recently if any of his classmates have been absent. The kids he named were mostly newcomer immigrants, she said.

Espitia hopes to create a “walking train” at her school, where parents who feel comfortable can escort kids of parents who are afraid of being stopped by ICE.

Other schools have created their own walking trains. Many also have staff and volunteers who stand outside during arrival and pickup with whistles to alert people about possible ICE presence.

One of those schools is Mather. Over the past two months, Vazquez, the Mather music teacher, said he and more than a dozen of his colleagues have distributed information to students and families about their rights with immigration agents and volunteered their time to monitor for ICE activity during arrival and dismissal.

About a month and a half ago, two Mather students heading to school were briefly stopped by federal immigration agents as they left the shelter they live in, Vazquez said. Staff wondered if telling the school community would cause panic. But they also wondered what they could do to prevent other students from being stopped by federal agents.

The answer, Vazquez said, is “not a lot, which makes it really, really hard.”

After the incident happened, he recalled, many teachers stopped their lessons and went over “Know Your Rights” slides with their students instead.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

HSAT technical issues impact 1,000 Chicago students

2025-10-22T18:21:55+00:00

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At least 1,000 Chicago Public Schools students experienced technical problems while taking the High School Admissions Test earlier this month, with some unable to finish the exams or receive accommodations.

CPS said the affected students included those with disabilities and English learners who are entitled to testing accommodations such as more time. The computer-based HSAT platform primarily had a problem providing students at some schools with more time or the ability to pause the test, according to a district spokesperson.

All CPS eighth grade students take the HSAT during the school day. There are just under 23,000 eighth graders, though it’s unclear how many were present for the exam on Oct. 8. The exam is required for entry into the city’s selective enrollment high schools and to enroll at some schools outside of students’ neighborhood boundaries. CPS also offers the test in a handful of other languages, which was administered to students who chose that option on Oct. 15 “without incident.”

The issue affected groups of students who are already underrepresented at the city’s 11 selective enrollment high schools. While English learners make up about 24% of students at all Chicago public high schools, an average of 4% of students at selective enrollment high schools are English learners and 9.5% of students at selective enrollment schools have disabilities, while citywide, students with disabilities make up 16.7% of all CPS high schoolers, district enrollment data show.

In 2023, technical problems with the HSAT caused the district to pause and reschedule the exam. CPS contracts with Riverside Assessments, an Itasca-based company, to administer the HSAT and other exams. The Chicago Board of Education approved a new three-year contract in July with Riverside for $2.3 million.

“The District continues to work in close collaboration with the testing vendor, school leaders, and families to address these issues and prevent future disruptions,” said Sylvia Barragan, a spokesperson for CPS, in a statement.

Attempts to reach Riverside were unsuccessful.

Students were offered a chance to retake the test Wednesday or keep their results from the original test.

One of those students is Liz Gres’ eighth grade son, who has ADHD and was supposed to get extra time on the test when he took it on Oct. 8, but didn’t. She said students like him had to “rush through” and yet, she wasn’t aware of the extent of the problem until a letter was sent home with him a week later.

CPS said it notified families of a testing issue on the day of the test, then offered the option of retesting to students two days later. Officials shared additional details on the retesting option the following week, which is when Gres’ son came home with the letter from CPS offering the retake option.

While retaking the test might be a good option for some kids, it’s not for her son, Gres said. The test — and the high school admissions process — spark a lot of stress and anxiety for many families.

“Mine automatically was like, ‘I’m not doing this again. I had to go through enough to take this one,’” Gres said, whose son attends a Southwest Side school.

Gres’ son will keep his score from earlier this month. She said they don’t know his score yet, which makes it difficult to decide if it’s worth retaking.

Regardless, Gres said her son is interested in science and engineering and wants to find a good high school match for that. He hopes to attend Lane Tech, one of the city’s most sought-after selective enrollment high schools.

“I’ve tried to manage expectations around that,” Gres said. “Even with no challenges it’s difficult to get into the selective enrollment schools and there’s plenty of other schools and other options.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools opens handful of new language programs

2025-10-16T20:14:04+00:00

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In Room 222 at Calmeca Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood, students in a world language class on Thursday morning were learning Mandarin.

Some raised their hands when their teacher asked in Mandarin if they were stressed as several Chicago Public Schools officials and journalists observed their lesson, drawing a laugh.

In other Calmeca classrooms, kids were learning different subjects in both Spanish and English as part of the school’s dual language program.

On Thursday, CPS officials visited Calmeca — where 97% of students are Hispanic — to show off what different language programs can look like as they announced three new dual language programs and three more world language programs at schools across the city. District leaders said the expansion is part of a long-term goal to provide more language options for students and is also part of CPS’ new contract with the Chicago Teachers Union.

In a press release, district officials said they will provide “ongoing support” to the newly minted schools, including professional development. Additionally, the district’s funding formula provides a dual language coordinator to schools with such programs.

“This work empowers the way students see themselves,” said interim CPS CEO Macquline King during the event Thursday announcing the expansion. “It builds their confidence and their ability to build their literacy and fluency skills in multiple languages.”

The new dual language programs will be at Henry D. Lloyd Elementary School in Belmont Cragin, Little Village Elementary School in Little Village, and Edward E. Sadlowski Elementary School in the East Side neighborhood. World language programs will open at Edgar Allen Poe Classical Elementary School in Pullman, Louis Nettelhorst Elementary School in Lakeview, and George B. Swift Elementary Specialty School in Edgewater.

CPS has 43 other dual language programs and about 240 world language programs, according to a press release from the district.

Through its world language programs, CPS schools teach students American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Polish, and Spanish, according to its website.

In dual language classes, students learn in both English and one other language. Students learning English as a new language can choose to enroll in dual language programs and learn subjects in English in addition to their native language, such as Spanish, in order to meet their needs for special language instruction they are legally entitled to. But unlike other programs specifically for English learners, dual language courses can be offered to native English speakers, too.

Many experts view dual language programming as a gold standard of teaching English to those learning it as a new language. Last March, as the city saw an influx of migrant families, then-CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said the district had planned to “hit the gas pedal” on opening new dual language programs.

CPS has historically struggled to serve students learning English as a new language in accordance with state law, which requires bilingual programming at schools when 20 or more English learners who speak the same native language enroll. Part of that challenge has been finding bilingual certified teachers, a teacher shortage area in districts across the country. The challenge grew as migrant students enrolled and began settling down in communities with schools that historically served native English speakers.

CPS officials evaluated schools interested in launching new dual and world language programs by reviewing “detailed proposals” that outlined the school’s plans and what kind of resources they needed, according to the district press release.

Laurel Salgado, principal of Lloyd Elementary School, said his school had unsuccessfully applied twice, before the pandemic, to open a dual language program. He is not sure what changed after it applied this summer, but school officials were “so excited” to be selected, he said.

Salgado said the process involves CPS interviewing school staff and families and visiting the school to make sure “to see if we have the manpower [and] the ability to become dual language.”

He said most of the school’s teachers have the right credentials to teach Spanish dual language classes. This school year, Salgado said he and his staff are in an “incubation period” where they’ll plan out the program, which will officially be offered to pre-K and kindergarten students next year. They’re meeting regularly and setting up visits to more established dual language schools.

“We’re going to be looking at different models at different schools that are dual language – some schools that are similar to our demographics – and this is so we can learn from them,” Salgado said. CPS has provided a dual language coordinator to the school, Salgado said.

At Poe, Principal Eric Dockery said all students are already getting Spanish lessons two hours each week from a new Spanish teacher who also teaches the language before and after school.

Similar to Calmeca, many of Poe’s students are being exposed to languages they’re not familiar with. In addition to mastering another language, Dockery said he wants his students, 87% of whom are Black, to “appreciate different cultures even though we don’t have a large Spanish-speaking population in our school right now, but we’re hoping that can change.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Tens of thousands of students transfer within Chicago Public Schools. Are you one of them?

2025-09-26T16:10:41+00:00

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Every year, tens of thousands of Chicago Public Schools students transfer schools.

The district tracks more than a dozen reasons for why students change schools, including leaving the city, graduating, or going to a private school.

But the most common type of transfer among CPS students is going to another school in the district.

During the 2024-25 school year, more than 24,000 kids — or more than 7% of the student body — transferred within the district, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. That number excludes 8th graders who move on to high school.

Chicago families may choose to switch schools for a range of reasons. Children may move to a different neighborhood. Parents might feel their child’s school is not a good fit. Or, in more extreme cases, students may feel unsafe in their buildings due to harassment or abuse.

No matter the reason, school transfers can mean significant change for a student, the school they’re leaving, and the new school they’re going to.

Are you or your child one of the tens of thousands of students who have transferred schools? We want to hear from you about your experience. Tell us here or in the short survey below. (We will not use your answers or your name in our reporting without your permission.)

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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with additional information about the data provided by CPS after publication to clarify the number of transfers in a given year.

A previous version used numbers that included 8th graders who are labeled as transfers when they move on to high school. We’ve revised the numbers to exclude this cohort since there is not an option for them to remain at their existing school.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago charter school EPIC Academy could close at the end of the school year

2025-09-15T23:27:55+00:00

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EPIC Academy, a charter high school on the South Side, may close by the end of this school year due to low enrollment — just months after the Chicago Board of Education extended its contract.

EPIC’s board of directors is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss shuttering the school, located at 8255 S. Houston Ave., because of enrollment declines and financial challenges, according to LeeAndra Khan, EPIC Academy’s executive director, and a letter sent to families Friday by Alfonso Carmona, the director of Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Innovation and Incubation.

EPIC enrolled 254 students as of Friday, according to preliminary enrollment data analyzed by Chalkbeat Monday.

“Despite our best efforts at trying to boost enrollment and trying to elevate our profile and kind of let the public know about some of our unique signature experiences and programming, we just have not been able to get enrollment back up to 500,” Khan said in an interview.

EPIC’s board notified CPS of the closure on Aug. 21, according to the board’s letter to CPS. The charter school held meetings for families on Friday and also sent them letters about the impending closure after CPS sent out its own letter, Khan said. André Golston, the head of security at EPIC and a Chicago Teachers Union member, said staff was notified a couple of weeks into the school year of the possible closure.

“Our ultimate goal is to provide school options that will meet the needs of all students for the 2026-27 school year,” Carmona said in the letter to families. “With that in mind, CPS will work with EPIC leadership to schedule a joint initial parent town hall, host town hall meetings on an ongoing basis, and provide individual student support.”

CPS’s letter also suggested that the school could close before the end of the school year, which Khan did not dispute but said is “not our hope.” Jennifer Conant, the charter division chair of the Chicago Teachers Union, said in an interview that a midyear closure would be “incredibly destabilizing and harmful” to the school community — a concern it has expressed to CPS.

The union and staff also plan to attend Wednesday’s EPIC board meeting to “demand answers,” including why leaders didn’t share sooner that a closure was possible, Conant and Golston said.

If EPIC Academy closes, it would be at least the 15th Chicago charter school to do so over the past six years and represents a continued trend of enrollment declines and financial problems in Chicago’s charter sector — issues the district also faces with its own schools.

The possible closure also raises questions about how, if at all, Chicago’s new school board might intervene as they did in another charter closure scenario earlier this year.

EPIC leaders hope for help from CPS

In February, about a month after the city’s new half-elected, half-appointed board was sworn in, the school board made the unprecedented decision to absorb and save five Acero charter schools planned for closure, following heavy protest from Chicago Teachers Union and Acero families. The district budgeted $20 million this fiscal year to absorb the Acero schools.

During EPIC’s July meeting, the board discussed CPS absorbing the school as one potential option instead of closure, as well as merging it with another charter, according to meeting minutes posted online.

“The only reason that idea was floated was because of the Acero thing,” Khan, EPIC’s executive director, told Chalkbeat in an interview.

Khan said she doesn’t know if CPS is willing to absorb the school, but “we’d love that” or other options “just so that our school community can stay together.”

Conant said the union would also support moving the EPIC students and staff together to another school as “a precedent of how you move a school into another school community to keep it whole, to keep the students and staff together.”

As a charter school, EPIC Academy receives public funding, but is privately managed. It operates under an agreement with the school district but is allowed to close so long as it provides notice to CPS. It wasn’t immediately clear how much time EPIC was required to give under its contract, but CPS said the charter operator followed legal parameters even with a new Chicago Board of Education resolution that aims to tighten oversight of charters.

Khan said the school’s leadership has been discussing dipping enrollment at board meetings and with its staff over the past several years. EPIC leadership informed CPS of its projected budget gap about nine months ago. She said the school used “every ounce of reserve” cash that it had left after investing in a new campus site that it’s now selling. During the July EPIC board meeting, board members discussed the charter network’s $1.4 million budget gap and the school’s six-year enrollment decline.

In May, the Chicago Board of Education approved a two-year contract renewal for EPIC, representing the shortest renewal term the board offered this year for charters. As conditions of EPIC’s renewal, CPS required the school to submit an annual report on disciplinary practices, show progress on properly serving students with disabilities, follow state and local laws on serving kids learning English as a new language, and ensure its teachers are properly licensed. CPS did not, however, flag concerns with the network’s finances or enrollment.

CPS reviewed EPIC’s financial performance for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 for this year’s contract renewal process, and rated EPIC’s financial performance as “meeting standards” on several indicators, which include the network’s net assets and how much cash on hand it has, a CPS spokesperson said. The network’s finances have received even higher ratings over the past eight years. CPS’s review looks at a “point-in-time” snapshot, the spokesperson said.

Conant said both EPIC and CPS failed to provide “oversight,” and neither “did that job well enough.”

“It’s really students and staff who will suffer if the school closes midyear or even at the end of the year,” Conant said. “It’s not fair to students, and so CPS really needs to come up with a plan to protect the school community.”

Like CPS, EPIC sees years of declining enrollment

EPIC Academy first opened in 2010 for a maximum student enrollment of 480, which was expanded to a maximum of 600 by 2015. But enrollment began to drop by 2019, when the school enrolled 521 students at the start of that school year. Enrollment at the school is about half of what it was before the pandemic.

Funding for the charter, which is more directly tied to the number of students, has dropped as the number of students has dropped, Khan said. Expenses have increased, including the cost of salaries, health insurance, and services for students with disabilities, she said.

Khan said the school tried spreading the word about EPIC Academy through radio and billboard advertisements, as well as home visits to potential students.

CPS enrollment has largely dipped over the past decade as birth rates have also fallen, but a wave of newcomers from Central and South American countries helped boost enrollment slightly over the past couple of years. That appears to have been temporary and preliminary data show the district’s enrollment is poised to drop again this school year.

In 2023, as EPIC’s enrollment dipped, Chicago City Council approved a $22 million renovation and addition for EPIC at the former St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School, which closed in 2018 due to low enrollment and is about a quarter of a mile from the school’s current site. Charter officials had hoped the new building would help grow the school’s enrollment to more than 600 kids in the short term, according to its website. The current school, located in a former CPS school, doesn’t have a gym, library, kitchen, “adequate” bathrooms, or computer labs, according to CPS.

But during its July meeting, EPIC officials discussed the sale of the St. Michael’s site, which is listed online for $3 million. An agent overseeing the listing told Chalkbeat that the site was listed for sale on July 5 and has attracted multiple offers.

Khan said a potential sale of the site could help save EPIC Academy for the next two years, but a structural deficit would still exist after that if student enrollment didn’t shoot up. She added that the South Chicago neighborhood where EPIC is located has three other high schools nearby, including Bowen, a neighborhood school. All are competing for the same students.

“So this is complicated: I don’t want Bowen to close, I don’t want EPIC to close, but we might have too many schools,” Khan said.

Conant, from the union, said that EPIC “used up important resources” when it tried to create a new facility, that should have been used on the current school site.

Golston, the school’s head of security, said most students are saddened by the possible closure and staff feel caught off guard.

“This news has devastated [staff], it has knocked the wind out of them, and so that’s why we’re going to push hard to try to keep our doors open and do what we have to do to continue to keep this building and these doors open,” Golston said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

New Illinois law aims to protect access to public education for immigrant students

2025-08-19T21:39:48+00:00

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Illinois state legislators and immigrant advocates gathered outside a Chicago elementary school on Tuesday to celebrate a new state law meant to enshrine a child’s right to public schools regardless of their immigration status, a step they said is necessary in the face of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement.

The law, known as the Safe Schools For All Act, also pushes school districts to adopt policies outlining how schools should respond if federal immigration agents come to a campus. The law, passed at the end of May and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last week, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Roughly 100 people flanked elected officials and supporters of the law during a press conference held outside Lloyd Elementary School in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, which is home to many working class immigrant families. Some held signs that said “Education Not Deportation” and “ICE out of Chi,” referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Young students occasionally passed by a second-floor window at the school and looked down at the press conference.

“Parents have always counted on the supports from our principals and our teachers here at Lloyd; they protected our kids and made them feel safe,” Maria, a parent of a third grader at Lloyd who did not share her last name, told reporters in Spanish. “But now all of our communities are able to see that their schools and their families are protected, as they should be, from ICE.”

The new law says all children have the right to a free, public education regardless of their immigration status, effectively codifying the protections established in a 1982 Supreme Court case, known as Plyler V. Doe. Other states have taken the opposite approach, such as in Tennessee, where lawmakers attempted to allow school districts to ban undocumented children from attending public schools.

Advocates said it’s a “first-of-its-kind” state law because it also prevents schools from adopting policies that have a “chilling effect” that could discourage kids from attending school.

In addition to the education provisions, the new law prohibits schools from adopting policies that could exclude or discourage students from attendance, such as requesting immigration status or a Social Security number. It also requires schools to adopt policies for how to handle immigration agents who show up to schools, including provisions around reviewing warrants or other documentation the agents might have.

Chicago Public Schools requires staff to contact district law department staff if immigration agents show up to a school, and staff is told not to let such agents enter without having a judicial warrant. The previous Chicago Teachers Union contract also codifies those policies, including prohibiting staff from asking for a student’s immigration status. A copy of the new contract is not on the union’s website, but union leaders have said that the new contract keeps those provisions.

The Illinois State Board of Education provided districts with guidance on what to do as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies increase arrests or other actions near schools. This was announced in a weekly message by State Superintendent Tony Sanders earlier this year.

The law signed last week drew some opposition while it was being debated in the legislature, including from sheriff’s departments, as well as the Illinois Association of School Boards. The IASB took issue with a provision of the law that allows people to sue school districts if they feel their rights were violated.

“The potential increased risk of litigation and new financial liabilities for school districts was the basis for IASB’s opposition,” the association wrote in its end-of-session report.

Lawmakers felt it was important to require all districts to draft policies that comply with the new law, said State Rep. Lilian Jimenez, one of the main sponsors of the bill.

“People thought, ‘Oh immigration is too confusing. If somebody comes to our school, what do we do?’” Jimenez said. “Well you create a policy, and you all train on the policy and everybody knows what to do.”

Jimenez and State Sen. Karina Villa, another bill sponsor, said during the press conference that they introduced the measure after President Donald Trump’s calls for mass deportations.

Just a few days after Trump’s second inauguration, the administration rescinded the federal “sensitive location” policy, clearing the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, known as ICE, to make arrests at places like schools, child care centers, hospitals, and churches. Federal immigration agents then arrested about 100 people in the city and suburbs in January.

In February, ICE arrested a father who was dropping his children off to school in Gage Park on the Southwest Side.

In the winter, some parents decided to keep their children out of schools, and attendance dipped even as school administrators tried to support families and train staff on immigration protections. Local advocacy groups stepped up to provide support and ‘Know Your Rights” training to students.

State lawmakers drafted this legislation with the help of immigrant and bilingual education advocacy organizations, including the Latino Policy Forum, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, or ICIRR.

Even if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Plyler V. Doe, states like Illinois “would still be within their rights to enact their own policies” — and that’s what the new law does, said Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel for ICIRR.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.

It’s the first day of school at Chicago Public Schools. Here are 5 things we’re watching.

2025-08-18T10:00:00+00:00

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As Chicago Public Schools students return to class this week, families may feel the effects of the district’s belt-tightening over the summer as it worked to close a $734 million deficit.

Even as the first day starts — Monday for K-12 students and Tuesday for those in pre-K — the district and Chicago Board of Education have not yet adopted a budget that covers this school year. The board, which is already divided on the district’s proposal, must legally adopt a budget by Aug. 29, and is expected to vote on a plan Aug. 28.

Families and kids may also feel the impact of changes related to the new Chicago Teachers Union contract, including smaller classes and more staff.

Across the district, Chalkbeat will be watching an array of items, including potential changes to federal policy, the district’s enrollment changes, and the state’s focus on school quality — and how those impact student learning and the public’s perceptions of schools.

Here are five things we’re watching this school year.

Will enrollment drop this year?

After more than a decade of dipping enrollment, Chicago began seeing a slight uptick in the number of kids attending CPS schools — likely due to the influx of thousands of migrant families from Central and South American countries.

Public schools have seen drops in enrollment across the nation for several reasons, including decreasing birth rates. Last year, a total of 325,305 students attended Chicago Public Schools by the 20th day of school, or the day the district officially counts how many students it’s serving.

But it’s unclear if enrollment will increase again this year, especially as immigration to the U.S. slows as President Donald Trump ramps up immigration enforcement.

Chicago Public Schools staff are instructed by the district not to allow immigration enforcement into their buildings unless they have a judicial warrant.

But advocates worry that Trump’s aggressive deportation goals will have a chilling effect. The president’s policies, they worry, could discourage newcomer kids not to attend school or even leave the city.

How well are Illinois students learning?

The state of Illinois is set to implement changes in measuring when students are proficient in core subjects and is reconsidering how it labels schools — potentially impacting the public’s understanding of how well students are doing.

The Illinois State Board of Education recently approved changes to cut scores that determine when a student is proficient in a subject and expects to see an increase in how many students are considered to be learning core subjects well. The changes came after state leaders said the previous cut scores did not reflect the reality of what students were learning or their ability to enter college without remediation courses.

The state also worked with dozens of teachers on collecting feedback for potentially changing its own learning standards and benchmarks for how well schools are doing. Chicago Public Schools also rolled out new school accountability dashboards this year, which are supposed to include more traditional metrics like test scores and information about students’ well-being.

With budget cuts and new teachers contract, how will school day change?

After nearly a year of contentious negotiations, the Chicago Teachers Union reached a deal with Chicago Public Schools in the spring over a four-year deal that, in part, implements a series of changes that students may notice in the classroom.

At the same time, CPS is planning tens of millions of dollars in cuts that could impact things like meals and how clean schools will be.

Under the new teachers contract, class sizes will be lowered to 25 students in kindergarten, and the contract requires a teaching assistant for classes with more than 23 students. In grades 4-8, the class size will decrease to 30 students.

The contract also adds hundreds of new positions over the next three years, including more teacher assistants, case managers for students with disabilities, and nurses. Unrelated to the contract, the district is also restructuring its special education department and implementing staffing changes related to students with disabilities.

And, kids could be getting more recess or time in enrichment classes. The contract increased preparation time for elementary school teachers by 10 minutes. Schools will meet this requirement by getting an additional 10 minutes of recess where schools are not currently following a state requirement for a half-hour recess, district officials have said. But schools may also add specialty classes to give homeroom teachers more prep time.

As it worked to close its $734 million deficit, the district announced more than $165 million in cuts. That included layoffs to central office and crossing guards, cutting 480 full-time custodial positions, and hot meals for students.

How could Trump’s agenda impact schools?

In some ways, the Trump administration has competing interests that could have sweeping impacts on Chicago’s schools.

Trump wants to invest fewer federal dollars in the nation’s schools — which almost resulted in a loss of about $60 million for CPS — and any funding restrictions could impact CPS’ already tight budget plan.

At the same time, his administration wants a hand in what schools teach. The federal government has opened a civil rights investigation into CPS’ Black Student Success Plan, claiming that the plan is a form of race-based discrimination that seeks more resources for “favored” students. CPS has declined to comment on the matter.

If the federal government decides the district has violated federal law, it could decide to punish the district by pulling funding or reaching a settlement that impacts the district’s approach to serving students with the most needs.

What’s next in CPS’ leadership saga?

Chicago Public Schools has experienced profound leadership turnover over the past year. Since October, the entire mayor-appointed Board of Education resigned, the former CEO was fired, and a new 21-member, partially appointed, partially elected school board was seated for the first time in Chicago’s history. That board then hired interim CEO Macquline King and is searching for a permanent CEO.

And King now finds herself in the crosshairs of the city and mostly appointed members of the board after proposing a budget that doesn’t include a pension reimbursement to the city or a loan.

The board hoped to find a new CEO as early as September, but it’s unclear how quickly it will narrow down candidates for interviews. Some have raised questions in recent months about who legally has the authority to hire the CEO.

Whomever the board chooses will be charged with overseeing the district as it faces financial pressures. And, if that person stays in the job through 2027, they will be the first CPS CEO to oversee the district with the city’s first fully elected board.

Becky Vevea contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board moves to make more students eligible for accelerated coursework

2025-07-24T21:52:20+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a policy Thursday that district officials say will expand who can become eligible to skip a grade or access accelerated coursework.

The policy will go into effect this upcoming school year and will help determine accelerated learning assignments for kids in the 2026-27 school year. Chicago Public Schools officials said the change is meant to expand accelerated coursework or opportunities to more students, noting that most who currently become eligible live on the city’s North Side.

Under the new policy, students in grades 4-6 can be eligible to skip a grade or take accelerated math and reading if their scores on state tests fall among the top 10% of their grade at their schools. Previously, students had to score “exceeding” on state tests to qualify, a score that roughly 4% of fourth and sixth graders and 2% of fifth graders attained last year, according to state data.

While board members didn’t discuss the change at Thursday’s meeting, elected board member Jennifer Custer and appointed board member Debby Pope both praised the changes at a meeting earlier this month to review Thursday’s agenda.

The changes will also eliminate external testing fees. Students who become eligible still need to meet a slew of other requirements, including attaining a certain GPA, scoring high on district exams, and passing additional assessments, in order to be approved to skip a grade or take accelerated math or reading.

District officials estimate that the changes will expand eligibility to 1,500 more students. CPS did not immediately say how many kids were eligible to skip a grade or take an accelerated subject last school year; according to WBEZ, roughly 80 students did so in 2022 and 2023.

The policy changes would also limit “double acceleration,” when parents apply for early entrance to kindergarten and a seat at a selective enrollment school, which already provides accelerated coursework. Now parents would have to choose either one of those options.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Report: Illinois graduates who earn college degrees make more money, but racial disparities persist

2025-07-16T05:01:00+00:00

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Illinois high school students who went on to obtain a college degree earn more money than their peers with only a high school diploma, but those from low-income households, students of color, and women who graduate from college are likely to be paid less than affluent, white male counterparts, according to a new report.

Sarah Cashdollar, one of the authors of the report, said the researchers found that “education pays” regardless of how much a student’s parents earned. Other factors such as obtaining higher levels of education and what industry people go into matter as well.

“College and career choices do shape student outcomes,” said Cashdollar. “They do provide some opportunity for students to be upwardly mobile, but they don’t entirely erase those disparities.”

The report by the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative looked at education and employment outcomes for Illinois high school seniors who graduated between 2008 and 2012. It found disparities persist along race and ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, and gender on who obtains a four-year college degree, what careers students go into, and how much people were able to earn.

The collaborative worked in partnership with the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research along with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and the Illinois State Board of Education to analyze data from the Illinois High School 2 Career dataset, according to a press release. This data collects information on high school students, whether they enrolled and graduated from college, what industries they enter, and their wages.

The report found that students from low-income households were less likely to obtain bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, or professional degrees than their peers from higher-income households.

The report also found that the state’s high school students whose parents were among the highest earners went on to earn about 48% more than those whose parents were in the lowest-earning group. Among those who came from the same socioeconomic background, Black and Latino students earned less than Asian American and white students, the report found.

Students in the study’s sample from low-income families were underrepresented in high-paying careers such as computer information sciences and engineering. They were more likely to work in accommodations and food services.

Regardless of whether students had the same levels of education, degrees from the same type of program, or worked in the same industry, students from high-income households earned more than their peers who came from low-income households. On average, the gap in earnings between students from high-income households and low-income households was $5,815 even if they had the same degree.

Despite some of the disparities across race, class, and gender in education and employment, the report found that a student’s level of education was more related to their wages than their parents’ income. Students with higher degrees, such as a master’s or professional degree, earned 2.5 times more than students with only a high school diploma, with a gap of $39,966.

There are some limits to the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative’s report. For instance, many of the students in the study’s sample had higher rates of going to college and becoming employed. Also, the students in the sample graduated high school between 2008 and 2012, right after the great recession but before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cashdollar noted that higher education and the labor market have changed. However, she said, there is value in a college degree.

But getting students to enroll into college can present a challenge. Illinois’ postsecondary education enrollment rate slightly dipped after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, according to data from the state’s annual report card. Students who enrolled in college within 12 months after graduating high school went from 68.6% in 2018-19 to 66.1% in 2021-22 school year.

The report notes that more work needs to be done to expand access to education and employment opportunities for students to help aid upward socioeconomic mobility.

Over the years, Illinois has increased funding for state scholarship and grant programs and made changes to laws to help more students access higher education. This year, the state increased the Monetary Award Program grant by $10 million. The grant helps support students from low-income families to go to college. Students can receive an award up to $8,604.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month signed several bills to increase access to college, according to a press release. He signed the Public University Direct Admission Program Act, which allows public colleges and universities to offer admission to students based on their grade point average by the school year 2027-28. Two other measures ensure that high schools have a point person for students who are filling out the federal financial aid form known as FAFSA and require schools to set aside time for students to fill out the form; both bills take effect during the 2025-26 school year.

Another measure also increases access to dual credit programs, for students by requiring that school districts and community colleges work together to create the programs, which allow high school students to take college courses and earn credit for high school and college.

In previous years, student participation in dual credit programs in Illinois increased, but students from low-income households, students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities were less likely to take those courses.

Correction: July 16, 2025: This story has been updated to reflect that students from low-income families were overrepresented in the accommodations industry and food services, not that most students from low-income families worked in those jobs. Professional licenses were corrected to professional degrees.

Chicago school board poised to change grade acceleration policy

2025-07-09T21:34:55+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education is considering changes to a policy allowing students to skip grades or take accelerated classes, which officials say will make access to accelerated coursework more equitable.

Among the changes would be the elimination of external testing fees and expanding eligibility qualifications to include students who score in the top 10% of their grade at their school. Currently, only students who are considered as “exceeding” state standards on the annual state test are flagged.

In CPS, accelerated placement means putting a child in a course or a grade that is higher than their grade level.

The changes, developed over the past eight months, were created with feedback from Local School Councils and school leaders, as well as “content area experts” and central office employees who focus on academics, according to CPS. If passed, the changes would be implemented this upcoming school year and will impact where kids are placed in the 2026-27 school year, according to the proposed changes.

The board is expected to vote on the proposed changes later this month.

In a statement, CPS spokesperson Quan Vu said CPS data show that significant disparities in grade and course acceleration persist, “with the majority of elementary acceleration applicants coming from the north side.”

CPS estimates that the changes will result in 1,500 more students having access to accelerated placement.

Accelerated math and reading and skipping an entire grade are options for students in grades 4-6, which they can pursue in multiple ways, including by being placed in a different classroom for that subject.

All eligible students would still “undergo additional screening … but they were previously excluded from even beginning the process,” CPS said.

Under the proposed changes, students looking to take accelerated math or reading would still need to perform in the 95th-99th percentile for any two consecutive district assessments in the subject in which the student wants to do accelerated work. Students must also have a 3.75 GPA per quarter for one year in the subject in question. The changes would get rid of a requirement to assess the student using the Iowa Acceleration Scale questionnaire, which helps schools consider students for academic acceleration.

For those seeking to skip a grade, the student must score in the 95th-99th percentile for two consecutive district tests in both reading and math. They must also have earned between a 3.7 and 4.0 GPAs in reading, math, science, and social studies in the previous year.

Once they’re eligible, students wanting an accelerated subject must score high enough on an additional test that is one grade level higher than in the subject they’re interested in. Those who want to skip a grade are evaluated by their school using the Iowa Acceleration Scale questionnaire, which CPS would keep in place for skipping grades. If they pass that, then they take a “variety of achievement tests” that are two grade levels higher than their current grade level and must score high enough on those.

The proposed changes would limit a practice known as “double acceleration” in the kindergarten entry grade. Currently, families can apply for both early entrance to kindergarten and selective enrollment elementary schools, which already have an accelerated curriculum.

The policy, if approved, would require families to choose either to accept acceleration at a non-selective school or to enroll in the selective program. The proposed changes would also allow families to appeal if their children are rejected for accelerated courses or skipping a grade.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Waiting to learn: How Chicago’s approach to staffing bilingual education programs falls short

2025-06-05T10:00:00+00:00

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This story was reported and published in collaboration with Block Club Chicago. Sign up for their newsletters here.

A few years ago, Nash Elementary was thrown into disarray when dozens of English language learners — largely migrant kids from South and Central America — began enrolling at the West Side school.

Teachers had to scramble to find ways to help the new arrivals.

They used Google Translate and turned to resources online. One struggling teacher assigned her students “busy work” and eventually decided to travel abroad to learn Spanish.

And every day, students — like one Ecuadorian fourth grader who struggled to read and write in English — were left without the support guaranteed to them in state law.

“He shouldn’t have had to suffer for almost three years before he was able to receive the type of help that he needs,” said Sylvelia Pittman, a 20-year teacher at Nash who advocated for more bilingual resources in the new Chicago Teachers Union contract.

English language learners in bilingual programs are often waiting for what they’re legally entitled to — instruction in their native language — and teachers feel their schools are ill-equipped to serve large shares of these students, according to interviews and a Block Club and Chalkbeat analysis of public records.

Since an influx of migrant students began arriving in Chicago in 2022, the number of Chicago Public Schools required by state law to open a bilingual program increased by about 20%, according to records obtained by Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago through a Freedom of Information Act request. This school year, 57 additional schools, including charters, must meet state requirements.

State law requires schools to launch a bilingual education program after 20 students who are English language learners and speak the same native language enroll.

But under the district’s funding formula, CPS provides a school with a full-time bilingual coordinator when it enrolls 50 or more English language learners. That person is meant to help schools carry out extra services for English language learners, a group that’s grown by 25% in district-run schools since 2022. The state declined to comment on the district’s formula.

CPS officials said bilingual coordinators are not meant to be the sole individuals in the school providing additional support to English learners. District and state officials say there’s no predetermined number of how many bilingual teachers are needed for a bilingual program.

Using data obtained through an open records request, Chalkbeat and Block Club conducted its own analysis to explore what staffing looks like in schools required to teach English learners in both English and their native language.

Across the district, there are on average about five bilingual teachers per every 100 English language learners. But that picture looks different on the school level. The district-run schools newly required to have bilingual programs, on average, have half as many certified teachers per English learner compared to more established programs.

Of the district schools required to have bilingual programs, 1 in 4 enroll more than 40 English learners for each bilingual-certified teacher on staff, according to Chalkbeat and Block Club’s analysis. Nearly 40 schools enroll more than 60 English learners for each certified bilingual teacher. A handful of schools have no one certified to teach bilingual education on staff, despite legal requirements to provide bilingual services.

In a statement, CPS said bilingual programs vary in size and don’t necessarily require full classrooms at every grade level overseen by bilingual teachers.

At Nash, where there are now two certified bilingual teachers and more than 70 English language learners, teachers say it’s taken multiple years to see any growth in some of their newcomer students. The school has been required to have a bilingual program for the past two school years.

And at schools newer to bilingual education, like Nash, bilingual coordinators are sometimes the only people certified to teach in a child’s native language, Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago found.

The analysis included 3,400 staffers certified to teach bilingual education. It does not include teaching assistants, a position the district has agreed with the teachers union to beef up but is not certified to teach bilingual education.

In addition to bilingual coordinators, the district said it provides guidance to schools that are supposed to launch bilingual programs. Officials also contend that CPS has significantly increased the number of bilingual teachers and that it’s up to principals to hire the right people for their schools.

Yennifer Ruiz walks her daughter Gabriela, 12, to school most days in their South Shore neighborhood. Both of them are from Venezuela.

But the issues at Nash reflect broader challenges in CPS. Last year, Block Club and Chalkbeat found that many migrant students from South and Central America were struggling to learn after landing at segregated schools on the South and West sides that had not previously served children with language needs.

In recent years, nearly all bilingual programs have failed audits conducted by the district. And the number of investigations conducted by the Illinois State Board of Education into alleged violations of bilingual education at Chicago schools has increased, Block Club and Chalkbeat found.

And as President Donald Trump declares English the official language of the U.S. and guts the office meant to serve the country’s 5 million English learners, the state could play a bigger role in holding districts like Chicago accountable for failing to provide enough support to kids learning English as a second language.

Schools that are out of compliance are “out of step with the research” on what works for English learners, said Conor Williams, a senior fellow who studies English learners at The Century Foundation, a progressive leaning policy think tank.

“If we’re not going to fund helping schools become bilingual, as the state mandates us to do, we should own that that’s something we’ve decided we don’t care enough about to fund,” Williams said.

Sylvelia Pittman, a 20-year teacher, speaks to her grandson Cahari at Nash Elementary School in Austin on June 3, 2025. Pittman said her principal is trying to encourage more staff to get certified in bilingual education.

Nash’s new bilingual coordinator only the ‘tip of the iceberg’

Pittman, who has taught in CPS schools for 24 years, is currently an interventionist at Nash, 4837 W Erie St. The district created the role in response to the pandemic to provide extra support to struggling students.

As Pittman and her colleagues worked to help students recover from the public health crisis, however, Nash began to face a new challenge.

In the months before the 2022-23 school year, busloads of migrant families began arriving in Chicago from the southern border. The school had 230 students at the time, fewer than half what the district calculates Nash’s building could enroll. Historically in CPS, fewer students have meant smaller budgets.

The surge of newcomer students boosted Nash’s enrollment. By the end of September 2023 — about a year after migrants began arriving — Nash had enrolled 48 English language learners, according to preliminary enrollment data from that time pulled by Chalkbeat and Block Club. Some time that month, CPS said it gave the school a part-time bilingual coordinator position, but Chalkbeat and Block Club were unable to verify exactly when that person was hired.

In the meantime, teachers felt they didn’t have adequate tools to teach the school’s English learners.

Staff relied heavily on Google Translate to communicate with the new students and their parents — a practice educators at other schools have told Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago they have also adopted.

Corinne Lydon, a middle school English teacher at Nash, said she felt like a “deer in headlights” when a lot of English learners first began enrolling at Nash a couple years ago.

The school didn’t have a Spanish language curriculum available for Lydon to use, so she tried to find help online and assigned her newcomer students a lot of “busy work,” she said. (CPS has developed a Spanish language arts curriculum for bilingual programs, a spokesperson said.)

Before the 2023-24 school year, the district only provided schools with a full-time bilingual coordinator if the school had at least 100 English learners. Officials said they dropped that threshold to 50 English learners starting last school year.

Teacher Corinne Lydon poses for a portrait at Nash Elementary School in Austin on May 28, 2025. Lydon said the need at her school for Spanish-speaking staff was so great, she traveled abroad to learn Spanish.

By March 2024, Nash had enrolled 61 English learners, according to preliminary enrollment data.

Now, more than a year later, Nash has two staffers certified to teach bilingual education, including the bilingual coordinator, and five others who can teach English as a second language but not bilingual education, according to district staffing records. The school today enrolls more than 70 English learners, the most for Nash in at least 15 years.

CPS said it allocated an additional part-time bilingual coordinator position to Nash this school year, but it’s unclear if that position has been filled.

Lydon recently finished her courses to teach English as a second language after encouragement from Nash’s principal. The district covered half the cost of the certification and Lydon financed the remaining $1,300. (This was before the new teachers union contract, which would have afforded Lydon full coverage.)

But Lydon also felt it was critical to learn Spanish, so she traveled on her own dime to Guatemala last August and Mexico over this spring break to learn the language through immersion, in part by living with local families.

“I felt so unprepared, so I just wanted to do all the things possible to be able to best service my kids,” Lydon said.

Lydon thinks her ESL training and Spanish lessons are helping her students. For example, one of her sixth grade students is finally completing assignments and saying full sentences in English — but that’s two years after first enrolling at the school.

Corinne Lydon, an English teacher at Nash Elementary, poses for a photo with two of her Spanish teachers during a trip to Guatemala to learn the language.

Despite the challenges Nash has faced, Karime Asaf, chief of multilingual and multicultural education at CPS, touted the school as a good example of how the district helps a school create a new bilingual program, in part by providing a bilingual coordinator who can train other teachers working with English learners.

Pittman said the bilingual coordinator has made a difference at Nash by being able to talk to students and their parents about their needs. And Pittman said she has seen some academic growth in students.

But as a part-time staffer, the coordinator hasn’t had enough time to spend with all the new English learners, particularly in middle school, Lydon said.

Pittman said bilingual coordinators are just “the tip of the iceberg.” One bilingual coordinator plus a couple of staffers who speak Spanish don’t add up to an actual bilingual program, she said.

Sylvelia Pittman, a 20-year teacher, speaks to her grandson Cahari at Nash Elementary School in Austin on June 3, 2025. Pittman says the school has not had enough certified staff to provide additional services to English learners.

A challenge to launch bilingual programs

More than three-quarters of the 57 CPS and charter schools now required to launch bilingual education programs are on the city’s South and West Sides in communities that don’t have predominantly Latino populations, according to the records obtained by Chalkbeat and Block Club through an open records request. Only seven of those schools had previous bilingual program requirements anytime in the last five school years.

But both CPS and the state said bilingual programs can’t be created immediately, and they don’t look the same at every school.

By state law, a bilingual program requires teaching students language arts, math, science and social studies in both English and their native language. Schools will still also provide English as a Second Language — or English only — instruction. The state gives schools “time to implement necessary programs” and links each district with a state expert to help them create the programs, said Lindsay Record, spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education.

“It’s a multi-year program,” Asaf, from CPS, said. “It doesn’t mean that if you receive 30 students, next month, you can have a full, established bilingual program.”

Under the district’s funding formula, CPS provides positions to schools, and principals hire people to fill those roles. Schools get more positions if they have greater needs.

CPS officials said they’ve prioritized recruiting more bilingual certified teachers. But when it comes to ensuring individual schools have the right staff, officials described a largely hands-off approach.

Asaf’s office works with bilingual coordinators to “identify gaps in services” for English learners and recommends solutions to school leaders, said Sylvia Barragan, a CPS spokesperson, in an email to Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago.

Nash Elementary School, 4837 W. Erie St., in Austin on May 28, 2025.

One principal whose school has dozens of English learners said the district is offering “less advice” than before on how to serve English learners, even though the school is still trying to figure out how to meet legal requirements and student needs.

“Normally when I advocate [for resources], I get heat” from the district, said the principal, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

The principal takes issue with the district’s bilingual coordinator formula, saying the needs of individual English learners, not the total number of English learners, should be the determining factor.

“You don’t know the needs of those 75 kids or those 40 kids or those 50 kids,” the principal said.

Research has shown that English learners grow better academically in bilingual education programs than when they’re taught in English, according to three experts who have studied English language learners and immigrant communities.

But a shortage of bilingual teachers can make setting up a bilingual program difficult.

“If you’re a school and you’re fully staffed, you’ve got all your teachers, and suddenly you trigger a bilingual education mandate, you can’t just fire half of your teachers because they’re English-speakers only and hire a bunch of new Spanish-dominant or bilingual staff,” Williams, from The Century Foundation, said.

And it’s not easy for schools to convince longtime staffers to get bilingual certification.

For example, at Tarkington Elementary School in Chicago Lawn, the principal told seventh grade teacher Vivian Perez she would be laid off because the school needed more bilingual-certified staff. Perez then scrambled to get a temporary bilingual license.

But CPS says the school’s efforts to encourage other staff to get certified haven’t been successful — and Tarkington still needs bilingual teachers for seventh grade.

Perez now teaches her class in English and Spanish, which she believes makes students “feel like they’re not forgotten.”

The district views its role in solving the problem as “really dramatically increasing the supply” of bilingual teachers, who often seek jobs in predominantly immigrant school communities, said Ben Felton, chief of talent for CPS.

Felton said the district recruits and provides early offers to teaching candidates at the city’s hardest-to-staff schools, which disproportionately exist on the South and West sides and are seeing a “higher need” for bilingual teachers, he said.

CPS will now cover 100% of costs of getting a bilingual certification for up to 300 teachers in high-need areas each year as part of the new Chicago Teachers Union contract.

As of April, 3,400 of the district’s roughly 20,000 teachers were certified to teach bilingual education — a 22% increase since just before migrants began arriving in Chicago in spring 2022, according to data CPS shared with Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago.

But how those teachers are deployed across the district is uneven, especially among schools newly required to provide bilingual services in the 2024-25 school year.

On top of that, it’s not clear how many of those certified educators are actually teaching in a bilingual program or are certified to teach their students’ native language.

Teacher Sylvelia Pittman stands outside of Nash Elementary School in Austin on June 3, 2025. Pittman said that having a bilingual coordinator at the school, which now serves dozens of English learners, is far less than what Nash actually needs.

Schools caught in the middle

The district’s policies for staffing bilingual programs are also flawed in a practical sense, according to teachers and other school leaders.

A few miles east of Nash, Morton School of Excellence, 431 N. Troy St., is an example of district policy failing to keep up with the unpredictable nature of mass migration.

Like Nash, Morton teachers and administrators were completely unprepared when the Humboldt Park school received an influx of newcomer students last school year, according to Local School Council president and parent Cori Bradley.

Historically, most of the school’s students have been Black native English speakers. The school had 18 English learners at the start of the 2023-24 school year. By that March, the school had more than 80 English learners, almost doubling the student population. The staff had to respond on the fly.

“The school was operating in emergency mode for four or five months,” Bradley said.

“We didn’t have books for them. You had classrooms that had 35 kids. … The concern was: Are students learning? Can teachers adequately teach? Are there enough chairs and desks? It felt like the school had become a shelter.”

The hallways at Morton School of Excellence display flags from various different countries. After enrolling dozens of English language learners, Morton was newly required to launch a bilingual program this school year.

But by the time the district gave Morton a full-time bilingual coordinator at the start of this school year, the situation had completely changed. Morton’s English language learner population had shrunk by more than half to 35 students as of late February.

Because of that, Morton’s bilingual coordinator is slated to be part-time next year.

Barragan, the district spokesperson, said schools that don’t qualify for bilingual coordinators typically “nominate” an existing staffer to take on the role for an additional stipend.

Morton currently has five teachers certified to teach English as a second language and one who is certified to teach bilingual education — the current bilingual coordinator — according to the district’s April staffing data.

When Bradley asked if the part-time bilingual coordinator will be sufficient at a recent Local School Council meeting, Morton’s principal, Zachary Korth, told her he’s discussing the issue with staff and plans to advocate for more resources if necessary.

Korth said there are “rumblings” more newcomer families are planning to move. Two city-run shelters near the school have closed, driving families to other parts of the city and elsewhere, school leaders said.

School districts generally can’t easily respond to rapidly changing student populations, said Williams, from The Century Foundation. They fund schools based on a certain enrollment count or projection.

The district has a pool of bilingual teaching assistants that it can deploy to schools that are seeing more English learners enroll, according to district officials.

Chicago schools under state oversight for bilingual education

CPS is currently under state oversight for failing to meet bilingual education requirements.

The state requires corrective action any time an investigation finds that a CPS school is not in compliance with bilingual education requirements, officials said. When investigators find evidence of wrongdoing, the district is put on an action plan.

If a district doesn’t properly address the action plan, it can be subject to “sanctions” including loss of state or federal funding, said Record, the state spokesperson. State officials did not say when CPS must meet goals outlined in its latest corrective action plan.

Since the 2021-22 school year, ISBE has conducted no more than two investigations annually of alleged violations of bilingual education requirements at CPS schools. But this school year, the state has nine open investigations and has already completed two others — one of which found violations at Catalyst Charter School.

At Catalyst, an undisclosed disagreement among staffers led to the principal asking a teacher to stop offering English learner services to a group of fifth graders for about a month. Teachers were also not taking students’ English proficiency levels seriously, potentially impacting the type of services they received, according to the investigation notes.

The spike in complaints could be due to heightened awareness of the problem and advocacy for solutions. The Chicago Teachers Union made a big push for compliance and hosted workshops to train school staff how to file state complaints around bilingual education.

Others say the surge is a reflection of the state and school district’s longstanding inability to meet the needs of English learner students.

Audits that CPS conducted of bilingual and ESL programs from 2018 to the beginning of 2024 found that all but two programs did not comply with state law, according to public records obtained last year by Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago.

Complaints about CPS schools failing to provide proper bilingual education also prompted federal oversight in the past.

From 1980 to 2009, Chicago Public Schools was under a federal consent decree that ordered the district to desegregate its schools and ensure English language learners were getting enough support. The decree had to be updated twice, in part because CPS was failing to provide enough staffing and materials to English learners.

The American flag waves outside Nash Elementary School in Austin on June 3, 2025. The school enrolls more than 70 English language learners, the most in at least 15 years.

Experts say that sort of oversight is highly unlikely under the Trump administration.

In March, the federal government fired nearly every employee responsible for ensuring that districts were properly using federal funds meant to support English learners.

Patricia Gándara, a UCLA research professor who co-authored a book about the impact of immigration enforcement on schools, said the president’s executive order to make English the nation’s official language suggests the administration is not interested in bilingual education.

As a result of these moves, state and local officials will likely be tasked with ensuring those students are getting the support they need.

Pittman, the Nash teacher, said her principal has encouraged teachers to earn their bilingual certification. The principal is also planning to create virtual programming for some grades of students who need to learn English and Spanish, she said. The principal declined to be interviewed.

Newcomer students at Nash “are growing academically, but it’s taking them longer because they do not have all the bilingual support they’re supposed to have,” Pittman said.

Nash Elementary School in Austin has been required to have a bilingual education program for the past two school years.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mina Bloom is an investigative reporter for Block Club Chicago. Contact Mina at mina@blockclubchi.org.

Kae Petrin is a data & graphics reporter who covers data related to K-12 education, voting rights, and public health for Civic News Company. Contact them at kpetrin@chalkbeat.org.

A quarter of Chicago high schoolers missed more than a month of school last year

2025-05-16T14:00:01+00:00

Morning after morning in her junior year, Carmelia McKeehan thought about making the short walk to Farragut High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side, only to retreat to her bedroom, twiddling away hours on YouTube still in her pajamas.

She didn’t realize just how many days she was absent last school year — until a worried school counselor printed out her attendance record to share with her mother.

Carmelia, 18 at the time, recalls staring at the printout and asking the counselor: “I missed this many days of school?”

She had only shown up for about a quarter of the year.

“I was totally shocked,” she says now.

Carmelia’s experience reflects a dramatic rise in absences among high schoolers in the country’s fourth largest district — a spike that comes as schools nationwide grapple with lower attendance after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across Chicago Public Schools, nearly 25,000 high school students — or a quarter of all high schoolers — missed at least 35 days last year, according to CPS data obtained by WBEZ and Chalkbeat. That’s double the number of students who missed that much school in 2019 — and twice the number of days the state deems troublesome enough to flag a student as chronically absent.

And yet, Chicago Public Schools’ graduation rate has continued to inch up — from 81% in 2019 to 85% in 2024. Part of the reason: School district officials are giving students more chances to make up work and pass their classes even after weeks of absences.

In short, it’s easier now to miss a lot of school and still graduate.

WBEZ and Chalkbeat looked into this trend. Read more here.

Chicago Public Schools plans to release school budgets relying on unlikely city, state money

2025-05-14T23:08:26+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools is putting together a roughly $10 billion budget for next school year that relies on getting more money from the city or state. But neither entity has committed to the funding, and critics call the plan unrealistic.

In a call with reporters on Wednesday, district officials said that while individual campuses could see changes based on enrollment, the total amount of funding that goes to its roughly 600 schools would stay the same as last year — for now. Principals are slated to get their school’s budgets on Thursday but could see changes and cuts over the summer if new revenue doesn’t come through. The principals union sent a letter to members Tuesday calling the anticipated budgets “magical” and “false,” as first reported by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times.

“If it changes, then that’s going to have a multitude of ripple effects throughout the district, throughout the communities,” said Tyrone Dowdell, the longtime principal of Green Elementary School in Washington Heights and a board member of the principals union. “I don’t want for any of our colleagues throughout the city to have to change and tell their Local School Councils something different from what they say in May.”

Last month, district officials privately told the Chicago Board of Education CPS is expecting a $529 million deficit, which it could close by cutting up to 1,700 school-based positions, Chalkbeat previously reported.

At the time, the district also laid out two other scenarios: one in which the district’s deficit grows because of additional costs, and one where the deficit shrinks because CPS gets more money. The latter of those two scenarios is what the district is proposing: A $229 million deficit with the assumption that the city or state will come up with an additional $300 million for CPS.

Under that scenario, CPS will still need cuts to balance the budget but could keep them away from schools, officials said. CPS has not yet finalized what those cuts would be but is “confident” it will find “reductions and efficiencies,” said CPS spokesperson Mary Ann Fergus. The district closed last year’s roughly $500 million deficit with a mix of cuts to central staff and administrative costs, but kept overall funding to school budgets level.

With both the city and state grappling with their own deficits, CPS’s hopeful outlook is unlikely to come to fruition.

How the budget deficit gets addressed may depend on who replaces current CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, whose last day is June 18. The district’s new fiscal year starts July 1; the Board of Education has historically voted on a budget in June or July.

Martinez advocates for more city funding

The district’s budget calculations include different possibilities, including getting $600 million from the city related to Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, districts, or double what CPS received last year in TIF-related funds.

Additionally, CPS did not budget for a pension reimbursement to the city — setting up another potential fight with City Hall.

Martinez said Wednesday the budgets going to principals Thursday represent what the school board, unions, and Mayor Brandon Johnson want: no cuts to schools. District officials touted adding hundreds of staffers and new investments funded by federal COVID relief money, such as extra help for struggling students. A 2024 Chalkbeat analysis found those one-time COVID relief dollars, which have now run out, helped support roughly 7% of school budgets annually over the past four years.

The district has been asking the state for more money over the past year, Martinez said. If TIFs didn’t exist or were allowed to expire when they’re supposed to, Martinez said, the district would be getting at least an additional $600 million annually.

TIFs are special taxing districts that last for at least 23 years and set aside a portion of property taxes in that specific area to help spur development and improve public amenities, including parks and schools. Surplus money that’s not earmarked for projects goes back to the local taxing bodies, including CPS, which gets roughly half. When a TIF expires, the property value goes back to the tax base, benefiting government entities like CPS.

Martinez said if the city dissolved existing TIFs now, CPS would be able to solve its budget problems. Dissolving a TIF early, however, requires City Council approval, which school board President Sean Harden said is a “steep hill” to climb.

Nevertheless, Martinez said he’s encouraging the mayor, the City Council, the school board, unions, and families “to unite around a plan to use TIF funding to close our budget gap and supply our district with sustainable revenue for the future.”

“This is the only scenario that will allow us to maintain school funding levels,” he said.

The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Critics call the potential budget plan unrealistic

Harden, who was appointed by the mayor, told Chalkbeat that CPS may also be in a weak position to press the city for more money after refusing to reimburse the city for a portion of CPS-related pension costs. That reimbursement is not legally required, but the district had previously made the payment, starting under Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Doing so this year would have required borrowing or cuts and an inability to afford labor contracts, district officials argued.

Additional revenue is not likely to be coming from the state legislature either. Some school board members have said they’ve gone to Springfield at least twice this year to advocate for more funding. District officials also went at the end of April.

“Any proposal that assumes revenue from the city, state, or any place else, the board would want to see the basis for that assumption,” Harden said.

Joe Ferguson, president of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government watchdog group, said the district’s budget plan so far appeared to be a pressure tactic on the city and the state to send more money that is unlikely to materialize. What CPS revealed Wednesday is more of a “tactical document for negotiation” that doesn’t allow principals, schools, and parents to “begin to plan for the coming school year,” Ferguson said.

Martinez rejected the idea that he is making a political move or that it is irresponsible.

“I think it’s irresponsible to force our schools to cut a significant number of staff … I think it’s irresponsible to have over $1.2 billion every single year coming into the city that taxpayers think are going to the taxing bodies, and they are not,” Martinez said, referring to revenue generated by TIFs. “I think it’s irresponsible to propose tax increases at the city level when you have this much money.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago mayor commits $7 million to raises for early childhood education workers

2025-05-13T19:21:05+00:00

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Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Tuesday that Chicago will spend $7 million on increasing salaries for 3,000 early childhood workers, as part of an effort to pay them closer to what their counterparts at K-12 schools earn.

The money will boost wages by 5-10% for a range of staffers whose jobs are funded by state money, including teachers and teacher assistants at dozens of community-based early childhood providers. These providers are part of the city’s early learning system overseen by the Department of Family and Support Services, or DFSS, city officials said.

In addition, workers at Head Start, a federally funded program that serves kids from low-income households, will get a one-time 2% bonus, according to a city press release.

These programs are separate from Chicago Public Schools’ preschool programs, which provide half- and full-day programming for 3- and 4-year-olds at schools.

Many early childhood education providers have struggled to fund their programs and stave off a teacher shortage that they say stems from low wages — especially since federal relief from the pandemic ended. Officials say low pay and high stress are contributing to the teacher shortage in the early childhood field.

Full-time early childhood teachers in Chicago earned roughly $36,000 a year, according to a 2023 state survey. A 2022 study found that Chicago’s early childhood educators are paid on average $18,000 less than elementary school teachers, even if they have the same degree.

Johnson noted that almost 20 years ago, as a new CPS teacher with a master’s degree, he earned close to $45,000.

“It’s time we have salaries that are showing up for the people that are showing up for the families,” Johnson said during a press conference at the North Lawndale YMCA, which is one of at least 86 early childhood providers where workers will receive wage increases.

DFSS uses state and federal funds to provide early childhood education to about 13,000 kids, according to the city press release. The city’s $7 million contribution towards pay raises comes from the city budget’s corporate fund, which is used for basic city services.

Johnson’s announcement came after SEIU Healthcare, a union that represents thousands of early childhood workers in Chicago, pushed the city to address pay parity for their members. The union held town halls and testified to the City Council, according to Brynn Seibert, vice president at SEIU Healthcare Illinois.

Seibert said the next step is to push elected officials to ensure the wage increase “becomes permanent.” The wage increases, which will be implemented by child care agencies, will go into effect after July 1 for one fiscal year. Johnson said he plans to whip up support in the City Council for future raises.

Tahiti Hamer, an early childhood teacher at North Lawndale YMCA and an SEIU union leader, said she’s struggled to financially support her two children with her salary for the past 25 years. While she’s stuck it out, others have left the profession, leaving teachers like her working through their prep time and even struggling to eat lunch or use the bathroom.

“For kids, it means the family’s faces they’re used to seeing every day are gone and there are fewer staff to support them,” Hamer said, “and it is hard for parents, too, who are entrusting us with their children every day … who face a huge burden when classrooms close because there are not enough staff to keep them open.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

This Chicago teacher supports immigrant students, even teaching them calculus on Saturday

2025-04-16T16:43:00+00:00

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Math teacher Victor Hurtado knows what it’s like to enter high school as a recently arrived immigrant.

After growing up in Durango, Mexico, he moved to Chicago as a teenager and enrolled in Schurz High School, which had an English-Spanish bilingual program at that time.

Now, Hurtado serves as the math department chair teaching advanced algebra and AP Calculus at Schurz, which is now one of three dual-language high schools in Chicago Public Schools.

“I’m very passionate about my bilingual background,” Hurtado said. “I love my newcomers, and it’s a blessing to serve them.”

Victor Hurtado was a recent finalist for the 2025 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

Hurtado was honored earlier this month as a finalist for the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Chalkbeat spoke with him about supporting bilingual students, his favorite math lesson to teach, and what it’s like to navigate the current political climate around immigration.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you decide to become a teacher?

I was working on my undergraduate degree at Northeastern University after I graduated from Wright College with an associate’s degree. While at Northeastern, I met this professor from Colombia, a wonderful man. I took computer science with him and he really inspired me to finish up my degree and work as a teacher. He founded a school that was for adults and he recruited me to help in the evenings teach adults mainly from Latino backgrounds. The school helped them to get their high school diploma, not the GED. It was such a wonderful experience that I will never forget. For nine months, every Thursday night, we’d volunteer. It was awesome.

Right after Northeastern, I got a job at Chicago’s Foreman High School as a bilingual math teacher, and while I was there, I eventually got my master’s degree at DePaul University. I was at Forman for 10 and a half years before coming to Schurz for the last seven.

What is your favorite lesson to teach, and why?

Being in the classroom for 17 years, there are so many great lessons in math that I could pick. This is my second year teaching AP Calculus, and I’ve always wanted to teach that class.

My favorite lesson is Riemann sums. It’s a method by a German professor, last name Riemann. It’s one of those AP Calculus topics that is a good introduction to derivatives. And kids discover and make connections between the formula and applying the geometry skills.

It is one of those topics that it’s very satisfying to see how the kids are able to sketch trapezoids, how they sketch rectangles. It’s all hands-on and they do explore, and it’s more like a discovery method for them to understand a much bigger theorem in calculus.

Chicago has enrolled many recent immigrants in the past three years. How has that impacted your school and your teaching?

Ever since the results of the political elections, in our community, you see a lot of increasing anxiety among Latino families with ICE deportations taking place.

Thankfully, Chicago is a great city. We are a sanctuary city. We welcome people of all sorts of backgrounds. I do feel like I was welcome in Chicago and I think our newcomers, they do feel welcome. There’s a lot of support in place for them to kind of get accustomed.

Right now at the classroom level, particularly for our bilingual and ESL classrooms, we see an increase in the high levels of stress because it’s all over the news. I do try to talk about it when they ask, if they ask. We explain to the student, “Listen, don’t panic. Take a deep breath. ICE cannot come to your school without a [judicial] warrant.”

I openly had two conversations with the students recently, and the kids were very curious. They were very open. They were very polite. They were very reflective. Obviously, they were afraid of those things, and we tried to ease their concerns and guide them.

Our local school council conducted a wonderful legal clinic last Saturday. People are doing great things at Schurz advocating for our families.

Talk a little more about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I’m a proud Schurz alumni. I’m very grateful for my bilingual background, and I feel very strongly about promoting dual language and bilingualism in our communities. I feel like Schurz was the place that I needed to be at the moment that I was here.

At Schurz, we have a great group of people who are doing a great job for our dual-language students. They’re very passionate about dual language and bilingualism. The educators do generally care about our students, and even our principal, Dr. Moran, she’s bilingual.

As for myself, I was in bilingual classes, but I was never offered the chance to take an advanced class in mathematics, and I understood why. Obviously, I didn’t have the skills to be in an advanced class. But now, this is what I advocate for my students.

I just did a workshop recently at a dual-language elementary school. I was presenting on how to build rigorous courses for our Latino and underprivileged students. It was truly an honor to be speaking about it and bringing in things that I’ve done in the classroom, based on my own experience, based on how I want to advocate for the students.

In my AP Calculus class, I recruited about nine bilingual students. I’m conducting Saturday review sessions. I’m doing this because I want to do it and the kids are showing up on a Saturday morning, nine in the morning until noon, just to talk about problems.

This is their third year in the United States. So they’re getting used to writing their responses in English, completely in English, and their writing has gotten much better. They’re so motivated. It has been such a powerful, empowering experience that I feel honored to be part of.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a teacher, and how do you put it into practice?

I’ll go back to my years at Schurz. One of the best pieces of advice that I received was to go to a community college and start my education there. They offer a good bridge program for the students like myself, and they have a very affordable tuition, right? And now, they do offer the Chicago Star Scholarship, which is for students who excel, who have a 3.0 GPA, and it also applies undocumented students. Back when I was in school, they didn’t offer those things. So I’m so glad that they’re doing it now.

Mr. Sanchez, my high school social studies teacher, encouraged me to go to community college and get a degree. I’m so glad that he was able to inspire me. I try to do the exact same thing for the students today. I talked to them about going to see the college and career counselor; let’s see what scholarships are available to you.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I’m a sports fan, and I love playing volleyball. I played in high school, and now, I play with my friends, guys I’ve known for the past 20 years. So I play whenever I have a chance. This helps my mental health. People have to have something outside your job that is going to help [you] cope with the stress.

My two daughters got into volleyball, and this year, we’ve been doing travel team with them. They have played volleyball for the past three years. It’s one of the greatest experiences that I ever experienced as a father. Those girls are so passionate about the sport. They dive, they hit, they spike, they do a lot of things already that I was never able to do at a young age. It’s such a wonderful thing to see, and that really fills me with joy. That has been a blessing for them and for the family.

Correction 9/16/25: This story has been updated to clarify that Schurz High School had a Spanish-English bilingual program when Hurtado was enrolled, but was not a dual-language school until he started teaching there. It also corrected that the school hosted a legal clinic last Saturday, but is not hosting them every Saturday.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Where is Chicago’s Black Student Achievement Committee?

2025-04-09T20:15:44+00:00

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Months after the new Chicago Board of Education was sworn in, some advocates are pushing the board to launch a state-mandated Black Student Achievement Committee.

The committee in question is required under the state law that defines Chicago’s new elected school board. But Chicago Public Schools came under federal scrutiny in February after releasing its long-awaited Black Student Success Plan.

Multiple board members said Wednesday they’re working to establish the committee, but did not mention the federal complaint. Board member Jitu Brown said he’s one of the people pushing “to make sure it happens.”

“Please hold us accountable for the Black Student Success Committee, and just know that we are moving diligently to make sure that we have our committee up and running,” Brown said. “We’ll be reaching out to people in the community to serve on the committee.”

State law requires the committee to focus on closing academic disparities and improving the school experience for the district’s Black students, who historically have been less likely to pass standardized reading and math tests compared to their peers and have also been disproportionately subject to disciplinary action.

The requirement to create the committee looms as the district is under federal scrutiny for more than just the Black Student Success Plan. Chicago is one of multiple school systems across the country that the Trump administration has targeted as it attempts to crack down on diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, efforts, with the threat of holding back federal funding. CPS, the state of Illinois, and a suburban district are also facing a Title IX investigation into policies around supporting transgender and nonbinary students. Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson said his administration would sue the federal government if it started to withhold federal education funding over DEI.

During a board meeting on Wednesday, some advocates pointed to that pressure as a reason to swiftly establish the committee.

“We need action to establish the Black Student Achievement Committee now, especially in the national climate where out-of-state threats and executive orders are attacking DEI work and threatening federal funding,” Nakasha Barlow, a senior organizer with the Chicago branch of Educators For Excellence, a teacher advocacy group, told board members. “It is even more critical that CPS double down on protecting black student success.”

The Black Student Success Plan, which the district launched in February, promises to make a slew of changes, including increasing the number of Black teachers, curbing suspensions for Black students, and creating a more culturally responsive curriculum to “combat anti-Blackness.” The day after the plan was launched, the conservative advocacy group Parents Defending Education, which has challenged other race-based initiatives, filed a federal complaint alleging that the initiative violated the U.S. Constitution and cited a federal letter that warned districts to halt race-based initiatives.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Parents Defending Education challenges Chicago district’s Black Student Success Plan as discriminatory

2025-02-21T22:10:07+00:00

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An out-of-state advocacy group filed a federal antidiscrimination complaint challenging Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Plan the day after the district released its long-awaited blueprint.

Parents Defending Education, which has challenged race-based initiatives and the teaching of topics involving race and gender in schools, submitted a complaint to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, asking it to block the five-year plan’s implementation. It invoked the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning the use of race as a factor in college admissions, and a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights late last week warning school districts to halt any race-based initiatives or risk losing federal funding.

District leaders in Chicago said they would review and respond to the complaint. A Chalkbeat reporter was turned away from a kickoff event celebrating the new plan Friday afternoon by an official who said it was not open to the public. CPS officials have previously said the plan is essential in addressing longstanding disparities in achievement, graduation, discipline, and other outcomes for its Black students.

The plan sets goals to increase the number of Black teachers, reduce Black student suspensions, provide more professional development for all educators, and ensure that Black history is taught in more classrooms, among other steps.

The plan’s release collides with an aggressive push by the Trump administration to root out diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The administration argued in its Dear Colleague letter that even using income and other non-racial factors in education initiatives runs afoul of the Supreme Court’s admissions decision — a claim some legal experts deem a major stretch.

In a letter to families Friday, district CEO Pedro Martinez did not specifically refer to the Black student plan but said that CPS will stay the course amid Trump administration changes and threats of withholding funding, including when it comes to teaching students’ cultures and history in the classroom.

“We will stay true to our values and our mission — to provide all students with a rigorous, joyful, and equitable daily learning experience that affirms and celebrates their identities,” Martinez wrote.

Last year, Parents Defending Education filed a similar complaint against a Los Angeles Unified School District program to improve outcomes for its Black students. At the Biden administration’s urging following the complaint, that district overhauled its program to open it to all students at schools that qualified for it. That’s a development the group also touted in its complaint against CPS.

“Parents Defending Education hopes that this complaint will spur quick action to remedy unlawful practices and end discrimination on the basis of race, and political indoctrination in America’s schools,” a spokeswoman for the group said in a statement to Chalkbeat Friday.

In its complaint, the group argued that CPS students of other races also struggle academically, pointing to a district chart about results on a reading assessment in the early grades that showed a slightly smaller portion of Latino students read on grade level compared with Black students. Overall, though, Black students in CPS have faced some of the district’s widest disparities in academic outcomes — a longstanding issue that sparked a CPS equity push under former CEO Janice Jackson that laid the groundwork for the new plan.

The group also noted a reference to “present-day harm” to Black students in plan materials, urging the Office of Civil Rights to not only investigate the initiative but to also audit the district to find out if it is violating the rights of any students.

CPS has noted that a state law passed last spring requires the board to have a Black student achievement committee, suggesting that it is complying with Illinois mandates in crafting the plan.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago releases its Black Student Success Plan amid backlash against race-based initiatives

2025-02-20T18:22:24+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools unveiled a five-year plan Thursday to improve the outcomes of the district’s Black students — at a time of unprecedented backlash against efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in education.

The release of the Black Student Success Plan, during Black History Month, is part of CPS’s broader five-year strategic plan and aims to address long-standing disparities in graduation, discipline, and other metrics faced by its Black students, who make up roughly a third of the student body.

The district set out to create the Black Student Success Plan in the fall of 2023, but its quiet posting on Thursday comes as both conservative advocacy groups and the Trump administration are taking aim at race-based initiatives in school districts and on college campuses.

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s top acting civil rights official warned districts and universities that they could lose federal funding if they don’t scrap all diversity initiatives, even those that use criteria other than race to meet their goals. He cited the 2023 Supreme Court Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision that banned the use of race as a college admissions factor.

CPS — in a progressive city in a Democratic state — has largely been insulated from standoffs over diversity and inclusion in recent years, when districts in other parts of the country have come under intense scrutiny over how they teach race and how they take it into account in hiring, selective program admissions, and other decisions. Increasingly, though, deep blue cities like Chicago are finding themselves in the crosshairs.

Last year, a Virginia-based advocacy group challenged a Los Angeles Unified School District initiative aimed at boosting outcomes for its Black students, which CPS said inspired its own plan. At the urging of the Biden administration, Los Angeles made changes to downplay the role of race, causing an outcry from some of its initiative’s supporters.

Chicago’s plan vows to increase the number of Black teachers, slash suspensions and other discipline for Black students, and embrace more culturally responsive curriculums and professional development to “combat anti-Blackness” — goals some of which could run afoul of the Department of Education’s interpretation of the Students for Fair Admissions decision.

Still, some district and community leaders in Chicago say CPS’s plan might be better-positioned to withstand challenges than Los Angeles’ initiative — and they said the district must forge ahead with the effort even as it braces for pushback.

“Now is not the time for anticipatory obedience and preemptive acquiescence,” said Elizabeth Todd-Breland, a University of Illinois Chicago professor of African American history and a former Chicago school board member who served on a working group that helped craft the plan. “This is not the time to shrink but to live out our values.”

The new plan says Illinois law mandates this work and cites a state statute that requires the Chicago Board of Education to have a Black Student Achievement Committee. That committee has not yet been formed.

CPS declined Chalkbeat’s interview request and did not answer questions before publication. The district is hosting a celebration at Chicago State University at 3 p.m. Friday to mark the plan’s release.

Chicago set out to create Black Student Success Plan years ago

CPS convened a working group made up of 60 district employees, parents, students, and community members that started meeting in December of 2023 to begin creating its Black Student Success Plan.

The following spring, it hosted nine forums to discuss the plan with residents across the city — what the plan’s supporters describe as one of the district’s most extensive and genuine efforts to get community input.

The working group in May released a list of recommendations that included stepping up efforts to recruit and retain Black educators, promote restorative justice practices, ensure culturally responsive curriculums that teach Black history, and offer more mental health and other support for Black students through partnerships with community-based organizations.

The district adopted many of these recommendations in its plan. It sets some concrete five-year goals, including doubling the number of male Black teachers, increasing the number of classrooms where Black history is taught, and decreasing how many Black students get out-of-school suspensions by 40%.

“The Black Student Success Plan is much more than simply a document,” the plan said. “It represents a firm commitment by the district, a roadmap, and a call to action for Chicago’s educational ecosystem to ensure equitable educational experiences and outcomes for Black students across our district.”

The effort built on equity work to help “students furthest from opportunity” that started five years ago under former CEO Janice Jackson, said Dominique McKoy, the executive director of the University of Chicago’s To & Through Project. In CPS, by a range of metrics, those students have historically been Black children.

McKoy, whose work focuses on college access, points out that the district has made major strides in increasing the number of students who go to college. But more students than ever drop out before earning a college degree — an issue that has disproportionately affected Black CPS graduates.

“There’s evidence and data that we haven’t been meeting the needs of Black students,” he said. “This plan is about responding to the data. Being clear about that is one of the best ways to insulate and defend that process.”

But McKoy acknowledges that now is a challenging time to kick off the district’s plan.

“Undoubtedly there will be critics who will think it’s racial preference to help students who need help and will attack the district for doing so,” said Pedro Noguera, the dean of the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.

Last year’s challenge against a $120 million Los Angeles program aimed at addressing disparities for Black students offers a case study, Noguera notes. Parents Defending Education, which opposes school district diversity and inclusion programs, filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The group has also challenged programs to recruit more Black male teachers and form affinity student groups based on race in other districts.

Ultimately, Los Angeles overhauled the program to steer additional staffing and other resources to entire schools serving high-needs students, rather than more narrowly to Black students. The Los Angeles Times reported that to some critics, those changes watered down the program, which was beginning to show some early results. But Noguera says he feels the program is still helping Black students.

However, it is clear that the Trump administration plans to go much further in interpreting the Students for Fair Admissions decision and seeking to root out DEI initiatives. In a “Dear Colleague” letter to school leaders Friday, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department, said efforts to diversify the teaching force or the student bodies of selective enrollment programs could trigger investigations and the loss of federal funding. About 20% of CPS’s operating revenue comes from the federal government.

“The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions,” Trainor wrote. “The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent.”

‘Get the help to the kids who need it’

Chicago, like Los Angeles, might consider a focus on schools — chosen based on metrics such as graduation rates, test scores and others — where the plan would help Black students and their peers, Noguera said. Maybe it doesn’t even have to refer to Black students in its name, he said.

“The main thing is to get the help to the kids who need it,” he said. But, he added, “In this environment, who knows what’s challenge-proof.”

He said what helped in Los Angeles was deep community engagement that lent that district’s initiative credibility and good will; the changes that the district made in response to the legal challenge did not erode those.

Darlene O’Banner, a CPS great-grandmother who served on the working group, said CPS got the community engagement piece right. She thinks the plan will offer a detailed roadmap for improving Black students’ achievement and experience.

“I am not going to think of the unknowns and what’s going on in the world,” O’Banner said. “We’re just going to hope for the best. We can’t put the plan on hold for four years.”

The working group issued its recommendation in early fall and stopped meeting following the September resignation of all school board members, who stepped down amid pressure from the mayor’s office to fire CPS CEO Pedro Martinez over budget disagreements.

Valerie Leonard, a longtime community advocate who also served on the working group, said during the community meetings for the Black Student Success Plan last year, there was no discussion of possible legal pushback to the plan.

“Illinois is a liberal state,” she said. “It never really occurred to us a year ago that this plan would be in danger.”

But more recently, as she heard Trump assail DEI initiatives, Leonard said she wondered if the plan would survive.

Leonard pushed Illinois lawmakers last year to mandate the Board of Education appoint a Black Student Achievement Committee as part of the state law that cleared the way for an elected school board in Chicago. The district’s plan invokes that committee though it hasn’t been formed yet. The board formed a more generic student success committee earlier this month.

“We believe that the problem with Black children in public schools is so dire that it needs to be elevated to its own committee,” she said. “When our children get lumped into something that’s for all, they inevitably fall between the cracks.”

McKoy at the University of Chicago said he feels “cautious optimism” and hopes the city and state rally around CPS as it pushes to improve outcomes for Black students.

“The plan itself isn’t going to do the work,” he said.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago schools doubled classroom assistants in recent years. Now, labor unions are fighting over who represents them.

2025-02-20T00:05:42+00:00

The number of classroom assistants who provide extra support to students with disabilities in Chicago Public Schools has more than doubled in the past decade, according to district staffing data.

That growth has happened as the share of students with disabilities has also increased in CPS.

But the role and the ranks of these assistants is under scrutiny as the school district grapples with tighter budgets and is locked in a labor dispute that advocates worry could lead to worse services and care for children with the highest needs.

The labor dispute — between Service Employees International Union Local 73 and Chicago Teachers Union — is over a CTU proposal to allow the teacher assistants that union represents to be assigned to provide additional support to students with disabilities, a role historically represented by SEIU. The number of special education classroom assistants, or SECAs, represented by SEIU have grown in the past five years, while the number of teacher assistants, or TAs, represented by the CTU has dropped in the past decade.

On average, SECAs make slightly more than teacher assistants. For example, this school year, SECAs without a degree are making an average $48,338 — about $3,700 more than teachers assistants at a similar level, according to district data.

Mary Fahey Hughes, a former member of the Chicago Board of Education and longtime advocate of students with disabilities, said the SECAs who worked with her son Aidan were critical to his development as a student with autism in CPS. People become SECAs specifically to work with students with disabilities and gain specific experience and training along the way in working with high-needs students, she said.

“I understand that it must be awful to be a teachers assistant and to have worked many years and to have your position no longer be needed, but I can’t get behind giving SECA jobs to TAs,” Hughes said.

The CTU — traditionally a close ally of the SEIU — said its proposal is meant to boost the number of teacher assistants and provide more options of support for students with disabilities, in a district that has historically struggled to serve those kids. In 2018, the state found that the district was systemically failing to provide students with disabilities with the extra services they are legally entitled to and placed it on a corrective action plan.

Over the past few years, SEIU has fought to create guardrails on the job duties of SECAs and expand training for the position. The SEIU has characterized CTU’s proposal as “a raid” on its membership and said it would hurt the quality of services provided to students with disabilities.

SEIU has threatened to sue the district even though CPS has so far rejected the CTU proposal. SEIU’s parent union also passed a resolution earlier this month declaring that it was “under attack” by the CTU. The division between the two labor unions could come with political fallout for Mayor Brandon Johnson, who won election in 2023 with both financial and boots-on-the-ground help from both groups.

Who are SECAs and TAs?

Assistants can provide a range of needed extra help in classrooms and their exact job title may not be obvious to students and families. But their roles are distinct.

SECAs provide extra support to students with disabilities and their roles are written into legal documents governing the services those children are entitled to under federal law. Teacher assistants provide a range of additional support in the classroom and historically, the district budgets for them to support specific programs, such as pre-K or reducing class size, or principals hire them using discretionary funds.

SECAs “assist in the instruction, behavioral, and personal care needs” of students with disabilities, according to SEIU’s contract. That can mean helping them with a lesson in class, walking them to the bathroom, and helping them calm down by taking a walk in the hall, but can also include feeding and assisting them in using the bathroom, educators told Chalkbeat.

“I mean, whatever is needed for them to be safe and get their instruction,” said Kimberly Weston-Dodd, a longtime SECA at Corliss High School and SEIU delegate.

A student with a disability typically has one of two documents that outline the additional services or accommodations they’re legally entitled to: an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, or a 504 plan. A child’s IEP team, which includes a parent and other school staff, determines if the child should receive extra support from a SECA. Based on that information, CPS’s central office decides how many SECAs to allocate for each school, and then principals hire them.

Teacher assistants, in contrast, can provide a range of additional support to teachers, such as putting up bulletin boards or redirecting a student if they get off task.

Thad Goodchild, deputy general counsel for the CTU, said schools have also, at times, used teacher assistants to provide additional support to students with disabilities.

SECA jobs have ballooned over the past decade while teacher assistant jobs have dropped, but the reasons why aren’t completely clear.

A decade ago, the district had just over 3,000 SECA positions with just over 200 of them unfilled. Since Dec. 31, 2019, the number of SECA positions has grown by 65%, with roughly 7,600 positions as of Dec. 31, 2024. Of those jobs, 325 were unfilled, according to district data.

At the same time, the district has opened 225 fewer CTU-protected teacher assistant positions, or about 18% fewer of those jobs than existed right before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked why SECA positions have increased while teacher assistant jobs have dropped, district spokesperson Sylvia Barragan said “the staffing structure has been adjusted to accommodate” the increase in students with additional needs. District officials also said that they used some of the $2.8 billion it received in federal COVID relief dollars to hire more SECAs after identifying that as one of CPS’s “pressing needs.”

Since the 2019-20 school year, the number of students with disabilities has grown by about 5%, according to district data. Still, the number of SECA positions grew by a far greater rate: 65% in that same time period.

But that massive increase happened after the state found that the district was systemically failing to provide students with disabilities with the extra services they are legally entitled to, advocates and union officials told Chalkbeat. As a result, the state placed CPS on a corrective action plan. Lindsay Record, a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education, said hiring more SECAs was not part of that corrective plan, which has since been closed.

But before the state’s investigation, many children who needed SECAs weren’t getting them, said Terri Smith-Roback, a parent of a CPS student with a disability and longtime advocate who was part of a coalition that helped spark the state’s investigation. There was also “onerous,” time-consuming paperwork required at the time to get additional help for students with disabilities, said Smith-Roback. Those issues were highlighted in the state investigation.

“I think once the inquiry ended, people were able to assign SECAs to IEPs with more professional discretion and less red tape,” Smith-Roback said.

One elementary school principal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he’s noticed the changing culture around IEPs. He said IEP teams are asking for SECAs “much more liberally” than they did 10 to 20 years ago. The number of SECAs at his school — where enrollment has grown — have more than quadrupled over the past decade.

Union dispute started last summer

The dispute between the two unions became public in December when the Chicago Tribune reported that SEIU was planning to sue CTU. But the roots of it reach back to at least last summer.

Last summer, CPS laid off 240 teacher assistants and roughly 260 SECAs, offering to continue paying both pools of workers for this entire school year as they searched for jobs in other schools, according to officials at both unions. Of the teacher assistants, as many as 140 have landed jobs at other schools — but a “significant number” of them have been rehired as SECAs at the same school, according to Goodchild, the CTU lawyer.

Around that time last summer, CTU leaders asked SEIU leadership if SEIU would give CTU hundreds of vacancies that existed for SECA positions, in order to prevent teacher assistant layoffs, said Dian Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73. When vacancies exist, laid-off workers can search for jobs at other schools.

Goodchild said the union worried about more teacher assistants, many of whom have supported students with disabilities at some point, losing work. CTU didn’t want layoffs to “have any negative impact on either union,” he said.

Palmer said she wanted to help CTU, but realized that sharing those vacancies could mean less layoff protection for her own members — the SECAs. So she declined CTU’s request.

On July 17, 2024, CTU filed a grievance with CPS that claimed that the district has been converting teacher assistant jobs into SECAs for years in violation of its contract. It suggested that SECAs should only support students who also require diapering and toileting help, and that all other teacher assistant jobs that were converted into SECA jobs be reverted back to teacher assistants.

“The vast majority of the students are not toileted and fed, so if that’s the criteria, we know our [SECA] numbers would go way down,” Palmer said.

The grievance also demanded that the district’s Office for Students with Disabilities not assign SECAs to teacher assistant jobs that don’t have diapering and feeding duties. The union’s contract says the district cannot “reclassify” a teachers assistant as a SECA who does not diaper and feed a child.

Chicago Public Schools declined to comment on the grievance. SEIU viewed the grievance as a power grab by CTU and an insult to suggest SECAs have no value beyond bathroom and feeding responsibilities.

Then, in the fall, as CTU bargained with CPS over its new contract, SEIU became aware of a proposal from CTU that would allow principals to choose between SECAs and teacher assistants to support students with disabilities. That raised more alarm bells for SEIU: Giving principals a choice means they could choose teacher assistants, who can also do other work around the classroom, and could mean fewer SECAs in schools, Palmer said.

Goodchild said that “of course part of the goal is to increase the number of teacher assistants” because the decrease in teacher assistants “has had damaging impacts for students and schools and educators.”

What does it look like on the ground?

While SECA roles are more defined on paper, their roles inside schools can be more complicated, according to two elementary school principals who spoke to Chalkbeat.

One principal said she never approaches her teacher assistants to help with personal care needs that only SECAs can do. But her SECAs, like her teacher assistants, are “very willing in a pinch to step in” and help with additional needs, which come up a lot in schools. SEIU’s contract allows SECAs to help in emergency situations.

The other principal said while a quarter of his SECAs provide one-on-one support to students with disabilities, others are working with multiple students, helping to manage behavioral issues or helping them with a lesson. As student needs and enrollment changes during the year, he vacillates between feeling like he doesn’t have enough SECAs and feeling like he may have too many.

The expansion of classroom aides is among the overall growth in staff at CPS in the past five years. District officials continue to tout more than 7,000 positions added at a time of declining enrollment. But much of that has been possible because of federal COVID relief money, which is now gone.

While CPS officials say it’s a priority to keep the new positions, budget cuts could be looming. Adding more teacher assistants could help reduce class size and provide more support in schools, principals have said.

Both teachers assistants and SECAs need the same state paraprofessional license in order to work at CPS, which requires at least an associate degree, 60 semester hours of college credit, or a high school degree along with certain passing scores on either a state-approved paraprofessional exam or the ACT WorkKeys Career Assessment.

SEIU’s contract says SECAs with 60 semester hours of college credit must have taken courses in severe disabilities. If SECA candidates decide instead to take the state-approved exam, they must have worked with children with disabilities for at least one year.

The experience SECAs have and the additional training they’ll receive is important for properly serving students with disabilities, advocates and a principal told Chalkbeat. SEIU’s current contract requires CPS to provide SECAs with additional training on a range of issues, including generally working with students with disabilities, deescalation practices, and how IEPs work, starting this July.

“I don’t see the win for students in having a cohort of teaching assistants that don’t have the training, the certification, the desire to work with students with disabilities,” Hughes, the former board member, said.

Weston-Dodd, the SECA from Corliss, said SECAs like her have gained years of experience working exclusively with students with disabilities and are best positioned to serve those children. She also said she’s received professional development training annually.

Still, one of the elementary school principals believes that if she wanted teacher assistants to get similar training that SECAs will get, the district wouldn’t say no.

If CTU’s proposal is accepted by the district, advocates for students with disabilities, as well as SEIU, believe principals would have some incentive to choose teacher assistants since they have broader job responsibilities and are paid less.

“There’s a lot of needs in schools, and things happen and there are times when it’s, like, ‘I just need you to be the body here for a little bit,’” said one of the elementary school principals. “You have a lot more wiggle room with the teacher assistant job description than you do with a SECA job description.”

Still, that principal said she doesn’t want to make the decision on who should work with her highest need students.

The other principal believes it’s good that he doesn’t have undue influence on deciding what a student with a disability needs. But he feels that right now, “it’s arbitrary” on whether the person providing additional support to a child “has a TA job code or a SECA job code,” because their job would be to do what’s in a child’s IEP.

But, he said, he also believes that the person assigned to do the job should have better training.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

NAEP scores: How did Illinois students do on the ‘nation’s report card’ in 2024?

2025-02-03T15:15:40+00:00

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This story has been updated to include reactions to NAEP scores. It also clarifies what increases and decreases are considered statistically significant.

Illinois fourth grade students’ math and reading scores from spring 2024 stayed mostly stagnant on a test known as the “nation’s report card” compared to students who took the exam in previous years.

Now in fifth grade, these students would have been kindergarten age when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools and sent classrooms online. For many, first grade was also online or a mix of in-person and virtual.

During the pandemic, some parents opted to pull their children from school worrying that there wasn’t a benefit to virtual learning at a young age.

The latest round of test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as NAEP, released on Wednesday shows that Illinois students who missed school or went through the interruptions and struggles of remote learning, may still have gaps in their education from that time. However, Illinois eighth grade students — who would have been in fourth grade when the pandemic started — either held steady or outperformed their peers in 2022 in reading and math, but their scores lagged behind their peers who took the exam in 2019.

According to the new NAEP data, 38% of Illinois’ fourth graders were proficient in math and 30% were in reading, while 32% of the state’s eighth graders were proficient in math and 33% were in reading. Researchers said that the drops in proficiency for fourth graders in reading and math between 2024 and 2022 were not statistically significant.

When compared to other states, Illinois’ fourth grade proficiency rates were comparable to the national average in reading and math, but the state’s eighth graders surpassed the average in both subjects.

State Superintendent Tony Sanders said in a statement that NAEP’s latest results give families, students, and educators a “cause to celebrate.”

“This data is another example, like our state report card and national studies, that Illinois’ students are growing academically,” Sanders said in the statement.

NAEP scores for Chicago Public Schools, Illinois’ largest public school district, show that the district’s eighth graders had significantly higher scores in math and reading scores in 2024 when compared to their peers in 2022. Chicago’s fourth graders had slightly higher math scores than previous groups of students and slightly lower reading scores, but neither were statistically significant

In 2024, 21% of Chicago’s fourth grade students were proficient in math and 23% were in reading, but this was not a statistically significant difference from their 2022 proficiency rate. For the district’s eighth graders, 21% were proficient in math and 27% were proficient in reading, an increase from 2022.

According to a joint study from Stanford and Harvard universities, Chicago students’ reading scores on state exams rebounded faster than other districts across the country.

But in a statement, CPS officials focused on the strong performance of eighth grade students.

“This data is consistent with what we have previously seen - that students who remain in our system continue to make learning gains over time,” according to a statement from Chicago Public Schools. “The 8th grade reading score of CPS exceeded the average of large cities and narrowed the gap with the national public average to only 2 points. This marks the closest CPS has ever been to the national public average in 8th grade reading performance.”

The district statement also acknowledged that fourth graders were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic when compared to their older peers. The district said that they have added interventionist positions to support students, instructional coaches to assist educators, and organized tutoring programs.

CPS scores also show disparities between Black and Latino students when compared to their white and Asian American peers in reading and math in both grade levels. This has been a trend in NAEP scores over the past decade, predating the pandemic. However, Black and Latino students in eighth grade in 2024 reading and math were comparable to students who took the exam in eighth grade in 2022.

“COVID is exposing the historical and generational disparities that black children in this city have experienced for a very long time,” said Stacy Davis Gates, Chicago Teachers Union president when asked about the pandemic’s impact on students. “But I think COVID exposed all of the opportunity gaps, and we see them even in the recovery.”

The state’s Illinois Assessment of Readiness from spring 2024 paints a very different picture than NAEP’s 2024 scores. In fact, the IAR — which tests students between third and eighth grade in the spring — found that students’ reading scores were above 2019 scores.

But even on state standardized tests, Illinois and Chicago students’ performance on math tests lagged behind their counterparts’ math scores in pre-pandemic years.

In October, Sanders attributed the growth in IAR reading scores to the changes in how literacy is taught in Illinois schools. Since math scores have yet to grow in the same way as reading scores, Sanders said at the time the state’s report card was released that the board of education was looking into a statewide math and numeracy plan to increase proficiency.

Correction 2/3/2025: This story has been corrected to say that fourth graders who took the exam in spring 2024 are now in fifth grade during the 2024-25 school year.

Correction 1/29/2025: This story and its headlines have been corrected to clarify that the small declines in the NAEP scores of Illinois fourth graders in 2024 compared to those in 2022 and 2019 were not statistically significant and within the margin of error.

Amid immigration fears, Chicago school staff mistook Secret Service agents for ICE, district says

2025-01-25T02:04:34+00:00

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Citing a “misunderstanding” and pointing to community fears, Chicago Public Schools officials conceded Friday night that they were mistaken in reporting that federal immigration agents had shown up that morning at a predominantly Latino elementary school.

Two federal agents who came to Hamline Elementary in the city’s Back of the Yards neighborhood were in fact U.S. Secret Service agents, the agency and district confirmed.

The fear, confusion, and conflicting accounts could be a preview of what’s to come in the weeks ahead at schools with large immigrant populations now that longstanding protections are gone.

The second Trump administration has moved swiftly to follow through on campaign promises to crack down on immigration, putting communities on edge and school officials on alert.

Earlier this week, the administration cleared the way for immigration enforcement at or near schools, churches, and other “sensitive” locations that have been considered off-limits for years.

On Friday afternoon, Chicago Public Schools officials told the media that staff at the elementary school had followed district protocol and blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering the school at about 11:15 a.m. CPS chief education officer Bogdana Chkoumbova said school staff contacted CPS’s legal and security departments and did not allow the agents to speak to students or staff.

District policy is to not allow ICE into schools unless agents present a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge.

“We will not open our doors for ICE, and we are here to protect our children and make sure they have access to an excellent education,” said Natasha Ortega, the school principal.

That triggered a series of statements that painted a different picture of events.

Later in the afternoon, an ICE spokesman told the Chicago Sun-Times the agency was not involved. Then, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that it was Chicago-based Secret Service agents investigating a threat against “a government official we protect” who went to the school after first visiting a residence.

“Agents identified themselves to the school principal and provided business cards with their contact information,” Guglielmi said. “The agents left without incident. The Secret Service investigates all threats made against those we protect, we do not investigate nor enforce immigration laws.”

On Friday night, CPS issued a statement with its revised version of events: that two individuals arrived at the school door and “presented identification that includes the name Department of Homeland Security, the federal agency that oversees ICE.”

The Secret Service is also housed under the homeland security department.

CPS said school officials responded to the agents thinking they were from ICE, “amid rumors and reports that the agency was in the community,” and acted accordingly.

“Our original communication was a result of a misunderstanding, reflective of the fear and concerns in the community amid the new administration’s focus on undocumented immigrants,” the district said.

The district said its response “demonstrates that our system, in partnership with community organizations, is prepared and ready to keep our students and staff safe.”

The morning’s events sent ripples of fear through Hamline Elementary, a K-8 school that is 92% Latino and where more than 68% of the student population are considered English learners, a number that grew by 20% over the past decade.

As the news spread through the school and the neighborhood, a handful of parents and guardians came to the school in the frigid cold; a couple of people appeared to be taking their children out of school early for the day.

One Hamline staffer, who requested anonymity, said the school went into a 30-minute lockdown during the incident. CPS officials did not immediately confirm the lockdown.

Rumors have been swirling all week that Chicago – a so-called sanctuary city – would be the target of increased immigration enforcement in the wake of President Donald Trump taking office. Trump has already signed a series of executive orders aimed at immigration, including getting rid of the “sensitive location” policy that required ICE to get approval to conduct arrests at or near schools and churches.

The Trump administration has also ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and possibly charge local officials who don’t cooperate with immigration enforcement. CPS does not ask for or track students’ immigration status, and late last year the Board of Education approved a resolution reaffirming the district’s intention to protect immigrant students.

Since last week, CPS has issued guidance to school staff and families about what to do if ICE agents come to a campus building.

Earlier this week, district CEO Pedro Martinez told Chalkbeat that families should not be afraid to send their children to school. Despite the reassurances, unfounded rumors of ICE raids at other Chicago schools have circulated.

CPS reiterated it will not share student information with ICE, “except in the rare case where there is a court order or consent from a parent or guardian.”

Outside Hamline on Friday, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates told reporters that the union has been working on initiatives and training since Trump’s first term to help staff know about their rights related to immigration.

“Schools are for children; schools are open for children,” she said. “We’re gonna work our hardest to make sure that our children and their families know that they can come in this place with our members and feel both supported and protected – not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.”

Gloria Marquez, a lifelong Back of the Yards resident and mother of two Hamline students, came to the school just before 1 p.m. after hearing about what was happening. Marquez declined to take her children out early and said she wasn’t fearful of immigration agents. But she expressed anger at the thought of immigration enforcement showing up, saying that if someone is “not a criminal, then they don’t deserve to go back” to their native country.

Marquez said the fear of increased immigration enforcement has been palpable in the neighborhood. A local store she frequents was far emptier than usual on Friday. People are not walking around “like they used to,” she said.

Earlier this week, Marquez said she received an email from the principal noting that the school’s attendance was about 60% on Wednesday and wondered if parents were hesitant to send their kids to school. The long weekend and cold weather could also be factors.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations cause rift with other school employee unions

2024-12-06T20:49:51+00:00

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The Chicago Teachers Union’s contentious contract negotiations have already spurred a major clash between district leaders and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and endangered CEO Pedro Martinez’ role.

Now the teachers union’s demands for a significant expansion of CTU-represented positions and of educators’ say over school matters are pitting that union against two other district labor groups: The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association and the Service Employees International Union 73, a longtime CTU ally.

The principals union, which is in the midst of negotiating its first contract with CPS, wrote a letter this week to the Board of Education saying some CTU proposals would trample on principals’ authority to run schools. Meanwhile, the Service Employees International Union 73, which represents support staff at schools, has voiced concern over a CTU demand it says will take work away from its members — and threatened to sue the district if it approves the proposal, the Chicago Tribune reported. The rift with the SEIU is especially notable as that union has jointly advocated for more special education services and staff with the teachers union, and the two groups went on strike together in 2019.

Principals union leaders said they are concerned about school board pressure on Martinez to settle the teachers contract as quickly as possible and about the cost of the union’s staffing and other proposals. They worry that the cash-strapped district might have to resort to assistant principal layoffs and other cuts to afford them. CPS estimated the union’s initial proposals to cost $10 billion but is reassessing that estimate; the union has called that estimate inaccurate and has pared back some of its proposals, but it has not shared a cost estimate.

“We don’t believe the problematic provisions are intentionally problematic,” wrote Troy LaRaviere, CPAA’s president, in the letter to the board. “They are simply the result of the limited perspective of teachers. By that I mean teachers run classrooms, not schools.”

Thad Goodchild, CTU deputy general counsel, told Chalkbeat that the goal of the union’s proposals is to beef up staffing in critical areas and ensure teachers have a voice at schools. He said there’s “an open dialogue” between leaders of both unions, and CTU is also “working to find a solution” with SEIU.

Contract negotiations with the teachers union have stretched on since April and soured the relationship between Martinez and Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teacher, CTU employee and close union ally, who has asked Martinez to resign. The school board, installed by Johnson after the previous board resigned amid the conflict, wrote to Martinez late last month to demand a quick resolution to the talks.

The CTU recently shared what it is calling a “roadmap to settlement” with the district, including a smaller raise proposal than the 9% a year it demanded at first and a pared-down set of staffing and other demands. But that roadmap still includes proposals that would give teachers the final say over curriculums and a larger role in evaluating principals.

Principals worry their role in school decisions will shrink

The principals union says one of its major concerns is a proposal that would allow teachers to pick their own curriculums as long as they meet state learning objectives.

Goodchild, from CTU, said the proposal is meant to ensure that teacher voice exists in all schools.

“Academic freedom doesn’t mean that teachers get to teach whatever they want — it means that their professional judgment is respected and that they aren’t expected to teach from scripted, online curriculum with lots of gaps in it, which unfortunately is the direction that district has been heading in recent years,” Goodchild said.

But one elementary school principal, who spoke with Chalkbeat on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly, said she felt that allowing teachers more academic freedom would prevent staff from developing a schoolwide strategy for instruction.

“I know it’s not implemented really well in every single school, but the mechanism for that teacher input and voice exists, and I think to swing to the extreme of every teacher making their own decision in that regard is going to be harmful for kids,” the principal said.

The principals union, which formed last year, also started negotiating with the district in April. But unlike the publicly contentious teachers' contract negotiations, talks with principals have unfolded quietly behind closed doors, and the two sides have taken a few months off as the CTU talks intensified.

According to a CPS presentation for the school board obtained by Chalkbeat, district officials and principals union leaders have met five times, and the union has put forth proposals on wages and benefits, discipline and discharge procedures for school leaders, and more.

The two sides haven’t reached agreements yet, Banks said, but, “We have enjoyed a much more amenable and open-minded engagement with CPS than others have.”

Earlier this week, a group of school leaders working independently of the union also sent a letter to the school board saying the contract talks with the CTU and the pressure on Martinez to step down are creating “an atmosphere of uncertainty.” Nearly 700 CPS principals and assistant principals representing almost 80% of the district’s campuses signed the letter, arguing that replacing the CEO would be “a decision rooted in political interests, not the interest of students.”

CTU leaders have dismissed these concerns on social media, with Vice President Jackson Potter recently calling principals “middle management foremen of the system.”

SEIU says CTU demands will hurt its members

Other CTU proposals have threatened a rift with SEIU Local 73.

A recently amended contract proposal by the Chicago Teachers Union obtained by Chalkbeat Chicago would give the district more flexibility to choose between teacher assistants, represented by the CTU, or Special Education Classroom Assistants (or SECAs), represented by SEIU, based on what a student’s Individualized Education Program or a 504 plan requires. SEIU Local 73 says this proposal will take work away from SECAs, who are trained to work with students with disabilities.

Stacia Scott, executive vice president of SEIU Local 73, told Chalkbeat that adding flexibility for school leaders to choose between teacher assistants or SECAs to work with students with disabilities could cause confusion in a school building.

“We have tried to make our contract as explicit as possible so that we can focus on ensuring that SECAs are providing the services that are legally required to special education students,” Scott said.

SEIU Local 73’s recent contract with the district requires that SECAs receive professional development and training and that SECAs are included in IEP meetings. It also protects SECAs from performing other tasks in schools that would take time away from students with disabilities, unless it is to support a student’s IEP.

Goodchild said the CTU proposal is ultimately meant to beef up special education staff such as teacher assistants so that students with IEPs get the support they need.

The number of SECAs has grown by roughly 150% over the past decade, when comparing employee figures from December 1, 2014 to the same day this month, according to data from CPS. In that same time period, the total number of teacher assistants grew by just over 50%, the data show.

“We’re trying to, you know, restore balance,” Goodchild said.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Study: Chicago’s former English learners outperform their high school peers

2024-11-19T11:00:00+00:00

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Chicago students who had been English language learners and became fluent in English by ninth grade graduate and enroll in college at higher rates than their peers, according to a new study released Wednesday by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

Those findings go along with an earlier study that found similar trends in elementary school, where students who had been English language learners and later mastered English tended to do better in school than their native-English-speaking peers.

However, the authors of the new study stress there is more to the story — and more types of students to pay attention to.

The study found that high schoolers who are still learning English as a new language are less likely to graduate on time compared to the district average, but have GPAs and SAT scores that vary when compared to their peers. Those outcomes vary based on how long the students have been classified as English language learners or how long they’ve been in the United States.

The study comes as CPS continues to welcome migrant families and far more English learners than it has in the past, at a time when President-elect Donald Trump is threatening mass deportations. This school year, the district’s share of English language learners grew by more than 12% — higher than any other student group. (English language learners are not necessarily newcomer immigrant students.)

Chicago Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment in time for this story.

The authors crafted the study in part because publicly reported data about student outcomes, such as graduation rates, only focuses on current English language learners without digging deeper into that group or looking at students who have exited English language learner status through testing, said Marisa de la Torre, managing director and senior research associate at the consortium who helped author Wednesday’s report.

“The way we report the data — it really hides all these successes,” de la Torre said. “At the same time, I think with this report we also highlight the need to offer more nuance about the active English learners because they might need supports in different ways.”

The study looked at about 78,500 kids who graduated from high school between 2014 and 2016. Of those students, 7,950 were learning English as a new language, and another roughly 18,000 had formerly been classified as English language learners but had since exited that status by ninth grade.

They found that former English language learners tended to have better grades and graduated at a better rate than students citywide. They also were more likely to enroll in and persist through two-year colleges, and enrolled and persisted through four-year colleges at a rate similar to the rest of CPS.

In contrast, late-arriving English learners — those who had been in CPS for fewer than six years by ninth grade and continue to learn the language — graduated at lower rates than the district average but had higher GPAs. However, these students were more likely to enroll in and make it through a two-year college than the district as a whole.

High schoolers who were long-term English learners — those who have been in CPS for at least six years and were still learning English as a new language by ninth grade — had far lower graduation rates and GPAs when compared to the district as a whole and were less likely to enroll in and persist through college. And long-term English learners with disabilities also far underperformed compared to district averages, but earned GPAs and graduated at rates similar to native English speakers with disabilities.

More detailed highlights include:

Former English learners graduated at a rate of 88% — four percentage points higher than all students. Their average SAT score of 1003 and GPA of 2.9 were slightly higher than the district averages (977 for the SAT and 2.81 for GPA).
Late-arriving English learners graduated at a rate of 81%, three points lower than the district average and even lower compared to kids who were former English learners. Their average GPA was 2.87, similar to former English learners and higher than the district average, but their average SAT score of 882 fell below both groups.
Kids who were long-term English learners without disabilities graduated at a rate of 74%, or ten percentage points lower than their peers. Their average SAT score of 838 and GPA of 2.5 fell below district averages.
Long-term English learners with disabilities graduated at a rate of 69%, far below the district average but just one point lower than the average for native English speakers with disabilities. Their average GPA of 2.55 and SAT score of 771 fell far below the district average and other types of English learners but was again on par with native English speakers with disabilities.

The study spurs the question of what sort of support is missing for current English learners who might be struggling to graduate on time or earn grades as high as their peers, de la Torre said.

For example, could newcomer immigrant students who are English learners be more likely to miss school? Students in shelter, for example, may find it difficult to get to school on time or at all given barriers with accessing stable housing or transportation.

Transitional bilingual programs, which teach students in their native language and ease them into English, are required by state law in schools that enroll 20 or more English learners who speak the same native language, such as Spanish. But Chicago Public Schools and other Illinois districts have routinely violated those laws, with many schools failing internal audits that track whether a school has enough staffing and provides the correct instruction to English learners in these programs.

The study’s authors shared several takeaways from their study, including understanding what long-term English learners need to succeed in high school and that standardized test scores may not be a good indicator of English language learners’ potential.

They noted that late-arriving English learners struggle with tests but their grades were higher than the district average.

One of de la Torre’s biggest takeaways from the study was the relatively high average GPAs for former English language learners, which are close to 3.0. That’s a figure, she said, that “actually signals that they are ready to engage in college more.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

In wake of Trump win, Chicago Board of Education moves to reaffirm protections for immigrants

2024-11-15T01:17:43+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution Thursday reaffirming its commitment to protect students of various immigration statuses, gender identities, and sexual orientation following last week’s presidential election.

The resolution, approved unanimously by the school board during a special board meeting, acknowledged that the results of the election “may have caused fear, concern, confusion, sadness, anger, or anxiety in CPS staff, students, and their families.”

“We stand very steadfast to these principles and we will defend every student here,” said board member Olga Bautista. She added that it’s “unconscionable” to see anyone “emboldened” to call immigration officials on “our people at work or at schools.”

While on the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump has said that he wants to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Many are students attending public schools around the country.

“It’s the body that has a duty today, an urgent one, to model what it looks like to be a beacon to the rest of the country,” said Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, during the meeting.

The board’s resolution called for the district to provide training and support for students, their families, and staff on immigrants’ rights and resources in multiple languages on legal assistance, mental health care, and public safety. It said the district will advocate on the state and federal levels for programs that assist or protect people with varying immigration statuses, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), which provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrant children. The board said it would oppose any legislation that creates “a Muslim registry system” or erodes civil rights.

The resolution also said the district “will not provide assistance to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law” and that ICE will not be allowed to enter or interact with district facilities or staff unless it provides CPS with a criminal warrant.”

Chicago Public Schools is one of hundreds of school districts that have declared themselves sanctuaries or safe havens for immigrant students since Trump was elected the first time. But Chicago has been a sanctuary city since 1985, well before Trump even entered politics. Then-Mayor Harold Washington signed an executive order declaring protections for immigrants that became law in 2006.

Chicago appears to be one of the first large school districts to make a public display of resistance and support for students after the 2024 election.

The district passed a “welcoming district” resolution in December 2016, but first committed to the idea of sanctuary schools in 2019 as part of its contract agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union and affirmed its position in 2022. In 2017, Denver Public Schools took steps to reassure immigrant families their students would be protected. Philadelphia’s school board passed a sanctuary resolution in 2021. Newark Public Schools passed a similar resolution in 2017.

Since 2022, CPS has enrolled thousands of migrant students, many of whom are seeking asylum from political and economic upheaval in Central and South American countries.The district said its share of students learning English as a new language increased by more than 12% this school year — far more than any other student group.

This past spring, the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, urged states to require public schools to charge tuition to migrant children and children with undocumented parents, denying them a free public education.

Trump has expressed a willingness to target immigrant children and their families and target policies that would protect them.

Samantha Smylie contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Board of Education pushes Acero to find alternatives to planned charter school closures

2024-11-15T00:40:31+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution Thursday that called for a later deadline for GoCPS applications and sought to find alternatives to the Acero charter school network’s plan for seven campus closures on the Southwest Side.

The board’s resolutions came during a specially called meeting and were the latest in an increasingly tense situation surrounding the charter network’s planned closures, which have increased friction between Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and Chicago Public Schools leadership.

The Acero charter network announced last month that it will close seven campuses because of a $40 million budget shortfall. The staff at those campuses are members of the Chicago Teachers Union.

The board’s Acero resolution called for Acero officials to meet with the board to discuss alternatives to the campus closures, which would impact 2,000 students and 500 staffers.

Families and teachers have rallied against the closure since the network’s announcement. Earlier this week, the mayor said he directed CPS leadership to dig into the network’s finances and wanted to see a “contingency plan” from CPS related to the closures.

The board’s resolution demands that if the network declines to find alternatives, Acero “shall return all unspent public funds and property” to the district.

Resolutions are nonbinding in nature and don’t compel Acero to meet with CPS or discuss alternatives. However, Acero must meet with CPS by Nov. 15 to discuss the school closures as part of its agreement with the district. All charter networks — which are privately run entities that receive public funding — operate based on conditions set in agreements with CPS.

Based on Acero’s agreement with CPS, the district does not appear to have a legal pathway to prevent the closures.

In an emailed statement, Acero said “there are no winners when high-quality schools are forced to close their doors due to the implications of inequitable and inadequate public school funding.”

“While we are disappointed by the misinformation surrounding this heartbreaking circumstance, we welcome working with the Chicago Public Schools to find long-term and sustainable solutions for everyone impacted by these anticipated closures,” the statement said. “This is clearly evidenced by the nearly 20 meetings Acero Schools has had with senior CPS officials before the special meeting to provide timely information to advance this initiative.”

CPS was expected to give a presentation at the meeting that would provide “a more complete picture” of the Acero closures and “provide options for impacted families, address the questions raised and the feedback received during the briefings and meeting, and outline several solutions for the Board to consider at a future meeting,” CPS said in an emailed statement earlier this week.

But that presentation was canceled, Board Vice President Mary Gardner said at the top of the meeting. Asked why, Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer, said, “I don’t know,” and said the board’s office would have a better idea. Board members Frank Niles Thomas and Rafael Yañez declined to comment to reporters after the meeting.

Chalkbeat obtained a copy of the presentation, which included options the district could pursue in response to the closures. One option is that CPS would provide “support” to Acero to keep the campuses open. The presentation said the district has “confirmed and identified the financial needs” but didn’t elaborate, saying more budget information would be shared at upcoming board meetings.

A second option would be helping affected students enroll at CPS-run schools, which the district says is in line with what it has done in the past when charter operators moved to close their own schools. It would provide more money to district schools that enroll “a significant number” of additional students.

A third option would have the district absorb the seven Acero campuses slated for closure and reopen them as CPS schools in the 2026-27 school year. The union has previously asked the district to absorb the campuses.

This option “may provide the least amount of disruption to students and families,” the presentation said. The presentation noted that the district would have to take a number of steps to add the schools to CPS’ portfolio, including getting board approval and amending the capital budget, but that long-term costs “may not increase significantly.” Still, there would be costs associated with transitioning the schools from charters to district-run buildings, the presentation said.

The presentation also laid out the steps the district has taken since Acero announced the closures Oct. 9. City Hall officials have criticized how CPS leadership has monitored Acero and responded to the planned closures.

According to the presentation, between Oct. 11 and Nov. 1, the district met with the charter operator and requested more financial information. It also provided families with information on what to do next. The presentation noted that this was standard operating procedure, and the Board of Education did not ask the district to deviate from that until its Nov. 1 meeting, which followed weeks of upheaval, including the entire former Board of Education announcing its resignation Oct. 9.

Asked if the board was trying to block CPS CEO Pedro Martinez from presenting at the meeting, the mayor told reporters Thursday, “I’m not aware of this blockage that you’re speaking of, and there’s no particular directive outside of making sure that we invest in children,” according to a tweet from a Chicago Tribune reporter.

In an extraordinary moment before the board passed the resolution, board member Michilla Blaise criticized district leadership and thanked Acero families for raising their concerns about the closures. Caroline Rutherford, an Acero teacher who is currently on leave, asked CPS “to take action to keep our schools open” during the public comment portion.

“It seemed that CPS was kind of resigned to letting it go and giving up, and that based on your work and how your words touched us, we’re making sure we’re putting our feet down, and we’re going to stand with you in terms of at least exploring what the opportunities are,” Blaise said.

The board also sought to push the deadline for GoCPS — an application families use to get seats at a variety of schools, including charters and selective enrollment programs — to Dec. 15 to give affected families more time to choose a school for next year. District officials are expected to officially move back the date, a spokesperson said.

The district has already pushed the deadline back to Nov. 22.

Separately, the board also retained outside law firm Cozen O’Connor, which offers legal services for a wide range of subjects. District officials did not respond to questions about why the board decided to hire the firm.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago extends deadline for $500 grants to help families of students with disabilities

2024-11-11T22:03:42+00:00

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The City of Chicago has extended a deadline for low-income families to apply for at least $500 if they have children with disabilities — a cash grant effort meant to provide some relief for students and parents with additional needs who faced challenges during the pandemic.

The original deadline for the effort — first unveiled in April — was Oct. 30. The Mayor’s Office for People With Disabilities has extended the deadline to this Friday, Nov. 15.

The new deadline comes after less than half of the desired number of grantees had been approved for or received the grants as of early October. Those interested can apply online at www.AdaMOPD.com or can text “AdaMOPD” to (877) 478-1359.

When the city announced the program, it said it would provide grants to as many as 8,000 families using federal COVID relief money from the Biden administration. But as of mid-September, roughly six weeks before the original deadline, the city had awarded just 2,000 grants, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat through a Freedom of Information Act request. At that time, a total of 8,722 applications had been submitted, according to the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.

By Oct. 1, 9,263 applications had been received or started, according to a breakdown provided by then-City Hall spokesperson Ronnie Reese. At that time, a total 3,717 families had been approved for the grants, which included families who hadn’t received the money yet, Reese said. Roughly 4,400 people had started applications but had not completed them and “have not provided all the required documentation or information,” Reese said at the time, adding that a community outreach team was trying to help these families to finish their applications.

The city had asked another 779 applicants to provide more information as of Oct. 1. The city rejected 264 applications because they weren‘t eligible; 57 applications hadn’t yet been reviewed. A City Hall spokesperson did not immediately share updated figures on Monday.

Students with disabilities faced mounting challenges during the pandemic. These students are legally entitled to services at school that are outlined in an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, which can include extra help or therapies at school. School closures during the pandemic, however, separated many students from those supports.

Like other districts, Chicago Public Schools fell far behind during the early part of the pandemic in evaluating students with disabilities for the support they needed, a Chalkbeat investigation found.

The city had budgeted $5 million for the program through American Rescue Plan dollars, which the federal government distributed to cities and states during the pandemic. About $1 million of that went to Ada S. McKinley Community Center, which the city partnered with to distribute the grant, in order to cover administrative costs.

Chicago received almost $2 billion in American Rescue Plan funds. Similar to COVID relief money that went to school districts, these funds are temporary and must be earmarked by next month, according to the city.

Grantees for the program must be parents or guardians of students with disabilities and can apply for up to two grants per household. Applicants must be Chicago residents and must earn no more than 300% of the federal poverty level, or $93,600 at most for a family of four, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Families must have documentation that proves their child receives services at school, such as an Individualized Education Program or 504 plan, or proof from a doctor that their child has a disability.

In a prepared statement, Jamal Malone, CEO of Ada S. McKinley Community Services, which contracted with the city to help sign people up for the grant, said that with school in “full swing,” families may learn about the grant during school visits, such as during parent-teacher conferences.

His organization is also hosting events at local libraries to inform families about the grants.

Sherry Henry's son poses with his artwork. Henry says his love for art grew after he purchased a sketchbook with some of the grant money from the city of Chicago that was meant to help students with disabilities from low-income households.

Sherry Henry, whose son is in middle school and is on the autism spectrum, attended the mayor’s announcement in April and said she received her grant money over the summer. She said she largely used the grant to pay her bills, but she also let her son choose something he wanted. He picked out some sketchbooks.

She credits the extra money for sparking a love of art in her son, who chose to buy the sketchbooks.

“He never said he was going to be an artist before, but he said he’s gonna be an artist now, so yeah, so I can smile about that,” Henry said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mayor Johnson’s budget would send Chicago Public Schools $300 million – less than what CPS wants

2024-10-30T19:12:06+00:00

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Facing a nearly $1 billion deficit next year, Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a city budget Wednesday that would send roughly $300 million to Chicago Public Schools.

That’s nearly $140 million more than what CPS already budgeted to receive from the city. But it’s still roughly $190 million short of what CPS wants to help cover critical upcoming costs that have been at the heart of leadership conflicts between the mayor’s office and CPS.

The makeup of the city’s budget could have a significant impact on the school district’s finances this year. It could also decide whether the district will cut spending or borrow money to cover looming costs.

District leaders, union officials, and the mayor have balked at the idea of CPS budget cuts.

“We are building a government that truly works for the people … no longer will the city of Chicago be dismissive about our young people and the children who are the future of the city,” Johnson said during his budget speech to the City Council.

The key to the money CPS wants from city coffers is surplus funding from Tax Increment Financing, or TIF. This comes from special taxing districts meant to fight blight and spur development.

Johnson’s $17.3 billion budget plan, which would raise property taxes to help the city close its deficit, includes $570 million in TIF surplus funds. By declaring a surplus, the mayor is releasing TIF dollars that have not been dedicated to any specific project. When that happens, by law, 52% of those funds — in this case, $296 million — would go to CPS under Johnson’s budget. Last year, the district received $226 million in TIF surplus funds, according to CPS.

In July, the Chicago Board of Education approved a $9.9 billion budget that assumed the district would receive $159 million in TIF funds from the city. But that budget did not include union contract costs or pensions for non-teaching staff. The latter is an expense the city used to cover until Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office. This year, the district has refused to cover the cost without the city’s help.

To help pay for those pensions and labor costs, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez has asked for an additional $325 million in TIF surplus funds, a request he says he began making in the spring. Without such help or additional revenue, district officials say they may have to turn to cuts or borrow money to cover upcoming expenses of those contracts and pension obligations.

CPS did not immediately respond to the mayor’s budget proposal. The Chicago Teachers Union, an ally of the mayor, applauded his budget plan but called for alternatives to raising taxes. In a statement, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said that if there’s at least $500 million in TIF surplus funds, “there’s likely double that available” to be used on city services, including public schools.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas, who has criticized the mayor’s request for Martinez to resign and recent leadership turmoil at the district, said CPS should have been more responsible with its COVID relief dollars, which have buoyed the district’s finances over the past few years. The money recently expired, blowing a more than $500 million hole into CPS’s budget this year that officials closed through central office cuts and other savings.

“The reliance on the city of Chicago to help bail out CPS is really frustrating because we have no say in how they appropriate their budgets,” Villegas said Wednesday. “Basically what they’re doing is telling us, ‘We need all this revenue,’ and we have no say. This reliance on us only when and wanting to include us only when they need money is a problem for me.”

CPS has defended its use of COVID relief money, which went toward more staffing and programming for students, and says it resulted in important academic gains.

Ald. Jason Ervin, a West Side alderman who is a close ally of the mayor’s and chairman of the council’s budget committee, said the city allocates the TIF surplus funds that it is required to, and CPS always gets a chunk of that.

During Martinez’s five-hour testimony to City Council two weeks ago, Ervin sharply criticized the district for increasing its request for TIF surplus funds, arguing that such a move takes away development dollars from low-income communities like the one he represents.

“Whatever CPS needs to do to manage beyond that [money] is their decision,” Ervin said Wednesday after the budget address.

The mayor’s office has pushed the district to take out a short-term loan to cover those costs. But district leaders have so far rejected the idea, saying such borrowing would incur high interest rates, further degrade the district’s bond rating status, and saddle it with payments that will ultimately hurt classrooms.

That was one reason the previous Board of Education resigned en masse earlier this month. Johnson has appointed a new board that could still take out such a loan. They are set to meet this Friday, Nov. 1.

Alternatively, the question of how to pay for major upcoming costs could fall to the district’s new, 21-person board that will be half elected and half appointed by the mayor. The school board election is on Nov. 5, and the new board will be sworn in on Jan. 15, 2025.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago students have higher high school graduation and college enrollment rates, report finds

2024-10-18T05:02:00+00:00

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This story has been updated with a statement from Chicago Public Schools.

Chicago Public Schools’ class of 2023 had a high school graduation rate of 85%, an all-time high for the district, a new report found. In addition, college enrollment rates for Chicago students are rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic and college completion rates remain steady.

Those findings are from a joint report from the To&Through Project and the University of Chicago’s Consortium on School Research. The report looked at “educational milestones” for Chicago’s high school graduates, including graduation rates, college enrollment, and college completion.

While more Chicago students are graduating from high school than before, work still needs to be done to ensure that students enroll in institutions of higher education and complete a degree or certificate, researchers found. The report also highlights the need to look at disparities among race/ethnicity, gender, English learners, and students with disabilities.

The report’s Post-Secondary Attainment Index, or PAI — a metric that takes into account the current trend of high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion rates to predict the college completion rate for last year’s ninth graders— projects that 31% of Chicago’s ninth grade students who started in 2023-34 will complete a degree at a two-year or four-year institution within 10 years, or when they are about 25. This is only one percentage point higher than last year’s PAI projection.

Of 100 students who were in ninth grade in the 2023-24 school year, 31 would earn a college degree or credential by the time they are 25 if current high school graduates and college completion rates stay the same, according to the report. These ninth graders were in fifth grade when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and students were forced to switch to remote learning.

The authors of the report say the PAI is not meant to predict what will happen, but to summarize current high school graduation and college completion rate trends.

Researchers who worked on the report have calculated a slightly higher graduation rate than the one used by Chicago Public Schools — which published data yesterday that noted a rate of 84%.

In the spring of 2023, boys graduated from high school in Chicago at a lower rate than girls, according to the joint report from the To&Through Project and the University of Chicago’s Consortium on School Research. The graduation rates for Black and Latino boys were lower than the district’s average at 78% and 82%. Students with Individualized Education Programs had a graduation rate of 55.9%.

Of those graduating students, 63% enrolled in a two-year or four-year institution of higher education either in the fall or spring after graduation – a 2.5% increase in enrollment compared to the Class of 2022. The enrollment rates for community colleges or technical schools have shifted over time. In 2018, the rate was 21.1%, but in 2023 the number dropped to 15.7%.

Chicago Public Schools officials highlighted growing college enrollment rates on Thursday during a press conference on the district’s student academic achievement. They credited the district’s efforts to get more kids to earn early college credits, in part making college more affordable.

Alexandra Usher, director of data and research for the To&Through project, attributes the increase of the graduation rate to the district’s Freshman on Track work.

“It wasn’t just about the nuts and bolts of ‘Let’s stop failing freshmen.’ It was about the whole community within a building coming together, creating these team structures of adults ... to look at data on how students are doing,” said Usher. “I think it really was a culture and structure shift that happened.”

For some students, the pandemic did not deter plans for college. Dulce Robles, a senior at Prosser Career Academy in Belmont Cragin, knew since middle school that she would pursue college, she said on Thursday.

Robles, who is in the JROTC program and is also involved with multiple clubs at school, said she’s been interested in various subjects but primarily computer science. She also pursued a related internship.

“I really got more invested,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I wanna study this in college.’”

Chicago Public School officials touted high school students’ achievements in a statement to Chalkbeat Chicago on Friday. They noted that graduation rates are at an all-time high, more CPS graduates have enrolled in college in the last two decades, and college completion rates have improved by five percentage points in the last five years.

“These accomplishments are notable, especially as the District’s rates on college enrollment, persistence, and completion are much higher compared to other urban districts with high proportions of minority and low-income students,” CPS officials said in the statement.

One area of concern in the report is students’ college completion rate. For the graduating class of 2017, students who immediately enrolled in four-year institutions had a college completion rate of 54% within six years. Those who immediately enrolled in a two-year college had a 31% completion rate within six years.

For Black and Latino boys who graduated from Chicago Public Schools in 2017, fewer than one-third who immediately went to college upon graduation completed their time at a four-year college or university within six years.

Students who start college later than the fall after graduating high school were less likely to complete their bachelor’s degree or associate degree or certificate. For students who did not immediately go to college after graduating, only 1.8% of students who graduated from Chicago schools in 2017 completed their time at a four-year college and only 2.5% graduated from a two-year institution.

Dominique Mckoy, the executive director of the To&Through project, said increasing college completion rates is the next area to work on, but he is hopeful due to the partnerships between the K-12 system and colleges and universities.

“We’re seeing a lot of initiatives at the college level,” said McKoy. “Colleges are really taking a hard look at their policies, practices, collecting student voices and trying to be reflective and responsive to what they’re getting back.”

Correction 10/18/2024: The punctuation on Alexandra Usher’s comment on Chicago Public Schools’ Freshman on Track was changed to reflect the correct meaning.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez asks City Council for additional $325 million in funding

2024-10-16T21:58:15+00:00

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During a sometimes tense City Council hearing Wednesday, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez asked alderpeople for an additional $325 million in city funding amid an extraordinary leadership shakeup at the district that is rooted in budget problems.

During the more than five-hour hearing for the council’s Committee on Education and Child Development, Martinez also told alderpeople that no cuts are planned for this school year, but the district would have to resort to them if it doesn’t get additional revenue or doesn’t borrow money.

West Side Ald. Jason Ervin, who was perhaps the most critical of Martinez on Wednesday, asked the schools chief why the city should redirect funding that could benefit low-income West Side neighborhoods to “bail out CPS.”

“What I am asking for — for the record, alders — is to protect the investments that have went to our highest poverty schools, many schools on the South and West side,” Martinez replied.

Wednesday’s hearing was called because alderpeople “wanted to get some clarity around the budget,” said Ald. Jeanette Taylor, who chairs the education committee. The hearing was scheduled following the extraordinary resignation two weeks ago of all seven members of the Chicago Board of Education. Six of those members were appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who last month asked Martinez to resign following budget-related disagreements.

Former and current board members were invited to attend Wednesday’s meeting but declined, Taylor said. Multiple alderpeople expressed disappointment that none showed up. Ald. Scott Waguespack said the new board “better show up here” when asked in the future.

The board and the mayor’s office described the board shakeup as a natural transition as the city prepares to vote for its first elected school board members, who will be sworn in in January alongside mayoral appointees. But sources with knowledge of the situation have said the resignations were related to the board’s unwillingness to side with the mayor on a couple of key points, including to fire Martinez for cause and take out a short-term loan to help cover some large looming costs.

By state law, the mayor’s appointments for the new school board must live in areas where someone has not won an elected seat — something the public won’t know for certain until after the Nov. 5 election.

Mayor, CPS spar over how to solve the district’s money problems

At the heart of the recent leadership turmoil – and the backdrop of Wednesday’s hearing – is disagreement between the district and City Hall on how to cover major upcoming costs for the school system. That includes a $175 million pension payment for non-teaching staff and costs related to a new Chicago Teachers Union and principals contracts.

The district closed a more than $500 million deficit for its budget this year, a hole exacerbated by the expiration of billions in COVID relief money from the federal government. But it did not budget for the looming pension and labor costs, and without additional funding, would have to resort to cuts or borrow money, officials said.

Despite the acrimony, Martinez largely declined to criticize the mayor and attempted to strike a tone of unity. He said he, Johnson, and the teachers union are “frankly in alignment of visions” for a more well-funded school system and must make that case to state lawmakers when requesting more money in the future.

For now, however, Martinez asked the City Council to provide CPS additional funding by declaring a surplus of Tax Increment Financing, or TIF dollars. These funds come from special taxing districts designed to spur new development and fight blight. Chicago has dozens of TIFs with more than $2.5 billion in property tax revenue. When a surplus is declared, money that’s not earmarked for projects goes back to the local taxing bodies, including CPS. Roughly half of any surplus goes to CPS.

Martinez publicly requested city money last week but said he’s been privately asking for that money since April. The mayor’s response, he said, was to ask CPS to take out a short-term loan.

Martinez’s request for more city funding would come on top of $159 million in TIF dollars the district is already slated to get. The additional funds would cover the pension payment, as well as 4% raises for teachers, more health care benefits, an expansion of Sustainable Community Schools, and more staff, the district said. The union’s wide-ranging proposals include 9% raises, as well as calls for more staffing and additional support for students, including affordable housing access for those who are homeless.

Additional city money would help the district avert cuts, CPS officials argue. They have repeatedly pointed to improved reading and math scores at the district since the pandemic – some of the highest in the nation, according to one study – largely because of billions in federal COVID relief dollars, and why that level of funding must be maintained to build on those academic gains.

Martinez grilled on budget solutions, short-term loan

The district has so far declined to take a loan out of concerns that it will downgrade its bond rating status and saddle the district with high interest costs that would take money away from hiring “teachers, counselors, and social workers,” Martinez said.

Alderpeople probed Martinez on a range of issues, including how the district allocates funding for schools, what his strategy is for getting more money, and what it would mean for the district to take out a short-term loan to pay for ongoing costs.

Ald. Angela Clay asked Martinez how the district would cover costs next year, when it is expected to face another $500 million deficit, if the city bailed CPS out this year. Martinez said he hopes TIF districts will expire under Johnson, potentially freeing up more money for CPS. He added that he will ask for City Council “and the mayor’s help” to advocate for more state funding.

While the state has been increasing its share of funding for CPS, its funding formula says the district needs an additional $1.2 billion to be considered adequately funded. State leaders, however, have said more money than what CPS has already received is not coming.

Some alderpeople seemed reluctant to provide more money for CPS when dozens of its schools enroll fewer than 200 students. Martinez countered that schools need more resources in order to boost enrollment.

Alds. Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Ervin, both close allies of the mayor, raised concerns about shifting TIF dollars meant to improve blighted communities in their wards to help buoy CPS’s budget. Ald. Nicole Lee said she wants to give the district more TIF money, but it’s a “short-term solution” and it’s difficult to know how much will be available.

“Can’t squeeze blood out of stone,” Lee told Martinez. “We only have so much money as a city.”

A few alderpeople who have been critical of the mayor peppered Martinez with questions about the mayor’s request for a short-term loan to help cover some of the costs.

Waguespack asked what sort of response the district would get from credit agencies if a new board comes in, approves a short-term loan, and fires Martinez. Miroslava Mejia Krug, the district’s chief financial officer, said she expects credit agencies to downgrade the district’s bond rating in response.

In a statement previously provided to Chalkbeat, Mayor’s office spokesperson Ronnie Reese said Matinez “flatly refused” to adopt a budget that included labor contract and pension costs “as covered by TIFs and additional financing.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org .

Chicago school board doesn’t fire CEO but does commit to no school closures until 2027

2024-09-27T02:49:10+00:00

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Despite weeks of pressure from Mayor Brandon Johnson and the teachers union, the Chicago Board of Education did not remove Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez from his post during its Thursday meeting.

The school board did unanimously pass a resolution put forward by Martinez that said it will not close schools until 2027. That vote came at the end of what was an often tense public meeting that drew many supporters and opponents of Martinez.

In a statement issued earlier this week, the district said the board — which was appointed by Johnson — would not take action on Martinez’s contract. But the veracity of that statement came into question after Board President Jianan Shi said the board had not approved it.

On Thursday, Shi did not directly comment on the mayor’s request for Martinez to resign. He said the board “cannot and will not and won’t discuss confidential or personnel matters publicly.”

Before the board adopted the resolution, Shi also addressed recent claims from the Chicago Teachers Union about school closures that have helped fuel a push to fire Martinez. Shi said there was no plan to close schools, which drew applause.

The conflict between Johnson and Martinez reflects a fundamental rift over how the district should navigate a time when federal COVID relief dollars are running out and major deficits loom.

Tensions between the two surfaced this summer when Johnson criticized the district’s new budget. The CPS budget includes cuts to help eliminate a budget deficit but does not include a $175 million payment to a municipal pension fund that covers non-teaching staff and other city workers.

The latter was something Johnson — before he became mayor — had criticized his predecessor Lori Lightfoot about. But now, the refusal by CPS to pay for some pension costs has helped inflate the deficit in the city budget that Johnson now oversees.

Johnson pushed CPS to take out a short-term loan to cover the costs of the pension payment, as well as union contracts with the teachers and principals unions. But CPS and Martinez declined due to fears about debt.

These tensions have been exacerbated by contract negotiations that began this summer between the union — where Johnson was an organizer — and CPS. Johnson remains a staunch ally of the union, which has proposed 9% pay raises, more classroom staffing, additional support for students, and access to affordable housing for homeless students, among other things.

Last week, Johnson asked Martinez to resign, and Martinez declined. In an extraordinary public move, Martinez wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune saying that he wants to maintain stability for the district and described the talk of closures as an effort to undermine him.

Rather than discuss Martinez’s job status, Shi tried to draw attention Thursday to the district’s efforts to provide more resources to schools “farthest from opportunity.”

Claims about school closures are ‘misinformation’ says Martinez

On Thursday, Martinez did not address his future. But he reiterated that the district has no plans to close schools and again described the claims about closures as part of a “misinformation campaign.”

Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, stopped short of calling for Martinez’s resignation on Thursday. But he said during the meeting that schools would be better off if Martinez “could exert a fraction of the energy and chutzpah you’ve exercised to defend your job” toward ensuring schools had more funding.

The union recently said it had obtained a district analysis listing dozens of new school co-locations. But CPS said the analysis ultimately led the district to decide against closing schools.

Still, those reassurances have failed to quell all concerns. Jitu Brown, a longtime activist and school board candidate on the West Side who has been endorsed by the teachers union, led a press conference with a few community organizations before Thursday’s meeting during which they displayed what they said was the list of co-locations. Brown said they got them from a reliable source but declined to say who. (Neither the union nor the district has shared the list with Chalkbeat.)

Brown said the list reminds him of school closures under former Mayor Richard Daley.

“Every year that Mayor Daley and his appointed school board closed 15 schools, closed 8 schools, closed 10 schools, they always told us, ‘These are just ideas,’ so they must be out of their rabid mind if they believe that we don’t think this is serious,” Brown said.

The district has said it is considering a co-location at just one school: Velma Thomas Early Childhood Center on the city’s South Side.

At least a dozen people from the Velma Thomas community, including parents and teachers, sharply criticized the district and Martinez on Thursday for not taking swift action to buy the school’s building, which they said is up for sale. The church that owns the building offered it to CPS but said the district declined to purchase it, the McKinley Park News reported in May.

Martinez did not address that claim, but said “no decisions have been made” and won’t be until they engage the school community. A teacher interrupted, “You’re letting them sell the building!”

Separately, several people spoke both in favor and against Martinez. Natasha Dunn, a CPS parent who is part of Black Community Collaborative, said “despite his faults,” she credited CPS for launching a working group to explore how to better support Black students.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas, Ald. Silvana Tabares, and Ald. Nick Sposato all spoke in support of keeping Martinez. Sposato wore a “Vote For Pedro” T-shirt — a reference to the movie “Napoleon Dynamite.”

But Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez strongly criticized Martinez, in part because of the claims around closures.

“It is time the Board of Education holds CPS accountable,” he said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org .

Explaining Chicago Public Schools: Academic performance

2024-09-20T10:00:02+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education oversees policies that can impact how schools teach the district’s 323,000 students, and ultimately, how well students learn and prepare for adulthood.

Explaining CPS

By most accounts, the district has come a long way in the three decades since former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett infamously called Chicago’s public schools the worst in the nation.

Since then — and after multiple efforts at reforming public education — performance in Chicago Public Schools has significantly improved, according to researchers and public data. Researchers have also found that Chicago’s students have more recently shown some of the highest growth in reading since the pandemic compared to other big school districts.

But there is still vast room for improvement. While a majority of high schoolers graduate on time, most CPS students don’t meet certain reading and math standards.

Chicago is home to some of the best schools in the state and country, and also some of the worst, by state measures.

Illinois labels all schools with one of five performance designations — Exemplary, Commendable, Comprehensive, Targeted, and Intensive. The top 10% of schools based on a variety of metrics are deemed Exemplary, while the lowest 5% are labeled as needing Intensive Support.

Elected school board members will represent schools with varying performance levels.

These ratings are a combination of dozens of different metrics aimed at measuring student success, including test scores, graduation rates, and attendance.

In the 2022-23 school year, just over a quarter of CPS students in grades 3-8 met or exceeded reading standards on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, and another 17.5% passed math, according to the most recent state data. Eighty-four percent of high schoolers graduated on time last year, while the dropout rate was 9.4%.

Other measures, such as student attendance, can provide clues on the challenges kids face. Nearly 40% of Chicago Public Schools students were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year, according to the most recent state data — meaning they missed at least 10 days of school.

These figures provide a fuller picture when you look at how they’ve changed over time and how they look for different groups of students.

CPS students are catching up on reading, math post-pandemic

Most of Chicago’s students are not meeting state standards in reading, math, and science.

A quarter of students were considered proficient in reading, close to 18% in math, and roughly 37% in science, according to a state measure that calculates pass rates of several standardized exams given to students in elementary grades and high school. Statewide averages were higher in all subjects: Just over one-third of Illinois students passed reading, nearly 27% passed math, and just over half passed science.

None of these assessments are created by CPS and can’t be controlled or changed by the school board. However, the board can use assessment data to make decisions that impact kids, such as hiring additional tutors at schools or requiring certain curriculum be adopted.

Reading and math state test scores for children in grades 3-8 dropped after the pandemic and still lag behind 2019 levels. Last school year, reading scores were about 1 percentage point behind those in 2019, and math scores were more than six percentage points behind.

But those scores have gradually climbed since kids re-entered school buildings in 2021. A recent study from Stanford and Harvard universities found that Chicago’s reading scores have bounced back from the pandemic at a greater rate than most big school districts.

There are stubborn racial disparities in test scores. Roughly half of white and Asian American students in grades 3-8 passed reading and math tests last school year – at least double the share of their Hispanic and Black peers.

Students in low-income households, those learning English as a new language, and those with disabilities also score far below students citywide.

As part of the new state law that establishes Chicago’s elected school board, board members must also launch a special committee that looks at how to improve academic achievement for Black students. The school board also has a new Special Education Advisory Committee that meets semi-regularly.

Similar outcomes — and disparities — exist at the high school level.

All Illinois juniors have taken the SAT as the required state achievement test since 2016, but will be required to take the ACT starting this spring. In CPS, nearly 19,900 high school students took the SAT last school year. They scored an average composite score of 933, roughly 120 points below the national average. The district’s performance on the SAT has been dropping.

Twenty-two percent of those students met or exceeded SAT reading standards – nearly four percentage points less than before the pandemic and close to 10 points below statewide averages, according to state data. Another 19% met or exceeded SAT math standards – seven points below 2019 scores and close to eight points below scores across the state last year, according to state data.

White, Asian American, and multiracial students meet SAT reading and math standards at higher rates than their Black and Hispanic peers.

Many schools have tried different strategies at improving math instruction. And the district used a chunk of its federal COVID relief funds to staff schools with academic interventionists, who are tapped to work with struggling students.

Chicago’s graduation, college enrollment rates are on the rise

Chicago’s graduation rate has been rising for the better part of the past decade, dipping once after the pandemic. That mirrors national trends of rising graduation rates. Seventy-seven percent of CPS students graduated on time in 2017; that figure grew by seven percentage points by 2023.

The board has the power to tweak or change policies that can impact graduation rates, such as what courses and how many credits are required to earn a diploma. It can also impact how graduation rates are calculated and have the power to create programs, such as credit recovery and alternative schools to improve students’ chance of graduating.

For example, former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointed school board opened dozens of new alternative school programs, some of them half-day, online programs, to allow students behind on credits to catch up and earn a diploma. By 2021, about 1 in 10 high schoolers attended alternative schools.

As with test scores, racial disparities persist among students who graduate on time. Black students have been the least likely to graduate on time, with a graduation rate four percentage points behind the citywide average in 2023. Hispanic students graduated at a rate just above the citywide average. White and Asian American students surpassed the average.

The dropout rate dipped between 2017 to 2021, from nearly 14% to 8%, but has recently been on the rise.

A University of Chicago study found that more students are pursuing higher education, bucking national trends that show sagging college enrollment. Nearly 61% of CPS students who graduated in 2022 immediately enrolled in college. But racial disparities also exist within this data: While 80% of white women immediately enrolled in college, only 45% of Black men did the same.

Troubling absenteeism rates in Chicago Public Schools followed the pandemic

Tracking attendance and chronic absenteeism can illustrate how often students are actually attending school and learning, and can help the public understand why students might be falling behind in subjects.

In 2023, just over 88% of CPS students attended school regularly, compared to 91% statewide. But that rate has worsened in recent years: For the decade before 2021, when rates started slipping, the attendance rate hovered between 92-93%.

Chronic absenteeism has grown, showing that students have struggled since the pandemic to reestablish the daily routines that get them into class every morning.

In 2018, 23% of CPS students were chronically absent, state data show. That rate grew to nearly 45% in 2022 – a trend seen in other big districts. Students appeared to have attended school more regularly last year, when the chronic absenteeism rate dipped to about 40%, but that was still nearly double the rate just five years earlier.

The district has attempted to improve attendance by having schools reach out to families more often and investing more in things that might support students when they make it to school, such as mental health services and staff who are meant to resolve conflicts among students without resorting to punitive disciplinary practices.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Explaining Chicago Public Schools: The types of schools

2024-09-18T10:00:02+00:00

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In Chicago, all children are guaranteed a spot in their zoned neighborhood school.

But Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s fourth largest district, also offers other choices, such as magnets, charters, and selective enrollment schools — and leaving your neighborhood to attend school has increasingly become the norm.

Explaining CPS

Roughly 44% of elementary school students enrolled at a school other than the one they were zoned for in the 2022-23 school year, while about 75% of high schoolers did the same, according to district data.

Twenty years ago, shortly after Chicago rapidly expanded school choice, only about a quarter of elementary school students enrolled in schools outside of their attendance area and 46% of high schoolers did the same.

The current appointed Chicago Board of Education — which will be replaced in January by a hybrid board made up of elected and appointed members — now wants to increase the percentage of students who go to school close to home. This new stated goal comes after the board expressed a desire last December to rethink the district’s school choice system. Board members said they want to invest more resources in neighborhood schools while also improving racial disparities at some of the district’s most sought-after schools that require applications and testing to get in.

Elected school board members will represent a varying number of different types of schools in their districts. Some have more magnet and selective schools than others, while others have a large percentage of charter schools.

Decades of policies approved by past school boards have created a school system where most students can and do attend beyond their zoned school, known more generally as school choice. District leaders, the school board, and even federal courts have also overseen the rules that govern who goes to which schools.

Today, Chicago families have a lot of options when it comes to public education: magnet schools, language academies, public Montessori, gifted centers, STEM schools, International Baccalaureate programs, and more. Students apply for different schools using an online system called GoCPS.

While hundreds of schools across the city enroll students based on where they live, dozens of schools and programs – such as the district’s 11 selective enrollment high schools – require students to take tests and meet other requirements for admission.

CPS also offers magnet programs, which often have a specialized curriculum and require an application, offering seats based on a lottery system. And then there are Chicago’s roughly 120 charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed and operate on contractual agreements with CPS. Charters also require an application to get in and also admit students by lottery.

The variety of options allows families to find the best fit for their child, but can be dizzying to navigate and has been criticized for being stressful and cumbersome.

Desegregation order paves the way for school choice

Chicago began offering public education in the 1840s, shortly after it became an official city, at just a few schools. The district officially established a board of education in the 1850s, and student enrollment rapidly grew as the city’s population ballooned.

By the 1960s, Chicago’s public schools were starkly racially segregated, due in part to racist housing policies that prevented Black families from finding housing in neighborhoods where white families lived. On the city’s South and West sides, schools serving mostly Black students were overcrowded and had fewer resources than schools in more affluent, white areas.

Families and civil rights activists protested segregation, even organizing a massive school walkout in 1963. The district’s superintendent at the time, James Redmond, attempted to spur integration by opening magnet programs.

By 1980, the federal government intervened and forced Chicago to sign a consent decree that required CPS to integrate its schools. Though some magnet and selective schools already existed, the federal court oversight prompted the district to create more. These schools were open to students from across the city and the district created racial quotas for schools in order to desegregate them.

Selective enrollment schools grew in the 1990s under then-CEO Paul Vallas, who more recently ran for mayor against current Mayor Brandon Johnson.

With the city’s pleading, a federal court ended the consent decree in 2009. The district replaced its racial quota system with a tier system, which assigns students a tier based on where they live using socioeconomic data about their neighborhood, including income, education levels, how many single-parent households there are, how many homes are owner-occupied, and how many households speak a language other than English. The district then prioritizes seats at selective schools, in part, based on each student’s tier. A decade after the consent decree ended, many of these selective schools had become more racially homogenous.

Today, school board policy stipulates that the first 30% of seats at selective enrollment schools go to kids with the highest scores on the High School Admissions Test. The rest of the seats are split up among those who scored the highest across each of the four tiers. Magnets, which do not require a test, split their seats across the four tiers.

School choice accelerates under education reform plan

In 2004, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley announced an ambitious plan to open 100 new schools under an effort to provide better school options. He called it Renaissance 2010.

As part of that initiative, the district began opening more charter schools, which were authorized by state law in 1997. The board approves contractual agreements with charter schools.

But in recent years, as district leaders have more closely scrutinized charter schools, boards under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Johnson have approved shorter terms for charters. For example, in January, the board renewed contracts for a majority of charters that were up for renewal by three or four years, even though state law allows extensions for up to 10 years.

Most of the schools that opened under Renaissance 2010 did not have neighborhood attendance boundaries and many had specialized academic programs.

Daley’s massive school reform effort came hand-in-hand with school closings. Annually, district officials would target schools with poor academic performance or under enrollment for closure.

Over the course of almost two decades, the appointed school board approved roughly 200 school closings, including 50 under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2013, as it expanded the district’s market-based system of choice with specialty schools that families could choose over their zoned school.

Today’s leaders are pushing back on choice

Many of the magnet and selective enrollment schools meant to help desegregate the district never became integrated. Some have also become more segregated since federal court oversight ended.

Others are racially and economically integrated, but serve more white and Asian American students than the district as a whole and have been enrolling fewer Black students than in the past.

Additionally, families have for years said the high-stakes process of testing and applying to high school is stressful for their children.

On the campaign trail, Johnson promised to bolster neighborhood schools and make them places families want to enroll their children in.

In December, his appointed board promised to rethink school choice, signaling potential changes to admissions or other policies governing those schools. However, in its recently released strategic plan, the board did not call for any such policy changes. It did set goals to invest more resources in neighborhood schools and grow the percentage of children attending schools within their neighborhoods or community areas.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org

CPS five-year plan aims to get more kids to attend neighborhood schools

2024-09-16T22:08:41+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools unveiled a new five-year strategic plan Monday that sets out to increase the number of students attending schools in their neighborhood and redefine what it means to be a successful student.

The plan did not call for specific changes to selective enrollment, magnet, or charter schools, a possibility signaled in December when the board first announced its intention to rethink school choice. But the plan does seek to bolster resources for neighborhood schools “with an intentional focus on disinvested communities.”

Twenty years ago, when Chicago started expanding magnet, selective, and charter schools, just about a quarter of elementary school students enrolled in schools outside of their attendance area and 46% of high schoolers did the same.

The plan outlines priorities and specific goals to reach by 2029 in three different areas — students, schools, and communities — but did not signal policy changes. Officials, however, left the possibility open for future changes as a result of the plan.

“I don’t think this document is intended to indicate new policies,” Chicago Board of Education Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland told reporters. “As engagement continues around the different topics and areas there, if a policy change is seen as necessary, then perhaps that will be the case.”

The board will vote on the plan on Wednesday at a special meeting.

Under the plan, the district set the following goals to reach by 2029:

Increase the percentage of students who attend a school in their neighborhood or community area. The district said it does not have a specific percentage it wants to reach, and that this is not just limited to a student’s zoned school.
Increase the number of students in grades 3-8 who pass the state’s reading and math exams by 20%.
Reduce chronic absenteeism – when a student misses 10 or more days of school – by 15%.
Reduce teacher vacancies by 25% in schools that serve majorities of Black and Hispanic students.
Increase funding for improving school facilities by $250 million.
Increase internet bandwidth by 400% at elementary schools and by 900% at high schools to prevent outages and slow internet connections.
Ensure that all schools will have a “robust” behavioral health team.
Decrease class sizes, with priority on schools with higher needs.
Ensure that all schools have the capacity to hire arts, P.E., and other “special instruction” staff.
Increase the percentage of students enrolled in at least one district after-school program by 8 percentage points, from 42% currently to 50%.
Transition 25% of personnel who come from the private sector, such as custodians and bus drivers, to district employees.

District wants to redefine student success

The plan also outlines specific priorities for certain groups of students. For example, the district said it wants to improve achievement and opportunities for Black students, who are disproportionately less likely to read and do math on grade level compared to their peers and are disciplined at higher rates; ensure students learn more than one language by the time they graduate and boost support for English learners; and improve quality of education and instruction for both students with disabilities and kids in pre-K through second grade.

District officials and school board leaders also want more emphasis on how students experience school.

Officials said the district will continue to track things like graduation rate and student growth and proficiency on subjects for their grade level. But it will also consider other factors when considering student and school success, such as how well schools are supporting students who are chronically absent, how many students are participating in early college and career credit programs, and if schools are providing “high quality curriculum,” according to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova.

The district has also set an explicit goal to improve the number of schools rated strongly as “supportive environments” on the annual 5Essentials survey, which comes from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and is supposed to measure a school’s culture and climate.

“Social-emotional learning, student well-being, it’s not an add-on,” Todd-Breland said. “If it’s not deeply integrated into everything that we do, then learning cannot happen.”

The district also included priorities to increase funding for all of its schools.

Todd-Breland said board meetings will soon be restructured so they monitor the plan’s goals, “so that every month when you come to a board meeting, you’re going to find out something new about how the strategic plan is being monitored and how things are moving.”

But it’s unclear if that meeting structure will remain come January when the school board grows from 7 appointed members to 21 members, 10 of whom will be elected by Chicago voters on Nov. 5.

Strategic plan comes amid change, tensions at CPS

Martinez and his administration unveiled the plan eight months after the school board passed a resolution signaling the district’s intent to curtail a choice system that leaders said has undermined many neighborhood schools and bred inequities in the experience of students in different parts of the city.

That resolution was in keeping with campaign promises by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer, who called the district’s system “a Hunger Games scenario” in which families scramble to flee their neighborhood campuses for spots in coveted test-in and lottery programs across the city. Chicago’s selective enrollment, magnet, and charter schools are also prized by many families, and district leaders have spent the intervening months reassuring state lawmakers, parents, and others that they won’t close or severely weaken these choices.

Asked why the plan revealed Monday did not include explicit policy changes for choice schools, Todd-Breland said the board heard from people who valued schools beyond their neighborhood options, including selective enrollment and charter schools.

“What felt more important, and what continues to be the more important thing … is that the lever of change in Chicago Public Schools is to invest in neighborhood schools and our communities furthest from opportunity to make sure there are pathways that families are confident in and have high quality education provided in them from pre-K through high school in their neighborhood,” Todd-Breland said.

Still, the strategic plan says academic gaps among students and challenges have worsened because of “our current competitive enrollment policies and previous accountability policy, which pitted schools against each other and sorted students based on academic performance in an under-resourced system, reinforcing cycles of inequity.”

Martinez is putting out the plan just as reports emerged that Johnson might be gearing up to replace him following disagreements with City Hall over how to tackle budget deficits and rocky contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union. Those reports raise questions about the district’s ability to see the new blueprint through, after a run of frequent CEO comings-and-goings that have destabilized CPS.

In a statement, CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said the “best parts” of the plan mirror the union’s current contract proposals with the district and that, at the bargaining table, Martinez is “out of step” with his own district.

“If the district actually led with this plan, then we’d have the partner we’re looking for to deliver for our students,” Davis Gates said.

Efforts to reinvigorate Chicago’s neighborhood schools date back to the tenure of Martinez’s predecessor, Janice Jackson, who served for three and a half years. She launched “equity grants” to give campuses with shrinking enrollment a funding boost as well as a program in which schools applied for dollars to start specialized programming, such as arts or STEM, in a bid to lure families seeking distinctive learning options. Jackson’s own five-year plan also emphasized improving how the district serves its Black students, especially Black boys.

After the school board’s December resolution, Martinez’ administration disclosed few details about the development of a new strategic plan, with officials saying they wanted to first hear from community members at a series of public meetings this spring. Officials said Monday that nearly 14,000 people “engaged” with the plan by providing feedback or attending community meetings.

But for some, the wait for more details on the plan produced anxiety about the future of school choice in Chicago. Families in the district’s selective enrollment and magnet programs worried those schools would be diminished – a claim CPS officials repeatedly denied and is not a part of the strategic plan released Monday. On some campuses, those worries spiked as the district unveiled a new approach to school budgeting in the spring that district leaders said would steer more dollars to campuses with the highest needs and correct for historical inequities in how Chicago distributed resources. At some selective schools, officials and parents said newly tight budgets made it hard to staff specialized programs.

The plan released Monday calls for the district to monitor both the strengths and weaknesses of the new funding formula.

In the spring, state lawmakers introduced a bill threatening to intervene if Chicago moved to close any of its selective and magnet programs. The bill didn’t gain traction during the legislative session, but it elicited reassurance from Johnson and district leaders that there were no plans to shutter these schools.

Anxiety has also run high among charter operators and families, who felt that the December resolution was taking clear aim at their schools. Last week, charter officials and parents rallied at a school board meeting to demand more clarity on the plan and a promise that it won’t undermine the city’s charters, which serve roughly a fifth of its students.

The plan calls for revisiting the district’s renewal process for charter schools in a couple of years, but provides no additional details.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org .

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org

With no chemistry teacher, Chicago student teaches her own class: ‘They forgot about us’

2024-09-13T11:00:01+00:00

A week after their teacher left, the students were growing restless.

Despite promises that a permanent new teacher was coming, students in the sophomore-level chemistry class at Roberto Clemente Community Academy were sitting in their classroom with little to do. Though a substitute teacher was assigned to the room, the students quickly concluded that he didn’t know much about chemistry.

Carolina Carchi was struck by the reaction of one of her classmates: “They forgot about us.”

“When I heard that, this spark and passion grew in me,” Carolina said. She told herself: “No, you’re not going to be left out, they didn’t forget about you, and I’m going to be here to prove that.”

The following day, the 15-year-old got up in front of the class and began to teach her peers about the properties of liquids and solids and how to balance chemical equations.

Carolina went on to teach the class for two months during the winter of her sophomore year. A permanent teacher didn’t take over the classroom until the following fall.

When Clemente was built in the mid-1970s, the school was a symbol of hope in Humboldt Park and West Town, offering the promise of a new beginning for the Puerto Rican families who had settled in the area.

But now, 50 years later, Clemente students are missing critical instruction because so many teachers are regularly absent and positions go unfilled for long stretches.

Clemente is emblematic of a broader problem: CPS schools — and many other public schools across the country — are hamstrung by funding constraints and a nationwide teacher shortage, education experts said.

“It’s a resource issue that’s much larger than Chicago, much larger than the state,” said Erika Méndez, director of P-12 education policy for Latino Policy Forum, a state advocacy organization. “We have some big gaps to meet in terms of school funding. We are in a really tough financial time, and that’s coming with some big costs.”

Students file out of Roberto Clemente Community Academy in Humboldt Park at dismissal on Aug. 29, 2024.

But Clemente’s challenges are compounded by the management and leadership approach of administrators, teachers told Block Club Chicago.

As they deal with the stresses of working with students with significant needs, teachers say they’re not getting support from the school’s principal, which has left them burnt out and demoralized — and often absent.

At Clemente, about 46% of the teaching staff had more than 10 absences in 2023, according to CPS data. That means nearly half of Clemente teachers missed the equivalent of at least two weeks of school.

Yet CPS officials insist Clemente doesn’t have staffing issues.

The result is dozens of students sitting in what one teacher described as “dead classrooms” — unadorned spaces without permanent teachers where students receive little if any instruction and can essentially do whatever they want, according to interviews with teachers, support staff, and students.

Teacher absences

Last year was stressful for Betsy Garcia, one of Clemente’s school clerks.

Every morning, she checked her phone to find out how many teachers were absent that day. It was typically a high number — sometimes as many as 20, about a third of the school’s teaching staff.

Garcia frantically called in substitute teachers, but sometimes she and other support staff had to watch over a class or two because no one else could do it.

“We’re not teachers, but we have to do what we have to do,” Garcia said during a Local School Council meeting in May.

Across the district, teacher attendance hit a five-year low last year, according to state data reviewed by Block Club. About 43% of CPS teachers had 10 absences or more, the level the state considers “chronic” absenteeism that negatively impacts student achievement. The rate was even higher at Clemente.

On top of teacher absenteeism, 9% of Clemente’s staff positions were vacant as of last October, more than double the district average of 4%, according to district figures.

Clemente has a regular roster of substitute teachers who fill the gaps when teachers miss work. The district pays subs more to teach at high-poverty schools like Clemente. But subs are no replacement for full-time teachers, school employees said.

“I definitely have students who have [substitute teachers] for 3-4 classes easily everyday — that’s half their schedule. There’s a profound lack of instruction happening,” said one teacher who asked not to be named. “It affects school culture. … You have a lot more students cutting class or disorderly hallways because there’s less staff, less relationships.”

And sometimes the school doesn’t even have enough subs, leaving Garcia and other school employees scrambling to cover classes.

The result: Students are falling behind academically. SAT scores have dropped in recent years, according to state data, though learning disruptions at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic could be a factor.

“Our kids are coming to school to learn, but they just sit and watch movies or wander the halls,” said Dennis Acosta, Spanish teacher and member of the LSC.

A troubled history

Many in Humboldt Park were hopeful when Clemente opened in 1974 after years of issues at Clemente’s predecessor, Tuley High School.

“You had a school system that literally wasn’t listening to communities,” said José López, a longtime Humboldt Park activist. “In the ‘60s and ‘70s, CPS schools were considered some of the worst in the United States, and there was no attempt to address major issues of language support, trauma.”

López and other Humboldt Park leaders were instrumental in getting Chicago Public Schools leaders to open Clemente as a community-based school. It felt to them like Puerto Rican families would finally get the school they deserved, López said.

“What happened almost immediately was the total opposite,” López said.

José López, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, speaks after Governor JB Pritzker announces ‘Puerto Rico Town,’ and nine other areas, as official state-designated cultural districts at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Humboldt Park on Feb. 26, 2024.

Poverty and disinvestment in Humboldt Park and West Town led to gang violence around the school. The school also suffered from overcrowding.

The trouble continued in the mid-1990s, when a front-page Sun-Times story alleged school leaders used state anti-poverty funding to indoctrinate students into a Puerto Rican liberation group called FALN. Though investigators weren’t able to find concrete evidence of fraud, officials put the school on financial probation and then-district chief Paul Vallas replaced the principal.

Since then, school leaders have carried out a number of reforms, including some that the district turned into citywide initiatives like launching a satellite program for at-risk students and hiring parents as tutors and office help.

The Puerto Rican Cultural Center made Clemente the centerpiece of its “Community as a Campus” initiative. Under the program, Clemente regularly hosts practices for feeder elementary schools’ sports teams and offers tech training and financial literacy classes for parents, said López, the executive director of the cultural center.

In addition, Clemente became an International Baccalaureate school in 2015, meaning it offers a range of college-level courses, and its graduation rate and student attendance have improved over the last two decades.

“There’s a history of Clemente that is not a good history. Yet over the years, we’ve done everything possible to make sure Clemente would maintain itself as a school of choice for the young people in the community,” López said.

Juanita Garcia, Clemente parent and chair of the school’s Local School Council, said battles between teachers and administrators are negatively impacting students.

But as selective-enrollment and charter schools have become more popular, and as Humboldt Park and West Town have gentrified, Clemente’s student population has steadily dropped, which has led to fewer resources under the district’s system of student-based budgeting.

The school has capacity for 2,000 students, but today enrolls about 750, according to the district. About 200 of those students are migrant kids who enrolled last year after the district made Clemente a “welcome center” for families arriving from Central and South America, according to teachers.

The school is 70% Hispanic and 25% Black. Most students — 86% — are low-income, according to district data. Last year, about 28% of Clemente students were getting special education services, nearly double the district’s rate of 15%, according to state data.

Juanita Garcia, parent and chair of the LSC, said the counselor at her son’s Wicker Park elementary school discouraged her from sending him to Clemente.

“She said the [International Baccalaureate] program at Clemente wasn’t fully developed,” Juanita Garcia said. “If she had that conversation with me, I’m sure she had it with other people.”

Teacher turnover

In addition to the day-to-day absences, Clemente has struggled with teacher turnover.

Clemente had 57 teachers in the 2019-20 school year, a total that includes special education teachers and military instructors. But by the 2023-24 school year, less than half of those teachers — 23 — were still at the school, according to a Block Club analysis of CPS data.

Teachers and other school employees who spoke to Block Club said several teachers have left, gone on leave, or considered quitting because the school’s principal rarely provides support and often ignores requests for help.

Teachers said they’re instructed by administrators to give students a passing grade even if they do very little work.

“The principal does not support teachers in any capacity,” one employee said. “Copiers rarely have paper, classroom resources are not ordered, textbook requests are denied, and we are forced to give inflated grades. Students know the game.”

Adults watch over as students file out of Roberto Clemente Community Academy in Humboldt Park at dismissal on Aug. 29, 2024.

District officials contend Clemente doesn’t have staffing issues.

Clemente’s teacher retention rate — the year-over-year percentage of teachers returning to work at the school — has been “relatively stable” in recent years, though lower than the district average, officials said in an emailed statement.

But students aren’t learning core subjects like chemistry, algebra and Spanish for months, sometimes a full year, because full-time teachers aren’t in classrooms, according to teachers, employees, and students interviewed by Block Club. Teacher morale is the lowest it’s been in years, signaling more problems to come, the teachers said.

These issues aren’t unique to Clemente.

As it pushes for a new teachers contract, the Chicago Teachers Union last week launched a school vacancy tracker to illustrate “an alarming level of understaffing” in CPS schools. Some schools have 7-10 teacher vacancies. Union leaders said it’s the result of “the district’s lack of a plan to fully fund our schools.”

All CPS schools have felt the impact of a nationwide teacher shortage, which has gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Ben Felton, the district’s chief talent officer. But Felton said the district is “trying to get away from post and pray” by extending early job offers and expanding residency programs to attract more teachers.

While some schools have openings, Felton said overall the district has 2,500 more than it did five years ago.

To bring down chronic absenteeism, the district is trying to connect teachers with more wellness programs and mental health resources, while also backing up principals who need to discipline employees for excessive absences, CPS officials said in a statement.

‘No one … to teach me’

Yet many Clemente students have stories of going long stretches without permanent teachers.

Mya Maldonado-Bustamante loves being in the classroom and is eager to learn.

But last school year was frustrating for the 16-year-old. Mya didn’t have full-time teachers for math and chemistry, which meant she usually spent a couple hours of her school day sitting around, without much school work to do. Now she doesn’t feel prepared for junior year.

“It was just really challenging because I love math, but no one was really there to teach me about it,” Mya said.

Similarly, 15-year-old Annaliz Stovall went without math, English, and Spanish teachers for long stretches of last year. She spent part of her summer trying to learn Spanish on her own.

“They expect us to take Spanish II next year and pass. It really upset me,” Annaliz said. “I care a lot about my grades, but I don’t know anything. I obviously can’t excel at it.”

Mya Maldonado-Bustamante, a junior at Roberto Clemente Community Academy, said she doesn’t feel prepared for her classes because of teacher absences.

Mya and Annaliz consistently show up to school and have no plans to transfer out, but the instability has led dozens of students to leave the school or not show up, according to interviews and state data.

Last year, Clemente’s student mobility rate — the percentage of students who transferred either in or out of the school — was 27%, nearly triple the district-wide rate of 10%, according to state data.

High student mobility, along with chronic truancy and low student attendance, are common issues at schools like Clemente that serve mostly low-income students. But students are feeling the impact of teacher absences, according to interviews with teachers and other school employees.

“Today a student came up to me and confided [in me]: “All day everyday at this school I do nothing,” a school employee said during the last school year.

‘It starts at the top’

A number of teachers at Clemente say Principal Devon Morales has made the staffing issues worse.

Morales became Clemente’s principal in 2022. Since then, his leadership style has created a culture of fear and retaliation, pushing some teachers out of the school, current and former teachers told Block Club. They said Morales is cozy with his allies at the school, a group made up of longtime employees and friends, but shuts out teachers and other employees who question him.

Teachers who have decried his leadership have struggled to get new supplies and approvals for time off, they said.

Principal Devon Morales speaks at a press conference at Roberto Clemente Community Academy before the opening of a pilot CPS welcome center for newly arriving families on July 17, 2023.

Morales didn’t notify teachers that there was a shooting outside of the school at the end of last year — one example of his “lack of communication about anything that’s important,” one teacher said.

Another employee said Morales’ administration turns a blind eye to the school’s challenges and fails to discipline students for serious misconduct, like threatening a teacher.

“The kids don’t want to be there, the teachers don’t want to be there, and it starts at the top,” the employee said.

Almost all of the teachers interviewed by Block Club spoke on the condition they not be named because they’re worried about retaliation, even if they’re no longer employed at the school.

Despite Block Club’s repeated requests over two months, Morales wouldn’t make himself available for an interview for this story. District officials didn’t respond to questions about Morales’ leadership.

Though they’re troubled by the principal, many teachers, staff, and parents have poured energy into the school and want to see students succeed. School employees and community leaders are fiercely protective of Clemente; many were apprehensive about participating in this story for fear it would cast a negative light on the school.

Student becomes the teacher

Carolina grew up in nearby West Humboldt Park and felt a moral responsibility to go to Clemente instead of one of the city’s selective-enrollment high schools, she said.

When her algebra teacher left during her freshman year, Carolina started to teach the class herself.

“No students at Clemente are ever in an unsupervised classroom and substitute teachers have access to any lesson plans they may need on any given day,” district officials said in a statement.

But the substitute teacher assigned to Carolina’s class didn’t know algebra and let her take over, according to interviews with students and school employees.

“I took it as a good journey and challenge to simply just do something for my class, and not leave them behind,” she said.

The same thing happened in her chemistry class the next year. Carolina prepared lesson plans during her free periods and went to FedEx after school to print out assignments. She brought in a bag full of extra pencils and other supplies, including a plasma ball, for students to use while she taught.

“My classmates are more visual learners,” she said.

Clemente student Carolina Carchi taught her alegbra and chemistry classes in the absence of permanent teachers.

Sabrina Negròn, one of Carolina’s classmates, said she and other students struggled with the state science exam after going without a certified teacher, but Carolina “got us as far as she could knowing what she knew.”

“I think she’s an amazing person for what she did because she didn’t need to,” Sabrina said.

Carolina, now a senior, said she was simply following her passion for Clemente.

“I strongly believe in community schools, and that they should be an anchor in their communities,” Carolina said. “A school with the proper resources can be just as successful as any other school.”

This story was originally published in Block Club Chicago.

‘Stressful and chaotic’: How one Chicago teacher sets up her classroom for the school year

2024-08-20T19:15:15+00:00

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As a humming air conditioner tried to block out the last of summer’s humidity, a half-dozen tiny desks and tables were scattered all over Alli Bizon’s classroom at Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary School on Chicago’s West Side.

Plastic wrap covered supplies on wooden bookshelves, and the mint-green walls were mostly bare. A rug with printed leaves was rolled up.

Bizon thought: What should I move back into place first?

The task before her was the one she’s had for the past 15 years: Transform this mess into the organized classroom her students are used to seeing – one with neatly arranged desks, colorful props for learning math, and filled with books, framed art, and comfortable rugs.

When Chicago Public Schools students go back to class Aug. 26, they will likely walk into rooms with lined-up, clean desks and brightly colored signs on the walls. But few people see the days of work and personal expense that teachers like Bizon spend to get classrooms ready for that moment.

Preparation for the first day of school can involve moving furniture, cleaning, decorating, and taking stock of supplies in the last couple of weeks of summer break – much of which teachers do on their own, sometimes with the help of other staff, parents, or relatives.

At Suder, this year’s Democratic National Convention at the United Center, which is a half-mile from the school, almost threw a wrench into the process. Suder’s administrators initially told staff they may not have access to the school during the week of the convention from Aug. 19-22, potentially wiping out several days that Bizon and her colleagues could use on their rooms, she said.

So out of precaution, Bizon came into Suder earlier than usual with her 5-year-old daughter in tow because she couldn’t find child care.

“It’s very overwhelming and stressful and chaotic and dirty and messy,” said Bizon.

She quickly added: “And fun, also.”

Teachers ultimately do have access to Suder during the DNC, Bizon said. But she and some colleagues went in last week to set up to avoid traffic.

On this particular Wednesday, 12 days before the start of school, Bizon’s goal was to shift her furniture into the right places. The shelves and tables were moved during the summer so maintenance staff could wax the floors. Bizon’s bigger goal was to get the classroom ready by Friday, Aug. 23, three days before the first day of school.

Around Room 114, there were still signs of the last school year. On one wall, a small whiteboard read, “Happy last day!” Orange signs taped to the top of the broken Prometheus board said, “We care about ourselves” and “We care about each other.”

A stack of binders with student names on them sat in one corner of the room. As part of the Montessori model, Bizon teaches first through third graders, meaning the same students return two years in a row unless they move or transfer out.

As Bizon walked around her room, another teacher who was setting up down the hall walked in. Several parents were helping that teacher clean her room, where Bizon’s daughter, Autumn, would start kindergarten next week.

“You good?” the teacher asked Autumn, who nodded yes.

Alli Bizon, a teacher at Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary School, moves a bookshelf in her classroom on Wed., Aug. 14, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois ahead of the first day of school.

Bizon started moving shelves and tables – which she’s largely done by herself or with her husband’s help over the 15 years she’s been a teacher. The task is a bit like having “seven tabs open at a time,” because she always discovers a few more things to do.

As she moved a bookshelf out of its corner, she discovered translucent drip stains on the side. Milk from the last school year, she guessed, since this shelf sat near the trash can where kids would dump cartons. She’d need to clean that before stocking the shelves.

As she moved another bookshelf, she noticed the shelves were moving from side to side. She paused her pushing and pulled out a small hammer to bang the sides and tighten things up. Her daughter covered her ears.

When she flipped over a student desk, she discovered pen and marker drawings on the bottom. The rogue student art made her laugh.

Bizon saw classrooms get set up for much of her childhood. Her mother was a teacher in Trenton, N.J. As kids, Bizon and her siblings would help their mom get her classroom ready.

A stack of books sits on a desk in Alli Bizon's classroom at Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary School on Wed., Aug. 14, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, as Bizon moves furniture around in preparation for first day of school.

But years later, when it was Bizon’s turn to set up her own classroom for the first time, she felt lost. She recalls sitting paralyzed, “not knowing what to do next.”

Fourteen years later, she’s learned many lessons, including that the room should be clean and organized but doesn’t have to be perfect.

“I don’t need to worry about making sure there are pretty pictures on the wall and bulletin boards in a certain way because it’s about creating it with the children, so that can wait until later on,” Bizon said.

Bizon credited her principal for paying staff and giving them lots of options for which days they can come in to set up their rooms. Still, the task can feel daunting. Last year Bizon brought her other 1-year-old daughter in as she worked, which many of her colleagues do. On this Wednesday, Bizon fielded periodic questions from Autumn – and a request to play the “Nightmare Before Christmas” soundtrack – as she moved around furniture.

Bizon planned to ask some parent volunteers for help to clean or paint. She had scribbled down a five-column to-do list with more than a dozen tasks such as removing the projector and buying 25 clipboards.

“We are very lucky in that you send out a blast or email and say, ‘Hey, you wanna come scrub some shelves?’ And they’re responsive,” Bizon said of parents.

Preparing the classroom also raises questions about what supplies Bizon needs to find, get from the school, or just purchase on her own. Bizon, like teachers across the nation, pays out of pocket throughout the year to buy supplies or replace broken items the school might not be able to cover immediately in the middle of the school year.

She believes she spends at least $1,000 out of pocket annually on classroom supplies – double the national average before the pandemic, according to the National Education Association. She gets $300 of that back as part of a provision in the Chicago Teachers Union contract, she said.

Bizon, like many teachers, also has a Donors Choose page to fund supplies.

Bizon said she’s excited about implementing a nature-based curriculum and teaching her students in the school’s garden. An outdoor seating area for children, surrounded by trees, is visible from her classroom.

She’s stressed, however, about finding enough time to plan engaging lessons and making sure she’s providing enough support for students with disabilities.

Around noon, Bizon took a break from the moving and hammering and cleaning to eat her packed lunch, a premade salad with a packet of tuna.

As she ate, she acknowledged that it’s a big year for Chicago Public Schools outside Room 114’s walls. The city is holding its first school board election and contract talks are becoming increasingly tense between the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS. But after teaching through a pandemic and experiencing multiple teachers strikes, she’s not nervous about what this year will bring.

Every school year in recent memory feels “wild,” she said. “I’ve come to accept that it’s going to be a little chaotic.”

Shortly after Bizon finished her lunch, as if to prove her point, news broke that Mayor Brandon Johnson was considering replacing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. But she hadn’t yet seen the reports. She had gone back to moving bookshelves.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org .

Chicago Public Schools says teachers union proposals would lead to $4 billion deficit by 2029-30

2024-08-14T02:12:05+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools estimates that a chunk of the Chicago Teachers Union’s proposals, including raises for educators, would create a $4 billion deficit for the district by the 2029-2030 school year, officials said Tuesday.

The union, for its part, made recommendations for raising more money to support the district, including increasing taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations, and suing banks for what union officials described as predatory lending practices involving CPS in past years.

Their comments came during a public bargaining session Tuesday at Morgan Park High School on the city’s Far South Side, as part of negotiations between the district and the CTU over the union’s new contract. Those negotiations have not made much progress over the past few months. Tuesday’s session, the third bargaining session held in public, focused on the district’s finances.

Granting just 52 of the union’s 700-plus contract proposals would widen the district’s deficit from a projected $509 million next fiscal year, to roughly $3 billion, said Mike Sitkowski, the district’s budget director. That gap would grow by another $1 billion by fiscal year 2030, he said.

Deficits are already projected for each of the next five years, without the cost of a new contract, CPS officials have said. In order to balance future budgets, the district will have to find more funding or will make cuts to staff and programs, they said.

The Chicago Board of Education passed a budget for this upcoming school year that closed a $505 million deficit through cuts and other savings, but that budget does not include funding to cover the costs of a new teachers contract.

The district did not identify the 52 proposals it considered as part of its analysis, but Sitkowski said the list included the union’s requests for 9% raises and additional staff.

“We believe our educators deserve fair raises, but we must acknowledge what is responsible and sustainable,” Sitkowski said.

Jackson Potter, the union’s vice president, told district officials that highlighting the deficit related to CTU’s contract proposals “sends the message that you can’t meet any of our recommendations,” such as more librarians or more support for bilingual students. Union President Stacy Davis Gates didn’t directly answer a reporter’s question about how much the union’s proposals would cost.

“The price tag is opportunity for Black children, immigrant children, and Latine children,” she said.

Davis Gates credited previous union demands for delivering the post-pandemic student achievement gains that the district often touts. She said she plans to end the fight for funding with this contract, “come hell or high water, and I don’t give a damn who pay.”

Concern about budget challenges has hovered over the contract negotiations this year, as the district grapples with budget deficits as federal COVID relief dollars dry up.

In order to cover additional costs, both CPS and the union have called on the state to provide more than the $25 million funding increase it gave this year. Both parties point a finger at the state’s main school funding formula, under which the district needs an additional $1.2 billion to be considered adequately funded. That figure rose slightly this year after the district enrolled more students learning English as a new language and as the city saw a drop in tax revenue from corporate profits.

Both Gov. J.B. Pritzker and State Superintendent Tony Sanders have said more funding is not coming this year.

Beyond advocating for more state funding, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration also encouraged the Board of Education to take out a short-term loan to cover additional costs, which the board and CPS have rebuffed for now.

Asked recently if the district could still take out such a loan, Board President Jianan Shi said “everything is on the table,” declining to elaborate further.

During the bargaining session, the teachers union offered up several recommendations beyond more state funding on how the district could raise money. Apart from more taxes on the wealthy and suing big banks, they also suggested seeking more federal funding and taxing big tech corporations “profiting off our students’ and families’ private data.”

District officials said they want to advocate for more state funding, including to fully cover costs of preschool programs and teacher pensions. The state’s main funding formula already accounts for the fact that the district pays for its own teachers’ pensions.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Amid budget challenges, CPS and the teachers union make little movement on contract negotiations

2024-08-13T10:00:00+00:00

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When Chicago Public Schools students head back to class later this month, their teachers likely won’t yet have a new contract.

In the past, that was a bad omen, signaling that a strike loomed. This year, a strike does not appear to be on the horizon, and both sides have said the tone at the bargaining table has been more amicable.

But by most accounts, the district and the Chicago Teachers Union have made little headway in the high-stakes negotiations that began this past spring. The CTU is pushing for its most far-reaching package of proposals, which includes 9% annual raises, more school support staff, smaller class sizes, and efforts to address homelessness and the challenges migrant families face.

Those demands come as the district and city face budget deficits, with no clear path to securing extra funding for schools. Illinois lawmakers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker have balked at appeals to steer more dollars to Chicago schools. Meanwhile, district leaders and the school board have said they are wary of adding to the district’s already considerable debt burden after Mayor Brandon Johnson encouraged them to take out a short-term loan to cover some contract costs and ward off cuts.

After years of contentious relationships with mayors, the union is now negotiating with a district overseen by Johnson, a former CTU employee whom it helped propel into office. His critics had argued during last year’s mayoral race that he would readily sign off on the union’s demands, no matter the cost, even as he shot back that he would be best positioned to “deliver bad news” to his friends in the union.

Neither scenario has played out so far, according to sources on both sides.

The union has struck an increasingly combative tone. Tensions have spilled out at two public bargaining sessions; a third one focused on financial issues is slated for Tuesday evening.

In an interview with Chalkbeat, Board of Education President Jianan Shi, who is not involved in daily negotiations but will eventually vote to approve a deal, said he expected by now that both sides would have “made more progress.”

“I think the people of Chicago want to see us finding alignment, demonstrating that we can work together, and doubling down on things we know that improve student outcomes and the student experience,” Shi said.

Bargaining may bleed past the Nov. 5 school board elections, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the pace of negotiations. And if that happens, it could mean whatever agreement district and union leaders reach could come before the new 21-member board that will be sworn in on Jan. 15, including 11 mayoral appointees.

CPS did not respond to Chalkbeat’s questions or multiple requests for an interview. City Hall declined to comment.

A 9% raise, more support staff, and less learning time

The union is proposing hundreds of substantial edits or new additions to its current contract, from more prep time for elementary school teachers and making school buildings more environmentally-friendly to providing housing assistance for homeless students and dollars for transportation, mental health services, and academic support for immigrant families seeking asylum.

In its opening proposals, the union asked for a 9% pay increase and salaries that don’t dip below $46,500, or 150% of the federal poverty level. The average teaching assistant salary — a group represented by the CTU — is now about $44,000.

The starting salary for teachers is $61,990, according to the current contract. A Chalkbeat analysis of compensation data shows a regular teacher makes about $92,500 a year on average, up from $78,400 in 2019. Teacher pay varied significantly, with head teachers, who play key leadership roles on their campuses, making almost $115,000 on average, while high school support teachers average about $88,000.

In the recent past, CPS has agreed to raises of up to 4%, and an internal district memo obtained by Chalkbeat last month contemplated 4% for the coming year, which the district estimates would cost $120 million. Though comparing compensation across districts and states is tricky, Chicago teachers are better compensated than many others. One pandemic-era study from the National Council on Teacher Quality put CPS at No. 1 for teachers lifetime earnings among 90 large districts.

But union leaders have said their main focus is on proposals aimed at beefing up support for schools and students. Those include librarians in every school, air conditioning in all gymnasiums by 2026, in-home counseling for students who have experienced trauma, class sizes of between 20 to 25 students depending on the grade, and even smaller classes for those that include at least one child learning English.

Zeidre Foster, the union’s head of grievances and member of the district’s bargaining team, said the two sides have reached several tentative agreements on low-cost proposals that likely won’t excite members, such as around professional development. The tone at the table remains collaborative, she said.

But overall, progress has been slow.

“The most frustrating part at this point is the lack of urgency,” she said. “We are looking to transform the district, and CPS is stuck in the status quo.”

The union has gotten a small number of proposals from the district and some counter offers on CTU demands, she said; there has been no response on the union’s compensation proposal.

One major issue CPS and CTU are far apart on is providing additional preparation time for elementary school teachers, according to two sources familiar with negotiations. The union has argued that elementary school teachers need more time to plan engaging lessons. The current contract allows for an hour of preparation time a day. The district says more preparation time means less learning time for students amid ongoing pandemic recovery.

The union unsuccessfully demanded a similar proposal during 2019 contract negotiations.

In a July letter to CPS families, Martinez called negotiations “fruitful.” In the most recent public bargaining session at Roswell B. Mason Elementary School in North Lawndale, district officials also opted for an upbeat tone, highlighting additional investments they’ve made in schools, as well as average class sizes of 20 students in elementary schools and 20 students in high schools.

The 330,000-student district’s payroll has grown by roughly 8,200 full-time positions since 2019, to about 46,670 positions, according to district data.

But CTU members, a student, and union President Stacy Davis Gates, who unsuccessfully pressed the district to codify those class sizes in the teachers contract on the spot, offered a dimmer view. They highlighted some of their top issues, such as a lack of librarians at every school and the need for more early childhood classes for students with disabilities.

“I’m actually struggling right now trying to understand how we are going to come to some agreement and settlement of this contract,’” Davis Gates said during the bargaining session, adding that she wanted the district to acknowledge that there are problems in need of solutions.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, center, talks to reporters after a public bargaining session with CPS in early August.

Proposals such as dedicated space for social workers and nurses are reasonable to Tyrone Palmer, a social worker at Walter Payton College Prep and one of hundreds of union delegates who voted to approve the proposals. Palmer’s biggest wish is for more staff inside buildings, including librarians, paraprofessionals, and social workers.

Palmer said he supports the union wielding its power to improve problems that fall outside of teacher pay and benefits and address broader problems, such as homelessness.

“When there are societal issues, that affects our jobs and if that comes in through the schools, it’s hard to educate a student,” Palmer said.

But he noted that contract talks are going more slowly than he had expected.

“When Brandon Johnson got elected, I remember thinking, one, we’re gonna ask for a super extravagant proposal and two, we’re gonna somehow get everything we ask for,” Palmer said. “It’s a harsh reality check of, ‘No … it’s still very slow-going.’”

Unknown contract costs prompt questions of cuts, borrowing

CPS budget will need amending once contract costs are known

The question of how to pay for a new contract looms over the negotiations as the district faces budget deficits that could approach $1 billion in the coming years.

The Board of Education would have to amend its already-passed budget once the contract is settled. Both Pritzker and State Superintendent Tony Sanders have made it clear that the state won’t be providing more money this year. Without additional dollars, the district will have to make cuts in order to pay for costs related to the new contract.

CPS is providing “budgets that do not include what we need,” Davis Gates told reporters after another public bargaining session this month. “And what we need are actual bodies in classrooms, teaching our young people. We need a sports program. We need an arts program — not a smorgasbord of things that you may or may not get.”

Asked what funding options are available and if CPS will take out a loan, Board President Shi said “everything is on the table,” but declined to elaborate further. More details could be revealed during the third public bargaining session on Tuesday.

Joe Ferguson of the Civic Federation, an Illinois-based nonpartisan government research group, questioned the district’s decision to pass a 2024-25 budget without any dollars for the cost of the new teacher contract. District officials could have estimated those costs and baked them into the document for a more clear-eyed plan to navigate the rough financial waters.

But it’s not a surprise the district did not do that, given the charged politics of attempting to guess at those costs, Ferguson said. Mayor Johnson has said he will not accept significant cuts to district programs or staff.

Ferguson noted the district significantly expanded its workforce and operations during the pandemic.

“You could be reductionist and say the governor is saying no,” he said. “Or you could argue the governor is saying, ‘We won’t come to the rescue of a system that hasn’t shown it is willing to do the work of reducing some costs firsts.’”

Hal Woods of the advocacy group Kids First Chicago says the group’s leadership and parent network are supportive of higher teacher pay and really like some of the proposals to beef up student support. But they are concerned about the cost of the proposal.

They also have concerns about proposals that would give new powers to Professional Personnel Leadership Committees, advisory bodies made up of educators and other staff that campuses convene under state law. The union wants these committees to have more control over curriculum, professional development, principal evaluations, and more, in some ways, potentially sidelining local school councils and school leaders.

In 2019, contract talks led to an 11-day strike, when union leaders insisted Mayor Lori Lightfoot was squarely in the driver’s seat and lambasted her for not meeting their demands. The same was true in 2012 when CTU leadership sparred with then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel over the length of the school day and year and teacher performance evaluations.

But this time around, the union has blamed Martinez for standing in the way of an agreement, calling him a “Lightfoot holdover” who lacks vision for CPS, though he, like his predecessors, serves at the mayor’s pleasure.

“Disparaging the CEO doesn’t make state legislators or Chicagoans for that matter interested in letting more of their money go to the district,” Woods said.

The union also changed its stance on a $175 million payment from CPS to the city’s pension fund. The union had sharply criticized Lightfoot for passing the payment on to the district, but it now says that the district should cover it, empowering Johnson to pursue a progressive agenda in City Hall.

A City Hall spokesperson said Johnson’s deputy mayor of labor relations, Bridget Early, has been involved in the talks. But Johnson has largely refrained from commenting on them publicly, and union officials said direct reports to Martinez rather than Johnson administration staffers have been on the frontlines.

Brad Marianno, an education labor expert at the University of Nevada, said the CTU remains a trailblazer in promoting the kind of expansive education and social justice contract talk agenda known as “bargaining for the common good.”

The union’s latest set of proposals is the most far-reaching and voluminous Marianno has seen in Chicago or anywhere else. But he said the pushback to taking on more debt to fund recurring expenses such as salaries is understandable because doing so would be “wildly irresponsible.”

And while support for educators remains strong in urban districts such as Chicago, Marianno believes even here, there is little appetite for a teacher strike among parents and community members on the heels of extended remote learning and other COVID-era disruptions to learning.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Amid financial woes, Chicago Public Schools to receive similar state funding increase this year

2024-08-05T23:09:17+00:00

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Amid a bump in students learning English as a new language and a dip in local tax revenue, Chicago Public Schools would now need nearly $1.2 billion to be adequately funded, according to state data released Monday.

The updated figure, which is $93 million more than was projected last year, was provided as part of an annual calculation determining how Illinois will distribute state money to public school districts — and comes as the city’s school district grapples with complex financial problems in the next school year.

Still, Chicago gets about 21% of the funding distributed through the state’s evidence-based formula — which allocates money to districts based on their students’ needs — but serves about 18% of Illinois’ students, said State Superintendent Tony Sanders.

“I think it’s important to note that we still have districts that are below what Chicago was funded,” Sanders said.

Data show 49 Illinois districts are still below 70% adequately funded, compared to 72 districts last year and 430 districts in 2018, right after the state’s funding formula was revamped. Chicago is considered 79% adequately funded.

Districts with greater shares of students with high needs, such as English language learners or low-income students, receive more money under the funding formula. In Chicago’s case, the district’s recent increase in English language learners impacted its adequacy calculation.

In a statement, CPS spokesperson Mary Ann Fergus said the district is “committed to working with our local, state and federal partners” to find more money for students and schools. But the district, which has previously asked Illinois leaders to provide more funding, acknowledged that significantly more money is not coming through this year.

“District leadership recognizes that achieving state funding at the 90 to 100 percent adequacy level for CPS and all districts in Illinois will take time and was not intended to be reached by Fiscal Year 2025,” Fergus wrote.

A closer look at state funding for Chicago

The Chicago Board of Education recently passed a $9.9 billion budget that closed a roughly half-billion-dollar deficit driven largely by the loss of federal COVID relief dollars.

CPS is expected to receive an additional $25.8 million from the state’s evidence-based funding formula for the coming 2024-25 school year. The district also gets state money earmarked for other education initiatives, such as $284 million for early childhood education, according to the district’s adopted budget. CPS’s budget includes a total of $2.6 billion in state funding.

Thousands of migrant families have arrived in Chicago over the past two years, fleeing political and economic strife in South and Central American countries. Amid that shift, Chicago Public Schools enrolled roughly 5,700 more students learning English as a new language in September 2023, compared to the same time in 2022, according to official district data. And over the course of last school year, between last September and this May, more than 7,500 English language learners enrolled across district and charter schools, for a total of more than 85,000 such students, according to preliminary CPS data analyzed by Chalkbeat.

A dip in local revenue also had an impact on how much funding the state calculation indicates Chicago needs. Sanders cited a dip in tax revenue imposed on corporate profits, plus “modest growth” in property values.

The data released by the state Monday focuses on the money distributed through the evidence-based funding formula, which directs more money to districts with higher needs that lack enough local wealth to cover costs.

Most school districts, including Chicago Public Schools, rely primarily on local property taxes to fund public schools. In Chicago, more than $5 billion is collected from local taxes, $4 billion of which is directly from property taxes.

Illinois boosts K-12 funding by $2 billion since 2017

Data shows Illinois has increased funding for public schools by $2 billion since overhauling the funding formula in 2017. In a news release, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state will “continue to build on our progress” to ensure every student “gets the quality education they deserve.”

Sanders said that compared to other states, Illinois is investing “more and more” annually into public education that has helped schools get through the pandemic “and sustain their growth” through COVID.

“I think the state deserves credit for continuing that investment year over year, recognizing we’re not there yet,” Sanders said.

State lawmakers decide every spring how much money to send to Illinois’ 852 school districts. In August, the Illinois State Board of Education finalizes the dollar amounts each district will receive.

Illinois divides school districts into four tiers in order to determine how to distribute the money allocated by state lawmakers. Tier 1 districts get the largest increases in state funding because they are considered to be the furthest away from having enough money to sufficiently fund schools; Tier 4 districts are those with the least amount of need and get smaller increases.

One report, penned by a budget watchdog organization whose leader helped craft the state’s funding formula, estimates that districts won’t be adequately funded until 2034 – seven years later than the state had originally committed.

Chicago, the state’s largest district, was a Tier 1 district until 2022, when it moved to Tier 2, as the share of the city’s low-income students dipped and property wealth grew.

Illinois’ second largest school district, U-46, which serves Elgin, Bartlett, Streamwood, and other northwest Chicago suburbs, serves 40,000 students and is considered a Tier 1 district that is 71% adequately funded. That district would need another $173 million to close that gap, according to state data.

The teachers union, as well as CPS and the board, have called on the state to provide more funding to help cover costs, which could still grow this year as officials negotiate new collective bargaining agreements for teachers and school leaders. Officials also don’t yet have a plan for covering $175 million in pension payments for non-teaching staff, which the district wants the city to cover, as it did before Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration.

Pritzker has said more money is not coming this year. Sanders reiterated that on Monday.

“The EBF funding formula is used not just for Chicago, but for funding all 852 school districts across the state,” Sanders said. “It is a fair way of distributing funds across the state, it is going to lead us to better equity in the long run, so no, there are not going to be any short-term changes.”

City Hall also directed CPS to take out a loan to cover additional costs; the district pushed back and has not yet taken out such a loan.

The state also released a report Monday detailing trends of how districts across the state had planned to use state funding.

Tier 1 districts were more likely to make lowering or maintaining class sizes a top strategy for improving student achievement, the report said. Overall, nearly a quarter of all districts said that improving programs, curriculum, and/or “learning tools” was a top strategy, while another 15% were primarily focused on maintaining or improving extra support for students.

Becky Vevea contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

CPS won’t guarantee busing for general education students this school year – but is piloting new strategies

2024-07-25T22:10:02+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools won’t guarantee busing for general education students next school year, but officials are trying two new strategies to help more kids get to school.

Those strategies, officials said Thursday, include plans to adjust bell times at 36 district schools and piloting a program where buses pick students up at “hubs,” officials said.

The efforts are meant to help free up more buses to serve more students after the district cut service last year for about 5,500 general education students who were largely attending selective enrollment and magnet schools.

The district’s decision resulted in a constant drumbeat of criticism over the last school year from families who had lost busing. The policy even led some families to transfer out of their school.

CPS officials cited a bus driver shortage when it decided to only bus students with disabilities and those who are homeless, groups entitled to transportation under federal law. But CPS had been working to comply with a state corrective action plan imposed in 2022 that called for shorter bus rides for students with disabilities. The state closed that corrective action plan in April.

The district’s bus vendors transported just over 9,300 students last school year, with most of them students with disabilities. Another 3,600 students received a stipend to cover transportation costs. The district budgeted $146.3 million for student transportation last fiscal year, which ended on July 1, according to budget records.

CPS announced Thursday it will still offer stipends of up to $500 to students with disabilities who are eligible for transportation, but will now limit these to students who live at least five miles away from their schools. Officials said they made the change to save money and get more of these students on bus routes.

Charles Mayfield, the district’s chief operating officer, said the district is forecasting to enroll more students with disabilities next school year, which starts Aug. 26. CPS said the district intends to provide bus routes to all students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs, or 504 plans call for busing, as well as students who are homeless who qualify for busing before launching the new efforts for general education students.

Last year, about 1,900 general education students who were previously eligible for busing also received Ventra cards upon request.

The bell time adjustments will allow bus vendors to cover more routes and increase the number of students they carry, according to CPS. For example, a bus could drop off kids at a school where the start time is 7:30 a.m., then pick up and drop off students to a school that starts at 8:45 a.m., a district official told the board.

The timeline for the “hub stop” pilot program was less certain. Officials said they hope to launch it during the first quarter of the school year. Under the model, students would get on buses to their school from another school. It was unclear how close these hubs would be to students’ homes.

Once the hub pilot program starts, students in “underserved communities” will be given initial access to the hubs, officials said.

It is “the district’s goal” to provide access to the hub stops to “all general education students who are eligible,” said Mary Ann Fergus, CPS spokesperson, in a statement.

Natasha Haque, a leader in the CPS Parents for Buses group, said parents are thrilled that the district will at least try to provide rides for general education students though families still face uncertainty weeks before the school year’s start. The group, which formed last year to advocate for more transportation options, had pushed for the idea of hubs as a way to make school bus routes more efficient.

“This is a vastly different message from CPS,” Haque said. “They are trying to fill all those empty seats on school buses, which they refused to do last year.”

Haque’s husband drove their sixth grade daughter from their Lincoln Park home to her gifted program on the South Side last school year, picking up another student bound for the same school on the way and logging as much as three-and-a-half hours on that commute every day. The husband, who works multiple jobs, had to adjust his work schedule to make the trips possible.

This fall, Haque’s daughter will start seventh grade on a campus much closer to their home, largely because of how tough commuting to school was on the family.

“It was a real struggle last year, with families taking many different modes of transportation,” she said.

Over the course of last year, the district said it held multiple hiring fairs and increased driver pay to attract more drivers, but saw little movement with those efforts.

“It is too early to say how one strategy, such as adjusting bell times or establishing the hub stops, will increase student bus riders as it is contingent on other factors, including the hiring of sufficient drivers,” said Fergus in a statement.

Mila Koumpilova contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Board of Education passes $9.9 billion budget for upcoming school year

2024-07-25T21:55:04+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education passed a budget Thursday for the coming school year, following weeks of tension and opposition that reached as high up as the mayor’s office.

That budget, however, will likely be amended after the district finishes negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union and the district’s new principals union. It does not currently account for increases to teacher salaries.

The $9.9 billion budget boosts overall funding for schools, but it also includes cuts to central staff and administrative costs to help close a roughly half-billion-dollar deficit, including for central staff and administrative costs. It also includes a $611 million capital budget, which largely funds repairs and updates to school facilities.

While the district will freeze about 200 positions and cut 45 other roles, it will also add another 800 school-based staff positions, with just over 60% of those for teachers. Roughly half of those positions are for serving students with disabilities, said Mike Sitkowski, CPS’s budget director.

Sitkowski said the deficit is expected to be at least $500 million by next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2025 – and that’s without accounting for the cost of bargaining agreements with unions.

One by one, board members praised the budget plan but also raised concerns about the need for more funding down the road and acknowledged the pushback they’ve heard, including that losing staff can feel disruptive for schools.

“Is this budget perfect? No, but in my time here, it is the budget that has most equitably distributed the funds that we do have,” said Vice President Elizabeth Todd Breland, who was also on the Board of Education under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

School communities received their campus staff allocations roughly a month ago, and some have been bracing for the impact of tighter budgets this fall. The budget includes a new way of funding schools by giving more weight to student needs than enrollment numbers. The new formula has resulted in fewer overall positions at at least 150 schools, while many others saw more positions, according to a Chalkbeat analysis.

The district’s budget drew rare opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson, who said he supported efforts to fill the deficit but did not support cuts to staff. At one point, Johnson’s office pushed the Board of Education to borrow up to $300 million to cover costs of union agreements and pension costs that the city shifted to the district a few years ago. CPS balked at that suggestion, arguing that such a move would result in a high-interest, short-term loan that could further damage the district’s bond rating.

The Chicago Teachers Union has protested the budget for weeks during multiple rallies, including before Thursday’s meeting, to push back against staff layoffs and to call on the state and federal governments to send more money to Chicago Public Schools. CPS has promised to find laid-off teachers new jobs or cover their salaries for the upcoming year.

The state increased funding for CPS this year, but the district is still $1 billion short of what the state’s formula considers adequate funding.

One of those teachers is fourth grade teacher Michelle Ludwig, who taught at Christopher Elementary School before losing her job last month, costing her students “a teacher who genuinely cares about them and with whom they’ve built trusting relationships,” Ludwig told the board Thursday. She said she has not yet found a new position.

“There should be vacancies based upon retirement and personal choice, but not because the district decided to devalue teachers,” Ludwig said.

Dozens of people in red CTU T-shirts gathered outside Jones College Prep in the South Loop, where Thursday’s meeting was being held, with multiple signs, such as “Equitable Funding,” “$1 billion short,” and multiple signs criticizing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who the union says has been shortsighted in crafting the budget proposal.

CTU Vice President Jackson Potter told school board members that this is a ripe time to pressure the state for more money, given that Gov. J.B. Pritzker is being considered as a running mate for presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, who has called for more teacher pay. And, he noted, the Democratic National Convention will be in Chicago.

“I think we can be heroes if we can get the decision-makers to the table to agree that this is a priority,” Potter said.

Kids First Chicago, an parent advocacy group, has suggested different ways to raise revenue and save money, including by advocating for more state funding, raising property taxes, and gradually consolidating the Chicago teacher pension system, which is funded by CPS, with the state’s pension fund for teachers, which is funded through the state budget, not local districts.

Those recommendations were endorsed by the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government watchdog group, which warned that the district does not have a long-term solution for its deficit. The deficit next fiscal year is projected to increase to $933 million if the district provides a 4% raise for teachers and principals and picks up a $175 million payment to cover the pensions of non-teaching staff.

Sitkowski acknowledged those long-term challenges, noting that the deficit for next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2025, is projected to grow to at least $500 million. He said the district will need more funding going forward to close those gaps.

District leaders have argued that the city should step in to cover the pension cost of non-teaching staff as it has in the past. The budget approved by the board Thursday included the pension expense, but also assumes there will be revenue from City Hall to cover the cost. It’s not clear if Johnson’s office will take it on when the city puts together its budget later this year.

Separately, after months of development, the board passed a new safety policy for schools that removes police officers staffed by the Chicago Police Department from campuses. The plan, known as Whole School Safety, pushes schools staff to implement alternatives to discipline, such as restorative justice practices.

The presentation to the board was almost celebratory. Students and advocates who worked with CPS to create the plan were asked to stand up as board members praised their advocacy over the past few years to revamp how the district approached school safety.

A recent study found that schools that had already removed officers saw a slight drop in high-level disciplinary violations.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

State ends scrutiny of Chicago Public Schools over long bus rides for students with disabilities

2024-07-22T21:35:01+00:00

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Citing the district’s progress, Illinois state education officials are no longer formally monitoring Chicago Public Schools to ensure that students with disabilities don’t have overly long bus rides to school, Chalkbeat has learned.

The state notified the district in April that it was ending a corrective action that required the district to “make every effort” to keep commute times for students with disabilities to less than an hour. The state imposed the monitoring in fall 2022, after district leaders acknowledged that roughly 3,000 students with disabilities had longer bus trips than that, with 365 of those students on trips longer than 90 minutes.

In its effort to comply with the state plan and deal with a bus driver shortage, the district cut busing for general education students at the start of last school year, and reserved seats for students with disabilities, as well students who are homeless — groups that are entitled to transportation under federal law. It offered free Ventra transit cards to general education students who would have previously been eligible for bus service, largely those attending selective enrollment and magnet programs.

The district was able to shorten bus times for most students with disabilities, but the ride lengths edged up over the course of the school year as more students with disabilities applied for bus service.

At the start of last school year, 47 students with disabilities were on commutes longer than an hour. By March, that number grew to 130 students; a district spokesperson did not immediately provide more recent data.

“As ISBE has noted previously, there are various challenges involved in limiting travel times in a large, urban school district,” state officials wrote in an April letter notifying CPS that ISBE closed the corrective action.

Even so, they wrote, CPS “made sufficient progress” and “substantially corrected this issue on a systemic level.”

A spokesperson for the ISBE did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement, CPS spokesperson Evan Moore said the district provided transportation to 9,356 students last school year, with a “vast majority” under an hour.

Federal mandates require public schools to serve students with disabilities, but not every Chicago public school has supports or resources to do so, especially for students with particular disabilities, such as those who are blind or deaf.

Whether or not a student with a disability gets bus service is determined in their Individualized Education Program.

Miriam Bhimani, one of the two people who filed the complaint that sparked the corrective action, said she doesn’t believe CPS has done enough to ensure students with disabilities are just as valued as other students.

“Without really addressing student assignments head on, we can still end up in situations where students are assigned a school that is very far from where they live,” Bhimani said.

The district remains under a separate corrective action plan focused on improving how students with disabilities are assigned to schools.

Moore said CPS is “continuing to explore and implement a comprehensive set of strategies” to provide transportation for students next school year, and that CPS will provide an update on busing later this summer. Officials announced in March that busing is not guaranteed next year for general education students.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s Mayor Johnson suggests CPS borrow to cover pension, contract costs

2024-07-12T22:15:54+00:00

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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration floated a plan for Chicago Public Schools to borrow up to $300 million to help pay for increased salary and some pension costs next year, Chalkbeat has learned.

But CPS leadership balked at the idea — calling it a “fictional or phantom revenue source” — and pushed back on City Hall’s request, according to an internal memo obtained by Chalkbeat and multiple sources familiar with their discussions.

The internal CPS memo, dated July 8, outlines the risks of borrowing to pay for hypothetical 4% raises for teachers and principals and cover a $175 million pension payment that was shifted to the school district by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

If the district covered those raises and pension payments, the district’s projected deficit would grow to $933 million for next fiscal year, the memo said. Borrowing $300 million to pay for expenses this year “only shifts the problem” to the following year and will mean higher costs to pay off debt down the line, the memo said.

The mayor’s office did not comment on the suggestion to borrow money, but said in a statement that the district has limited options to close its budget gap. It said the mayor supports the “cost-saving measures and operational efficiencies,” but is not supportive of cuts to critical staff and is having conversations to solve the district’s financial challenges.

Loan suggestion comes amid CPS budget challenges

CPS had roughly $9.3 billion in outstanding debt as of June 1, and its debt-service obligations already divert hundreds of millions of dollars away from classrooms every year. Officials included more than $800 million in debt payments in the district’s proposed $9.9 billion operating budget announced earlier this week. The proposal would close a $505 million shortfall — driven largely by the end of federal COVID money — through cuts at the district’s central office and staffing, as well through restructuring some existing debt and federal grants.

The proposed budget does not include any new borrowing, or factor in the costs of new bargaining agreements that are being negotiated now, including with the Chicago Teachers Union.

Johnson blasted that budget proposal Thursday. In a statement Friday, his office said he supported how the district proposed to close its budget deficit and called the new school funding formula “promising,” but said there is “still more work to be done.”

The teachers union called the budget proposal “an act of make-believe.” The Board of Education is expected to vote on the budget proposal later this month.

Johnson, the teachers union, and CPS had unsuccessfully pushed state lawmakers to provide more money to the district in order to help close its funding gap. While state funding for Chicago schools has increased since 2017, CPS would need another $1 billion to be considered “adequately funded” under the state’s school funding formula. However, the internal memo notes that in the past, CPS used deficit spending “as a strategy to increase pressure on the state for additional state funding, but it never worked.”

A district spokesperson declined to comment on the loan suggestion, except to say that CPS has not taken on a loan to balance its budget.

“We will continue to collaborate with City leaders, our labor, civic and community partners, to find solutions to the long-standing public education funding challenges so we can best support our students’ continued success,” CPS spokesperson Mary Ann Fergus said in a statement.

The union also took issue this week with the district’s overall proposed budget.

“As we review this budget proposal, it is clear that CPS leadership has failed to take steps to guarantee our students and their families what they need to dream, achieve and thrive,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said in a statement Wednesday.

Earlier in the month, the union decried layoffs of at least 330 of its members amid a new approach to how the district funds its schools. Those members will likely be rehired at other schools, but the layoffs caused disruption for teachers and school communities, CTU said.

The union did not comment specifically on the issue of a loan. In a statement, Vice President Jackson Potter said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez is “shirking his responsibility” to build a budget that provides a quality education, especially for families on the South and West sides, and the union expects CPS, the city, and state “to find real solutions and work together to craft a budget that provides stability, equity, and quality.”

The principals union said in a statement that City Hall’s suggestion for a loan “is not the answer.” The union also expressed concern that officials are estimating an $8 million cost for its contract, given that negotiations are ongoing.

The union said that the current budget is partly driven by the burden of previous borrowing, and that budget obligations “should not be satisfied on the backs of our students.”

Past pension cost shift at center of disagreement over borrowing

City Hall’s suggestion that CPS borrow money is tied in part to pension payments for the retirement of CPS staff that are not teachers through the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, according to the July 8 CPS memo. The city used to cover this cost through its own budget, but Lightfoot began shifting that cost to CPS, starting with a $60 million payment in 2020, a move that Johnson and the CTU criticized at the time.

Now, under Johnson as mayor, City Hall wants CPS to cover $175 million of the pension payments, the memo says. That’s the same amount the district contributed last year.

In addition to the pension payments, the suggested borrowing would help cover $120 million in increased costs associated with a new Chicago Teachers Union contract. Another $8 million would be for costs related to the first contract under Chicago’s new principals union, the memo says. Both contracts are still in negotiations.

In all, under City Hall’s proposed loan plan, the district would take on $284 million in new expenses to be covered with borrowed money that would be paid off over the next 20 years.

In the memo, which analyzes City Hall’s proposal for the Board of Education, district officials warned that while borrowing money could solve an immediate problem, the district is still projecting deficits in future fiscal years.

Taking out a loan could also damage the district’s already low bond ratings, the memo said. Even with recent rating upgrades, CPS is still “the largest junk bond issuer in the United States,” according to the memo.

A low bond rating is similar to a bad credit score. It makes it more expensive for the district to borrow money to fund its capital budget, which is used to improve or build new school facilities, the memo said.

“This could be thought of as putting your credit card payments that you can no longer afford on your mortgage payments,” the memo said. “It allows cash to be freed up for other expenses, but it seeds a costly legacy of future amounts of larger debt to be paid back and it does not solve the issue of being fiscally responsible.”

The memo is accurate about the impact of taking out a loan to cover operating costs, said Joe Ferguson, president of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization, who is also Chicago’s former inspector general.

Additionally, it’s not clear how CPS would balance its budget in future years, given the increased borrowing costs, Ferguson noted. The type of loan described in the memo is akin to a payday loan, where interest rates are very high, he said.

“One of the ironies here is that, CPS — long derided and criticized for irresponsible practices — in this moment is endeavoring to be the responsible actor,” by closing its deficit through various cuts and debt restructuring, Ferguson said.

Chicago Public Schools has a long history of borrowing to pay expenses, including risky bond deals during the 2000s that saddled the system with more long-term debt. The Chicago Teachers Union became a vocal critic of the district’s borrowing practices after the Chicago Tribune’s reporting on the issue in 2014.

When the district faced deficits between the 2014 and 2017 fiscal years, CPS borrowed money to cover operating expenses since administrations at the time didn’t want to cut costs. The district owes $3.7 billion in principal and interest payments for that borrowing, the memo said.

The recently proposed budget is about 75% larger than a decade ago, when CPS had a $5.6 billion operating budget. Johnson has lobbied board members to approve the loan plan, but the board “is remaining firm in their pushback,” according to one source with knowledge of the conversations.

Chalkbeat Chicago Bureau Chief Becky Vevea contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools’ performance on state tests returns to pre-pandemic levels in reading

2024-06-13T22:07:18+00:00

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More Chicago public school students in third through eighth grade are proficient in reading than last year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the first time, according to preliminary state standardized test scores from this spring.

While the math proficiency rates inched up, the percentage of students who are proficient still lags behind pre-pandemic levels.

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness, or IAR, data released by the district on Thursday shows that 31% of elementary school students in Chicago Public Schools were proficient in reading, compared to 26% in 2023 and 28% in 2019 before the COVID pandemic. The IAR, a standardized test for Illinois third through eighth graders in English language arts and math, was administered in the spring of 2024.

In math, 19% of Chicago third through eighth graders were proficient on the IAR’s 2024 test, a 2 percentage point increase from the previous school year. During the spring of 2023, 17% of elementary school students were proficient in math, but in the spring of 2019, 24% of students were proficient.

A recent study from Stanford and Harvard universities found that Chicago students have outpaced most other districts in reading growth since the pandemic. District officials have pointed to this study in recent months to bolster their argument for more state funding.

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness is administered every spring to students in third through eighth grade around the state. Some school district officials have complained that schools usually receive state test scores in the next academic year when students have entered a new grade — often when it is too late to intervene if a student needs more support.

“We know that state assessments are only one metric, but it’s very satisfying to see yet another sign that our investments in the classroom are yielding positive results, and that students are moving in the right direction,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez in a press release.

Black students saw the highest increase in reading proficiency rates with a 6 percentage point increase compared to the previous school year — a jump from 17% in 2023 to 23% this year. Latino students’ proficiency rates grew by 3 percentage points, from 22% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.

The Illinois State Board of Education will release more data from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness in the fall, during its annual report card data release.

In its press release, Chicago Public Schools noted that the district has been able to invest in academic recovery strategies such as professional development for teachers and staff, academic coaches, tutoring, and other resources. Many of the strategies were funded using COVID federal relief funds, which must be earmarked for spending by Sept. 30.

The district said it plans to continue to invest in students’ academic recovery into the next school year, but will need to find new sources of funding as federal funds dry up and the district receives less state funding.

Like many school districts around the state, Chicago Public Schools is still not adequately funded according to the state’s evidence-based funding formula that distributes state dollars to K-12 schools.

Officials have advocated for the state to increase funding to schools in hopes that the state can adequately fund schools by the 2027 deadline written into state law. However, a report from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability concluded that school districts won’t be funded by 2027 but could reach adequacy by at least 2030 if the state were to increase funding by $500 million every year.

CPS is projecting a $391 million deficit next fiscal year, which begins July 1. A Chalkbeat analysis of next year’s budget found 150 Chicago schools will lose staff positions.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, district officials, and educators went to Springfield during the state’s legislative session to ask for more school funding, but ultimately were unsuccessful. The state approved a budget that included an additional $350 million for the state’s evidence-based funding formula, even though many advocates asked the state to increase funding by $550 million.

Reema Amin contributed reporting.

Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education, and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.

5 things to know about our recent investigation about migrant students in Chicago

2024-06-11T11:00:00+00:00

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For the past two years, thousands of migrant families fleeing political and economic turmoil south of the border have come to Chicago. And in that time, thousands of their children — most learning English as a new language — have enrolled in schools across the city.

But many of those children don’t have easy access to services they need to thrive in school.

A recent Block Club Chicago and Chalkbeat investigation found that many families have found affordable housing in majority Black communities where schools have traditionally served relatively few English-language learners. That’s left many migrant students without services that will help them adjust and advance in school.

Here are five main takeaways from the investigation:

1. Many migrant families are finding affordable housing in Chicago’s majority Black, low-income neighborhoods.

Officials’ main strategy to get migrant families into permanent housing is a state initiative called the Asylum Seeker Rental Assistance Program.

Run by the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Illinois Department of Human Services in partnership with Catholic Charities, the program covers three months of rent for people migrating from the southern border who are seeking asylum and arrived in the city’s shelters before Nov. 17, 2023.

Nearly 60% of the roughly 5,000 families using the program as of April to resettle in Chicago have found apartments in predominantly Black, low-income communities on the South and West sides, such as South Shore and Austin, according to data obtained through an open records request.

2. Many kids are enrolling in segregated schools that have little to no bilingual support.

Schools in these neighborhoods typically have not served a large number of English language learners, meaning they often don’t have staff certified to teach those kids. Now, as migrant students enroll in these schools, teachers are feeling overwhelmed and under-equipped to serve them. The lack of resources has left migrant kids struggling to learn and ask simple questions in class.

As of April, Chicago Public Schools had identified more than 70 schools that lacked enough English as a Second Language or bilingual teachers. More than 40 percent of them were in majority Black, low-income neighborhoods where migrant families were getting apartments.

3. Other students are traveling lengthy distances to better-resourced schools.

Rather than sending their children to under-resourced schools, some parents are opting to keep their children enrolled at schools with more bilingual resources near shelters where they used to live.

Often that means families are spending up to three to four hours a day commuting to and from school. Some kids still aren’t getting enough language support at those schools, even though they have more bilingual resources.

4. Chicago Public Schools officials say they’re prioritizing extra support for schools without enough resources.

District officials acknowledge that dozens of schools need more bilingual staff, but they said a nationwide bilingual teacher shortage has made hiring difficult.

Officials said they’re trying to attract more bilingual educators by subsidizing the cost of earning bilingual or ESL credentials and extending early job offers to teachers who are completing their requirements.

CPS officials say they’re prioritizing schools on the South and West sides that are in so-called “language deserts.”

5. CPS has a long history of failing students learning English.

The school district’s struggles come after years of not being in compliance with state and federal laws for bilingual education.

In recent years, the vast majority of schools with bilingual programs that the district has monitored have failed internal and state audits. They’ve fallen short of a range of requirements, such as providing bilingual instruction in core subjects to all students who need it, having properly certified teachers, and teaching students about their native country and culture.

Now, the arrival of many migrant families continues to test whether the district can do better by students learning English as a new language.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mina Bloom is an investigative reporter at Block Club Chicago. Contact Mina at mina@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago Public Schools summer programs now open for registration

2024-05-30T20:05:51+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools opened registration last week for the district’s summer programs, which begin as early as June 10.

The district is once again offering an “expanded” version of its summer programming this year. That means families have several options to choose from that focus on academics, enrichment, and helping students transition to new grades.

While the district’s summer programming starts June 24, some organizations that partner with the district will start programming on June 10 “to help close the gap between the end of the school year and the start of summer activities,” according to a news release from CPS.

The district will continue offering longstanding academic programs that are required for some students and optional for others. Summer Bridge Plus is required for students in second, fifth, and eighth grade who have not met requirements to move on to the next grade. That program is optional for other students whose schools encourage them to participate. For high schoolers, the Summer Credit Recovery program allows students to retake classes they have failed.

There are also a slew of other academic programs, such as one to provide extra support for newcomer immigrant students.

Enrichment programs include camps focused on career and technical education and the Community Schools Initiative Summer of Learning, which allows students to take field trips and learn about science, technology, engineering, math, and the arts, according to CPS.

Transition programs include preview and orientation programs for preschool, kindergarten, freshman year of high school, and graduates enrolled in City Colleges.

Families should contact their schools to find programs their children are eligible for, according to the CPS website.

The district has expanded its summer offerings in recent years with a chunk of its $2.8 billion in federal COVID relief money, which expires later this year. Even with a more ambitious summer vision, the district has struggled to enroll students in academic catch-up and summer orientation programs, while it saw record enrollment in school-based enrichment programs.

Separately, the district also offers free meals at specific sites to children ages 18 and younger during the summer through its LunchStop program. Families can visit the sites from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 24 to Aug. 9 to pick up free meals. Look up the site closest to you here.

Children enrolled in summer programming will receive lunch.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

At least 150 Chicago schools set to lose staff next school year

2024-05-28T23:40:25+00:00

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At least 150 Chicago Public Schools will have fewer staff positions next school year, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of school budget documents released by the district Tuesday.

The shifts in school staff are coming despite a new funding formula meant to more equitably fund schools and provide set staffing levels, as district leaders work to close a major budget deficit and grapple with the end of federal COVID relief money.

Still, district leaders said Tuesday that they’re optimistic about the new budget formula, and that CPS will guarantee a job elsewhere in the district for teachers who are losing their current positions due to budget cuts.

“The new budget model accomplishes what we set out to do: To provide more to our high needs schools with foundational resources that they haven’t had before,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez told reporters during a press briefing on school budgets.

Officials have said the new formula is meant to support schools with more needs and those that have suffered for years from a vicious cycle of dwindling enrollment leading to less money and support.

The changes come as the district is projecting a $391 million deficit next fiscal year, which begins July 1. District officials had hoped for more money from the state. But a state budget deal passed by the Illinois Senate over the weekend does not provide the windfall to CPS that Mayor Brandon Johnson, district officials, and the teachers union lobbied for.

District officials have cautioned against comparing budgets year over year because of the new changed formula. They did not share dollar amounts associated with each budget.

Instead, the district released data showing how many staffers each school would get next year under the new formula, which provides a guaranteed number of staff — such as core teachers, principals, and assistant principals — and discretionary funding for all schools. The new formula then increases those resources based on a school’s need depending on multiple factors, such as the number of students from low-income backgrounds or the surrounding community’s characteristics.

District officials said they could not yet confirm Chalkbeat’s analysis. Mary Ann Fergus, a CPS spokesperson, said final spending amounts at schools will depend on who schools are able to hire and how staffing will change throughout the year. She added that the district expects to add a total of 200 more teachers next school year and will add several new positions, such as restorative justice coordinators for high-needs schools.

New budget formula’s impact on schools varies

The formula’s impact on school budgets depends on how you look at the data.

When comparing the new budget information for next year to staffing levels from last June, when the current school year budget was approved, 68% of district schools — or 339 — would see an increase of at least one part-time staffer. Another 32% — or close to 160 schools — would lose at least one part-time position.

But when comparing the newly proposed budgets to the latest staffing rosters as of March 30, more than half of district schools — 269 schools — would lose at least one part-time staffer, while another 41% — or 207 — would gain staffing. Another 27 schools would experience no change.

Martinez said budgets can change throughout the year as schools add and subtract positions.

When looking at March staffing levels — the most recent numbers available — Richard T. Crane Medical Prep High School on the city’s Near West Side would lose the most. Crane, which enrolled 264 students at the start of the school year, would lose about 14 of its nearly 60 staffers next year compared to this past March, according to Chalkbeat’s analysis.

On the flip side, Douglass High School in the west side neighborhood of Austin — where just 35 students were enrolled this year — would get the largest increase. It’s slated to add nine people to its staff of 23.

The budgets have been made public one month before the Chicago Board of Education is scheduled to vote to approve them. It also comes almost two months after Local School Councils started voting on individual school budgets — and after CPS denied multiple open records requests from Chalkbeat and other news outlets for school-by-school budget information.

The budget numbers the district released on Tuesday did not include information about the city’s roughly 120 charter schools, which serve about 50,000 students. It’s not clear how the district’s new approach to budgeting will affect those campuses and their staffing levels. Charters have long been funded through a per-student allocation.

The district’s shift to a new funding formula is “years” in the making, officials said. The old student-based budgeting formula was more squarely focused on student enrollment, with some increases for schools serving more students with high needs. Under that formula, schools received funding that principals could use flexibly to hire staff or pay for extra programming.

Now, schools will instead be allocated specific staff positions, plus additional discretionary funding that principals can use flexibly.

Martinez said the budgets for schools with “very low poverty rates” that have had many elective classes are “definitely tighter.” He said some of those schools had “very small class sizes” that were scrutinized sizes in order to “be responsible to our taxpayers.”

“It is those schools that have higher poverty, higher needs, they are definitely getting a lot more resources, but it’s not even just more resources,” Martinez said. “It’s actually frankly, finally setting the next best standard and a foundation that we have never had before.”

William Klee, CPS’s deputy chief of schools, said he’s heard from several principals at schools with “historic enrollment declines” that can “for the first time in recent memory” avoid cuts and increase programming. Klee added that principals “like that they can hire the best teacher for any position without worrying if they can afford the salary.”

School leaders share new formula’s pros and cons

Schools, including those in higher income neighborhoods, have reported losing staff for next school year. Others are anticipating more teachers and smaller class sizes, but are also seeing cuts to support staff, such as additional clerks. Thirty-seven schools that appealed their budgets ultimately received more teachers, district data shows.

One principal, who serves on a district school leader advisory group, said the district’s new formula left that leader’s school a few educators short of the number needed to avoid excessively large classes in some grades. But the principal, who spoke with Chalkbeat anonymously because the district had not authorized the interview, also said district officials provided extra positions once the school alerted them to the issue.

The principal said overall the new formula brings more clarity to the budgeting process. For instance, the approach clearly spells out the amount of discretionary dollars from a federal fund schools can use to recruit teachers and reduce class sizes — and how the district arrived at it. In previous years, the principal said that number sometimes wildly fluctuated from year to year.

“No one knew where that number came from,” the school leader said. “There was no rhyme or reason to it.”

But the proposed budgets have also come under criticism from some school leaders who say a loss of funding and positions will hurt distinctive programming.

In a letter sent to Martinez and other district leaders last week and shared with Chalkbeat, Kathleen Murphy, the head of the local school council at LaSalle II Magnet School, said the campus is slated to lose four out of its six foreign language teachers even as the school is still expected to offer four different language programs. That means the campus has to either significantly increase language class sizes, Murphy said, curtail its language offerings, or steer resources away from core classes such as math and reading.

“Decimating those language programs now, by taking away two-thirds of their funding, is doing untold damage to the educational programs LaSalle II and the other magnet world language academies have developed over the last 15-20 years,” Murphy wrote.

Correction: May 29, 2024: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of CPS’s deputy chief of schools. His name is William Klee.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Board of Education opens new school safety policy for public comment

2024-05-23T21:55:09+00:00

The Chicago Board of Education moved one step closer Thursday to creating a new school safety policy that would rid campuses of school resource officers by the fall.

The board voted to open a 30-day period where the public can comment on the newly proposed Whole School Safety plan, which pushes schools to embrace alternatives to traditional disciplinary practices and teach students how to understand their emotions, known as social-emotional learning.

The board is expected to vote on the plan in July, after the public comment period is over.

Jadine Chou, chief safety and security officer for CPS, noted the proposed plan was created with feedback from a survey and the Whole School Safety Steering Committee, made up of community-based organizations that had advocated for a different approach to safety.

“It’s not just about locks on our doors or cameras,” Chou said. “It’s about how children feel when they enter the building, how welcome they feel and how emotionally well they are.”

The proposed policy change comes three months after the board voted to ban school resource officers, or SROs, who are trained and staffed by the Chicago Police Department. Currently, 39 schools have SROs while Local Schools Councils at 14 other schools voted to remove their officers.

That decision also called for CPS to create a new “holistic” safety policy that incorporated alternative discipline, such as restorative justice, which focuses on conflict resolution and getting to the root of why students act out.

In defending the change, the board’s February resolution said the rates of suspensions and calls to police are disproportionately higher for students with disabilities and Black students, compared to their Hispanic and white peers, and contended that adopting alternative disciplinary practices could help reduce those disparities.

Chou said Thursday that the previous board had committed to “a vision” to phase out SROs and to change safety guidelines in August 2020, following outcry in response to the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

The board at the time also directed Local School Councils to vote on whether they wanted to keep SROs on campus. The board’s decision now to strip LSCs of that authority has drawn criticism from LSCs and elected officials, including state lawmakers who filed a bill that would allow LSCs to contract directly with the Chicago Police Department for campus officers. That bill is still moving through the legislature, but there’s limited time left for it to pass as the legislative session is set to end soon.

Nationally, research has shown that schools with police officers tend to have more student arrests, but it’s unclear whether that’s caused by the presence of police or if those schools have more challenges than others. And a recent study found that Chicago schools that adopted restorative justice practices saw a drop in student arrests.

Under the proposed safety plan, all schools would also be required to do the following by 2028:

Create a Whole School Safety committee made up of parents, teachers, and students.
Hire at least one security guard. Schools would get more guards based on a formula that considers multiple factors, such as the size of the school building, the number of students, and neighborhood crime.
Create an emergency management plan that’s updated annually.
Teach social-emotional learning.
Implement restorative justice practices.
Include training on “climate, trauma-responsive, and social and emotional learning” in professional development plans.
Have behavioral health teams, which are supposed to help students who are in crisis, have experienced trauma, or are in need of mental health assistance. Most CPS schools – 460 – already have such teams, according to a district spokesperson.
Keep all doors locked, except for bathrooms.

The district’s new school funding formula also promises every school a security guard and for high-need schools, a restorative justice coordinator.

Schools will be required to adhere to the new guidelines and create safety plans in phases. The schools that go first will be chosen based on how often they’re currently using exclusionary disciplinary practices, Chou said.

Multiple people from the steering committee spoke Thursday in favor of the policy.

So did Natasha Erskine, executive director of the nonprofit Raise Your Hand, who told board members the plan is overdue. Like some experts, Erskine said she has some concerns about exactly how the plan will be implemented and funded, and is eager to find out more about these specifics.

Chou said schools will be encouraged to build on things they’re already doing and hopes that implementing the guidelines over a number of years — as opposed to all at once — will help.

But overall, Erskine said, “Parents are optimistic about what’s listed in your policy.”

The public can provide comment on the policy on the district’s website. They can also attend four meetings next month, which will be posted online at www.cps.edu/wholeschoolsafety.

Mila Koumpilova contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago is trying to improve how it funds schools. Not everyone is happy.

2024-05-23T20:45:22+00:00

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Christina Cedeño has spent countless hours helping get the word out about the bilingual gifted program at her children’s school Pulaski International School of Chicago, texting friends and acquaintances and distributing flyers at neighborhood businesses and day cares in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods.

But next year, Pulaski’s proposed budget cuts a number of positions, including including a core classroom teacher in the Spanish gifted program, forcing school leaders to consider combining the first and second grade.

Cedeño worries the cuts at the Regional Gifted Center for English Learners — one of just three in Chicago Public Schools — will deter parents who are new to the school.

“If they find out that their classes are going to be combined, they’ll get scared and they’ll pull their kids out and then we’re back to where we were five years ago,” she said.

Pulaski is one of many schools reportedly losing resources as Chicago Public Schools officials overhaul the way they allocate money to individual campuses even as they also work to close a $391 million deficit and grapple with the end of federal COVID relief funding.

District officials have said the overall amount of money dedicated to schools is not being decreased. But many selective enrollment and magnet programs and neighborhood schools in higher income areas are seeing cuts. In some cases, district officials have even suggested they fundraise to fill gaps, parents say, which could create more inequity for schools that can’t raise a lot of money.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez has defended the changes to how schools are funded as an “important milestone” aimed at improving education across all schools, but especially for children “farthest from opportunity.”

“It’s a boost for communities that have been stuck in a downward spiral of disinvestment and depopulation,” he told the school board Thursday.

He added that some school leaders at high-need schools have cheered their budgets for allowing them to grow programming and dodge enrollment-related cuts. And he vowed overall funding for schools will stay stable next fall and, thanks to positions covered centrally, more people will work in Chicago’s schools.

But the public does not have the ability to see which schools are benefiting from the new formula.

CPS has twice denied Chalkbeat’s open records request for individual school budget documents, arguing the process is still ongoing. Local School Councils had to vote to approve their budgets by May 3. A district spokesperson said five elementary schools and four high schools rejected their school budgets.

Last year, the district similarly shared only limited details about school budgets when principals received them in April. Officials unveiled a $9.4 billion budget proposal in early June and the school board approved it two weeks later. The school board must approve a budget by July 1.

Meanwhile, Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that could prevent Chicago Public Schools from implementing “disproportionate” budget decreases at selective enrollment schools and could place a moratorium on school closings until 2027.

Pulaski is in a unique situation because it’s a neighborhood school with a selective program. For budgeting purposes, it is considered one school and the neighborhood school is also facing cuts, according to parents who spoke to Chalkbeat.

The neighborhood school, which has an International Baccalaureate program, serves students from the surrounding Bucktown area, which has gentrified in the last decade. Ten years ago, 81% of Pulaski’s students came from low-income families and today about 38% do.

Parents said the proposed budget, which was rejected by the Local School Council, would cut three core classroom teachers from the neighborhood program, two specialty teacher positions, a tech coordinator, a reading specialist, and one of two clerks that staff the school’s two-building campus.

“We’re not asking for bells and whistles,” said Nicole Wood, a Pulaski parent who has two children in the neighborhood IB program. “We understand that some of our extras that we had in the past are going to go away. We understand that there will be cuts given the deficit in the budget. However, what we expect CPS to provide us are classroom teachers for all of our classrooms.”

‘If you don’t like your budget, fundraise your way out of it’

At Harriet Tubman Elementary School, parents raised concerns to their CPS network officials when they found out that the proposed budget could mean losing three core teachers and other staff next year.

The surprising suggestion: Fundraise money to fill in the gaps.

Other schools, network officials tell them, use “Friends of” money to pay for positions, said Illeana Inserni, the chair of Tubman’s Local School Council and a mother of third-grade twins.

The school, which has an International Baccalaureate program that draws in students from other parts of the city, is also slated to lose a part-time teacher who works with students with disabilities and their interventionist, a staffer who works with struggling students, whose salary was covered by the district through federal COVID dollars.

Tubman sits in a higher-income area of Chicago and 35% of students come from low-income families, less than the 73% at schools districtwide. But the school’s enrollment has also swelled by about 15% since September and is serving more English learners, according to preliminary enrollment records.

“What we’re asking the network and district … is to maintain our current roster,” Inserni said. “We’re not even asking for more at this moment.”

The school received $140,000 in discretionary funding, which is the minimum amount provided to all elementary schools. Inserni said they plan to pay for another core classroom teacher, leaving the school with about $30,000 for basic operations, materials, and supplies, such as copy paper or recess monitors. The district said the average budget for a teacher position is $123,000.

At Skinner North, a selective enrollment elementary school, according to LSC chair Danielle Capilla, whose daughter is in fifth grade, network leads have also suggested parent fundraising to fill budget gaps.

“Principals are also being asked by network leaders and the folks above them, ‘Well, how much does your ‘Friends Of’ raise? How much is in those bank accounts? What can we use that for?’ Essentially, what can the parents and community pay for so the district doesn’t have to?” Capilla said.

“There has also just been an underlying premise of: ‘If you don’t like your budget, fundraise your way out of it,’” she said.

A district spokesperson said decisions made with parent fundraising resources are made at the school level.

In Chicago, parents can fundraise to pay for staff, which isn’t the case for all big cities. In New York City, PTAs cannot use funding to pay for core subject teachers but can use it toward supplemental staff, such as art teachers or teaching assistants.

Capilla, who also has a son enrolled in a different magnet school, said she doesn’t want to alienate families that can’t afford to contribute to fundraisers. “That would be the last thing that we would want to do.”

She’s heard of other schools, like LaSalle Language Academy in Old Town, using outside fundraising to fill gaps. At LaSalle, LSC parent representative Jason Emeott said next year’s budget does not provide funding for seven of their eight language teachers. But the language program is core to the school’s identity, he noted, with students in kindergarten through eighth grade able to take classes in Spanish, Italian, French, and Mandarin.

Emeott is passionate about LaSalle because it is a National Blue Ribbon School that serves students from around the city of different ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Now, he worries programming cuts could hurt future enrollment.

At Thursday’s school board meeting, some parents voiced concerns about their school budgets to board members.

Several parents from Sabin Dual Language Magnet said its proposed budget will erode its ability to provide the language services that have made the campus a model as one of the oldest dual language programs in the city. They said the school is losing three teachers and its dean of students, who has gotten recognition for presiding over the largest decrease in student suspensions of any district elementary school.

Parents said the budget apparently fails to account for a large influx of migrant students to the campus, which has helped push enrollment from 240 to more than 360 students since last summer.

“By losing these teachers, we are losing our dual language capacity,” said parent Debra Gittler.

“With so many new arrivals, the trauma and the issues going on are quite severe,” she added.

Are neighborhood schools getting more resources?

Not all schools are seeing cuts. Although all school budgets are not public yet, many neighborhood schools are gaining multiple new staff positions and additional resources.

Under the proposed budget, Jamieson Elementary, a neighborhood school in West Ridge, would add a second school counselor, a restorative justice coordinator, another art teacher, and an additional core teacher that the LSC hopes to hire as an English as a Second Language teacher, according to Annette Stenner, a parent representative on the LSC.

Stenner said the additional positions will be helpful as the school’s needs have increased. Jamieson serves over 800 students and almost 60% of students come from low-income families, according to Chicago Public Schools enrollment data. Over the last couple of years, the school has seen an uptick in the number of migrant students, many migrating from Venezuela and other countries around the globe, Stenner noted.

Many migrant students have “a lot of trauma,” she said. “Teachers and our administrators, they’re seeing a lot more issues addressing that and dealing with that in the classroom.”

While the increase in staff would be helpful to the school, Stenner’s not sure if it will be enough since classroom sizes are large. But overall, she feels that the district is going in the right direction with budgeting to address some of the inequities in funding neighborhood schools across the city.

One principal said her school, which almost exclusively serves students from low-income families and more than half who are learning English as a new language, will see more teachers and some smaller class sizes next school year.

However, the school will not have the funding for their second office clerk – someone the school had for many years who helped with attendance and purchasing, said the principal, who asked to remain anonymous because she was not authorized to speak to the press. While she doesn’t believe student-based budgeting worked well, she said she had become accustomed to having a lot of power over her budget – and cutting the longtime school clerk is a “hard decision.”

But “in what world could I argue that I would rather have 33 first graders in a room together than not have this second clerk?” the principal asked.

Abigail Vences is on the Local School Council at Swift Elementary School in Edgewater and Mather High School in West Ridge. She said next year’s budgets at both schools will see more resources, including several more teacher positions.

“There are kids that want to excel academically and you should let them go for that challenge, but at the same time, you shouldn’t let your neighborhood schools fail,” Vences said.

New funding formula stabilizes shrinking schools

When Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration announced the new school funding formula in late March, they said it would be more equitable and boost neighborhood schools in disinvested communities where enrollment has been declining for years.

That’s been the case at Hirsch Metropolitan High School in Chatham for the past decade.

Maria Owens has served on the Local School Council since 2014. She said, in the past, Hirsch’s budget did not provide enough to staff all the courses required for graduation so the school had to get creative with online classes and partnerships with nearby schools. Now, they’ll have the basics covered, Owens said.

“We’re not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, but it’s really not sufficient to do what it is we really need to have done,” Owens said. “If you’re trying to give your child the best possible options, it’s not going to be sufficient for most parents who want to see their child excel.”

Like most schools, about 7% of Hirsch’s budget the past few years was covered by federal COVID relief money, which will run out in September. Owens thinks there’s a “shell game” going on where the district is taking from some schools and giving to others.

Really, Owens said, more money needs to be put into education from the federal and state government and equitably distributed.

“The best resource we have is our young people,” she said, “and if we continue to act as if they don’t matter, we’re going to reap what we sow and we’re not going to like it.”

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Lost in translation: Migrant kids struggle in segregated Chicago schools

2024-05-21T11:00:00+00:00

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This story was reported and published in collaboration with Block Club Chicago. Sign up for their newsletters here.

Leer en español.

Gabriela Aquino Ruiz relies on a translation app to learn, but some of her teachers talk so fast in English, the software can’t keep up.

The soft-spoken 12-year-old, who speaks only Spanish, loves to read, but her school — Isabelle C. O’Keeffe School on Chicago’s South Side — doesn’t have books in her native language, and she’s struggling to make friends, she said.

Gabriela misses her school in Venezuela, where she and her family emigrated from in October.

“I want to learn,” she said in Spanish through a translator. “I feel frustrated when I get home.”

Gabriela is one of nearly 9,000 migrant students enrolled in Chicago Public Schools as of April. Many of those students are leaving shelters and finding housing that provides them much needed stability.

Gabriela’s family moved from a shelter in Little Village to an apartment in South Shore, the top neighborhood where families have resettled in Chicago through a state program that helps cover their rent, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago through a Freedom of Information Act request.

But the promise of housing comes with a cost: Families are moving to more affordable neighborhoods that also are some of the city’s most segregated. As a result, students are landing in schools with little to no bilingual staff or support, according to data obtained through open records requests and more than 50 interviews with families, teachers and experts.

That has resulted in some students falling further behind in their studies, custodians taking on translation roles, and school leaders struggling to comply with a state requirement that they provide bilingual education if student enrollment meets certain thresholds.

The surge of new students, many of whom fled political and economic turmoil in Central and South American countries, is exposing the cracks in a school system that has for years struggled to fully comply with state and federal laws around bilingual education.

Even before buses carrying migrants began arriving in waves from Texas in 2022, Chicago’s public schools failed to fully comply with multiple internal and state audits related to bilingual instruction, documents show.

CPS schools that already had bilingual programs have fallen short of a range of requirements, such as providing bilingual instruction in core subjects to all students who need it, having properly certified teachers, and teaching students about their native country and culture. Now, a crop of additional schools that have enrolled waves of migrant students need to bolster staff.

“We are very concerned about those language deserts in the city … where there are no English learner services,” said Karime Asaf, the chief of the district’s Office of Language and Cultural Education, which oversees instruction for English learners.

As of March, at least 72 K-12 schools across the district had vacancies for bilingual staff or teachers certified to teach English as a new language, at least a quarter of which are in the top 10 neighborhoods where asylum-seeking families are moving.

District officials said creating bilingual programs and complying with audits require finding properly certified teachers, which has been a nationwide challenge. They pointed to newer efforts, such as recruiting existing CPS students to become teachers, but added that CPS needs more funding.

“There is always a need for additional support and improvements in the process, and we are working to secure more funding from the state and federal governments to support all of our students,” said CPS spokesperson Sylvia Barragan.

Asked why the district and city are still struggling to provide support to migrant students, Mayor Brandon Johnson told Chalkbeat and Block Club that asylum-seeking families are settling in “neighborhoods that have been historically disinvested,” which puts “pressure on that system that is already weighted,” referring to neighborhood schools that he believes lack adequate resources.

As a former middle school teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer, Johnson has called for investing more money in neighborhood schools.

Students at Erie Elementary Charter School in Humboldt Park.

In response to the rapid arrival of migrant students over the past two years, CPS opened a “welcome center” at Roberto Clemente High School and is working with the city and shelter staff to help families with school enrollment, officials said. The district is also trying to attract more bilingual educators and is prioritizing extra support for schools that have traditionally not served English learners, officials said.

But teachers say the district’s efforts haven’t translated into more resources on the ground, and migrant kids are missing out on vital instruction. At Laura S. Ward Elementary School on the West Side, which has gained dozens of English learners, a kindergarten teacher and two custodians are translating for the whole building.

“They were dropped at our doorstep, and we’re supposed to keep it moving, accept these children, educate them and keep it moving,” said Dewanda Watt, first grade teacher at Ward, one of dozens of schools CPS identified as lacking enough staff for English learners.

“There should’ve been a plan. There was no plan from Chicago Public Schools.”

Migrant families resettle on South and West sides

Like many migrants, Gabriela and her family left Venezuela for Chicago in October to escape the country’s socioeconomic and political turmoil, said Gabriela’s mother, Yennifer Ruiz.

The family lived in the Englewood Police District station for a few months before moving into a shelter in Little Village, a historically Mexican neighborhood. Ruiz enrolled her son and daughter in schools with Spanish-speaking staff: Eli Whitney Elementary School and Richards Career Academy.

But when the family moved about 13 miles southeast to an apartment in South Shore, Ruiz decided to switch her daughter to O’Keeffe, a mostly Black, low-income school that lacks bilingual resources but was close to home.

Like the Ruizes, one in 10 families seeking asylum have landed in the South Shore area through a state resettlement program called the Asylum Seeker Emergency Rental Assistance Program, according to data obtained by Block Club and Chalkbeat.

Gabriela Aquino Ruiz, 12, getting ready for school. Gabriela goes to Isabelle C. O’Keeffe School in South Shore, near where her mom got an apartment through a state rental assistance program.

Run by the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Illinois Department of Human Services in partnership with Catholic Charities, the rental assistance program covers three months of rent for people migrating from the southern border who are seeking asylum and arrived in the city’s shelters before Nov. 17, 2023. It is the city’s main strategy to get families into permanent housing once they leave shelters.

Data show nearly 60% of the roughly 5,000 families using the program to resettle in Chicago are finding housing in predominantly Black, low-income communities on the South and West sides — historically neglected neighborhoods with schools that don’t serve many English language learners and often don’t have staff certified to teach those students.

Through the state program, families can choose where to live, and “ultimately, low rental cost is what drives selection,” said Daisy Contreras, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services.

State law requires schools to launch bilingual programs — instruction in English and a child’s native language — when they enroll 20 or more English learners who speak the same native language. Schools must also teach students about their native country’s history and culture.

But as families leave shelters and find housing in relatively cheap, segregated neighborhoods, they’re encountering segregated schools that suffer from years of declining enrollment and inadequate resources, much less fully-staffed bilingual programs.

This was the case for Nathaly Garcia when she recently moved out of a downtown shelter to a three-bedroom apartment in South Shore with rent covered by the state program. Her 11-year-old son, Santiago, had enrolled at Ogden International School in the Gold Coast and moving meant their commute time would triple.

But Garcia didn’t want to enroll her son in the school near the new apartment because she had heard bad things about it and felt the school’s reading and math test scores were not high enough, she said.

Venezuelan migrant Nathaly Garcia cooks eggs in her South Shore apartment. Like Ruiz, Garcia got an apartment through a state program. But instead of sending her kids to schools nearby, she opted to keep her children at schools near their old shelter.

Even after families leave shelters, their children are legally entitled to stay in the school where they originally enrolled because the district’s guidelines classify those students as homeless, providing them with certain federal protections.

So Garcia and her son now take two buses an hour and a half each way to continue at Ogden. Garcia said no one told them they could apply for yellow bus service.

In Yennifer Ruiz’s case, no one explained that her daughter had a legal right to stay at Eli Whitney, the school the girl went to when they lived in the Little Village shelter, she said. In fact, when Ruiz showed Eli Whitney staff where she was moving, they said she would be “too far” outside of the attendance boundaries, she said.

District officials said they help families enroll in or transfer to other schools that are not in their neighborhood, but may have better resources, such as bilingual programs. Asaf said migrant families, like all Chicago families, can choose where to send their children to school.

“They’re individual, independent residents of the city,” Asaf said, adding that the district gets in touch with principals “the moment we hear school calls for support.”

O’Keeffe’s principal has requested help from the district, and Gabriela has recently started learning English through an after-school program, Ruiz said.

The school district spokesperson said O’Keeffe recently enrolled enough English learners to warrant a bilingual program, and the school has been approved to hire a part-time teacher to work with those students.

Still, Yennifer Ruiz is saving up so the family can move out of the neighborhood and closer to a school that better serves her daughter, she said.

‘We have to build a program from the bottom up’

Ward Elementary School is in West Humboldt Park, a neighborhood that has affordable housing and sees a high number of drug and gun crimes. Nearly all of the school’s students are Black and come from low-income families.

Data show nearly 140 families have resettled in the Humboldt Park area through the state program.

After years of declining enrollment, Ward’s numbers stabilized this school year as migrant families found apartments near the school, said Watt, the school’s first-grade teacher.

Watt now has nine new students from Venezuela and Ecuador. But like other adults at Ward, she doesn’t speak Spanish. The elementary school has dozens of English learners, but no bilingual teachers or bilingual program, according to Watt and preliminary enrollment data.

It’s an “overwhelming” predicament, Watt said. Before this year, Watt, a teacher for 25 years, had never taught non-English-speaking students.

Laura S. Ward Elementary School, 646 N. Lawndale Ave., in Humboldt Park on May 13, 2024.

A CPS audit of Ward last April found the school, which had about 20 English learners at the time, wasn’t providing required instruction to all kids learning English and lacked enough certified staff, according to documents obtained by Chalkbeat and Block Club.

Ward is one of 72 K-12 schools CPS identified with vacancies for staff certified to teach ESL or bilingual classes as of April, according to district data. That excludes the district’s Virtual Academy. An ESL certification doesn’t mean the teacher speaks another language — just that they’re certified to teach ESL classes.

Those schools have seen the number of English language learners increase by an average of more than 40% this school year, according to a Chalkbeat and Block Club analysis of preliminary enrollment data.

Earlier this year, Ward enrolled enough English language learners to warrant a bilingual program and is now working to establish one, according to a district spokesperson. The school was approved in October to hire a part-time teacher position to work with English learners and can hire for a full-time position next year now that the school has enrolled more than 50 English learners, a CPS spokesperson said.

Currently at Ward, Watt and other teachers rely on Spanish-speaking staff who don’t have bilingual credentials — the kindergarten teacher and two custodians — to help them communicate with migrant students and families seeking help with school applications.

For a while, the kindergarten teacher was getting pulled out of her classroom up to five times a day to translate, she said. The district gave teachers translation devices, but Ward teachers said they don’t always function properly and are not a substitute for speaking the language.

The kindergarten teacher, who did not want to be identified because she wasn’t authorized to speak to the press, said she’s torn between her teaching responsibilities and her unofficial job as school translator. Watt said some of her migrant students are progressing academically, but others are struggling to understand their classwork and learn English.

“Some [teachers] are in schools where the [bilingual] program is already up and running; they’re just continuing on. As opposed to us, where we have to build a program from the bottom up,” the kindergarten teacher said.

Asaf, the head of the district’s Office of Language and Cultural Education, said CPS has been opening teaching positions for schools that are enrolling many more English learners. She acknowledged that help may not come right away, and it takes time to build bilingual programs.

“It’s not always easy and it’s not always immediate and it’s not always fast,” Asaf said. “This is a big district, and we are constantly paying attention to the number of [English learners] we have.”

A history of failing bilingual students

This is not the first time Chicago has been under scrutiny for how it serves students learning English.

In 1980, a federal consent decree forced CPS to come up with a plan to desegregate schools and to ensure English language learners were receiving an adequate amount of support. The decree had to be updated twice, in part because the district was failing to provide enough staffing and materials for English learners.

Schools are responsible for screening their students to determine which of them are learning English as a new language. Those students are legally entitled to additional support, such as specialized English instruction.

In addition to state requirements for bilingual programs, schools with 19 or fewer English language learners must have a program known as Transitional Point of Instruction, which teaches students in English. It’s not clear how many CPS schools are now required to have bilingual programs but don’t have them yet.

A classroom at Erie Elementary Charter School in Humboldt Park. Erie is one of 43 dual-language schools across the city, which means it offers English learners and native English speakers instruction in Spanish and English.

Segregation can play a large role in whether schools have bilingual support for students.

Chicago’s immigrants have always settled in neighborhoods with people who share their ethnicity or native language, said Jim Lewis, senior research specialist for Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has studied segregation.

But some of Chicago’s recent Latin American newcomers, such as Venezuelans, do not have enclaves, Lewis said. Also, many historically Latino neighborhoods have become unaffordable for families who don’t have a stable income, potentially driving today’s newcomers to segregated neighborhoods that have been long ignored.

To get an apartment under the state program, families have to find a landlord who will participate in the program or get matched with one through Catholic Charities. The only stipulation is rent must be affordable, said Catholic Charities spokeswoman Emily Dagostino.

Catholic Charities is not involved in the school enrollment process, Dagostino said.

District officials said CPS works with the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, shelters and principals to help families enroll in school, and Asaf, the head of the district’s Office of Language and Cultural Education, emphasized that families have options.

But the district’s practice of helping families enroll in schools outside their neighborhoods doesn’t “follow the spirit” of what CPS says it aims to provide: equal access to quality neighborhood schools, said Jesse Ruiz, former interim CPS CEO and Chicago Board of Education vice president.

Santiago Orozco, 11, attends Ogden International School in the Gold Coast, an hour and a half away from his family’s South Shore apartment. Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Ruiz led the charge to audit all of the district’s bilingual and ESL programs in 2015. That school year, 71% of schools audited were in serious violation of state requirements for bilingual education, the Chicago Reporter found at the time.

The issues have persisted.

During the 2021 school year — before buses from Texas began arriving — the Illinois State Board of Education put CPS on what’s called a “corrective action plan” after officials determined the district was out of compliance with bilingual education requirements, said Lindsay Record, a spokesperson for the board.

In a follow-up visit last year, the state found several improvements. But the district still failed to have bilingual programs at all schools that were supposed to have them, as well as enough certified teachers, according to corrective action plan documents.

Ruiz, also a former chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, said he understands why under-resourced schools haven’t had bilingual programs if they didn’t historically serve English learners.

“But now they have these students, and that’s what the law says, that you have to provide bilingual education services to those students,” Ruiz said. “The district is going to have to provide those resources.”

‘It was a long journey’

Maria, a Venezuelan migrant who came to Chicago last summer, moved from a downtown shelter this February to an apartment in South Shore through the state’s rental assistance program. Block Club and Chalkbeat are using a pseudonym for Maria out of concerns for her family’s safety.

After the move, the family struggled to enroll their 8-year-old daughter in school. The first school noted that it lacked bilingual staff, and they were turned away from a second school for living outside of attendance boundaries, Maria said.

Desperate for another option, Maria’s family sought help from the Welcome Center at Clemente High School, where a staffer directed them to Erie Elementary Charter School, a dual-language school in Humboldt Park 90 minutes away via public transit from their South Shore apartment.

The long commute to Erie wasn’t easy, but Maria said it was worth it because her daughter was learning more English and “engaging in conversations.” Her daughter left Erie recently when the family moved to the suburbs.

Many of Erie’s 49 newcomer students are coming from all over the city, said Carlos Perez, the school’s executive director.

A class at Erie Elementary Charter School in Humboldt Park, a school that has nearly 50 newcomer students.

Erie is better-equipped than other schools to serve native Spanish speakers learning English. As one of 43 dual-language schools in the city, Erie teaches English learners and native English speakers in Spanish and English. Eight of Erie’s teachers are from Latin American countries, Perez said.

“It was a long journey that a lot of them have gone through to get to us. This was their target: to bring their kids to a school in America ... There’s a weight and responsibility that comes with it,” Perez said.

Even with those resources, teachers face big challenges. Most migrant students come to Erie more than two grade levels behind, and some haven’t attended formal school for up to two years, Perez said. In 2022, Erie was out of compliance with bilingual and ESL program requirements, according to the school’s most recent CPS audit.

Multiple principals questioned whether the audits are effective. Perez said one teacher who they consider effective is not certified to teach English learners — one reason the school is out of compliance.

“Are we aiming for compliance, or are we aiming to get good people in front of students who can educate them?” Perez said. “Oftentimes, those are not interchangeable things.”

According to CPS, it has about 7,500 teachers who are certified to teach bilingual classes, ESL or both — a figure that has grown in recent years. Many teachers certified to teach those classes are in regular teaching positions, a spokesperson said.

District officials said they’ve tried to attract more bilingual teachers by subsidizing the cost of earning bilingual or ESL endorsements and extending early job offers to teachers who are completing their requirements. But it’s difficult to fill teaching positions midway through the year, said Ben Felton, the district’s chief talent officer.

Felton said “we simply don’t have the talent” for every school to have big bilingual programs “because historically there haven’t been as many bilingual students in these schools.”

One child is thriving, another is ‘just stuck’

While Yennifer Ruiz switched Gabriela’s school after moving to South Shore, she opted to keep her 16-year-old son, Gabriel, at Richards Career Academy, which has a bilingual program.

After just five months in Chicago, Ruiz said she has seen how those bilingual resources have helped Gabriel thrive — he is rapidly learning English and even joined the school’s baseball team — and how the lack of services has left Gabriela feeling lost at school.

Gabriela wishes she could go back to Eli Whitney, where she liked being able to communicate with her teachers and other kids, she said.

“I feel really bad because all the objective of moving here was to get quality of life,” Ruiz said in Spanish through a translator. “I know how my son is getting to his maximum potential, but she is just stuck.”

Interviews with Spanish- speakers were conducted with translation help from Yoha Salmeron Chaparro, an intern at the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Accompaniment at Loyola University, and Alex Hernandez, a reporter for Block Club Chicago.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mina Bloom is an investigative reporter for Block Club Chicago. Contact Mina at mina@blockclubchi.org.

Perdidos en la traducción: Los niños migrantes luchan en las escuelas segregadas de Chicago

2024-05-21T11:00:00+00:00

Read in English.

Este reportaje se ha redactado y publicado en colaboración con Block Club Chicago. Suscríbete a sus boletines aquí.

Gabriela Aquino Ruiz depende de una aplicación de traducción para aprender, pero algunas de sus maestras hablan tan rápido en inglés que el software no puede seguir el ritmo.

La niña de 12 años, de voz tenue, que sólo habla español, adora leer, pero en su escuela - la escuela Isabelle C. O’Keeffe en el South Side de Chicago - no hay libros en su lengua natal, y tiene dificultades para hacer amigos, ella dijo.

Gabriela extraña su escuela en Venezuela, de donde ella y su familia emigraron en octubre.

“Quiero aprender”, dice en español a través de un traductor. “Me siento frustrada cuando llego a casa.”

Gabriela es una de los casi 9.000 estudiantes migrantes matriculados en las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago hasta el mes de abril. Muchos de estos estudiantes están dejando los refugios y encontrando una vivienda que les proporciona la estabilidad que tanto necesitan.

Su familia se mudó de un refugio en Little Village a un apartamento en South Shore, el barrio donde más familias se han reubicado en Chicago a través de un programa estatal que les ayuda a cubrir la renta, según datos obtenidos por Chalkbeat y Block Club Chicago a través de una solicitud amparada por la Ley de Libertad de Información.

Pero la promesa de la vivienda tiene un precio: Las familias se están mudando a barrios más asequibles que también son algunos de los más segregados de la ciudad. Como resultado, los estudiantes están llegando a escuelas con poco o nada de personal bilingüe o de apoyo, según los datos obtenidos a través de solicitudes de registros públicos y más de 50 entrevistas con familias, profesores y expertos.

Esto ha provocado que algunos alumnos se retrasen aún más en sus estudios, que los conserjes asuman roles de traductores y que los líderes escolares se enfrenten a dificultades para cumplir el requisito estatal de impartir educación bilingüe si la matriculación de alumnos alcanza determinados umbrales.

El aumento de nuevos estudiantes, muchos de los cuales huyeron de la agitación política y económica en países de América Central y del Sur, está exponiendo las grietas en un sistema escolar que durante años ha luchado por cumplir plenamente con las leyes estatales y federales en torno a la educación bilingüe.

Incluso antes de que los autobuses con migrantes comenzaron a llegar en oleadas de Texas en 2022, las escuelas públicas de Chicago no cumplieron plenamente en múltiples auditorías internas y estatales relacionadas con la enseñanza bilingüe, muestran los documentos.

Las escuelas de CPS que ya tenían programas bilingües no han logrado cumplir una serie de requisitos, como proporcionar enseñanza bilingüe en las materias básicas a todos los estudiantes que la necesitan, tener maestros adecuadamente certificados y enseñar a los estudiantes sobre su país de origen y su cultura. Ahora, un número de escuelas adicionales que han matriculado oleadas de estudiantes migrantes necesitan reforzar su personal.

“Nos preocupan mucho los desiertos lingüísticos de la ciudad … donde no hay servicios para los estudiantes que aprenden inglés”, dijo Karime Asaf, jefa de la Oficina de Educación Lingüística y Cultural del distrito, que supervisa la instrucción para los estudiantes que aprenden inglés.

Hasta el mes de marzo, al menos 72 escuelas de kindergarten a 12º grado del distrito tenían vacantes para personal bilingüe o maestros certificados para enseñar inglés como nueva lengua, al menos una cuarta parte de las cuales se encuentran en los 10 vecindarios principales a los que se están mudando las familias solicitantes de asilo.

Los funcionarios del distrito dijeron que la creación de programas bilingües y el cumplimiento de las auditorías requieren encontrar maestros debidamente certificados, lo cual ha sido un reto a nivel nacional. Destacaron esfuerzos más recientes, como el reclutamiento de estudiantes actuales de CPS para convertirse en maestros, pero agregaron que CPS necesita más fondos.

“Siempre hay una necesidad de apoyo adicional y mejoras en el proceso y estamos trabajando para asegurar más fondos de los gobiernos estatales y federales para apoyar a todos nuestros estudiantes”, dijo Sylvia Barragán, portavoz de CPS.

Cuando se le preguntó por qué el distrito y la ciudad siguen con dificultades para proporcionar apoyo a los estudiantes migrantes, el alcalde Brandon Johnson dijo a Chalkbeat y Block Club que las familias solicitantes de asilo se están asentando en “vecindarios en los cuales históricamente no se ha invertido”, lo que ejerce “presión sobre ese sistema que ya está sobrecargado”, refiriéndose a las escuelas de los vecindarios que, en su opinión, carecen de los recursos adecuados.

Como ex maestro de escuela intermedia y ex organizador del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago, la plataforma educativa de Johnson incluye invertir más dinero en las escuelas de los vecindarios.

Alumnos de la Escuela Primaria Chárter Erie, en Humboldt Park.

Ante la rápida llegada de estudiantes migrantes en los últimos dos años, CPS abrió un “centro de bienvenida” en la escuela secundaria Roberto Clemente y está trabajando con la ciudad y el personal de los refugios para ayudar a las familias con la matriculación escolar, dijeron los funcionarios. El distrito también está tratando de atraer a más educadores bilingües y está priorizando el apoyo adicional para las escuelas que tradicionalmente no han trabajado con estudiantes que aprenden inglés, dijeron los funcionarios.

Pero los maestros dicen que los esfuerzos del distrito no se han plasmado en más recursos concretos, y los niños migrantes se están quedando sin una instrucción vital. En la escuela primaria Laura S. Ward, en el West Side, que ha incorporado a docenas de estudiantes que aprenden inglés, una maestra de kindergarten y dos conserjes traducen para todo el colegio.

“Los dejaron en nuestra puerta, y se supone que debemos seguir adelante, aceptar a estos niños, educarlos y seguir adelante”, dijo Dewanda Watt, maestra de primer grado en Ward, una de las docenas de escuelas que CPS identificó como carentes de suficiente personal para los estudiantes que aprenden inglés.

“Debería haber habido un plan. No hubo ningún plan por parte de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago”.

Familias migrantes se reasientan en el South y el West Side

Como muchos migrantes, Gabriela y su familia se marcharon de Venezuela a Chicago en octubre para escapar de la agitación socioeconómica y política del país, dijo la madre de Gabriela, Yennifer Ruiz.

La familia vivió en la Comisaría del Distrito de Englewood durante unos meses antes de mudarse a un refugio de Little Village, un barrio históricamente mexicano. Ruiz matriculó a su hijo e hija en escuelas con un personal hispanohablante: la escuela primaria Eli Whitney y la Academia de Carreras Richards.

Pero cuando la familia se mudó a unas 13 millas al sureste, a un apartamento en South Shore, Ruiz decidió cambiar a su hija a la escuela O’Keeffe, una escuela predominantemente negra y de bajos ingresos que carece de recursos bilingües pero que estaba cerca de su hogar.

Al igual que los Ruiz, una de cada 10 familias solicitantes de asilo ha llegado a South Shore a través de un programa estatal de asentamiento llamado Asylum Seeker Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ASERAP), según datos obtenidos por Block Club y Chalkbeat.

Gabriela Aquino Ruiz, de 12 años, se prepara para ir a la escuela. Gabriela va a la escuela Isabelle C. O'Keeffe en South Shore, cerca de donde su madre consiguió un apartamento a través de un programa estatal de ayuda para cubrir la renta.

Dirigido por el Illinois Housing Development Authority y el Departamento de Servicios Humanos de Illinois en colaboración con Caridades Católicas, el programa de ayuda para la renta cubre tres meses de renta para las personas que emigran desde la frontera del sur en busca de asilo y que llegaron a los refugios de la ciudad antes del 17 de noviembre de 2023. La estrategia fundamental de la ciudad es conseguir que las familias consigan una vivienda permanente una vez que han dejado los refugios.

Los datos muestran que casi el 60% de las aproximadamente 5.000 familias que utilizan el programa para asentarse en Chicago están encontrando viviendas en comunidades predominantemente negras, de bajos ingresos en el South y West Side, vecindarios históricamente abandonados con escuelas que no tienen muchos estudiantes que aprenden inglés y que a menudo no cuentan con personal certificado para educar a esos estudiantes.

A través del programa estatal, las familias pueden escoger dónde vivir, y “en definitiva, el bajo costo de la renta es lo que determina la decisión”, dijo Daisy Contreras, portavoz del Departamento de Servicios Humanos de Illinois.

Las leyes estatales obligan a las escuelas a poner en marcha programas bilingües — educación en inglés y en la lengua natal del niño — cuando matriculan a 20 o más estudiantes que aprenden inglés que hablan la misma lengua natal. Las escuelas también deben enseñar a los alumnos la historia y la cultura de su país de origen.

Pero a medida que las familias se van de los refugios y encuentran un hogar en vecindarios segregados y relativamente baratos, se encuentran con escuelas segregadas que llevan años sufriendo un descenso del número de alumnos matriculados y recursos poco suficientes, y mucho menos programas bilingües con todo el personal necesario.

Este fue el caso de Nathaly García cuando recientemente se mudó de un refugio en el centro a un apartamento de tres habitaciones en South Shore con la renta cubierta por el programa estatal. Su hijo de 11 años, Santiago, estaba matriculado en la Escuela Internacional Ogden en Gold Coast, y la mudanza implicaba triplicar el tiempo de viaje a la escuela.

Pero García no quería matricular a su hijo en la escuela que estaba cerca del nuevo apartamento porque había escuchado cosas negativas sobre la escuela y creía que las puntuaciones de las pruebas de lectura y matemáticas no eran lo suficientemente altas, ella dijo.

La inmigrante venezolana Nathaly García prepara huevos en su apartamento de South Shore. Al igual que Ruiz, García consiguió un apartamento a través de un programa estatal. Pero en vez de enviar a sus hijos a las escuelas más cercanas, optó por mantenerlos en las escuelas cercanas a su refugio previo.

Incluso después de que las familias se van de los refugios, sus hijos tienen derecho legal a permanecer en la escuela en la que se matricularon originalmente porque las directrices del distrito clasifican a los estudiantes inmigrantes como personas sin hogar, lo que les proporciona ciertas protecciones federales.

Por consiguiente, García y su hijo toman ahora dos autobuses de hora y media de ida y vuelta para continuar yendo a Ogden. García dijo que nadie les dijo que podían solicitar el servicio del autobús amarillo.

En el caso de Yennifer Ruiz, nadie le explicó que su hija tenía derecho legal a quedarse en Eli Whitney, la escuela a la que iba su hija cuando vivían en el refugio de Little Village, ella dijo. De hecho, cuando Ruiz le mostró al personal de Eli Whitney a dónde se iba a mudar, le dijeron que estaría “demasiado lejos” fuera de los límites de asistencia, ella dijo.

Los funcionarios del distrito dijeron que ayudan a familias a matricularse o transferirse a otras escuelas que no están en su vecindario, pero que pueden tener mejores recursos, como programas bilingües. Asaf dijo que las familias migrantes, como todas las familias de Chicago, pueden elegir dónde enviar a sus hijos a la escuela.

“Son residentes individuales e independientes de la ciudad”, dijo Asaf, y añadió que el distrito se pone en contacto con los directores “en el momento en que oímos llamadas de la escuela pidiendo apoyo”.

El director de O’Keeffe ha solicitado ayuda al distrito, y Gabriela ha comenzado recientemente a aprender inglés a través de un programa extracurricular, dijo Ruiz.

El portavoz del distrito escolar dijo que O’Keeffe recientemente matriculó suficientes estudiantes que aprenden inglés para justificar un programa bilingüe y la escuela ha sido aprobada para contratar a un maestro a medio tiempo para trabajar con esos estudiantes.

No obstante, Yennifer Ruiz está ahorrando para que su familia pueda mudarse del barrio y estar más cerca de una escuela que asista mejor a su hija, ella dijo.

‘Tenemos que construir un programa de cero’

La escuela primaria Ward está en West Humboldt Park, un vecindario con viviendas asequibles y un gran índice de delitos de drogas y armas de fuego. Casi todos los alumnos de la escuela son negros y proceden de familias con bajos ingresos.

Los datos muestran que casi 140 familias se han asentado en la zona de Humboldt Park a través del programa estatal.

Después de años de disminución en las matriculaciones, las cifras de Ward se estabilizaron este año escolar, ya que las familias inmigrantes encontraron apartamentos cerca de la escuela, dijo Watt, la maestra de primer grado de la escuela.

Watt ahora tiene nueve nuevos alumnos de Venezuela y Ecuador. Pero al igual que otros adultos en Ward, ella no habla español. La escuela primaria tiene docenas de estudiantes que aprenden inglés, pero no tiene ni maestros bilingües ni un programa bilingüe, según Watt y los datos preliminares de matriculación.

Es un predicamento “abrumador”, dijo Watt. Antes de este año, Watt, que lleva 25 años ejerciendo como maestra, nunca había dado clase a alumnos que no hablan inglés.

La escuela primaria Laura S. Ward en West Humboldt Park es una de las docenas de escuelas públicas con vacantes de maestros bilingües y de ESL, según el distrito.

Una auditoría del CPS de Ward en el mes de abril determinó que la escuela, que tenía alrededor de 20 estudiantes que estaban aprendiendo inglés en ese momento, no estaba proporcionando la instrucción requerida a todos los niños que estaban aprendiendo inglés y carecía de suficiente personal certificado, según documentos obtenidos por Chalkbeat y Block Club.

Ward es una de 72 escuelas de kindergarten a 12º grado identificadas por CPS con vacantes de personal certificado para enseñar ESL o clases bilingües según datos del distrito hasta el pasado abril. Eso excluye la Academia Virtual del distrito. Una certificación de ESL no significa que el maestro habla otro idioma — sólo que están certificados para enseñar clases de ESL.

Esas escuelas han visto el número de estudiantes que aprenden inglés aumentar en un promedio de más del 40 por ciento en lo que va del año escolar, según un análisis de Chalkbeat y Block Club de los datos preliminares de matriculación.

A principios de este año, Ward matriculó a suficientes estudiantes que aprenden inglés para justificar un programa bilingüe y ahora está trabajando para establecer uno, según un portavoz del distrito. La escuela fue aprobada en octubre para contratar una posición de maestro de medio tiempo para trabajar con estudiantes que aprenden inglés y puede emplear a una persona de tiempo completo el año entrante ahora que la escuela ha matriculado a más de 50 estudiantes que aprenden inglés, dijo un portavoz de CPS.

En Ward, Watt y otros maestros dependen del personal hispanohablante que no tiene credenciales bilingües — la maestra de kindergarten y dos conserjes — para ayudarles a comunicarse con los estudiantes migrantes y las familias que buscan ayuda con las matrículas escolares.

Desde hace algún tiempo, la maestra de kindergarten tenía que ausentarse de su clase hasta cinco veces al día para traducir, ella dijo. El distrito proporcionó a los maestros dispositivos de traducción, pero los maestros de Ward afirman que no siempre funcionan adecuadamente y que no sustituyen el hecho de hablar el idioma.

La maestra de kindergarten, que no quiso ser identificada porque no estaba autorizada a hablar con la prensa, dijo que está dividida entre sus responsabilidades como maestra y su trabajo no oficial como traductora de la escuela. Watt dijo que algunos de sus alumnos migrantes progresan académicamente, pero otros tienen dificultades para entender sus trabajos de clase y aprender inglés.

“Algunos [maestros] están en escuelas en donde ya está en marcha el programa [bilingüe]; simplemente lo están continuando. A diferencia de nosotros, que tenemos que construir un programa de cero”, dijo la maestra de kindergarten.

Asaf, directora de la Oficina de Educación Lingüística y Cultural del distrito, dijo que CPS ha estado creando puestos de maestros para las escuelas que están matriculando a muchos más estudiantes que aprenden inglés. Reconoció que la ayuda puede no llegar de inmediato, y se necesita tiempo para construir programas bilingües.

“No es siempre fácil y no es siempre inmediato y no siempre es rápido”, dijo Asaf. “Este es un distrito grande, y estamos constantemente pendientes del número de [estudiantes que aprenden inglés] que tenemos”.

Una historia de alumnos bilingües que reprueban

Esta no es la primera vez que Chicago ha estado bajo escrutinio por la manera en que se ocupa de los estudiantes que aprenden inglés.

En 1980, un decreto federal de consentimiento obligó a CPS a elaborar un plan para eliminar la segregación en las escuelas y garantizar que los estudiantes que aprenden inglés recibieran el apoyo necesario. El decreto tuvo que ser modificado dos veces, en parte porque el distrito no proporcionaba suficiente personal y materiales para los estudiantes que aprenden inglés.

Las escuelas son responsables de examinar a sus alumnos para determinar cuáles de ellos están aprendiendo inglés como un nuevo idioma. Esos alumnos tienen derecho por ley a recibir apoyo adicional, como instrucción especializada en inglés.

Además de los requisitos estatales para los programas bilingües, las escuelas con 19 o menos estudiantes que aprenden inglés deben tener un programa conocido como Punto de Instrucción Transicional, que se les enseña a los estudiantes en inglés. No está claro cuántas escuelas de CPS están ahora obligadas a tener programas bilingües, pero aún no los tienen.

Un aula de la escuela primaria Charter Erie, en Humboldt Park. Erie es una de las 43 escuelas con enseñanza bilingüe de la ciudad, lo que significa que proporciona a los estudiantes que aprenden inglés y a los angloparlantes nativos instrucción en español e inglés.

La segregación puede tener mucho que ver a la hora de decidir si las escuelas cuentan con apoyo bilingüe para los alumnos.

Los inmigrantes de Chicago siempre se han establecido en barrios con personas que comparten su origen étnico o su lengua natal, dijo Jim Lewis, especialista senior en investigación del Great Cities Institute de la Universidad de Illinois en Chicago, que ha estudiado la segregación.

Pero algunos de los latinoamericanos recién llegados a Chicago, como los venezolanos, no tienen enclaves, dijo Lewis. Además, muchos vecindarios históricamente latinos se han vuelto inasequibles para familias que no disponen de ingresos estables, lo que puede llevar a los recién llegados de hoy a vecindarios segregados que han sido ignorados durante mucho tiempo.

Para obtener un apartamento según el programa estatal, las familias tienen que encontrar un propietario que participe en el programa o se les asigna uno a través de Caridades Católicas. La única condición es que la renta debe ser asequible, dijo la portavoz de Caridades Católicas Emily Dagostino.

Caridades Católicas no está involucrada en el proceso de matriculación escolar, dijo Dagostino.

Funcionarios del distrito dijeron que CPS trabaja con el Departamento de Familia y Servicios de Apoyo de la ciudad, los refugios y los directores para ayudar a las familias a matricularse en la escuela, y Asaf, jefe de la Oficina de Lenguaje y Educación Cultural del distrito, hizo hincapié en que las familias tienen opciones.

Pero la práctica del distrito de ayudar a las familias a matricularse en la escuela fuera de sus vecindarios no “sigue el propósito” de lo que CPS dice que pretende ofrecer: igualdad de acceso a las escuelas de calidad del vecindario, dijo Jesse Ruiz, ex director general interino de CPS y vicepresidente de la Junta de Educación de Chicago.

Santiago Orozco, 11, asiste a la Escuela Internacional Ogden en Gold Coast, a hora y media del apartamento de su familia en South Shore. Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Jesse Ruiz lideró la auditoría de todos los programas bilingües y de ESL del distrito en el 2015. Ese año escolar, el 71 por ciento de las escuelas auditadas estaban en grave incumplimiento de los requisitos estatales para la educación bilingüe, el Chicago Reporter informó en ese momento.

Los problemas han continuado.

Durante el año escolar 2021 — antes de que los autobuses de Texas comenzaron a llegar — la Junta de Educación del Estado de Illinois puso a CPS en lo que se llama un “plan de acción correctiva” después de que funcionarios determinaron que el distrito estaba incumpliendo con los requisitos de educación bilingüe, dijo Lindsay Record, portavoz de la junta.

En una visita de seguimiento el año pasado, el Estado constató varias mejoras. Pero el distrito seguía sin tener programas bilingües en todas las escuelas que debían tenerlos, ni suficientes maestros acreditados, según los documentos del plan de acción correctiva.

Ruiz, también ex presidente de la Junta Estatal de Educación de Illinois, dijo que entiende por qué las escuelas de bajos recursos no han tenido programas bilingües si históricamente no tenían a estudiantes que aprendían inglés.

“Pero ahora tienen estos estudiantes y eso es lo que dice la ley, que tienes que proporcionar servicios de educación bilingüe a esos estudiantes”, dijo Ruiz. “El distrito va a tener que proporcionar esos recursos”.

‘Ha sido un largo viaje’

María, una migrante venezolana que llegó a Chicago el verano pasado, se mudó de un refugio del centro de la ciudad en febrero a un apartamento en South Shore a través del programa estatal de ayuda para pagar la renta. Block Club y Chalkbeat utilizan un seudónimo para María por motivos de seguridad de su familia.

Tras la mudanza, la familia tuvo dificultades para matricular en la escuela a su hija de 8 años. La primera escuela no contaba con personal bilingüe, y en la segunda los rechazaron por vivir fuera de los límites de la zona de asistencia, cuenta María.

Desesperada por encontrar otra opción, la familia de María buscó ayuda en el Centro de Bienvenida de la escuela secundaria Clemente, donde un empleado los dirigió a la escuela primaria Chárter Erie, una escuela de enseñanza bilingüe en Humboldt Park, a 90 minutos en transporte público de su apartamento de South Shore.

El largo viaje hasta Erie no fue fácil, pero María dice que valió la pena porque su hija aprendía más inglés y “entablaba conversaciones”. Su hija dejó de asistir a Erie hace poco, cuando la familia se mudó a los suburbios.

Muchos de los 49 estudiantes recién llegados de Erie vienen de toda la ciudad, dijo Carlos Pérez, director ejecutivo de la escuela.

Una clase en la escuela primaria Chárter Erie de Humboldt Park, una escuela que cuenta con casi 50 alumnos recién llegados.

Erie está mejor equipada que otras escuelas para proporcionar formación a los estudiantes hispanohablantes que aprenden inglés. Como una de las 43 escuelas de enseñanza bilingüe de la ciudad, Erie les enseña a estudiantes que aprenden inglés y angloparlantes en español y en inglés. Ocho de los maestros de Erie provienen de países latinoamericanos, dijo Pérez.

“Ha sido un largo viaje que muchos de ellos han recorrido para llegar hasta nosotros. Este era su objetivo: traer a sus hijos a una escuela en Estados Unidos ... hay un peso y una responsabilidad que eso conlleva”, dijo Pérez.

Incluso con esos recursos, los maestros se enfrentan a grandes retos. La mayoría de los estudiantes migrantes llegan a Erie con más de dos grados atrasados, y algunos no han asistido a una institución educativa formal hasta por dos años, dijo Pérez. En el 2022, Erie no cumplía con los requisitos del programa bilingüe y ESL, según la auditoría más reciente de CPS.

Varios directores cuestionaron si las auditorías son eficaces. Pérez dijo que uno de los maestros que ellos consideran efectivo no está certificado para enseñar a los estudiantes que aprenden inglés, una de las razones por las que la escuela no cumple con los requisitos.

“¿Nuestro objetivo es el cumplimiento de las normas, o poner frente a los estudiantes a buenas personas que puedan educarlos?” dijo Pérez. “A menudo, esas no son cosas indistintas”.

CPS dijo que tiene alrededor de 7.500 maestros que están certificados para enseñar clases bilingües, ESL o ambos — una cifra que ha crecido en los últimos años. Muchos de los maestros certificados para enseñar esas clases están en puestos de enseñanza regular, dijo un portavoz.

Funcionarios del distrito dijeron que han tratado de atraer a más maestros bilingües mediante la subvención del costo para obtener endosos bilingües o de ESL y ofreciendo ofertas de trabajo temprano a los maestros que están completando sus requisitos. Pero es difícil cubrir puestos de docencia a mitad de año, dijo Ben Felton, jefe de talento del distrito.

Felton dijo que “simplemente no tenemos el talento” para que cada escuela tenga grandes programas bilingües “porque históricamente no han habido tantos estudiantes bilingües en estas escuelas”.

Un niño prospera, otra está ‘simplemente atascada’

Aunque Yennifer Ruiz cambió a Gabriela de colegio tras mudarse a South Shore, ella optó por mantener a su hijo Gabriel, de 16 años, en la Academia de Carreras Richards, que cuenta con un programa bilingüe.

Después de sólo cinco meses en Chicago, Ruiz dice que ha visto cómo esos recursos bilingües han ayudado a que Gabriel prospere — está aprendiendo inglés rápidamente e incluso se ha unido al equipo de béisbol de la escuela — y cómo la falta de servicios ha hecho que Gabriela se sienta perdida en la escuela.

Gabriela desearía poder volver a Eli Whitney, donde le gustaba poder comunicarse con sus maestros y otros niños, ella dice.

“Me siento muy mal porque el único objetivo de mudarme aquí era conseguir una buena calidad de vida”, dijo Ruiz en español a través de un traductor. “Yo sé que mi hijo está sacando su máximo potencial, pero ella está simplemente atascada”.

Traducido por Flavia Melisa Franco.

Yoha Salmerón Chaparro, pasante en el Centro de Acompañamiento para Inmigrantes y Refugiados de la Universidad de Loyola, y Alex Hernández, periodista de Block Club Chicago, proporcionaron ayuda de interpretación con hispanohablantes en este artículo.

Reema Amin es una periodista que cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Puede ponerse en contacto con ella: ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Mina Bloom es una periodista de investigación de Block Club Chicago. Puede ponerse en contacto con Mina: mina@blockclubchi.org.

In some Chicago neighborhoods, almost half of all teens and young adults are not going to school or working

2024-05-20T01:38:16+00:00

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The portion of young Chicagoans neither going to school nor working is returning to pre-COVID levels — but it’s an uneven recovery that has left behind Black teens as well as adolescents in the city’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Overall, about 45,000 16- to 24-year-olds in the city are disconnected from both school and work, accounting for roughly 12% of the city’s residents in that age group — a rate just slightly higher than pre-COVID.

“In the aftermath of the pandemic when things looked really shaky, these overall numbers are very encouraging,” said Matthew Wilson, associate director at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute and one of the authors of a new study on youth disconnection.

That was until researchers zeroed in on Black teens, he added: “When I saw these numbers, I thought, ‘Wait a minute.’”

The new report found the number of Black 16- to 19-year-olds who are not in school, college, or the workforce more than doubled from 2021 to 2022, the most recent year for which U.S. Census data is available.

Statewide, roughly 163,000 teens and young adults are not in school or working — a number that would make it Illinois’ third-largest city, the report’s authors note.

Chicago continues to lag behind the state and the country in getting young people reconnected to school and work since the height of the pandemic.

The Chicago-based nonprofit Alternative Schools Network commissioned the report for the second year as part of a push to ask Illinois lawmakers to allocate $300 million to a new youth employment program statewide. In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson has also championed youth jobs, vowing to double the number of opportunities open to teens and young adults, though his administration made more limited headway in boosting that number by 20% last summer, his first in office.

Experts believe that re-engaging young people who are neither working nor going to school is key to addressing poverty, racial disparities, and gun violence. Even short stints of disconnection can have a lasting effect on a person’s earning potential, health, relationships, and odds of becoming incarcerated, research has shown.

The disconnection rate dipped for Black and Latino 16- to 24-year-olds overall in 2022 while continuing to rise for their white counterparts. Nevertheless, that rate still remains much higher for young people of color. Almost a quarter of Black youth that age were out of school and out of work compared with 11% for Latinos and about 7% for whites.

The disconnection rate for Black 20- to 24-year-olds declined markedly. But the rate for 16- to 19-year-olds shot up from about 9% to more than 17%.

Wilson believes Black teens might still grapple with disconnection at a higher rate because that age group bore the brunt of the pandemic’s learning disruption and social-emotional toll during their all-important high school years.

“Being a high school student during COVID times was just a really bad place to be,” he said. “Your chance of having a meaningful attachment to school and being on a good trajectory after high school was diminished.”

The report also highlights dramatic differences in the rate of youth disconnection among Chicago neighborhoods and between the city and its north suburbs. That rate is less than 2% in some Cook County communities — and more than 48% in the West Side neighborhoods of Austin, North Lawndale, and Garfield Park.

“If every other young person is not working and not in school, that’s a crisis,” Wilson said.

The Alternative Schools Network helped craft legislation to launch a $300 million program to hire some 80,000 young people statewide and enlist the network and other nonprofits to prepare them and support them in those jobs.

“Lower-income kids just don’t have the connections to the labor market and to jobs that middle-income and upper-class kids have,” said Jack Wuest, the network’s executive director.

“It’s a terrible loss of potential.”

Damon Revels stopped going to high school as a junior and spent much of last year jobless, navigating a lot of family instability and a sense that his life had gotten irrevocably off track. “I was failing badly,” he said.

But after re-enrolling at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School, an alternative campus in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, he got to participate in the Illinois Youth Investment Program, a state initiative that connects 16- to 24-year-olds with internships, career training and other opportunities. He worked overseeing activities at a Boys & Girls Club and laying tile on home renovation projects.

He said the opportunities gave him practical skills and helped him land a summer job at the YMCA after he graduates this June.

But also, Revels said, “I learned to trust people more and have a lot more confidence in myself rather than just feeling sorry for myself.”

Correction: A previous version of this article used the incorrect figure for the number of out-of-work and out-of-school teens and young adults in Illinois. There are roughly 163,000, not 136,000.

Becky Vevea contributed reporting.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools pitches safety plan calling for restorative justice, no police in schools

2024-05-15T22:38:13+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools pitched a new school safety plan Wednesday that would get rid of campus police, call for more training for educators on alternative discipline practices, and require locking classroom doors.

The proposed plan, which is on the agenda for next week’s board meeting, comes three months after the Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution to remove school resource officers, or SROs, by the start of next school year. At the time, the board directed CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to create a new safety plan by June 27 that focuses on restorative practices.

Thirty-nine high schools still have on-campus police officers staffed by the Chicago Police Department. At 57 other schools, Local School Councils, or LSCs, voted to remove SROs.

The board’s plan to remove police could be reversed. State lawmakers have filed a bill that would allow LSCs to contract with the Chicago Police Department to staff SROs. That bill is still being negotiated, according to a spokesperson for Rep. Mary Gill, the bill’s sponsor who represents Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.

The district’s new proposed safety plan, however, extends beyond campus police. The plan builds on existing district efforts to teach kids about social-emotional skills and restorative justice practices, which are alternatives to discipline meant to resolve conflict and understand the root of student behavior, according to the proposal. All schools would be required to have a safety plan based on these new guidelines by 2028.

The plan covers “physical safety, emotional safety, and relational trust, which drives the development of a holistically safe environment,” said Jadine Chou, CPS’s chief of safety and security, during a board meeting Wednesday to review the board’s agenda for next week.

Chou said the plan was developed with community organizations and considered feedback from a survey about school safety that drew 9,000 responses. The board will vote next week to open a 30-day public comment period on the proposed plan and would vote on the plan after that.

Among the proposed plan’s highlights:

All schools would be required to have at least one security guard. Schools would get more guards based on a formula that considers multiple factors, such as the size of the school building, the number of students, and neighborhood crime.
All schools would be required to have an emergency management plan that’s updated annually.
All schools would have to teach social-emotional learning and must implement restorative practices.
Schools would include training on “climate, trauma-responsive, and social and emotional learning” in professional development plans
All schools would be required to have behavioral health teams, which are charged with supporting students who are in crisis, those who have experienced trauma, or are in need of mental health assistance. Most CPS schools – 460 – already have such teams, according to a district spokesperson.
All interior and exterior doors must be locked at all times, except for bathroom doors. Staff would have keys to doors.

This fall, all schools would receive data from the district to “conduct a baseline assessment of their safety, culture and climate” and would be required to develop safety plans based on that assessment.

After brief remarks from Chou on Wednesday, board members applauded the proposal. Board member Rudy Lozano said it signals a shift from discipline to a “healing-centered equity frame for students.”

Board’s approach to school safety draws mixed response

The board’s recent actions on school safety drew praise from advocates who had long pushed CPS to invest money in more social workers and other resources, and highlighted how Black students were more likely to be arrested. The decision drew opposition from some Local School Councils and elected officials who felt that LSCs should decide whether to keep police on campus.

Most research shows that schools with police tend to have higher arrest and suspension rates but doesn’t clarify whether police are the cause or if officers are more likely staffed at schools with more challenges, according to a Chalkbeat review of research in 2020. Nationally, students have generally positive views of SROs but those views tend to worsen among Black students, who are more likely to get arrested. Another study last fall found that Chicago schools implementing restorative justice practices saw fewer student arrests. Students also reported feeling safer at school.

David Stovall, a UIC professor of Black studies and criminology, law, and justice, said the district’s proposed safety plan reflects what many community members have asked for.

However, Stovall said, the plan will work only if officials can ensure all schools are meeting requirements, such as creating behavioral health teams with mental health professionals.

“It can’t be just one office operating out of central [office], right? You have to have teams of folks in order to do that work we’re talking about,” Stovall said.

The plan seems to require more resources at a time that CPS is projecting a $391 million budget deficit next fiscal year, which begins July 1, he said.

Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, which works with the Chicago Police Department to train Chicago’s SROs, said he was “deeply disappointed” in the board’s decision. Canady said officers are trained to “build positive relationships” with students, parents, and staff.

“We recognize that in some communities, there’s strained relationships with law enforcement,” Canady said. “If we’re ever going to get that right, we’ve got to get it right with the next generation [and] the next generation just happens to be adolescents that are going to become our next adults in society.”

The movement to remove SROs came into focus in 2019, when the U.S. Department of Justice placed the Chicago Police Department under a federal consent decree and raised questions about the role of campus police. Then in 2020, the district asked LSCs to vote on whether they wanted to keep their SROs after protests over Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder of Geroge Floyd.

On the campaign trail, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he supported getting rid of campus police, but later said he supports letting LSCs make that decision for their schools. Johnson flipped again earlier this year when he supported the board’s decision to remove officers.

Correction: May 15, 2024: This story previously said the incorrect number of days this proposal will go out for public comment.

Samantha Smylie contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools CEO defends new budget formula as schools consider next year’s funding

2024-04-26T02:27:04+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools officials defended the district’s new school funding formula Thursday night after some school communities raised concerns about losing staff next year.

The new formula allocates staff and funding based on need and replaces a system that relied more heavily on raw student enrollment. It represents an “important milestone in a long and broad struggle to improve quality of education for all of Chicago’s children, especially those farthest from opportunity,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said during a Board of Education meeting held at Chicago Vocational Career Academy High School that drew at least 100 people.

Martinez noted that the change is the product of long-term advocacy from the community for equitable funding to all schools. Advocates for a needs-based formula, which includes the Chicago Teachers Union, argue that such a formula can provide more support for schools that have high needs and are in need of support as they lose enrollment.

But Martinez also acknowledged that CPS is not “going to get everything 100 percent perfect” and is working through budget concerns at some individual schools.

In recent weeks, some educators and parents at selective enrollment and magnet schools have said that their schools’ proposed budgets would include fewer staffers next year under the new formula, which provides at least 10 teachers at every school and increases staff and discretionary funding based on the school’s needs.

Some have also pushed for more transparency around the new formula, asking the district to release each school’s preliminary budget proposal to the public. School budgets are not yet final and must be approved by their Local School Councils. Martinez said the district will release school budgets in late May.

Some schools have reported seeing an increase in their discretionary funding, which can be used to fund more staff and other programs, under the new formula.

But even the Chicago Teachers Union, which supported eliminating the student-based budgeting formula, has concerns.

Christel Williams, the union’s recording secretary, told the board Thursday that the union is concerned the new formula doesn’t specifically guarantee schools certain paraprofessional positions, such as teacher assistants.

WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times also reported this week that two-thirds of selective enrollment and magnet schools appear to be seeing cuts in their initial budgets.

Martinez said that no one school type will be disproportionately impacted by the budget changes. Some in the crowd of at least 100 people yelled, “That’s not true.”

Martinez asked the crowd to let him finish, then said: “By far overall what we’re seeing is more equity, especially for our schools with the highest needs, while we’re still protecting our strongest schools,” Martinez said.

But Martinez also said there are “a few outliers,” suggesting that the formula may not have provided adequate staffing for all schools, which the district is working to address.

Board president Jianan Shi asked Martinez to provide the board with an assessment of how staffing changes will impact schools.

“This board acknowledges the uncertainty, the uneasiness some communities are feeling right now, and we hear that,” Shi said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s low-income families of students with disabilities eligible for new $500 grants

2024-04-23T19:00:41+00:00

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The city of Chicago is using pandemic relief money to offer $500 grants to students with disabilities who come from low-income families, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Tuesday.

Families need to apply for the one-time grants, which will be awarded to up to 8,000 people.

The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities is partnering with Ada S. McKinley Community Services to distribute $5 million through the new Diverse Learners Recovery Fund, supported by American Rescue Plan dollars, which the federal government distributed to help cities and states recover from the pandemic. Chicago received nearly $1.9 billion in those funds, which must be allocated for spending by December 2024, according to the city.

Most of the dollars in the Diverse Learners Recovery Fund will go toward grants to families, while $1 million is reserved to cover administrative costs for Ada S. McKinley Community Services, according to a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.

Sherry Henry, the mother of a child with autism, speaks with Mayor Brandon Johnson during an event announcing $500 grants for low-income families of students with disabilities.

Sherry Henry, a Hyde Park mother of a 12-year-old boy with autism, said her family had spotty access to the internet during remote school, which made it difficult for her son to log onto virtual classes, leading him to fail a math class.

She did not have to pay for services out of pocket, but she says she could use the grant to buy supplies to help him with dealing with his sensory integration, a disorder that impacts his ability to process his senses, such as touch. Because of that, Henry buys special shoes for her son and recently purchased tennis rackets to help with his grip.

“When I hear about things like this, I always come out to see how I can support my son for my household,” Henry said.

Parents and guardians of students with disabilities can apply for up to two grants per household. Applicants must be residents of Chicago and must earn a household income equal to or less than 300% of the federal poverty level, or $93,600 at most for a family of four, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They must also have documentation proving their child receives services at school, such as an Individualized Education Program or 504 plan, or certification from a doctor that their child has a disability.

At an event announcing the grants, Johnson acknowledged the challenges that young people with disabilities faced during the pandemic, when “typical support systems” were cut off as schools shut down.

“Many families have had to make difficult financial choices to ensure that their children remain on track with their education, and I want to honor those families for all of their hard work and the extra hours that it took to provide for and nurture and raise a family of a child, particularly one with a disability,” Johnson said.

Students with disabilities are legally entitled to school services that are outlined in an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. Those services are meant to provide accommodations for students or give them extra help or therapies in school, but school closures forced by the pandemic separated many students with disabilities from those critical supports.

Like other districts, Chicago Public Schools fell behind in evaluating what support students with disabilities needed. In the 2019-20 school year, when the pandemic hit, more than 10,050 reevaluations, initial evaluations, and annual reviews of student IEPs were incomplete, according to a Chalkbeat investigation. That’s triple the number from the previous school year.

Bridgeport mother Shareia Ramey, whose 15-year-old son has a seizure disorder, said she’s spent a lot of money out of pocket to meet his needs for services not provided by his school, such as a walker to help him balance himself and other medical costs.

Ramey thinks the grant will be helpful for many families but she’s hoping for more support from the city and public schools, noting that “this is a continuous lifetime that our children with disabilities have,” Ramey said.

Josh Long, the new chief of Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Diverse Learners, saw the pandemic’s impact on students when he was a principal at a school that provides specialized support to older students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Those students had suddenly lost “repetition and consistency,” which they critically need in order to learn, he said.

“What we saw across the board with all of our students was gaps just in their learning,” Long said.

Long applauded the city’s idea of offering grants, which could provide relief for families who are paying out of pocket for medical costs, food, or even transportation to and from therapy services or doctor’s appointments, he said.

Families will be chosen for grants through a lottery system. Those interested can apply online at www.AdaMOPD.com or can text “AdaMOPD” to (877) 478-1359.

Applications will be open through Oct. 30.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson visits West Side high school to advocate for more Sustainable Community Schools

2024-04-19T18:15:00+00:00

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Sitting in a circle with dozens of students at Collins Academy on Chicago’s west side, Mayor Brandon Johnson asked a straightforward question: “What do you need?”

Melvin Hines, a soft-spoken junior in purple track pants and a black zip-up jacket, chimed in: “More resources, better opportunities, and more exposure.”

Answers from other students ricocheted around the room like a pinball: a law program, more connections to businesses, a grocery store in their neighborhood.

“Sometimes it feels like the only thing that’s available for us are leftovers, right?” Johnson said, nodding.

The roundtable discussion — organized with the local, state, and national teachers union, including American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, as well as district leaders — gave the mayor and his allies a moment to advocate for expanding Sustainable Community Schools. The concept provides up to $500,000 a year to a school to partner with a local nonprofit on before- and after-school programming, community outreach, parent engagement, and other wraparound services.

Johnson has promised to grow the number of Sustainable Community Schools from 20 to as many as 200, possibly including Collins. It’s one of the ways he wants to invest more in neighborhood schools.

“This is about making sure that every single child has a library or librarian, wraparound services, class sizes that are manageable,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but unfortunately, because of a long history of systemic racism, disinvestment has left our communities in despair.”

But Chicago Public Schools faces a $391 million shortfall in its $9 billion-plus budget next school year. The district is about to begin contract negotiations with the teachers union and officials recently sent principals individual school budgets using a new formula that provides set staffing levels and extra money based on need. Officials say the total amount distributed to schools is not decreasing, but individual campuses could see cuts.

Stephen Mitchell, the local school council chair at Bronzeville Classical Elementary School, a selective enrollment school that opened in 2018, said their budget is seeing reductions. He said it’s possible the school has to either let staff go or cut other resources.

“I think this is kind of pitting one against the other, which I don’t think is right,” Mitchell said. “I think we need to adequately fund our neighborhood schools and continue to fund selective enrollment schools.”

State lawmakers are moving legislation to block Johnson and his hand-picked school board from making “disproportionate” budget cuts at selective enrollment schools and also extend a moratorium on any school closures until 2027, when a fully elected school board is in place.

The bill passed out of the House late Thursday and is headed to the Senate.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates characterized the bill with a handful of strong words — racist, disengaged, silly, an abomination — because it targets an issue “that does not exist.”

“There was a resolution that said that the Chicago Board of Education was going to finally prioritize Collins High School … and then you get a bill that says you can’t do that,” she said. “Everyone who votes for that bill needs to go into that room and engage with the same group of students that we just engaged with and explain to them why they cannot have more.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson poses with students at Collins Academy after a roundtable discussion about school funding and expanding the number of Sustainable Community Schools in the city.

Johnson, Davis Gates, and Mitchell, the Bronzeville parent, said Springfield should be focused on fully funding all public schools through the evidence-based funding formula approved in 2017.

That formula promised to get all Illinois school districts, including CPS, to “adequate” funding by 2027 by adding $350 million in new money for K-12 education every year. Since that time, the amount of state money allocated to Chicago schools annually has grown by more than a billion dollars. But the formula says CPS is still another $1 billion short of “adequacy.”

During the roundtable discussion with the students at Collins, Johnson and others, including the local alderwoman Monique Scott, whose dad and brother both served on Chicago’s school board, told the students they were advocating for more money from the state.

As the conversation wound to a close, Collins senior Marshall Douthard Jr. raised his hand.

Everyone has been talking about “the resources and the money problems,” Douthard Jr. said. “I would like to know when they come through: How do you plan to fulfill these requests?”

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

From ‘winning the lottery’ to ‘leaner schools’: How the end of federal COVID money could impact Chicago schools

2024-04-10T21:06:27+00:00

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For principals in Chicago, putting together a school budget has always involved difficult choices.

Then three years ago, a $2.8 billion windfall of federal COVID money for Chicago Public Schools, meant to help students recover from the pandemic, suddenly changed the equation.

At one school, where nearly all of the students came from low-income households, the additional money meant more after-school programs for everyone, tutoring for struggling students, open gym, and even a staff-created crafting class where students could get additional social-emotional support. Test scores went up and staff noticed fewer fights, said a former school administrator who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly.

“Winning the lottery is what it felt like,” she said. “Everything your kid ever asked for, you could give them.”

Research shows Chicago students are rebounding faster than other districts, particularly in reading, efforts such as tutoring are paying off, and the number of school social workers in CPS has doubled.

But the extra federal money that helped make that progress possible, known formally as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief or ESSER, is running out, meaning some of those programs could be curtailed or cut.

A Chalkbeat analysis of school budgets for the past three years found that federal COVID relief made up 7% of all the money that went to schools. And while officials said Monday they will not reduce the total amount of money dedicated to schools, they said some campuses’ “funding levels may change,” as they shift to a new funding formula that guarantees a minimum number of staff for all schools, according to a letter district officials sent to families and staff.

Next year, CPS plans to spend the last $300 million of its $2.8 billion allocation of federal COVID money, but will still face a $391 million deficit. CEO Pedro Martinez signaled recently that hard cuts, such as for critical building repairs, could be ahead but he wants to protect classrooms from losing resources.

Looking back, more than half of Chicago’s federal COVID money went to staff salaries and benefits. In an interview with Chalkbeat, Martinez said the federal COVID dollars helped the district avoid cuts because of a longstanding structural deficit – when expenses exceed revenue.

That deficit was a problem even before the pandemic for many reasons, he said, including the 2019 CTU contract, which committed to hiring more staff and increasing salaries and benefits. The district is once again negotiating new contracts with the Chicago Teachers Union and the union representing school support staff. Both will impact future school years when federal COVID money is gone.

Chalkbeat’s analysis of budget records and expenditure data from the past three years found the largest uses of COVID money at the school level were for reducing class sizes, supporting middle school programs, and expanding pre-K.

District officials said they want to preserve programs they believe have helped students, such as tutoring, professional development for teachers, after-school and summer programs, and investments in social-emotional learning. But some schools will be hit by changes next year.

For example, according to a presentation given last week to Local School Council members, some schools may lose their interventionists. These positions were created with federal COVID dollars to provide extra support to struggling students.

Next year, only Title I schools, which enroll large shares of students from low-income families, will be guaranteed interventionists.

Principals received their budgets Monday for next school year and could decide to pay for certain positions or programs using discretionary money. By early May, Local School Councils must vote on the budgets. Simultaneously, district officials are reviewing non-school spending and central office budgets before presenting a full budget to the school board for a vote in June.

“Literally every day, I kid you not, we’re going through all of our central office budgets, all of our operations, and seeing, ‘Where do we need to scale back?,’” Martinez said. “Our intention is going to be that as schools finish their budgets, we’re going to be able to protect those resources at the school level.”

How federal COVID money was spent at schools

At one Chicago school, which also serves many students from low-income families, having more adults in the building has made a big difference.

The school’s principal, who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly, said the districtwide tutoring effort, known as Tutor Corps, allowed her to hire a handful of tutors who have “had a profound impact” on children who were struggling in reading and math and are now showing signs of improvement in those subjects.

The principal was also able to shrink class sizes by hiring more teachers. That was possible because the district decided to cover the salaries of two teachers the principal tapped to become interventionists. Because they were some of her most veteran teachers with high salaries, the principal said, that freed up a good chunk of money to hire other staff.

But the principal didn’t know that the district used federal COVID money to help pay for her school’s pre-K teachers, or that her school’s budget was covered by millions in relief dollars over the past three years.

“Wow, it didn’t feel like that,” she said, referring to the amount of money her school received.

The disconnect might stem from complicated budgeting practices. CPS must first spend money, then submit claims to the state to get reimbursed with federal COVID dollars, said Mike Sitkowski, budget director for CPS. In order to collect that money, which helped keep school budgets afloat, officials were “shifting expenses throughout the year” – which did not impact school operations, he said, but may have gone unnoticed by school communities.

Between July 2020 and June 30, 2023, Chicago Public Schools budgeted a total $1.4 billion in federal COVID dollars directly to schools. Another $1.2 billion was budgeted for centrally funded programs, including those rooted at schools, such as tutoring, one-on-one academic intervention for students who fell behind, and summer school.

Multiple educators were surprised to hear how much of the COVID relief dollars had been budgeted for their schools. Some parents and students have also felt in the dark about how the money got spent.

Hal Woods, chief of policy for advocacy organization Kids First Chicago, said without that knowledge or a tracker detailing where the money is going for each school, parents and schools aren’t able to “be in lockstep” if they want to advocate for more funding or raise questions about how funds are being spent.

Wallace Wilbourn Jr., a teacher at Oscar DePriest Elementary School on the West Side and a member of the school’s Local School Council, said he doesn’t know how most of the money was spent. He joined the LSC last year, but wasn’t aware of any conversations the school had with staff about how the money was being spent, even though the LSC votes on a school’s budget.

Between 2021 and 2023, nearly $2.2 million in federal COVID dollars was budgeted for DePriest. Expenditure data obtained by Chalkbeat through an open records request found slightly more than that – about $2.5 million – was spent.

DePriest had Tutor Corps tutors, Wilbourn said, an expense he supports because he felt many students needed the extra help as they returned to in-person school. Still, he wishes there was more transparency early on about the money.

“It’s nice to know what those dollars are being used for so then it gives you the power to advocate for those funds,” Wilbourn said.

Martinez said the district has been “very transparent” about how it was spending the federal dollars in multiple public presentations. However, Martinez said “it gets very technical, so I can understand why it’s confusing for folks.”

Asked how the COVID money was distributed, a spokesperson did not share an exact formula in time for this story. A spokesperson said schools received federal COVID dollars based on “stakeholder meetings” that focused on what schools’ needs were, such as class sizes and limited split classrooms, access to arts and other “specialty” classes, intervention supports, social and emotional supports, resuming in-person school, and professional development.

Chicago schools have uncertain financial future

The district has not yet detailed how it will fill its looming $391 million deficit. That’s the shortfall after using roughly $300 million in federal COVID money still left to spend.

Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, said the district shouldn’t have plugged the federal money into operating costs, such as salaries, because that created a cliff – a sudden loss of money that could mean the loss of programs and staff that directly impacts students.

“It’s very disruptive, right?” Martire said. “What message does that send to the kids? It creates a lot of unintended and hard-to-anticipate issues.”

Martire argues the district should have used the money to pay for one-time costs, such as critical building repairs. The district might have to delay such repairs in response to budget challenges, Martinez said at a recent event about the district’s Latino students.

Martinez told Chalkbeat he is proud of the choices the district made in spending federal COVID money, pointing to the recent research around student growth in Chicago and crediting the “amazing work” of principals, teachers, and students.

“What the evidence is telling me right now is that we used the resources in a way that our students are doing even better today than they were prior to me coming here,” he said.

Officials have vowed to push state lawmakers to give the district more money. The state has increased the district’s funding by about $1 billion since Illinois overhauled its funding formula in 2017. But the state’s formula, which aims to allocate new money to districts based on need, indicates CPS would still need $1.1 billion to be considered adequately funded.

State lawmakers typically finalize a budget in late May or early June. The Chicago Board of Education usually votes on the district’s overall budget in late June. CPS is planning to fund schools differently this year, using a formula that allocates staff positions and prioritizes student and community needs instead of doling out a set number of dollars per student.

Two principals said they’ll be able to keep some of the extra programming, such as Tutor Corps, because they oversee high-needs schools. But even that will come with some changes: The tutors will use a different, less expensive curriculum, they said.

The administrator who launched more after-school programs said losing the federal COVID money could limit what a school can do. Instead of hosting programs for most of the school year, for example, her former school may have to go back to 10 or 20 weeks out of the year.

“The altruistic ones of us wish the lesson will be learned that extra money really makes a difference, and the city and state will keep providing additional funds for these sorts of investments,” said one principal. “But I am imagining that we are going to be trimming to be leaner schools with less programming.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Election results show Chicago voters reject ballot measure aimed at helping homeless

2024-03-22T15:15:21+00:00

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A city ballot measure aimed at reducing homelessness and increasing affordable housing failed Tuesday, a setback for efforts to serve the growing number of Chicago Public Schools students facing housing instability.

The “Bring Chicago Home” initiative was voted down 54 percent to 46 percent, according to unofficial results released Thursday.

The measure backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former school teacher and union organizer, would have raised a one-time tax on real estate transfers for purchases over $1 million.

Chalkbeat reported last week that 21,855 students currently enrolled at CPS were considered Students in Temporary Living Situations, or STLS. That’s up from 14,317 such students last February. The district’s homeless student population has been around 5% for the past decade, which is twice the national average.

While the vast majority of those students are classified as “doubled up,” living with another family temporarily, the number of students living in shelters or out of a car, park, or other public place more than tripled in the last year — from about 2,000 last February to nearly 8,000 this February.

Backers of the ballot initiative estimated the increase could have generated roughly $100 million annually for the city to fight homelessness.

Chicago Public Schools would not have directly received any of the increased revenue, but advocates and the mayor said the money could fund homelessness prevention, affordable housing, and other city-run housing assistance programs that would benefit students and their families.

Supporters of the initiative called the results disappointing and vowed to “keep fighting for housing justice.” Opponents said they also want to make Chicago a better place to live and support solutions that boost the “supply of naturally occurring affordable housing.”

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools ending student-based budgeting in favor of set staffing levels at all campuses

2024-03-21T22:08:53+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools plans to do away with a decade-old system in which school funding was largely based on student enrollment. Instead, starting next year, each school will get a set number of staff and additional funding based on need.

The change, announced Thursday at a Chicago Board of Education meeting, is part of a revamp of the district’s funding formula and delivers on a promise Mayor Brandon Johnson made during his mayoral campaign to end student-based budgeting.

The district had already started to move away from a student-based approach in the previous two budget cycles, as it funded more positions – such as social workers – centrally. The current formula also accounts for student needs, such as how many students with disabilities need additional support.

Under the new formula, every school will have certain guaranteed staff, including an assistant principal, a counselor, and core classroom teachers. It would guarantee “a baseline level of resources for every school, regardless of enrollment,” then add more based on need, according to a district presentation.

Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, welcomed the move away from student-based budgeting, calling it an inequitable approach “because not every student has the same needs and doesn’t generate the same resources.”

It will, however, likely be challenging for the district to roll out a new funding model when schools already have “a certain funding expectation” they rely on to pay for contracts or programming. The district should try to hold schools harmless, meaning schools shouldn’t lose money under the new formula, Martire said.

In 2013, Chicago Public Schools switched from using a budgeting system that funded a set number of staff at each school to one that allocated money per student. As schools lost enrollment, their budgets often tightened. But budgets have also grown over the past few years with the influx of $2.4 billion, so far, in federal COVID relief funding.

The district’s enrollment declined significantly over the past decade, losing more than 75,000 students since 2013. Enrollment stabilized this year with about 323,000 students enrolled. At the same time, the number of employees has grown. District staffing data shows CPS employed roughly 43,500 people as of the end December, up from around 37,000 as of December 2018.

District officials and school board members did not immediately share more details about the formula. It remains unclear exactly how funding will be allocated to campuses or how much autonomy a principal and Local School Council would have over their school’s budgets.

Schools will also receive discretionary funding, but it is not clear how that will be calculated.

A school’s need will be determined by something called the “opportunity index,” which considers several factors, such as the percentage of students with disabilities, those who are homeless, those learning English as a new language, those who come from low-income families, the number of teachers a school was able to retain, and whether a school is segregated by race or ethnicity. The index also considers data about the surrounding community and how a school has been funded historically.

“Maybe it’s just more striking because I’ve been here for a while now, but this is a major shift and it’s important,” said Elizabeth Todd-Breland, vice president of the Chicago Board of Education.

The funding formula shift comes as the district is also facing a projected $391 million deficit, as federal COVID relief funding runs out. That gap must be filled by revenue that has not yet been identified, Mike Sitkowski, the district’s budget director, told the board Thursday.

District officials are projecting an additional roughly $25 million in K-12 funding next year under the state’s Evidence-Based Funding formula, or EBF, which makes up the largest portion of state funding for CPS. That would bring total EBF funding for Chicago to nearly $1.8 billion. State officials have gradually provided more funding to Illinois school districts under the formula, but CPS officials are advocating for a larger increase, arguing that the district is still owed more than $1 billion.

When accounting for all state funding, Illinois gave Chicago Public Schools nearly $2.5 billion for this current fiscal year, up from $1.5 billion in 2017, the year before the state reformed how it was funding school districts.

Even with the budget challenges, the district is working to keep several of the new investments it made using federal COVID dollars, including high-dosage tutoring, additional counselors, and extended learning time, such as the expansion of summer school, as well as before- and after-school programming.

Officials defended those investments by highlighting a recent study that showed Chicago’s reading scores have bounced back from the pandemic at a greater rate than most big school districts.

“It should not take a crisis for us to fully fund our schools,” Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer, said during her presentation Thursday.

In an interview earlier this week, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said the district may also have to make “hard decisions” this year. That could include pausing “critical” repairs for buildings, he said.

Becky Vevea contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools ‘hitting the gas pedal’ on expanding dual language programs

2024-03-19T21:12:40+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools plans to hit “the gas pedal” on an expansion of dual language programs, which teach students in both English and another language, CEO Pedro Martinez said Tuesday at an event focused on Latino students.

At the event hosted by advocacy organization Latino Policy Forum, Martinez said CPS has a “significant opportunity” to expand its existing slate of dual language programs, which are designed to help students become fluent in English and another language.

The district currently has dual language programs in 37 elementary schools, three high schools, and three charter schools, according to a presentation Martinez delivered Tuesday.

Officials did not immediately share details on how soon the district wants to expand its dual language offerings, what it would cost, or where new programs would open because the district is still planning, according to a spokesperson. Martinez said Tuesday his team also wants to create more world language options.

Dual language programs are one of three types of English learner programs available in CPS; however, dual language can also serve students who are not learning English as a new language.

By state law, schools with 20 or more English language learners who speak the same native language must offer a Transitional Bilingual Program, which provides instruction in English and a child’s native language but focuses on building up the student’s English skills. Schools with 19 or fewer students who speak the same native language have a Transitional Program of Instruction, which provides instruction in English, according to CPS.

Transitional programs work to ensure that non-English speakers can speak English, but “imagine if they could keep their Spanish and go deeper,” he told the crowd at Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy.

“We want biliteracy, not just transitioning out of the native language into English,” said Karime Asaf, chief of the district’s Office of Language and Cultural Education.

The district’s goal comes as CPS has welcomed more than 6,000 new migrant students into schools so far this year, Martinez told reporters after the event. Educators and union officials have expressed concern about a lack of staffing and resources at schools to properly support migrant students who have come to Chicago from the southern border since 2022.

CPS has struggled to provide bilingual programming to English language learners. In February, district officials said just under 6% of schools — or roughly 30 — did not have teachers with required bilingual or English-as-a-second-language credentials.

Asaf said this challenge has emerged as migrant families move out of shelters and find permanent homes through housing assistance programs in neighborhoods where the schools do not have bilingual programming or large numbers of English learners, Asaf said. The district is prioritizing helping teachers at those schools get certified to teach English language learners, if they are interested, she said. The district is also sending central staffers to help schools with students who are learning English, she said.

But even before the most recent wave of migrants, CPS bilingual programming lagged. In 2017, the Chicago Reporter found that 71% of 342 schools audited by CPS did not have adequate bilingual programming, in violation of state law.

CPS has gradually opened dual language programs over the past decade, with efforts stretching back to at least 2016 and an expansion in 2018.

Advocates for English learners have previously pushed the district to open more dual language programs. One study focused on fifth graders in Oregon found strong signs that dual language instruction can improve literacy achievement, according to a 2022 review of the research by the federal Institute of Education Sciences’s What Works Clearinghouse. However, that study and another out of Utah found no evidence that dual language instruction boosted math or science achievement, and reviewers called for more rigorous research.

Such programs can also be costly, which could make it challenging for the district to implement as it faces a $391 million deficit next fiscal year.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools wants ideas for how to improve outcomes for Black students

2024-03-12T21:27:04+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools will host a series of meetings over the next two weeks to hear about how it can improve the school experience for Black students.

The first of eight meetings is taking place at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Uplift Community High School in Uptown.

The public meetings are part of the district’s new Black Student Success Working Group, which CPS created in the fall to provide district leaders with recommendations for its upcoming “Black Student Success Plan.” That blueprint will then be folded into the district’s overall five-year strategic plan, which is expected to be finalized this summer.

CPS, like other districts across the nation, has long reported academic disparities between Black students and their peers, who make up 35% of the school system. In Chicago, 79.7% of Black students graduated on time last year, a rate that has gradually improved but is still behind the graduation rate for all other racial groups, according to district data. And 12.6% of Black students dropped out last year, the highest percentage for any racial group.

“We’re meeting as a working group because historically and today, Black students are situated furthest from opportunity,” said Fatima Cooke, CPS’s chief of equity, engagement and strategy.

“There is so much more work that still needs to be done to create those holistic systems that foster environments where Black students are empowered, that they feel seen, and that they have a sense of belonging.

The working group is made up of more than 60 members, including parents, students, educators, district employees and other community members, according to a CPS press release. The group has been meeting since December and has also convened focus groups of students, families, and staff, Cooke said.

While the working group has already drafted some recommendations that that focus on academics, the members don’t want to present those ideas to the community yet because they want “authentic” input, said Ayanna Clark, a CPS parent who is a member of the working group and also serves as assistant chief of staff to the City Council’s education committee under Ald. Jeanette Taylor.

“We don’t want to go into a space where we’re once again telling people what to think and giving them a set of options and telling them to choose from the set of options,” Clark said.

State legislation that paves the way for Chicago’s first elected school board creates a “Black Student Achievement Committee in response to advocacy from longtime community advocates. Cooke said this work “is parallel to that” and won’t “impede” a committee.

The district working group is focused on three priorities. These are Black students’ daily school experience; “adult capacity and continuous learning,” which focuses on workforce diversity and professional development to ensure teachers are meeting student needs; and how community organizations can support Black students’ needs that “can’t be met by the school-based budget,” said Christopher Shelton, a former science teacher who now works for the district’s central office and is helping to facilitate the group.

The group has also discussed ideas to better support Black students, including providing teachers with more professional development; focusing on conflict resolution practices; diversifying the teacher workforce; and to “leverage corporate, government, and community partnerships to bridge resource gap,” according to a presentation posted on the district’s website.

‘Focusing on what the students need’

The group’s first meeting in December included a history of how city policies have impacted Black families and students. Some of the topics that members highlighted during that meeting were the Great Migration, the practice of redlining that drove racial segregation, and the closing of 50 schools — most of which were majority Black schools — under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The group also reviewed data on academic disparities. At the beginning of this school year, 62% of Black students in grades kindergarten to second grade were behind one grade level in reading, while 66% were behind in math, according to iReady data presented to the group at the December meeting. That’s higher than most other racial groups except for Hispanic students, who are behind in both subjects at the same rates, and the 76% of Haiwaiian or Pacific Islander students who were behind in math.

Chicago’s Black students are the least likely to earn early college credit, which can help offset college costs. And outside of academics, the group looked at data showing that Black girls received more than 7 out of every 100 out-of-school suspensions last school year, while Black boys received more than 10 — the highest rates for any racial group, which grew from 2022.

One bright spot that the group has heard about: Over the past six years, more Black eighth graders have enrolled at schools that offer algebra.

Then there are factors that can place an additional burden on Black students outside school buildings. For example, roughly 20% of Black students travel six or more miles to school compared with 11% of all students.

District officials have previously highlighted how students should not have to leave their neighborhoods to attend a school that fits their needs. In December, the Board of Education made waves when it announced that, as part of the creation of that strategic blueprint, it was planning to rethink the district’s school choice system and invest more in neighborhood schools. That system includes schools that require an application, including charters, magnets, selective enrollment schools, and gifted programs.

Jahnae Roberts, a junior at Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts and a member of the working group, said she hears the need for more support around mental health and social emotional learning for Black students. Her peers have also shared with her that they don’t feel some teachers know how to work with or teach them.

The working group is “focusing on what the students need, not just education-wise, but what are they receiving at school that they might not receive at home to make it a better place for them?” Jahnae said.

The working group and the ensuing community meetings are one component of the district’s development of a new five-year strategic plan. The district hosted meetings over improving school facilities, and it will have more community meetings around the broader strategic plan.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Board of Education votes to remove police officers from schools

2024-02-23T03:12:51+00:00

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During a meeting in which tempers flared and community members argued over the merits of school police, Chicago’s Board of Education voted Thursday to eliminate all school police officers by the next academic year and create a new “holistic” school safety policy.

The board approved a resolution that directs Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to draft a school safety policy by June 27 that explicitly bans school resource officers, or SROs, from campuses. These officers are trained and employed by the Chicago Police Department, but the district covers their salaries.

The district’s new school safety policy must instead emphasize more “holistic” approaches to student discipline, such as restorative justice practices, the resolution said. Such practices, which focus on conflict resolution instead of punishment, have replaced sworn officers in some schools over the past few years. The resolution approved Thursday will directly impact the 39 high schools that currently have a total of 57 SROs.

The board’s decision — which drew dozens of public speakers, including 20 elected officials — addresses a yearslong grassroots movement that has pushed the district to remove SROs from school campuses. Advocates instead want the district to spend more money on social workers, mental health resources, and practices focusing on conflict resolution. A recent study found that schools implementing restorative justice practices saw drops in student arrests. Students also reported feeling more safe.

But the decision drew significant pushback as well, including from several city aldermen, who argued that schools in their communities feel safer when officers are on campus.

At one point during Thursday’s meeting, former school board member and community activist Dwayne Truss sparred with audience members over his criticism of the board’s decision — causing advocates to chant “SROs, we want you out.” Truss was on the board when it decided to let Local School Councils vote on whether to keep their officers. He argued that was the most “democratic” solution at the time and still is today.

Truss, who is Black, accused the Board of Education of “telling Black folks, ‘We know what’s best for you.’”

In defending the board’s decision, Board Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland said it was fulfilling a 2020 promise from the previous board, which committed to phasing SROs out of schools. The board’s goal is to reduce disparities among those who are disciplined at school, she said. Calls to police disproportionately involve students with disabilities and Black students, who are also disproportionately suspended, compared to their peers, according to the resolution.

The board has discussed the policy change for several months with the district and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office, Todd-Breland said, noting that it’s “about more than just SROs.”

“This is a shift, and this shift to a model of holistic safety is really necessary for all of our schools, not just schools that currently have SROs,” Todd-Breland said. “Continuing the district’s progress in moving from a more punitive approach to a holistic, healing centered approach is evidence-based work.”

Board member Rudy Lozano Jr. said the district will still rely on the Chicago Police Department to help with arrival and dismissal and to respond to emergencies. In response to criticism about pulling power away from LSCs, board member Tanya D. Woods said state law requires the district to “deal with discipline disparities.”

Makayla Acevedo, a junior at Hyde Park Academy and a member of Southside Together Organizing for Power, or STOP, said officers at her school don’t stop the many fights that break out. She wants to see the funding for SRO salaries go toward more career programming at her school, such as for nursing training, as well as restorative justice programming.

“I just feel like we just really need those funds, to invest all of that money to get the programs in order for all students … to be successful in life and reach their dreams,” Acevedo said.

The district has spent nearly $4 million on “alternative safety interventions,” such as restorative justice, at 14 schools where SROs have already been removed, according to the resolution.

After the meeting, Martinez said, “We actually have not paid for any of these services for CPD for the last three years. We weren’t even going to pay for this year.” A district spokesperson later confirmed that although money was allocated, no payments have been made to the police department since 2020, when schools went remote during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Longstanding tensions come to a head

The movement to remove SROs grew in 2019, when the Chicago Police Department was placed under a federal consent decree. The next year, after protests over Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd, the district asked LSCs to vote on whether they wanted to keep SROs.

But the resolution has exposed long-simmering tensions.

At Thursday’s meeting, arguments erupted between Truss and audience members from organizations that have long pushed for the district to remove SROs. Those organizations include Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Good Kids Mad City, and STOP.

As they yelled at each other, the board called a brief recess and cleared the room for several minutes.

Truss cited recent shootings outside three Chicago schools that left four students dead, and argued that some communities may feel the need to keep police at schools in order to feel safe. That sentiment was echoed by several other speakers.

“The fact is that Black folks are tired of getting disrespected by folks who don’t live in our community,” said Truss.

Ald. Monique Scott, whose 24th Ward represents North Lawndale on the West Side, said the decision needs to be made by local communities. Scott’s brother and predecessor, Michael Scott Jr., replaced Truss on the school board in 2022 and served until the end of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s term last summer.

“Every school doesn’t have to have them, but some schools need them and I think that it should be based on the LSC to determine that,” Scott said.

The district’s Local School Council Advisory Board, charged with advising the Board of Education, “overwhelmingly” approved a resolution Feb. 12 that called for leaving decisions about campus police to LSCs, according to Froy Jimenez, a member of the advisory board and a teacher at John Hancock College Preparatory High School.

The advisory board members were concerned that stripping LSCs of that power chips away their right to make decisions about their schools, Jimenez said. Jimenez noted that his own LSC voted to get rid of the school’s campus police. However, Jimenez said he represents a part of the city “where some schools would want to have [them].”

The board’s decision was celebrated by several advocacy organizations that have rallied for years to stop staffing police in schools, as well as the City Council’s progressive caucus. Several speakers asked the district to spend more money on social workers and boost restorative justice.

Kennedy Bartley, executive director of United Working Families, a progressive political organization, credited Thursday’s vote to the years of advocacy from students and educators, which “built enough political power to elect a mayor with a mandate for transformative change.”

The Chicago Teachers Union, which also supports the change, has submitted a request with the district to bargain over the new school safety policy, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter told the board Thursday. Potter said the union wants several things to be considered in the new policy, including more “trauma supports” and training on restorative practices.

Becky Vevea contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s school board wants to remove police from all schools starting next school year

2024-02-20T19:32:03+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education wants to remove police officers from schools starting next school year, according to a resolution included in the agenda for Thursday’s board meeting.

The resolution directs CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to come up with a new policy by June 27 that would introduce a “holistic approach to school safety” at district schools, such as implementing restorative justice practices, which focus on resolving a conflict instead of punishment.

That policy “must make explicit that the use of [school resource officers] within District schools will end by the start of the 2024-2025 school year,” the resolution said. (Find the resolution on page 15 of your PDF reader.)

The resolution nods to the district’s shift in student discipline to more restorative practices, which has led to “significant progress” in reducing suspensions. However, the resolution notes that disparities in suspension rates are disproportionately higher for students with disabilities and Black students, compared to their Hispanic and white peers.

Most CPS schools don’t have school resource officers who, unlike security guards, are trained and employed by the Chicago Police Department, but are stationed in schools full-time. If passed, the resolution would directly impact 39 schools – all high schools – that have a total of 57 officers on campus, according to the resolution and district officials. Fourteen schools voted to remove a total of 28 officers and instead received a total of $3.9 million for “alternative safety interventions,” including for restorative justice and social service coordinators, the resolution said. CPS also employs more than 1,400 security guards at schools, according to staffing data from the end of December 2023.

Schools that have voted to keep their officers have cited a variety of reasons for doing so, including that in some cases, school resource officers have strong relationships with students. Opponents of police on campus argue that the presence of officers can lead to more punitive student discipline and can leave children feeling unsafe.

Last month, Nadig Newspapers and WBEZ reported that the board was planning to remove Chicago Police Department officers from schools. Mayor Brandon Johnson later confirmed to WBEZ that he’s in support of such a plan.

The resolution, which the board is slated to vote on Thursday, represents Johnson’s hand-picked school board’s clearest statements on removing police officers from Chicago schools. As a mayoral candidate, Johnson had said police officers “have no place in schools,” WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times reported. However, last year, he told the outlet he would leave the decision up to LSCs.

The resolution said the district would continue to partner with the Chicago Police Department, but district officials did not immediately explain what that relationship would look like.

Having police stationed inside Chicago schools came under scrutiny in 2019 as part of the police department’s federal consent decree. In 2020, amid protests and the racial reckoning that swept the country after George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police, Chicago schools began voting one-by-one on whether or not to keep their school resource officers.

Driven by similar issues, Denver Public Schools removed police from schools in 2020 and 2021, but its work to implement a new school safety policy, as Chicago’s board is seeking, was derailed by the pandemic. The Denver school board reversed its decision last June after a shooting inside a high school.

In 2022, the Chicago school board reduced its contract with the police department from more than $30 million to roughly $10 million and allocated money for schools to implement alternatives to police, such as restorative justice counselors. The contract was renewed last summer for $10.3 million and about $4 million to improve school climate was separately allocated to schools that had removed their officers.

Research from the University of Chicago released last fall found an improvement in student engagement and a decline in suspensions at schools that had implemented restorative practices in recent years.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools enrollment climbs as more migrant families arrive

2024-02-08T23:43:51+00:00

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More than 5,700 newly arrived immigrant students have enrolled in Chicago Public Schools since the beginning of the school year, district officials said Thursday.

Preliminary school enrollment data updated daily on the city data portal and analyzed by Chalkbeat shows overall enrollment increased by 4,500 students since the official count on the 20th day of school in September. After more than a decade of decline, CPS saw its enrollment stabilize this school year.

“The number is fluid and evolving,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Thursday. “Our principals and teachers and school communities have been incredibly welcoming to the students and their families.”

His comments came during a virtual press conference about a new volunteer coordination effort launched by the City of Chicago aimed at supporting migrant families. It also comes after city officials once again delayed its plan to enforce a 60-day shelter stay limit on migrant families.

Publicly available data does not reveal how many CPS students are migrants or how many are living in city shelters. District officials said they do not collect information about the immigration status of students or their families “to support the City of Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance.”

Preliminary enrollment data analyzed by Chalkbeat indicates nearly 7,000 more students have been identified as English language learners since the end of September, when the district officially counted enrollment. English language learners can include both newly arrived immigrants, as well as students already living in Chicago.

Last school year, English language learners made up about one-fifth of all students; a decade ago, these students made up roughly 16% of CPS.

Last month, educators, union officials, and some local lawmakers raised concerns about schools without enough bilingual staff and other resources struggling to meet those students’ language and mental health needs.

District officials said Thursday that just under 6% of schools are lacking teachers with necessary ESL or bilingual credentials. Karime Asaf, the district’s chief of language and cultural education, said officials are prioritizing those roughly 30 schools — which officials did not identify — “for any kind of services or resources.”

Asaf said schools are working to get more teachers certified to teach English learners. District officials said they’ve allocated a total of $8 million to schools that saw increases in English learners since the 20th day of school.

Martinez said around 600 teachers are currently working toward getting bilingual or English as a Second Language endorsements.

Martinez said currently 7,200 teachers have these qualifications, up from about 5,100 teachers in 2018. However, bilingual staffing can vary by school, and often support staff, such as social workers, are not bilingual. CPS does provide a 24/7 language interpretation hotline that schools can call to get assistance communicating with families, but some parents have said they’ve struggled to communicate with schools or understand their school options when it’s time to move.

Students who are homeless — those in shelters, living doubled up somewhere, or living in a public place — have a right to remain at their school even if they move out of the school’s boundary and are entitled to transportation provided by the district, such as free CTA passes. By state law, if a school enrolls 20 or more students who speak a language other than English, the school must set up a bilingual education program with qualified staff. Asaf said this is “a multi-year process.”

“Generally, the challenge we have is when families just walk up to our buildings and we always tell our schools: Enroll the families. And then we have a process to work with those families to make sure we find the nearest program,” Martinez said.

The district also has bi-weekly meetings with staff at the city’s largest temporary shelters that are housing migrants, to “make sure that our families understand that there’s always a way to connect with the Chicago Public Schools … to make sure all their questions are answered,” Asaf said. She added that most school leaders attend these meetings.

Martinez said CPS is planning to hire newcomer adults who have received work authorization for “critical needs” at schools, including as custodians, as well as positions in transportation, nutrition, and classroom support.

Many of Chicago’s migrant families have been searching for work but need authorization to obtain jobs legally. Axios reported that about 1,000 newcomers have received work permits as of late January, four months after the federal government expanded eligibility to nearly half a million immigrants from Venezuela, where political and economic turmoil has pushed many residents to leave.

“We were proactive working with the city to say, since we know we have these families who are looking for jobs, we have many openings,” Martinez told reporters on Thursday. “We are now just trying to make it easier for our families to be able to apply for these different jobs.”

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org. Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s pre-K expansion fueled by federal COVID recovery money

2024-01-29T23:23:50+00:00

Public preschool has been a lifeline for Kristen Larson.

Larson and her husband couldn’t afford private day care for both their daughters, who are 4 and 1. So last fall, when Larson was able to get a preschool seat just four blocks from their Bridgeport home for her 4-year-old, she was relieved.

Without that, she said, “I probably would have had to quit my job.”

Thousands of Chicago parents like Larson depend on the district’s free public preschool program, which has been expanding over the past five years. This year, the district has 16,062 full-day seats for 4-year-olds and another 7,300 half-day seats for both 3- and 4-year-olds, a spokesperson said. That expansion was possible in part because of tens of millions of dollars in temporary federal COVID relief money, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat through a Freedom of Information Act request.

But the federal relief funds will run out next school year, raising a critical question: How will the district continue funding universal preschool?

Since July 1, 2020, Chicago Public Schools had spent close to $700 million on pre-K programs through the end of last school year, including new summer initiatives and programs for children under the age of 3, according to district budget records. It has budgeted another $262.7 million for this fiscal year, which covers the current school year. Of all of that funding, COVID relief dollars have so far covered about 14% of those costs, or $137 million, most of which went toward employee salaries, according to expense data obtained by Chalkbeat through an open records request.

Chicago is slated to receive a total $2.8 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER, dollars which districts could use broadly to help students and schools recover from the pandemic, and had spent $2.4 billion as of mid-November. The district has used the bulk of the money to fund existing costs, such as employee salaries. It has also launched new programs, such as TutorCorps, expanded summer school, and purchased new technology.

CPS officials said it used federal dollars to help expand pre-K — and sustain it — because it didn’t have enough state funding to do so, and creating more seats was a district priority.

Studies have found that kids who attended preschool are more likely to have higher test scores, were less likely to be disciplined, have better employment outcomes, and are less likely to be involved with crime.

CPS has steadily reduced its reliance on COVID relief dollars for pre-K over the past four years, increasing spending of district dollars on early childhood programs by $6 million this year, officials said. And observers are expecting the state to increase funding for early childhood education. Last week the Illinois State Board of Education proposed a budget that would increase the state’s Early Childhood Block Grant – which helps cover the district’s pre-K program – by $75 million.

But as federal funds dry up, the district is grappling with how to avoid cuts while also plugging a projected $391 million budget deficit next fiscal year, which begins July 1. That includes figuring out how to cover the cost of pre-K with local or more state dollars.

Asked if the district is considering cutting pre-K seats or laying off teachers in order to save money, district officials said they were not ready to comment on that. But neither is their first choice; the district is pushing the state for more money.

“Chicago Public Schools is committed to ensuring that every 4-year-old in Chicago has the opportunity to attend free preschool to develop valuable academic and social-emotional skills and experiences,” said Sylvia Barragan, a spokesperson for the district, in a statement.

Preschool expansion plan predates pandemic

In 2018, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel pledged to open a pre-K seat for every 4-year-old in Chicago before announcing he would not seek a third term. It would mean big shifts for the city’s preschool system, which included a mix of half- and full-day programs at public schools and in community-based programs that served 3- and 4-year-olds.

Emanuel’s promise was picked up by his successor, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who set a goal to make pre-K for 4-year-olds universal by this year.

Since 2019, CPS has added 1,950 new preschool spots, district officials said.

But even as the district has expanded pre-K, enrollment has been fluctuating amid the COVID pandemic and as Chicago continues to see birth rates decline.

Enrollment initially grew – from 12,900 4-year-olds in the 2018-19 school year to 14,300 the fall before the pandemic – and then plummeted by 34%, to about 9,500 students in the 2020-21 school year.

This school year, just over 13,000 4-year-olds were in pre-K at CPS schools.

The district has reached universal demand in nearly all Chicago communities, said Leslie McKinily, the district’s chief of early childhood education.

As of September, when the district officially counted enrollment, 75% of all pre-K seats were filled, according to the district. That has grown to 81% as of last week, McKinily said. The district’s goal is 85% because officials want to have spots available for new families throughout the year, McKinily said.

CPS does not have plans to open more pre-K spots, but McKinily’s team is looking to see where they need to “right-size.” For example, she said, the city has not met the demand for pre-K seats in the North Side neighborhood of West Ridge. But there are other parts of the city where pre-K seats are going unfilled.

“We’re really thinking about right now, do we have our programs in the right spaces? And how do we ensure that the programming meets the needs of the community?” McKinily said.

Chicago shrinks reliance on federal COVID dollars for pre-K

Over the past four years, pre-K instruction accounted for the third largest use of the district’s COVID relief dollars, behind reducing class sizes for grades K-3 and spending on administrative costs related to federal relief funding, according to the data obtained by Chalkbeat.

Nearly all of the spending of COVID relief dollars on pre-K – about $130 million – went towards employee salaries, pensions, and benefits, according to the data. When looking at all expenses related to pre-K, including separate line items for pre-K students with disabilities, the district spent a total $137 million in the relief funds.

Pre-K programs in Chicago are mostly funded through state dollars as part of Illinois’ Early Childhood Block Grant. The program is also funded by some local taxpayer dollars and other federal money unrelated to COVID relief funding.

District officials said a portion of the federal COVID recovery money went toward early childhood programs outside of the regular school day, including a new summer program called Preview to Pre-K.

A spokesperson provided an additional breakdown of budget figures to show how much was being spent directly on daily preschool instruction during the school year. It showed the district spent nearly $590 million from the fall of 2020 through the 2022-23 school year and about 13% came from ESSER dollars, according to CPS. In that time period, state funding grew by just $3 million.

The data show the district has cut down on its use of ESSER funding in that time period while boosting local dollars.

Theresa Hawley, executive director of the Center for Early Learning Funding Equity at Northern Illinois University who previously worked on early childhood education initiatives in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, said Chicago officials assumed “with decent enough reason” before the pandemic that the state would pump more money into the block grant and allow them to continue opening more pre-K seats.

Pritzker is a longtime champion of early childhood education and has promised to make universal preschool more accessible across Illinois.

But in 2020, the pandemic put “a wrench in that plan” when Pritzker decided not to increase block grant funding, Hawley said. Illinois, as well as state governments across the country, worried about how the public health crisis would impact local resources as the economy slowed down.

When the federal government sent billions of COVID relief dollars to school districts, CPS decided to spend a chunk of its share to expand pre-K in absence of more state dollars, district officials said. Officials continued to invest in expansion efforts even after enrollment dropped in 2020.

“We did monitor and adjust our enrollment expansion throughout the pandemic,” McKinily said.

Still, district officials said that pre-K expansion was one of several priorities that “couldn’t wait.” The federal dollars have also helped CPS pay for existing pre-K costs, staving off budget deficits.

As the district used federal funds on pre-K in recent years, one Logan Square mother enrolled both of her sons in preschool at their neighborhood school. The program saved the family from shelling out tens of thousands of dollars in day care costs, said the mother, whose name Chalkbeat is withholding because of concerns over immigration status.

She’s currently seeing pre-K’s impact on her younger son, who is 4. For example, he used to try to snatch toys from his older brother because he couldn’t wait to play with them. But after learning how to take turns in pre-K, her son now says to his brother, “When you’re done, can I play with it?”

The mother was surprised to learn that the district used emergency funding toward pre-K. But she thinks it was the right decision.

“They have to allocate money to keep the program going,” she said, saying she is concerned about what will happen if the district can’t find extra money.

“Day care is very expensive in Chicago, and I see how important it is to have early childhood education,” she said. “And if it’s only available to people who can afford to send your child to fee-based preschool, then it’s not equitable to children.”

What lies ahead for pre-K?

Fiscal watchdogs have warned districts against using temporary federal dollars for a program they want to keep permanently, such as pre-K. Doing so can result in painful cuts that can affect children and families, so such spending decisions should come alongside lots of planning for the future, said Joe Ferguson, Chicago’s former inspector general who is now the executive director of Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government watchdog group.

“Obviously, no one’s going to say pre-K education [or] early childhood support is not an important priority,” Ferguson said. “But if it’s an important priority, then the work should have been done already – certainly needs to be done now – to identify where the revenue stream is going to come [from] to maintain it.”

Chicago isn’t alone. In New York City, former Mayor Bill de Blasio used COVID relief funds to expand his signature universal pre-K program for 3-year-olds without a plan for how to pay for those seats once the federal funds ran out. His successor, Mayor Eric Adams, halted the program’s expansion and recently proposed slashing $170 million in early childhood programming, which includes preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signaled an opposite approach, saying on the campaign trail that he wanted “child care for all” and would lobby Pritzker to increase early childhood education funding.

Last year, Pritzker proposed a four-year plan that aims to expand early childhood.

The state increased the Early Childhood Block Grant this year by $75 million, of which nearly $28 million went straight to Chicago Public Schools, as required by state law. Pritzker has not yet proposed a budget for next fiscal year, but the Illinois State Board of Education is proposing another $75 million increase.

District officials have said that more state funding for K-12 would also help. CPS, like other districts, is on a ramp toward “adequate” state funding and is $1.4 billion short of that goal, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Elliot Regenstein, partner at law firm Foresight Law and Policy and an advocate for early childhood education who helped launch the state’s Preschool for All program under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, said maintaining pre-K funding in the future depends on leadership.

“To some degree, all of those sustainability plans are just a hope and a guess that when the one-time funding runs out, that whoever is in charge at that moment will make decisions that carry on the momentum of those one-time funds,” Regenstein said.

He said Chicago’s decision to invest in pre-K, even with temporary dollars, is backed by research that shows it’s beneficial for children.

“The pandemic has had an impact on all children,” Regenstein said. “I think it’s great that CPS looked at its data and said ….we can’t ignore the kids who haven’t even entered kindergarten yet and we believe that if we invest in those kids it will help set them on a positive trajectory.”

Larson, the mother from Bridgeport, agreed. She said much of her daughter’s first years were during the pandemic and in social isolation. Pre-K has helped her make new friends, on top of learning about letters and numbers.

“Sometimes you need to be investing in a program to make it a program that you want people to send their children to,” she said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Many of Chicago’s migrant students may be entitled to bus service. But are schools telling them?

2024-01-19T19:06:28+00:00

After six months in a downtown shelter, Daniela and her 11-year-old son, Luis, faced a dilemma: The city had given them until Feb. 1 to find another place to live, which would mean moving farther away from the school the fifth grader was attending.

The family, which migrated to Chicago from Venezuela, secured an apartment in South Shore with the help of Catholic Charities. Chalkbeat is using pseudonyms in this story out of privacy concerns for the interviewed families.

But their new apartment is more than 13 miles south of Luis’ school, Ogden International School of Chicago’s Jenner campus — which could mean an hour-plus commute by public transit for Luis and his mother, who had planned to look for a job.

Daniela’s predicament is one many parents could face as Chicago enforces a new rule requiring migrant families to leave shelters after 60 days. She is one of about 3,000 migrants who arrived between January and July 31 of last year and began receiving 60-day eviction notices in early December 2023, according to a press release from City Hall. If families haven’t secured permanent housing, they must get back in line for a spot at a city shelter.

But many migrant families in shelters might not know the rights their children have to district-provided transportation — or even that they can remain in the same school despite moving — if schools are not informing them, or there’s no one to help translate conversations between school staff and families.

Every school has a liaison for homeless students who is supposed to inform homeless families of their rights, a district spokesperson said. Those liaisons, along with principals and staff with the district’s Office of Cultural and Language Education, tell newcomer families how to apply for transportation services, the district said. Each school also posts a list of homeless students’ rights in English and Spanish near the main office, the district said.

Until Daniela spoke with a Chalkbeat reporter, she didn’t know that the federal McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act allows homeless students to stay in the same school even if they move, such as to another shelter, and requires school districts to provide transportation. It also allows students such as Luis, who have found permanent housing, to stay at the same school until the end of the school year. No one at the school had told her, she said.

In fact, federal law says that districts “shall presume” that keeping homeless students in their original school is in their best interest unless that’s against their parents’ or guardians’ wishes.

After publication of this story, CPS provided Chalkbeat additional details about how schools are informing families of their rights under the law. They said every newly arrived family gets an enrollment packet, both in English and Spanish, that includes information about the rights of homeless students, according to the district.

Staff at the district’s Office of Language and Cultural Education also help these families fill out an application for homeless students, which “provides families with the first opportunity to review the process and ask questions,” the district said. Schools have a 24/7 translation line that staff can use to communicate with families who don’t speak English. CPS said it fulfills its legal obligation to provide transportation to homeless students by providing them with CTA cards.

The goal of the federal law is to provide stability for homeless students. One 2015 study found that New York City students who transferred schools were more likely to be chronically absent, and of those students, those who were also homeless were more likely to repeat the same grade.

Daniela also didn’t know Chicago Public Schools allows parents of younger homeless students like Luis to apply for yellow bus service if they can’t accompany their child on the commute. Or that CPS policy requires schools to inform families who are homeless of their transportation rights and options.

“We’re not, as a district, transporting any newcomers,” said Kimberly Jones, CPS’s director of transportation, in late November during an interview with WGN. On Tuesday, a district spokesperson said the transportation department does not see students’ immigration status, but still called Jones’ statement accurate, in that she’s unable to identify any students on bus routes based on their immigration status.

But district officials have indicated they are tracking immigration status internally. At a City Council Education Committee meeting in late November, a district official testified that CPS had enrolled at least 4,000 migrant students.

This year the district is exclusively busing students with disabilities and homeless students due to a driver shortage and as it’s under state watch to shorten commutes for students with disabilities. District officials have said migrant students are largely homeless, meaning they’re living in shelter, doubled up with others, or in public places.

Of the roughly 8,700 students the district is currently busing, just 128 are homeless, the district said. Another nearly 4,000 students who would typically qualify for transportation this year are receiving stipends, with just 18 of them homeless.

The school did give Daniela and her son free CTA cards for the school commute to and from their shelter, a service it is providing as part of its legal obligation to provide homeless students with transportation. But, “they did not provide the option for yellow bus service,” she said.

Ogden-Jenner did not respond to Chalkbeat’s request for comment. The district also declined to comment specifically on Daniela’s experience.

Schools must inform families of their rights, advocates say

CPS policy also allows families of young children who are homeless to apply for “hardship” transportation, which provides yellow bus service for children who are in kindergarten through sixth grade. Caregivers must fill out paperwork to prove they have a conflict that does not allow them to assist their child in getting to school. Examples of “hardship” include work, job training, schooling of their own, a conflict with shelter rules, court orders, or another “good cause,” according to CPS’ website.

The 60-day shelter rule is “going to require families to move more often, and it makes it more challenging to get to the school of origin and stay stable in their school of origin,” said Patricia Nix-Hodes, director of the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. “If they are eligible for hardship transportation, they should be getting it.”

“The onus isn’t on the family who is newly arrived to Chicago to figure out what services might be available for transportation,” Nix-Hodes said.

School liaisons for homeless students often have other duties in schools, which may make it difficult for them to keep homeless families adequately informed, Nix-Hodes said.

In addition to informing families of their rights, the liaisons should also help families figure out if they’re eligible for bus service and with filling out any required paperwork, Nix-Hodes said.

Other families are in the dark about transportation rights

Edgar, a friend of Daniela’s who is also getting ready to move from shelter, also did not know he could apply for bus service so that his 8-year-old daughter could travel without him from their new home to her current school, Ogden Elementary.

Edgar is moving from the same shelter as Daniela to the same South Shore apartment building with his family. When he informed Ogden about their upcoming move, staff offered to find a school close to his new home — but they didn’t mention that he could apply for bus service to help get her to Ogden, he said.

Daniela's son, Luis, left, poses with Edgar's daughter, right, on Wed., Jan. 3, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

After learning the information from a Chalkbeat reporter, he went back to Ogden to ask about bus service. The school confirmed that service was available but “these are things that take time to approve,” Edgar explained in Spanish.

Instead, with Ogden’s help, he plans to enroll his daughter at a school that’s a 12-minute walk from their new home. While his daughter is OK with leaving Ogden, she’s sad about leaving her English class, he said. Ogden did not return a request for comment, and CPS didn’t respond to questions about Edgar’s experience.

Schools shouldn’t encourage homeless families to “move schools when their living situation changes,” Nix-Hodes said.

The law allows homeless students to stay in their same school because school stability is good for children’s academic performance and social-emotional health, especially when they’re coming to the United States from another country, Nix-Hodes said.

Gwen McElhattan, a social worker with nonprofit Chicago Help Initiative, which provides meals, clothing, and other services to homeless families, has received questions from many migrant parents on how to enroll their child in school. The city has created a “welcome center” for migrants at Roberto Clemente High School, which is supposed to help families with school enrollment and other resources. But McElhattan said that many people don’t know it exists — and doesn’t sense that many designated people are informing families of how to navigate school enrollment.

“They don’t know about it because they’re migrants — they don’t always know everything that’s happening,” said McElhattan, adding that their primary concerns are food and shelter. “They’re just trying to survive. They have children – they’re just trying to keep going.”

Luis, Daniela’s son, said he likes his teachers at Ogden-Jenner and he’s made some friends. But he’s had a tough time understanding lessons because there’s often no one who can help translate, he said. Because of the language barrier, there are days that he doesn’t want to go to school, his mother said.

Still, Daniela would prefer to keep her son enrolled at Ogden-Jenner if she can get busing because she senses it’s a good school. By state standards, it is: The school earned the Illinois State Board of Education’s second-highest rating for academic performance.

Daniela has not yet talked with the school about what happens next or what her options are.

It’s difficult to communicate with staff, she said. “En la escuela allí no hablan español” — At the school, they don’t speak Spanish.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

How many out-of-school, out-of-work youth did Chicago reengage last school year?

2024-01-10T11:00:00+00:00

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About 1 in 5 of roughly 2,300 out-of-school, out-of-work youth contacted to participate in a new reengagement program in Chicago took part during the first year, according to a new policy brief from the University of Chicago Crime Lab.

In Chicago, roughly 45,000 teens and young adults are disconnected from school and work. With $18 million from the state, the city launched Back to Our Future in May 2022 to reach 1,000 young people ages 14 to 21 in 15 neighborhoods on the South and West sides. Data indicates fewer than 500 have participated so far.

The findings released today illustrate how difficult it is to reconnect with these young people — often referred to as “opportunity youth” — once they’ve disengaged.

“If it was easy, somebody would have already done it,” said Jadine Chou, chief safety and security officer at Chicago Public Schools. “We knew going into this that it was going to be really hard.”

The Back to Our Future program is a partnership between the Crime Lab, Chicago Public Schools, and the three community organizations tasked with doing the on-the-ground reengagement: Breakthrough, UCAN, and Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc.

Kim Smith, director of programs for the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab, said the low uptake is not entirely surprising. Back to Our Future is “a very ambitious program” to reach young people that have not been “served well by status quo services,” she said.

“This group of young people are not just going to kind of show up after a phone call,” Smith said. “There is an incredible need to tailor programming, to tailor services, even to tailor outreach strategies.”

The 12-week Back to Our Future program costs roughly $18,000 per young person to run. It includes 20 hours a week of mentoring, mental health services, job training, credit recovery to earn a CPS diploma or GED programming, and a stipend for youth participants.

However, the policy brief found many teens did not engage for the full 20 hours of programming each week. On average, participants attended nearly seven hours each week.

The policy brief analyzed referral and participation data, but was not a full evaluation of the program.

Chou said the district has a database of former students who left school before earning their diploma that they have used and shared with partner organizations in order to track down students. But often phone numbers and home addresses are no longer current or they have left Chicago. A lot of them have also aged out and would not be eligible for Back to Our Future.

“Once you do reach them, you have to really build trust,” Chou added.

She said the district is also learning a lot from the young people in Back to Our Future about how to prevent disconnection before it happens.

“They all have very important information, very important experiences that they are very happy to share,” she said, “which then I bring back to (colleagues at) CPS and say, ‘How can we work on this so that we essentially stem these young people from leaving us in the first place?’”

Chou highlighted school transfers as a signal for a student eventually dropping out.

“Once they do that transfer, that is so disruptive and destabilizing to their experience and to their sense of well-being because now they have to make new friends, now they have to navigate a new path to school,” she said. “And so, if possible, how do we support them in place?”

Smith said prevention is important so the numbers of out-of-school, out-of-work youth do not grow.

“At the point where a young person has not attended their school for 6, 12, 18 months, something has gone really wrong,” Smith said. “But it’s not ever too late, in our opinion, to try to re-engage young people and get them back on a good track.”

The brief only looked at data through May 2023. According to Chou, 346 young people are currently participating in Back to Our Future and outreach continues every day. She said 103 youth have successfully completed the program and of those, 32 earned their high school diplomas and 71 are re-enrolled in school.

“They would not have been able to do that without this program,” Chou said.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Five majority-Black Chicago schools earned ‘exemplary’ status. Two principals consider why.

2024-01-04T11:00:00+00:00

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As part of a lesson on persuasive writing, fourth and fifth grade students at Edgar Allan Poe Classical Elementary School recently presented arguments in a classroom mock trial about intrusive coyote populations.

A Poe parent, who is an actual judge, rendered the verdict.

Five miles away, at Kate Starr Kellogg Elementary School, a class engaged in a similar lesson by writing persuasive letters to their principal to suggest improvements to the school. Kellogg principal Cory Overstreet proudly showed off the letters and visited the classroom to share his response.

Poe is a selective enrollment school in Pullman with a strong reputation in the city and Kellogg is an overcrowded neighborhood school in Beverly that was on the brink of closure about seven years ago. But the two South Side schools have a lot in common.

Both have majority-Black student populations, both are small (with approximately 250 students in grades K through 8), and this year both were among only five majority-Black Chicago schools designated as “Exemplary” by the Illinois State Board of Education.

The state designations have taken on new importance now that Chicago Public Schools has officially discontinued its own rating system in April 2023 after pausing it during the pandemic. In eliminating the system, officials called it “a punitive, myopic single-rating indicator.”

State data show Black students are significantly less likely to be enrolled in “Exemplary” schools across Illinois. Of the 369 schools statewide that earned the “Exemplary” designation, just seven have majority-Black student populations — five in Chicago and two outside of CPS.

Every year since 2018, as stipulated by federal law, ISBE evaluates every public school in the state then sorts them into five categories based on the results – Exemplary, Commendable, Targeted, Comprehensive, and Intensive. Schools in the bottom three categories get additional funding to improve.

“Exemplary” schools are the top 10% of all schools in the state based on overall performance. Growth and proficiency in math and reading scores, proficiency in science, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism are the major indicators that determine a school’s designation, according to an ISBE statement.

This year 42 of Chicago’s 634 schools earned “Exemplary” status. Thirty are majority white, majority Asian American, or integrated.

Kellogg is the only majority-Black neighborhood school in CPS to earn the designation.

The other four “Exemplary” majority-Black schools – Poe Classical, Bronzeville Classical, McDade Classical, and Franklin Elementary Fine Arts Center – are either selective enrollment or magnet schools.

State officials said the disparity is tied to broader inequities.

“Statewide, education systems, which are deeply interconnected with broader state and local systems, are producing lower rates of growth, the lowest rates of proficiency, the lowest graduation rates, and the highest chronic absenteeism for the state’s Black students,” read a statement from ISBE. “Schools with high percentages of students of color are also more likely to experience teacher vacancies and higher teacher and principal turnover.”

Although 2023 is the first year Kellogg has earned “Exemplary” status from ISBE, the school was ranked as a Level 1+, the best possible designation, under CPS’s now-discontinued School Quality Ratings Policy.

CPS’s new accountability policy, called Continuous Improvement and Data Transparency, “considers both inputs, such as student daily learning experiences or adult capacity and continuous learning, and outputs, such as student growth to proficiency, among many other indicators,” according to a CPS statement.

It is set to be published in the fall of 2024 and adopts the state’s designations in lieu of level ratings.

In other words, the ISBE designations are the accountability system Chicago families and the public now have for scrutinizing how well a school is doing.

So what makes majority-Black schools like Kellogg and Poe exceptional?

Overstreet cites Kellogg’s high number of long-serving teachers and the school’s focus on social and emotional learning, an educational method that helps students develop things like relationship skills, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making.

He also credits Kellogg’s Personalized Learning curriculum through which educators create education plans according to the strengths and needs of individual students. Kellogg partnered with LEAP Innovations to adopt the curriculum before the district formalized its own Personalized Learning department in 2014.

But, he knows that many schools could cite similar strategies.

“I’ve worked in majority not-white schools pretty much my whole career, and I can tell you that in all the schools, including Kellogg, the teachers are working their tails off,” said Overstreet. “So I can’t really say why Kellogg is the only one.”

The thing he guesses might tip the scales? The parents, says Overstreet.

That’s something else Poe and Kellogg have in common. Principals and parents at both schools agree that parent involvement — and the socioeconomic privilege of the communities they serve that allows parents to be involved — might be the secret ingredient that sets them apart.

“I think we have a higher percentage of students or parents who are aware of what’s necessary to give their students the best advantages for success in school, and they stay with us throughout,” said Poe principal Eric Dockery.

Whether in the form of a parent and professional judge presiding over arguments for a lesson on persuasive writing at Poe or parents at Kellogg organizing to save the school from closure and demanding capital improvements, when parents get involved, they “extend learning,” said Dockery.

Kellogg Elementary in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood on the South Side nearly closed in 2017 to relieve overcrowding at a nearby elementary. But parents rallied to save the school.

How the #SaveKellogg movement created a parent community

When Kellogg parent Kenya Mercer learned her son’s school was designated as “Exemplary” this year, she was not surprised.

“They have excellent test scores, the eighth graders are going to great high schools within the city,” said Mercer, who is an active member of the PTA at Kellogg, a neighborhood school in Beverly on Chicago’s far southside.

Mercer chose Kellogg for her children over selective enrollment schools where they had gotten offers.

“It’s a phenomenal, great school,” she said.

Despite its long-running strong academic performance, Kellogg has endured some hardships over the years.

Even with Kellogg’s Level 1+ rating in the old CPS system, rumors that misrepresent the school’s academic record still persist.

“There’s just this belief that if a school is Black it’s not going to be as good,” said Overstreet. “I think you get that anywhere – Beverly, Morgan Park, anywhere in the city, anywhere in the state.”

In 2016, 19th ward Ald. Matt O’Shea and State Sen. Bill Cunningham proposed a plan to alleviate crowding at one of the ward’s schools by merging Kellogg, which had seen a dip in enrollment at the time, with another nearby neighborhood school, Elizabeth H. Sutherland Elementary. Under the plan, Keller Regional Gifted Center would have moved into Kellogg’s building and Keller’s building would go to then-overcrowded Mount Greenwood Elementary, a majority white school at the edge of the city limits.

Kellogg parents saw this as an attempt to close Kellogg and replace the neighborhood school with Keller, a school that enrolls students based on test scores rather than neighborhood boundaries.

So they fought back. They organized along with other ward schools and community members and conducted a march through the ward, Kellogg alumni showed up at meetings about the proposal and spoke out against the plan, and parents and students spoke at Board of Education meetings. Some of those speaking out raised concerns that there may be a racist component to the plan, since Kellogg, the only majority-Black school associated with the plan, would be the school being closed.

The movement made headlines and eventually the plan was killed and Kellogg was saved. Mt. Greenwood received a new annex in 2017, the third addition at the regularly overcrowded school since 2011.

But the energy from the #SaveKellogg movement was still crackling. Parents who had organized together were in more communication than ever and felt empowered to demand more for their school, said Kellogg parent Emily Lambert who was a Local School Council member at the time.

“I do think that the #SaveKellogg experience did kind of reinvigorate [the school] after a lull,” said Lambert. “And did lead to a very strong group of parents who were very committed.”

Today, Kellogg is officially designated as “overcrowded” by CPS, according to the 2023 CPS Facilities Master Plan.

Cory Overstreet has served as Kellogg’s principal since 2016.

Along with principal Overstreet, that contingent of parents pushed for several capital improvements at Kellogg, including an addition to make more space at the 80-year-old school, where there is no kitchen and the small gymnasium serves as gym, auditorium, and cafeteria, as well as occasionally a voting center and during the pandemic a care room for sick kids. The stage in the gymnasium is currently used for storage.

The community gained several smaller improvements for the school worth about $2.4 million but no addition to the building. The mobile unit that had been built twenty years prior, however, was upgraded.

Today, Kellogg has an average class size of 30, according to ISBE. Some parents have expressed frustration about the situation.

Parent Kenya Mercer says because of the strong communication between parents, staff, and even students, she’s not too concerned about the overcrowding affecting student learning.

“The biggest thing is this community piece,” she said. “Everybody is holding each other accountable including our kids holding each other and their peers accountable and their teachers.”

She’s hopeful that the “Exemplary” designation will help the Kellogg community advocate for physical improvements and more enrichment programs for the school.

Students line up in the hallway at Edgar Allan Poe Classical School in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood on the South Side as Principal Eric Dockery talks with them as they walk by.

Selective enrollment doesn’t mean it’s ‘Easy Street’

The first thing Poe Principal Eric Dockery noted about the school’s ISBE “Exemplary” designation, is that a lot of other great schools “get left out.”

“It’s such a big range for commendable and such a small range for exemplary,” he said, pointing to a chart showing the distribution of the five ISBE designations on his computer monitor. “Whenever you take the 10% of something, you’re going to exclude some.”

As a selective enrollment school and a National Blue Ribbon School, a distinction by the U.S. Board of Education recognizing high-performing based on academic performance and closing education gaps, Poe is no stranger to the upper echelon.

Dockery, who previously worked at a school in Englewood that was among the 50 CPS schools that closed in 2013, understands that as a selective enrollment school, Poe is more likely to draw families who are familiar with the selective enrollment process and parents who have higher levels of education themselves and are more financially capable of being involved in their children’s schools.

This, he said, is likely part of the reason some of the broader educational inequities that Black students tend to face across the state seem to be largely erased for Poe’s 87% Black student population.

Although Kellogg must guarantee a seat for any student within its neighborhood boundaries, the school’s boundaries are in the Beverly neighborhood, where the median household income is approximately $113,000, according to the 2017-2021 American Community Survey five-year estimates. Still, 39% of Kellogg’s student population is low-income, according to state data.

Families who apply to Poe, said Dockery, are often doing many of the things that help prepare their kids for academically advanced paths – taking them to museums, reading to them every day, enrolling them in preschool programs and enrichment activities – and they probably have the money to do so.

That explains part of Poe’s success, but it’s not the whole picture, he said.

“Just because we’re selective enrollment, that doesn’t mean that it’s just Easy Street and we don’t have to do any work,” he said.

While CPS has always been supportive of Poe, Dockery said, the school isn’t swimming in mountains of money. According to state data, 37% of Poe’s students come from low-income families.

“We’re too poor to be rich and too rich to be poor. So we don’t get Federal Title I [status]. We’re not that poor, but we’re not rich enough that our parents could just write a check and give us everything that we want.”

Poe Classical, a selective enrollment elementary school in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood, is led by Principal Eric Dockery and Assistant Principal Ashley Jackson.

According to the school’s own assessments of student readiness when they enter the school in kindergarten, Dockery said, not every student is coming in ready to tackle Poe’s curriculum despite being screened through the selective enrollment process.

But because Poe has a relatively low rate of students leaving the school, once Poe has a student in its grasp, the school holds tight, getting to know them, working with their particular strengths, and strengthening them in areas where they need support.

It’s part of their Personalized Learning curriculum, which, like Kellogg, Poe adopted before CPS developed their own Personalized Learning department. The curriculum customizes an education plan for each individual student according to their strengths, needs, and interests.

On top of that, Poe offers a large number of enrichment activities, has a small student-to-teacher ratio, and a low rate of turnover among faculty and students. Principal Dockery has been at the school for almost a decade, and is very hands-on with families.

“If anything he probably overcommunicates,” said Poe parent and PTA member Maricha Matthews.

“We’re a small school and what I think makes us special is our family environment and knowing every student and them having teachers that have been with you from kindergarten all the way up,” said Dockery.

As dean of students at a high school in the Bremen Community High School District 228 in Chicago’s South Suburbs, Matthews has a term for the secret ingredient to a school’s success. She calls it the trifecta – when students, parents, and faculty work together to make a school successful – and Poe has it, she says.

“They’ve always had the trifecta, they’ve always had caring administrators. Educators have gone above and beyond, and they’ve always made the parents feel like we were stakeholders in curricular decisions, like we’ve always had a seat at the table,” she said.

Matthews was actually living in Beverly when she first began researching schools for her children, and though it was not her zoned school, she said, Kellogg is known for its strong parent community, one that gets things done.

As CPS refocuses its priorities on neighborhood schools, according to the Board of Education’s recent resolution, Matthews hopes it will see parents as a resource and a necessary part of the equation.

“It’s free to get parents involved,” she said. “So that’s a resource that we have to invest back into our neighborhood schools.”

Although Poe is a selective enrollment school, Dockery and Assistant Principal Ashley Jackson are actively working on engaging neighborhood families as part of continued efforts to expand some of Poe’s offerings to more students (the school expanded from a K-6 to a K-8 program in 2021).

The majority of Poe’s students come from the South Side, including many from the 19th ward where Kellogg is located, but only a handful of students actually live in Pullman, where Poe is located and where families are lower income, with a median household income of approximately $53,000.

Jackson said she often has to explain the selective enrollment process to neighborhood parents who come to the school asking to enroll their kids.

Instead of waiting for neighborhood families to come to them, she and Dockery are reaching out to local day cares and opening Poe’s facilities to community groups for events in hopes of connecting with more neighborhood families.

“Since 1905, we were a neighborhood school serving the students in the Pullman area working in the Pullman factory. So I don’t want to lose that,” said Dockery. “We don’t want to be that school that’s across the street or a block down that you can’t go to.”

How do families use Chicago’s vast school choice system? Five people tell us their stories.

2023-12-20T22:53:13+00:00

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One mother in West Pullman on Chicago’s South Side sends her daughter to a charter school even though there are two neighborhood schools down the street.

Up in Albany Park, a mother is for the first time confident in her daughter’s neighborhood school after two decades of sending her older children to magnet and test-in programs.

A high school student attends one of the district’s most coveted high schools — but wants the city to undo the system she used to get there.

There’s a lot that goes into how families choose a school in Chicago.

Last week, the city’s school board made waves by announcing they want to move away from that system of choice and build up neighborhood schools, especially in areas that have lacked investment from the city. The board passed a resolution last week stating its intent, but does not call to close any schools or change specific admissions policies.

Originally established to help desegregate schools, the system has recently earned a reputation for stressing out students, who are competing for seats at a limited number of sought-after schools, many of which are segregated by race and income.

Despite that, students have increasingly chosen schools they’re not zoned for. Last school year, 56% of students attended their zoned neighborhood school, or roughly 20 percentage points fewer than in the 2002-03 school year. A quarter of students attended their zoned high school last year, compared to 46% 20 years ago.

The district also won a federal grant in October that they will use to collect community feedback on how they can make neighborhood schools more attractive. In the grant application, Chicago Public Schools said its goal was to reduce the percentage of families attending school outside of their regions by 3%. The district did not answer questions to clarify their definition of region or why 3% was their goal.

How much the district will try to change the city’s school choice system will depend on feedback from the community, board members said. Already, a mix of reactions have emerged. Some community groups praised the board’s support of neighborhood schools. But former CPS CEO Janice Jackson wrote in an op-ed to the Chicago Sun-Times that moving away from school choice would ultimately hurt Black and Hispanic children.

“Trying to do anything in a district that large is going to take a long time if you’re going to do it right,” said Jack Schneider, a professor at University of Massachusetts at Amherst who studies education policy. “It’s going to turn quite slowly and particularly so if your effort is rooted in engaging communities and really listening to them and trying to respond to what you’re hearing.”

Chalkbeat asked readers for their thoughts on school choice and got nearly 80 responses from families across the city about how they’ve navigated the system. We spoke to some of those families to understand how — and why — they chose their schools.

From left to right: Tiffany Harvey walks her dog, Mila, alongside her daughters Isabel Harvey, 21, and Amalia Harvey, 10, as they walk to Haugan Elementary School in Chicago on Dec. 18, 2023. Amalia is a fourth grader at Haugan Elementary School.

Preschool sells mom of four on neighborhood school

About 20 years ago, when Tiffany Harvey was deciding where to send her firstborn to school, she kept hearing that aside from some gifted and magnet programs, Chicago’s schools were “terrible.”

Harvey applied to magnet schools and had her son tested for gifted programs. She also toured a kindergarten classroom at the neighborhood school, Haugan Elementary, a couple blocks away from their Albany Park home. But at the time, Haugan didn’t have before- or after-care programs to accommodate her work schedule, while magnet and gifted programs came with busing. And Haugan’s test scores seemed low to her, she said.

“I honestly felt like I was a bad parent if I didn’t explore all the options and find the best option,” she said.

Over the next two decades, Harvey would send her first three children to magnet, gifted and selective enrollment schools outside their neighborhood.

A few years ago, that changed.

In search of preschool for her fourth child, Harvey applied for the district’s full-day pre-K program and saw that Haugan had seats. She didn’t want to pay for preschool again, and after so many years in Albany Park, she wanted to invest in her neighborhood school as someone who was better-off than some of her neighbors. Her daughter got a seat at Haugan, where 89% of students come from low-income families.

Some research shows public pre-K programs can “attract a more integrated group of families” to schools, while some districts notice families flee after preschool, said Halley Potter, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, who has studied school segregation.

Harvey, who had low expectations, found Haugan was “phenomenal,” she said. Her daughter’s teacher was creative and kind. There was a good combination of play-based learning and introduction to academics. Her daughter was meeting kids from all kinds of families. The next year, she enrolled her daughter in a nearby lottery dual-language program, but they missed Haugan. Her daughter returned for second grade and is now in fourth grade.

“We never looked back,” Harvey said.

Harvey supports families having the ability to choose a school for their child. However, she wishes more parents would realize that schools can’t be measured by test scores alone, and more-advantaged children, like hers, can flourish alongside peers who are different from them. It’s also easier for parents to get involved at schools that are nearby, she said.

As district leaders consider how to invigorate neighborhood schools, they should add more services, such as pre-K programs or after care, as ways to draw in more families, she said.

“I don’t know what the right balance is,” Harvey said. “I do want our neighborhood schools to be celebrated and promoted and have the resources they need, where parents don’t feel like they have to drive across town to find a better option.”

A mom who chose a charter school

Charity Parker lives a couple of blocks away from two neighborhood schools in West Pullman. But her daughter, Aikira, attends a Chicago International Charter Schools, or CICS, campus that’s a roughly 15-minute walk from their home.

Parker, who attended Catholic and charter schools growing up in Chicago, said the neighborhood schools close to her — Curtis and Haley — are “poorly funded” and don’t have good test scores. At both neighborhood schools and Aikira’s charter school, more than 90% of students are from low-income families. But CICS is designated as “commendable” by the state, the second- highest designation out of five. Haley and Curtis have lower designations.

Charity Parker, left, and her daughter Aikira Parker, 8, right, smile as they pose for a portrait together outside of CICS Prairie Chicago International Charter School, where Aikira is a second grader, in Chicago on Dec. 18, 2023.

Aikira is learning more advanced topics than other neighborhood kids Parker knows, she said. She placed fifth in the school’s science fair for a solar panel project, Parker noted.

“An 8-year-old doing engineering work — I’m not getting that at my local CPS school,” she said.

Another selling point for Parker, who is Black, is that about one-third of Aikira’s peers are Hispanic, so she’s exposed “to another culture besides her own.” At Curtis and Haley, more than 90% of students are Black, which is common in Chicago’s segregated neighborhoods.

Parker said all parents should have the right to choose where their children go to school, and the district should never mandate attending neighborhood schools. While Parker loves some things about CICS, she has some issues with the school.

Aikira “loved” kindergarten at CICS, but the next year, Parker had some disagreements with Aikira’s first -grade teacher over coursework. This year, Parker has some concerns about behavior issues in Aikira’s classroom and has considered transferring her out.

But other charters are far away, and she doesn’t have a car. Private school is too expensive.

So, she’ll stay at CICS, she said.

“I’ll admit there are some things about my daughter’s school that rub me the wrong way, but the education is awesome,” Parker said.

Dad sought out selective schools for his son

Since kindergarten, Clyde Smith’s son, Kadin, has exclusively attended selective public schools located 5 to 6 miles south of their Bronzeville home.

Kadin tested into McDade Classical School, a selective enrollment elementary school in Chatham. Then, he tested again in sixth grade and got a seat at an accelerated middle school program located inside Lindblom Math and Science Academy, a selective enrollment high school in West Englewood. Kadin, 16, is now a sophomore at Lindblom.

The stressful nature of admissions never felt “unhealthy,” Smith said. His son has always been surrounded by peers who aimed for similar programs, so he was used to the competition.

“It’s always been in the air,” Smith said. “It’s almost like asking a fish, ‘How’s the water?’”

Kadin Smith, left, stands with his father, Clyde Smith, at their Bronzeville home.

A simpler option might have been to attend his neighborhood school where he’s guaranteed a seat: Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts. District officials closed Dyett in 2015, but the school was revived in 2016 after protests and a hunger strike that Mayor Brandon Johnson participated in as an activist.

The district hosted a press conference in October at Dyett about the school’s rising graduation rates, and officials noted that the school’s 86% graduation rate had surpassed the citywide average.

Smith said he “understood the activism” that brought back Dyett, but it wasn’t enough to win him over.

“The test scores, the classes offered, the colleges they get accepted into overall, to me, doesn’t lay proof that that’s the strongest academic environment like some of these selective enrollment schools are,” Smith said.

Smith complimented the district’s desire to boost neighborhood schools, adding that segregation and “racial inequities” have left many schools under-resourced. Neighborhood schools need “strong teachers,” challenging courses, and more internship opportunities, he said.

Paul Hill, an architect of the idea that districts should create a mix of school options for parents, said the district could risk driving away parents like Smith.

“If the district is really serious about working hard on the neighborhood schools and trying to figure out what would keep people in them… that’s responsible,” said Hill, the founder of the Center for Reinventing Public Education. “On the other hand, if they really attack the schools of choice that probably will drive down enrollment.”

Smith agrees. After all, if Kadin didn’t get into a selective enrollment high school, he and his wife would have sent him to private school.

Mom is daunted by high school admissions

Laura Irons loves Logan Square and their neighborhood school, where her 7-year-old daughter is in first grade. But the thought of choosing a high school is so daunting, the family is considering leaving Chicago by the time their daughter finishes eighth grade.

Irons’ daughter passed up a seat at a magnet school to attend her zoned school, Brentano Math and Science Academy, because the family liked walking to school and didn’t want their daughter to lose friends.

“Being nearby the school, I think, has tremendous social-emotional benefits,” Irons said.

For the future, her family would consider the neighborhood high school. But other parents tell Irons it’s dangerous, with lots of fights and nearby shootings. Irons doesn’t know whether to believe them.

Laura Irons, far right, poses for a photo with her husband and two children at the Logan Square Blue Line stop.

Irons worries about the impact of the competitive application process on her daughter. Through friends and community Facebook groups, Irons hears about kids being “so tremendously stressed out” by the application process. She hates that some schools are considered good or bad without any clarity about why.

“I don’t like [the idea of] making such a big decision at such a young age,” Irons said. “It feels like the college process, which is hard already in itself.”

Even though Irons and her husband love city life, they’re leaning toward leaving unless there is more clarity and transparency around how the choice system works, she said. And she doesn’t know where to find accurate information.

“I do value choice in certain situations so I’m not anti-choice,” Irons said. “I think the system that we have, though — to sound so cliche — it’s just a broken, very opaque system. I wonder if kids would even be stressed if the parents weren’t so stressed.”

Selective enrollment student sees problems with the system

One of Tess Lacy’s earliest memories of discussing school choice was in fourth grade. Her physical education teacher told her class, “I want you to go to good high schools,” Tess recalled.

Comments like that were common throughout Tess’s elementary and middle school years. Teachers talked often about applying to sought-after high schools. Many of her friends felt they’d fail their parents if they didn’t get into those schools. While her own parents didn’t care where she went, the stress around Tess conditioned her to focus on selective enrollment schools, she said.

Tess Lacy poses for a portrait in front of George B. Swift Elementary School, which she used to attend, in Chicago on Dec. 18, 2023. Lacy is currently a sophomore at Jones College Prep.

She took the High School Admissions Test and got into her top-ranking: Jones College Prep in the South Loop.

Now, three years later, Tess wants to see the selective enrollment system abolished.

Selective enrollment schools tend to have more resources, not just from the district, but also from families who can fundraise, sometimes millions of dollars, Tess noted.

“If you intentionally, institutionally, structurally create schools that have more resources, parents with more resources will send their kids there,” Tess said. “I feel like a lot of people are able to realize that’s not normal, but there’s a lot of people who would rather forget about the tens of thousands of students who don’t have that privilege.”

Tess doesn’t regret attending Jones, where she has made friends from all over the city. She enjoys doing technical work for the school’s drama department.

But her decision to attend Jones now feels like it was influenced by everyone around her. She regrets not ranking Edgewater’s Senn High School higher. Senn was not her zoned high school, but is a neighborhood school closer to home that has a good arts program — one of Tess’s interests.

She would encourage eighth grade students to “really, truly think about what they as a student want.”

“Now I look back, and I see how my decision was so not my own decision,” Tess said.

Correction: This story orignally stated that McDade Classical School was a gifted program. McDade is another type of selective enrollment elementary school in Chicago.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

After court order, Chicago Public Schools extends contract with Urban Prep charter schools

2023-12-14T22:36:49+00:00

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Forced by a court order, the Chicago Board of Education voted Thursday to extend charter school contracts run by embattled Urban Prep Charter Academy.

The board approved an extension until June 2024 for the network’s Bronzeville and Englewood campuses.

The extension comes more than a year after the board voted not to renew the contracts, with plans to take over those schools. The board’s decision was based on allegations that Urban Prep mismanaged finances and failed to comply with special education laws, as well as allegations that the school’s founder, Tim King, sexually abused a now-former student. King has denied those allegations.

Urban Prep appealed the board’s decision to state education officials, who sided with CPS. The charter network then filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that their agreement couldn’t be revoked because of the state’s moratorium on closing schools until 2025. In July, the court ruled in Urban Prep’s favor.

“That is why we are here — to be in compliance with the court’s order even as it may be contrary to previous actions by the board,” Board Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland said last week at a meeting to review the board’s agenda.

CPS has appealed the court’s decision.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, who currently appoints the school board, is critical of the charter sector, but he has also stressed that he doesn’t oppose charter schools. The board recently passed a resolution signaling that it wants to boost neighborhood schools and move away from the district’s school choice system, which families use to apply to magnets, charters, and test-in schools and other programs.

Several teachers and families from other charter networks have pleaded with the board to renew their contracts over the past several months, including on Thursday. Christian Feaman, director of district advocacy for Illinois Network of Charter Schools, suggested the board’s new resolution attempts to “claw back the basic rights” of school choice for “Black and brown families.”

The resolution — which doesn’t create or get rid of any current policies or schools — isn’t intended to signal a closing of all charter schools, Todd-Breland said Thursday. Rather, the board wants to “hold charters accountable to the promise that was made at their founding,” she said.

The Urban Prep agreement approved Thursday comes with more than a dozen conditions, including cooperation in district investigations and complying with financial oversight. Those conditions are generally the same that Urban Prep has had to follow in the past, most of which Urban Prep has not attempted to comply with, said Zabrina Evans, executive director of the district’s Office of Innovation and Incubation in the Office of Portfolio Management, last week.

In remarks to the board Thursday, Dennis Lacewell, chief academic officer at Urban Prep, said the district is spreading “lies and propaganda” about the charter failing to meet nearly all the requirements CPS has asked of it. Lacewell said Urban Prep has complied with eight of ten previous conditions and submitted evidence to the district.

Separately, a few public speakers raised concerns about the board’s resolution, specifically saying the board shouldn’t be moving to close any selective enrollment or gifted schools. Todd-Breland emphasized that there is no current plan to close any schools.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools leaders want to move away from school choice

2023-12-12T18:45:13+00:00

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Chicago school leaders want to move away from the district’s system of school choice — in which families apply to a myriad of charter, magnet, test-in, or other district-run programs — according to a resolution the Board of Education will vote on this week.

The move puts in motion Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign promise to reinvigorate Chicago Public Schools’ neighborhood schools. On the campaign trail, Johnson likened the city’s school choice system to a “Hunger Games scenario” that forces competition for resources and ultimately harms schools, particularly those where students are zoned based on their address.

District leaders’ goals include ensuring “fully-resourced neighborhood schools, prioritizing schools and communities most harmed by structural racism, past inequitable policies and disinvestment,” the resolution, which was released Tuesday, said.

The board wants to pursue that policy goal — and several others — as part of the district’s five-year strategic plan, which will be finalized this summer. In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, Board President Jianan Shi, and Board Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland declined to specify changes or say how far they want to move away from the choice system. That’s because they want to collect community feedback on how far the district should go, which would be outlined in a final five-year strategic plan this summer, they said.

The board is expected to vote Thursday on the resolution, which doesn’t create or get rid of any policies; rather, it formalizes and publicizes the district’s goals.

The district wants to “transition away from privatization and admissions/enrollment policies and approaches that further stratification and inequity in CPS and drive student enrollment away from neighborhood schools,” the resolution says.

This marks the first time the board has formally stated it wants to move away from selective admissions and enrollment policies. It says the school choice system, as it exists today, “reinforces, rather than disrupts, cycles of inequity” and must be replaced with “anti-racist processes and initiatives that eliminate all forms of racial oppression.”

Some selective enrollment and magnet schools lack the diversity of the city, enrolling larger shares of white and Asian American students, while others remain largely segregated by race and class.

Martinez said it is painful to hear of students traveling far distances to attend school, or when parents ask if they should get their 4-year-old child tested for gifted programs. He said he can “scream as loud as I can” about all that he believes neighborhood schools can offer to families versus highly sought-after magnet or selective enrollment schools — but “it’s not going to be enough.”

“We see this as an opportunity to, again, build trust, because I want to keep calling that out — that is a huge challenge for us,” Martinez said.

Any number of big changes could be on the horizon, Todd-Breland said.

“There likely will be policies that need to be revised and changed, so the admissions and enrollment policy is on the table as something that through this process of engagement, likely there will be some changes to it,” Todd-Breland said.

Todd-Breland and Shi said they’ve heard many pleas from the community to overhaul the choice system. The board’s goal to move away from school choice is framed in the resolution as a response to the district’s ongoing challenges, such as budget deficits and academic disparities between students citywide and Black and Hispanic students, students with disabilities, those who are homeless, and children learning English as a new language.

District leaders imagine prioritizing neighborhood schools to receive more resources and programming. Martinez said universal preschool is one example of an initiative that can draw families into a school.

The system of school choice in Chicago grew over many decades.

Data shows around 56% of elementary school students attended their zoned neighborhood school last school year and 23% of high school students did. Twenty years ago, during the 2002-03 school year, 74% of students attended their zoned elementary school and 46% of high schoolers did.

Many of the district’s most popular magnet and selective schools were created in the 1980s and 90s under a court-ordered federal desegregation consent decree that officially ended in 2009. In the 2000s, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley opened 100 new schools under an initiative known as Renaissance 2010. Most of those schools did not have neighborhood attendance boundaries and many were charter schools run by third-parties.

The expansion of school options also contributed to the mass closure or shakeup of nearly 200 schools, including 50 schools in 2013. Enrollment has further declined since then, but under state law, the district cannot close schools until 2025. Officials would not say if the five-year plan would eventually include closing schools and emphasized their plans to engage communities.

However, Todd-Breland did signal that the board might move to close charter schools.

“If you are a privately-managed school, taking public dollars from our taxpayers that would otherwise go to the other schools that we know need to be invested in because they haven’t [been] for years, and you are not performing at a level that we find to be a high quality educational experience for young people, then why do you continue to exist in this system?” she said.

Nearly half of the charter schools authorized by the Chicago Board of Education are up for renewal this year and dozens more will be next year. If a charter is not renewed, it most likely would close, though operators can appeal to the state.

The previous administration, under the leadership of former CPS CEO Janice Jackson, also tried to reinvigorate underenrolled neighborhood schools. In 2018, the district offered additional funding for specialty programs to local schools looking to attract more students.

Though the current system has long been criticized for stressing out students and families as they compete for spots at the most sought-after schools, many families value having options outside of their assigned neighborhood school. Student admissions to gifted programs rely on a test, while admissions to selective enrollment high schools are based in part on the High School Admissions Test and previous school performance.

The board’s policy priorities come less than a year before Chicago will for the first time elect school board members. State law currently says 10 members will be elected and the mayor is to appoint another 11. That shift is one reason the board is focused on getting a lot of community feedback on their vision, so new board members “understand this is the direction that the district is moving in,” Shi said.

Political shifts, such as this transition to an elected school board, could upend what the current board wants to do, said Jack Schneider, an education policy expert and professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

“The last thing you want is to put all of this effort into something like promoting neighborhood public schools and then have a massive change in the composition of the board that then leads to a 180 in priorities,” Schneider said.

The resolution also highlights several other policy goals under the district’s next strategic plan, including creating more community schools over the next five years. These schools provide wraparound services to students and families, another priority for Johnson. It also includes adding staff, ensuring culturally relevant, anti-racist lessons for students and similarly framed professional development for educators, and prioritizing collecting feedback from students and the community.

The board also wants to ask the community’s help in creating plans for “previously closed and currently ‘underutilized’ schools,” the resolution says.

Read the full resolution on page 21 of the board’s agenda posted online.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools is tapping principal Joshua Long to lead its special education department

2023-12-11T20:31:00+00:00

Joshua Long, currently the principal of Southside Occupational Academy High School, has been selected to lead Chicago Public Schools’ beleaguered special education department, according to district officials.

The department — known as the Office of Diverse Learners Supports and Services — serves nearly 52,000 students with disabilities and has been without a chief since June. That’s when Stephanie Jones stepped down amid fallout from Chicago’s violations related to the use of restraint and timeout of students. The department has also struggled in recent years to ensure students with disabilities are getting services they’re legally entitled to under federal law.

Long sent a letter to families whose children attend Southside this morning announcing “with mixed emotions” that he accepted the role and would start after winter break, pending confirmation by the school board this Thursday.

“I am excited to continue working for students with disabilities and look forward to new opportunities to engage with all stakeholders as we move to positively impact each student’s experience in every school,” he wrote.

Ben Felton, chief talent officer at Chicago Public Schools, said the district used an external search firm and input from city officials, local advocates, educators, and other staff in its search for a new department head.

“We approached this differently than we had in the past given how critical this role is to CPS and how deeply invested many of our stakeholders are in special education and in this position,” said Felton.

Representatives from Access Living, the city’s Office of People with Disabilities, district principals, the Dyslexia Collaborative, and the Chicago Teachers Union were among the community groups that had a conversation with finalists and provided feedback, Felton said.

CEO Pedro Martinez made the final recommendation; the school board, which meets on Thursday, must approve the appointment.

Long would be inheriting a department beset with problems. The district is under state watch on multiple issues, including providing timely transportation to students with disabilities and for how it physically restrains students in the classroom.

Long has been the principal of Southside since 2010, according to his LinkedIn profile. In 2019, he won the prestigious statewide Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership.

Joshua Long, second from left, speaks with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson in Sept., 2023 in Chicago, Ill.

Before that, Long worked in various positions, including as a speech pathologist in a dozen schools, he told Chalkbeat in 2019. At the time, when Chalkbeat asked Long how the district should help students with disabilities, Long said he saw classes that “were not being run effectively” and weren’t “as rigorous” as other schools he’d been in. With that in mind, Long said “that the biggest thing is establishing equity for all students no matter which school or neighborhood they are in.”

Some district leaders have known Long for years. Board of Education member Mary Fahey Hughes, a longtime advocate for students with disabilities, sent her son to Southside. During a school visit with Mayor Brandon Johnson in September, Hughes praised the school and its model, which is designed to help those with more challenging disabilities transition into the real world.

“The thing I love about this place is there is so much respect for students where they’re at,” she told Chalkbeat at the time.

Long was a proponent of changing the timeline for when students with disabilities could transition out of public schools. Previously, under state law, some students with disabilities could receive services until the day before their 22nd birthday. In 2021, state law changed to allow students who turn 22 during the school year to remain eligible for services through the end of that year.

Long has also advocated for improving funding and availability of services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities once they graduate from CPS. In an interview with Chalkbeat during the September school visit with Johnson, Long said the state has a yearslong waiting list for people with more challenging disabilities who want to access state-funded adult services, such as for community-based living or day services, that are meant to provide people with more independence. One of his former students accessed such services eight years after she graduated from Southside, he said.

“Our students do best through routine and through daily interactions,” Long said. “Now, she sat home for eight years and likely lost a lot of skills that she learned here with us.”

Long’s appointment comes after the district leaders signaled this fall that they were interested in expanding the school model Long oversaw. Southside is one of a handful of so-called specialty schools that focus on teaching students with intellectual and developmental disabilities about work and life skills. Southside, for example, has classes that teach students how to work in retail, food service, and auto mechanics. Unlike most schools, the district assigns students to these schools.

The district is under state watch regarding multiple issues for how it supports students with disabilities. Last year, the state launched a corrective action plan requiring the district to cap bus commute times for students with disabilities to 60 minutes each way. About 3,000 students with disabilities exceeded that limit at the start of last school year, according to the district.

Under state watch, those travel times have vastly improved this year, after the district decided to stop busing general education students, largely those in magnet and selective enrollment programs. In September, the state launched a new corrective action plan to ensure the district is providing transportation to all students of disabilities whose Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs, call for bus service.

This spring, documents obtained by Chalkbeat revealed the district had been under state watch for failing to follow state law on physical restraint and timeout for students. The state board said that Chicago was not notifying parents of incidents, staff and faculty were not trained in how to properly restrain and seclude students, and untrained staff were using outlawed methods of restraint.

The state board named Jones for failing in her role as a designated official to look into restraint and timeout incidents. In that role, she was required to maintain copies of incidents, be notified of incidents that occurred during the school day, and receive documents of physical restraint and timeout incidents that went on for a long time.

Prior to Jones’s time as chair, the district’s department responsible for supporting students with disabilities had been in trouble with the state before. A 2017 investigation WBEZ found Chicago Public Schools secretly overhauled the special education department in 2016, resulting in students losing access to vital services. The State Board of Education placed the district under a corrective action plan in 2018, which lasted until 2022. During the 2022-23 school year, the state placed Chicago under a general supervision plan to continue to watch how the district handles special education services.

Now, Long could play a key role in ensuring that the department is delivering services to students with disabilities, monitoring physical restraint and timeout incidents, and helping students catch up after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted education.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

New data shows hundreds of Chicago Public Schools bus routes with fewer than 10 students

2023-12-07T20:36:30+00:00

Data analysis by Thomas Wilburn.

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Four months after Chicago Public Schools significantly cut back bus service to meet the needs of children with disabilities, new data indicates hundreds of routes are carrying fewer than 10 students.

New data obtained by Chalkbeat Chicago details more than 1,000 bus routes for 7,350 students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs, require transportation services. It offers a glimpse into how the district is attempting to shorten bus travel times for these students, as required by the state under a corrective action plan issued last year.

The bus routes included in the data are carrying students to 540 different schools.

The data was captured on Oct. 23 and filed by CPS with the state just before Thanksgiving, as part of the corrective action plan. It outlines the number of students with IEPs per route, their schools, pick-up times, and the third-party company that operates each route.

However, the data does not include students who have 504 plans — another type of legal document for students with disabilities — or homeless students, who are also entitled to transportation. District officials said the routes may include those students. One week before the data was captured, the district said it had routed a total of 8,105 students.

Chalkbeat’s analysis of the route data for 7,350 students with IEPs found:

There are an average 6.9 students with IEPs per route
785 of the more than 1,000 routes have 10 or fewer children with IEPs
59 routes — or 5.4% — transport one child with an IEP
The maximum number of students with an IEP per route is 26

The data does not clarify what sized buses travel on each route, how many routes include adult paraprofessionals who are assigned to assist students who have IEPs, how many other children who do not have IEPs might ride on the route, or how many empty seats there are on each bus route.

The new information raises questions about how students with IEPs are assigned to schools — often far from where they live — rather than provided services at schools in their communities. It also comes as parents of students whose bus service was cut earlier this year continue to put pressure on the district to provide transportation to their students, most of whom attend magnet and selective enrollment schools.

District officials continue to cite a national bus driver shortage as the core reason for its transportation troubles. CPS currently has 715 of the roughly 1,300 drivers it needs, officials said.

“This is an evolving non-stagnant situation with new requests and availability,” a district spokesperson said in an email.

Advocates for students with disabilities cautioned that the data does not necessarily mean there’s room on school buses for more students. Students with disabilities are legally owed transportation under federal law, and adding general education students to their existing routes “muddies the waters” of those legal rights, said Miriam Bhimani, a CPS parent and advocate whose complaint placed the district under state watch regarding transportation rights for students with IEPs.

CPS has struggled to provide bus transportation

The scope of busing provided by CPS has contracted significantly in recent years. As recently as 2019, the district budgeted $120 million to bus nearly 20,000 students, according to budget documents. This fiscal year, the district planned to budget $146 million as it pared down the number of students it was serving.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, CPS has been struggling to provide reliable bus transportation. Last year, about 3,000 CPS students with disabilities were on routes longer than an hour. The state put the district under corrective action last year to reduce ride times to less than an hour, which Illinois requires districts to “make every effort” to do.

In July, officials announced CPS would only bus students with disabilities and those who are homeless — groups legally entitled to transportation — and offered CTA passes to about 5,500 general education students and their parents. They also offered families of students with disabilities and those in temporary housing up to $500 in monthly stipends to cover their own transportation costs.

In October, district officials said about 8,100 students, most of whom have IEPs, were routed for busing to and from school. Another 3,948 families of students with disabilities opted to take the monthly reimbursements, CPS officials told the state in a letter dated Nov. 17.

Chicago is not alone in struggling with a shortage of bus drivers. U-46, Illinois’s second largest school district, has also experienced a driver shortage affecting students with disabilities, the Courier-News reported last month, but a U-46 spokesperson said it is currently providing busing to about 22,000 students.

After reiterating its bus driver shortage, CPS officials wrote in the Nov. 17 letter that it “paused providing transportation to families of general education students in magnet or selective enrollment programs” this year “in an effort to ensure” all students whose IEPs require transportation “are routed in a timely manner, and every effort is made to prevent students from riding longer than sixty minutes.”

After bus service was cut for general education students, district officials reported in late September a vast improvement in commute times for students with disabilities, with 47 children on rides longer than an hour. But those travel times have since worsened: As of last week, 116 students with disabilities were on routes longer than an hour, according to a CPS presentation to City Council members.

As recently as last week, district officials cast doubt on whether they would offer transportation to general education students.

But families of general education students in magnet and selective enrollment programs continue to show up at Chicago school board meetings to advocate for busing.

At a Wednesday meeting, a student from Kenwood Academic Academic Center said he and his brother used to take the bus to school together. This year, however, his brother takes a paratransit vehicle that doesn’t have other students on it and “wishes he wasn’t alone in the car.”

That student directed a question to transportation officials and board members at the meeting: “Why are they not routing as many students as possible into empty seats?”

But it’s not that simple, according to some advocates for students with disabilities. Adding many more students to existing routes could again worsen travel times for some students with disabilities, who have a federally protected right to transportation.

Adding students to routes isn’t simple

Advocates for students with disabilities said the data from October raises questions about how students with disabilities are assigned to schools — sometimes far outside their communities. Some of these children, advocates noted, are traveling far distances to therapeutic day schools, which provide more specialized instruction.

An example is Soaring Eagle Academy in suburban Lombard, located roughly 21 miles west of the downtown, where eight CPS students arrive each morning using three different bus routes, the data shows.

Terri Smith-Roback, a CPS parent who co-filed complaints with the state regarding transportation rights for students with disabilities, said she’s worried about long and “inefficient” rides for students traveling to therapeutic day schools. She’s heard from parents of these children who are riding the bus more than two hours each way and knows of one instance where a large yellow bus was transporting six kids to one of the schools.

District officials said some routes have fewer students “due to distance, medical equipment, and/or required bus aides that will require less students in the vehicle.” They also said that many routes use smaller vehicles, which have less space than a traditional yellow school bus.

About one-third of the more than 1000 routes detailed in the data are paratransit, which are usually smaller vehicles that provide individualized routes for students with disabilities, district officials told the state in a letter obtained by Chalkbeat.

Bhimani said the data highlights a larger problem with how the district assigns students with disabilities to schools. All students have the right to attend their assigned neighborhood school. But students with disabilities are often assigned to schools outside of their communities that the district believes can better serve their needs, as laid out in their IEPs, Bhimani said.

“The student assignment decision we’re making in the district is to say students with disabilities are actually not owed services at their zoned school, and we will place them wherever we think those services should be offered inside the district,” Bhimani said.

Instead, Bhimani said, the district should create more services for students in schools closer to where they live so that they don’t have to travel far.

Becky Vevea contributed reporting.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Not every Chicago school offers algebra in middle school. CPS is working to change that.

2023-11-30T19:15:00+00:00

Every school day at 10:30 a.m., two dozen middle schoolers shuffle into a classroom at Warren Elementary on Chicago’s far south side. One by one, they boot up a Chromebook at their desks.

Fourteen miles north, another nine students log in from their classroom at STEM Magnet Academy just west of downtown.

They are all taking the same course: Middle School Algebra with Raluca Borbath, who teaches virtually.

On a recent November morning, Borbath shared her screen to begin Lesson 13: Introduction to Two-Variable Inequalities. The students, who log in through Google Meet, dove into a problem about making bracelets with two different kinds of beads — one kind cost $1 and the other cost $2.

The class spent the next hour solving and graphing: 2x+y ≥ 10.

Classes like Borbath’s, in which middle school students learn algebra partly online, have been critical to Chicago Public Schools’ efforts to reduce long-standing inequities in access to the course, which is seen as a gateway to better high schools, better colleges, and ultimately, better careers.

Put simply: Mastering algebra in middle school can give kids an advantage for the rest of their educational trajectory. But in Chicago, access to the course before high school has long been inequitable.

Schools without algebra in the middle grades have been largely located in predominantly Black and lower income neighborhoods on the south and west sides. For students who do take algebra in eighth grade, state data shows white and Asian American students in Chicago Public Schools are more than twice as likely to pass than Black and Latino students.

But the district says it is trying to address the inequity and has found some success.

In addition to the Virtual Academy, which was created during the COVID-19 pandemic and has offered middle school algebra for the past two years, the district also partners with three local universities to get more middle school teachers certified to teach the course.

Data obtained by Chalkbeat shows:

Over the last decade, the number of CPS elementary and middle schools offering algebra grew from 209 to 366.
The number of middle grade teachers with algebra credentials increased in the past two years from 428 to 489.
A decade ago, roughly 10% of the city’s eighth graders took the district’s Algebra Exit Exam. Last May, nearly 25% did.
There are still 85 district-run schools and 35 charters where no students took the Algebra Exit Exam last year.

Other cities have tried expanding middle school algebra with varying success. In New York City, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio promised in 2015 to get algebra in every middle school and saw rates of students taking and passing the course go up. But that district’s focus has shifted back to improving freshmen algebra. Similarly, the state of California recently considered recommending all eighth graders take algebra, but decided to leave the decision to local school districts.

Corey Morrison, director of mathematics at Chicago Public Schools, said the district is focused on equity, not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“It’s algebra choice for all,” Morrison said. “We want to get to a place where every eighth grader has a choice and can choose – as much as an eighth grader can without their parents making them.”

Algebra skills ‘build from the bottom up’

Algebra has long been a core requirement for high school freshmen in Chicago and the rest of the country. But for decades, it’s also been offered to advanced middle school students. Those who took it early would be on a fast track to taking calculus senior year, giving them a leg up on college applications and a strong foundation once enrolled in university.

“If you’re spending three years on your mandatory classes, you only have one more year to look for AP classes, or dual credit classes, or anything else that you want to do,” said Borbath, the teacher of the hybrid class. By taking algebra early, students are able to free up their high school schedules.

But in Chicago, data shows stark disparities in who has historically had access to algebra in middle school. Chalkbeat Chicago obtained and analyzed the number of students who took and passed the district’s Algebra Exit Exam. The two-hour test, taken at the end of each school year, consists of 34 multiple choice questions and six short answer problems. Students who pass can move on to geometry.

Ten years ago, roughly 200 of the district’s 500-plus schools serving middle schoolers had students who took the exam. Now, more than 350 do.

At Warren, no students took the district’s Algebra Exit Exam in 2018, data shows.

The small school sits in the heart of Chicago’s Pill Hill neighborhood, a South Side enclave once home to many doctors and pharmacists who lived in the spacious homes down the street from the nearby hospital. It serves 271 students; 99% are Black and 80% come from low-income families.

STEM Magnet Academy, which shares a section of Borbath’s algebra class with Warren, is in the city’s more affluent West Loop and serves 403 students; 38% are Black, 34% are Asian American, 18% are Latino, and 6% are white. About 43% come from low-income families. In 2018, 14 students at STEM Magnet took the Algebra Exit Exam and 7 passed. But no students have taken it since then.

Borbath also teaches a morning section of algebra to middle school students at three other predominantly Black south and west side schools — Daley, Sumner, and Brown — all of which had no students taking the Algebra Exit Exam as recently as 2019, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat.

Morrison said the pandemic was terrible in a lot of ways, but the way the district is using the Virtual Academy to close gaps in access to algebra is a “silver lining.”

Students at Brentano Elementary in Logan Square work on graphing equations during an algebra class.

At Brentano Elementary in Logan Square, no students were taking the Algebra Exit Exam in 2018, district data show. Seth Lavin became principal nine years ago and said adding the course took time and planning.

“The wrong way to do this is just to change your eighth grade course and say, ‘Now we do algebra,’” Lavin said. “The right way to do it is to build from the bottom up so that the kids can be ready for it.”

Lavin said Brentano teachers led the effort to rework how math was taught in order to offer the course.

“This required, for us, changing what sixth graders were doing, and then changing what seventh graders were doing before, eventually, we could change what eighth graders were doing,” Lavin said.

Now, all eighth graders take algebra in school, Lavin said. And starting last year, Brentano started offering a before-school algebra course to any interested seventh grader.

Lavin said he’s able to pay one of Brentano’s teachers to teach the early morning algebra using federal COVID recovery money. Once that money runs out, the offering could be at risk.

Staffing middle school algebra can be a complicated equation

There are logistical and budget hurdles to overcome in order to offer algebra to middle schoolers, Lavin said.

“A teacher in your building has to have an algebra certification, or a high school math endorsement,” he said. “That requires some groundwork.”

Teacher Martin Lenthe teaches algebra to seventh grade students at Brentano Elementary before the regular school day begins.

Chicago Public Schools launched an effort 20 years ago, known as the Chicago Algebra Initiative, to boost the number of middle school students taking algebra. In partnership with three local universities, the school board pays tuition for up to 90 middle school teachers to earn a credential to teach algebra each year.

Morrison, with the district, said the goal is to eventually have at least one certified teacher in every school, but the math hasn’t always worked out.

“How do you pull a handful of kids out to give them a robust algebra course when there’s only one eighth grade teacher?” Morrison said.

For the past couple of years, the Virtual Academy has been able to step in to serve those schools.

Last school year, 777 middle schoolers across 120 schools took the virtual course and this school year, the number climbed to 1,140 middle school students across 142 schools, according to the district. Roughly 300 take the class during the school day and 800 take it before or after school.

Morrison said the virtual courses are also showing teachers and administrators that offering in-person algebra is possible.

“It changes the mindset of teachers and administrators,” he said. “There are enough students in your school, in your community, where we can work towards putting an in-person course in your building, because that’s the ultimate goal.”

District data obtained by Chalkbeat shows that 489 teachers working at 287 schools have an active credential to teach algebra to middle school students. That’s up slightly from 2020 when 428 teachers at 248 schools had them. A district spokesperson said data on algebra credentials was not available prior to 2020.

Warren is hoping to offer in-person algebra next school year. Veteran teacher Tracey Kidd is working toward getting credentialed through the University of Chicago as part of the Chicago Algebra Initiative. Last school year, she was the teacher in the room where middle schoolers logged into virtual algebra.

“It’s kind of hard to do (algebra) virtually sometimes, because kids, they wander off a little,” she said. “But if you’re in the room with them, then they’re gonna focus more, and they get that one on one attention from you.”

Kidd currently teaches intermediate math and knows many students are ready to handle the rigor of algebra.

Younger students get a jump start in algebra

In Sandra Shorter’s classroom at Warren, a group of sixth grade students are starting pre-algebra with the goal of taking algebra next school year as seventh graders.

“We’re doing ratios, unit rates, and then we’re gonna graph them and write them as equations,” Shorter explained.

A classroom wall at Warren Elementary helps middle schoolers at all levels prepare for success in algebra.

Morrison, with the district, said algebra is not just for certain students who want to be scientists or engineers. It teaches important skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking.

“Math is for everybody. But do you need to get on the accelerated track in eighth grade? Not necessarily,” Morrison said. “Do you still need to learn algebra? Yes.”

Algebra is a graduation requirement in CPS, but the stakes for taking it before high school can feel high.

Last week, 13- and 14-year-olds across Chicago found out their scores on the district’s High School Admissions Test — a one-hour exam that partly determines whether they can go to the city’s top high schools. Though the content of the test is not public, many parents and students say taking algebra in middle school gives students a leg up.

“It will help us with a test to get into high school,” said Brentano student Liam Dolik. “That is something that’s so huge in eighth graders’ life, especially in Chicago. It’s not the best but we have to do it so we might as well prepare for it.”

Teacher Martin Lenthe helps a seventh grade student with algebra at Brentano Elementary before the regular school day begins.

Dolik is one of nearly 30 seventh graders who come to school at 7:45 a.m. every weekday to take algebra. They spread out across nine tables as the morning sun streams through the towering windows in classroom 306.

Lavin said all seventh graders were offered the option to take algebra before school, and about half of them decided to do it. But Lavin wrestles with whether the morning section for seventh graders is creating a new inequity.

“Sometimes there’s this temptation to go ahead instead of going deeper,” Lavin said. “At the same time, our kids are in the CPS reality where everybody’s trying to figure out how to get as high a score as they can in the high school admissions test.”

At the end of the day, Brentano is still a neighborhood public school in a diverse neighborhood, offering advanced math to everybody, Lavin said. “That’s increasing equity in the district.”

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago district official says adding busing this year will be tough as driver shortage persists

2023-11-29T03:16:15+00:00

Chicago Public Schools officials expressed doubt Tuesday that they will be able to provide busing to general education students for the rest of this school year.

“It’s very difficult to make a pivot within midyear to be able to add transportation now,” Charles Mayfield, the district’s chief operating officer, said during a hearing of the City Council’s Committee on Education and Child Development.

Mayfield’s comments come as the school district is still working to shorten bus rides for more than 100 students with disabilities to comply with state law.

In response to questions from aldermen about the state of student transportation, district officials cited a shortage of drivers as the core reason they’ve limited bus service so far this year to students with disabilities whose individualized education programs require transportation and those who are living in temporary housing. Both groups are legally entitled to receive bus rides to school.

About 5,500 general education students who were previously eligible for bus transportation were not offered busing this year — mostly those who attend magnet and selective-enrollment schools. The district is instead offering those families CTA passes, including a companion pass for a parent or guardian. Many parents have complained about the change, with some saying it’s hard to meet their work obligations and get their kids to school. It has led some families to transfer children out of their schools.

The district had already announced that it wouldn’t be able to expand busing to general education students for the rest of this semester. Officials have promised an update on transportation in December, before the new semester begins.

As of mid-October, the district said it had created bus routes for about 8,100 students, mostly children with disabilities.

Mayfield told aldermen that the district has now hired 715 drivers, compared with about 680 in July — meaning it has 54% of the drivers it needs. That’s only a small increase, he said, even though the district has held dozens of hiring fairs and worked with its bus vendors to increase hourly driver pay rates by $5 since last year.

“We just haven’t seen much traction with being able to build that pipeline back for drivers,” he said.

Officials added that the number of students with disabilities has grown by about 20% from last year, and the district is regularly receiving new transportation requests.

Chicago Public Schools has been under state watch since last November for failing to get students with disabilities on bus rides shorter than an hour each way. Last year, the district reported that 3,000 students were on rides longer than an hour, with 365 on rides lasting more than 90 minutes each way.

This year, with transportation for general-education students sharply limited, the district has touted an improvement in travel times for students with disabilities. As of Monday, 116 students with disabilities were commuting more than an hour to school, according to Mayfield’s presentation. That is, however, an increase from August, when 47 students with disabilities were on routes longer than one hour.

The state opened another investigation in September after advocates and parents complained that students with disabilities whose individualized education programs include transportation are being denied their federal right to a “free appropriate public education.”

The complaint alleges “widespread … delays and denials” across CPS and an “unnecessary administrative burden,” because families have to request transportation even after they’ve already been deemed eligible, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by Chalkbeat.

Looking ahead to next year, Mayfield said the district will be discussing various strategies to make bus transportation “more efficient.” The options could include creating regional bus pickup sites and adjusting school start and dismissal times. He emphasized that those decisions would be made in collaboration with unions.

“Candidly, there will be some decisions that will need to be made, because we’re not seeing that driver population come back,” Mayfield said.

Becky Vevea contributed reporting.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

As Chicago’s shelter rule for migrant families takes effect, here are three student rights to know

2023-11-27T12:00:00+00:00

Chicago educators and advocates are concerned about how Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new 60-day limit for shelter stays for migrant families will impact attendance and stability for migrant students.

The new rule comes as the city has struggled to house migrants. More than 22,000 have arrived from the Southern border since August 2022, many fleeing economic and political upheaval in Central and South American countries. City and state officials have promised to boost efforts to help families get resettled and find more permanent housing, a commitment that comes just as a state-operated rental assistance program will no longer apply to newly arrived immigrants who are entering shelters, Block Club Chicago reported.

About 50 families have already received the notices, and another 3,000 will get them on Dec. 4.

Advocates said losing shelter could mean more absences among migrant students who are homeless — formally known as students living in temporary living situations. That designation includes children in shelter, living doubled up with another family, or living in a public place. As of Oct. 31, average attendance rates this school year for homeless students are 5 percentage points lower than their peers with permanent housing, according to Chicago Public Schools data shared with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

School stability is related to academic success. A 2015 study that examined New York City students found that children who transferred schools were more likely to be chronically absent or miss at least 10% of their school days. Chronically absent students who were also homeless were three times more likely to repeat the same grade than homeless students who missed fewer than five days of school, the report found.

“We’re talking about kids who have been around for two months, who have gotten into a routine, maybe made some friends, have some sense of control finally, where they can get two hot meals a day — we’re talking about sending those families back to the bus landing spot,” said Gabriel Paez, a bilingual teacher on the West Side, of the mayor’s new rule.

Sixty days is a “very short time” to find housing, especially for newcomers with language barriers who are dealing with asylum cases or have not been authorized to work yet, said Patricia Nix-Hodes, director of the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

If families don’t have permanent housing lined up, they can return to the “landing zone” — the downtown area where most buses first drop off newcomers — and can request a new shelter placement. Families can stay in their shelter under “extenuating circumstances,” such as a medical issue, if there is extreme cold, or if they’ve obtained a lease with a move-in date that starts later than when they must leave shelter, the mayor’s office said.

A spokesperson for the mayor declined to comment. In a statement, a district spokesperson said it is working with the city and schools to “ensure new arrival students, who are nearly all considered Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS), can get access to a Pre-K-12 education within our system that offers the appropriate services, including English Learner services.”

Homeless children have certain rights enshrined in federal law aimed at maintaining stability for them at school, including the ability to stay at the school where they’ve been attending.

Here are three education rights that families living in temporary housing should know about as the city’s new shelter rule takes effect:

Homeless students have the right to stay in the same school

Students living in temporary shelters who have enrolled in the local school or a nearby one are entitled to stay at the same school even if they’re forced to leave the shelter after 60 days.

This is true for any student who becomes homeless. Federal law protects their right to remain in their so-called “origin school.”

Just as any other Chicago Public Schools student, homeless students can enroll in the local neighborhood school in their new community by simply walking in. Also like any other student, they can apply to selective or magnet schools, but the deadline to apply for these schools for next academic year has passed.

Migrant students may also be referred by other city agencies, such as the Department of Family and Support Services, to receive enrollment help from the district’s central office, including at the city’s Pilot Welcome Center at Clemente High School on the West Side.

In that case, the district will enroll students based on where they live, the students’ needs — such as English language services — and “existing capacity and resources at the school.” If there are space issues at a school, the district “can assist with an alternate school assignment,” a spokesperson said.

Once 20 or more students with the same native language enroll at a school, state law requires they launch a Transitional Bilingual Education program. Such programs require instruction in both English and the native language, such as Spanish.

The district has budgeted $15 million to hire more bilingual teachers, dual-language program coordinators, and “other resources to support English learners,” a spokesperson said.

Homeless students have the right to transportation

Homeless students also have the right to receive transportation to school even if they move. And, according to CPS guidelines, their school must inform the student and a parent about transportation services. If a student finds permanent housing, they are still entitled to transportation until the end of the school year.

According to CPS guidelines, homeless students in need of transportation must receive a CTA card within three days of requesting one. Children in preschool through sixth grade can receive an additional card so that a parent can accompany them on public transit.

Students in those grades can also apply for school bus service if a caregiver can’t accompany them to school because the parent has work or education conflicts, a mental or physical disability, or the shelter won’t allow parents to leave during the hours of dropoff and pickup.

Citing a driver shortage, the district this year has limited school bus service to students with disabilities and those who are homeless. As of October, 113 homeless students qualified for busing, but it’s unclear how many of them opted instead for a financial reimbursement.

Homeless students don’t need paperwork to enroll

Schools must enroll students who are homeless even if they don’t have records normally needed to enroll, such as immunization or previous school records, proof of guardianship, or proof of residence, according to the district.

Families fleeing domestic violence or political turmoil may not have grabbed important documents, Nix-Hodes said.

It’s up to the school to “sensitively” identify that a family seeking enrollment is homeless without violating their privacy, Nix-Hodes added.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

What do you think of Chicago’s school choice system? Chalkbeat wants to hear from you.

2023-11-20T20:13:53+00:00

Chicago’s system that allows families to apply for magnet and selective enrollment schools — often outside their neighborhoods — traces back decades. It was initially seen as a tool for desegregation.

But, in recent years, many of those schools have since been criticized for enrolling a larger share of white and Asian American students, even though those students make up a minority of the district, compared to their Black and Hispanic peers.

In addition, the emergence of charter schools in the late 1990s presented families with options outside of their local district-run school.

More recently, officials have seen Chicago’s school choice system as a way to offer families more choices, allowing them to enroll their children in a school they like, instead of being tied to a neighborhood school that may not have the resources they’re seeking.

Still, the admissions process, accessed through an application called GoCPS, has built a reputation for being confusing, cumbersome, and stressful.

Since his election earlier this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson has expressed a desire to boost investments into neighborhood schools, so families don’t feel like they need to leave their communities to get a good education for their children.

We want to know from Chicago Public Schools families: What has been your experience with the city’s school choice system? Tell us here or in the short survey below. (We will not use your answers or your name in our reporting without your permission.)

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Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago students who enrolled in ‘safety’ colleges were more likely to drop out, study finds

2023-11-16T23:31:00+00:00

Imagine the following scenario: A high school senior in Chicago has a 3.5 GPA and a score of 1200 on the SATs. They’ve been accepted to highly selective Princeton University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and a local city college.

Which school might they choose?

More often than not, a student in that situation will lean toward the school that’s an “undermatch,” meaning a school with lower grades and SAT scores in its admissions criteria and where average scores of incoming freshman were lower than what the student earned, according to a new study by the Inclusive Economy Lab at the University of Chicago. And that could make them more likely to drop out.

Researchers looked at Chicago Public Schools’ class of 2018 using a variety of data points, including district data and other sources. Of the students who attended college, 62% had enrolled in an undermatch school.

Students at an undermatch school were more likely to drop out: 69% of such students made it to the second year of college, while the same was true for 77% of students at a “match” or “overmatch” school — with criteria that called for the same or higher grades and SAT scores and where average scores of incoming freshman matched or were higher than the student had earned, according to the study.

Staying and earning a college degree can lead to an overall healthier life, according to a review of literature by Healthy People 2030, a federal government-led project that tracks health data. A college education can mean better salary-earning potential and better access to quality housing.

Students who enrolled at an undermatch were more likely to be English language learners, students with disabilities, those who are homeless, as well as white and Hispanic students. Students who didn’t fill out or complete their federal financial aid forms also more often chose an undermatch school. Students at these schools, however, were less likely to be Black or Asian American.

The financial cost of college was a big reason students have leaned toward schools that are an undermatch, in lieu of attending more selective schools or out-of-state choices, researchers found in interviews with students who currently attend City Colleges of Chicago. Students said it’s cheaper to attend a two-year city college or a local, less selective four-year school, and they don’t want to incur any debt, said Shantá Robinson, senior research director at Inclusive Economy Lab.

“We always say young people should think about these things and they are,” Robinson said, “and on the other hand, because financial fit is the first thing they’re looking at, other things that are critically important to young people — thriving in higher education institutions and persisting and graduating — are being overlooked.”

The study also found:

81% of the class of 2018 had intended to go to college, but only 57% enrolled in college within one year of graduation. Just 43% returned to college for a second academic year.
Students with higher GPAs and test scores were more likely to submit more college applications to schools that were a match.
At colleges where net out-of-pocket cost was estimated to be $6,000 annually or less, 62% of students persisted to the second year. That persistence rate grew at pricier colleges: 89% of students stayed at schools where the net cost was estimated at more than $20,000.
Students at match and overmatch schools enrolled in schools that cost an average of roughly $1,200 less a year compared to other schools they also applied to. But for students at undermatch schools, that difference was an average of nearly $3,500 – which researchers said is one sign that cost was a factor for where these students ended up enrolling.

A recent study found that more Chicago Public Schools students are pursuing college, with far more earning certificates from two-year colleges.

CPS provides college and career competency lessons through its Skyline curriculum for grades 6-12, said Mary Ann Fergus, a spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools. Schools also encourage students to earn early college credentials — which about half of the class of 2023 did — which Fergus noted can help reduce the cost of college.

The researchers at the Inclusive Economy Lab at the University of Chicago found that overall the more selective the school, the more likely students would stick around. But at every type of school, including two-year colleges, those who were undermatching were less likely to stay.

Even though cost seemed to be a driving factor for where students enrolled, researchers found that students at colleges with higher net out-of-pocket costs were more likely to stay for their second year. Researchers don’t know why but guessed that pricier schools might have more resources on campus to support students’ needs, such as in academics.

An inclusive culture may also be a big factor in keeping students in college, the study suggests. For example, about 78% of Black students who attended a historically Black college or university, or HBCU, made it to their second year of college, compared to 67.3% of Black students who attended non-HBCUs. The New York Times found last year that several HBCUs are seeing their schools become top choices for more Black students. However, the same was not true for Hispanic students attending Hispanic-serving institutions, or HSIs. About 85% of these students persisted to their second year of college at non-HSIs, compared to about 68% of Hispanic students at HSIs.

The study’s authors made several recommendations, including teaching students at an earlier age about their options for college so that they can make a financial plan, such as applying for scholarships earlier on or understanding how to fill out a FAFSA form. Having that conversation “when your child gets an award letter” is too late, Robinson said, especially if the conversation is that the family does not have enough money to contribute.

“That’s not to offer a sense of pessimism to these young people. It is a level-setting,” Robinson said, noting that families need to look ahead to the final year of high school. “It is a very real world, ‘This is what we’re working with as a family. Now how can we move past this? How can we work together to make sure you get where you want to be by senior year?’”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

At one magnet school, Chicago’s bus crisis has parents grasping for options — or leaving

2023-10-13T18:14:26+00:00

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Mónica Meléndez spent the first half of the last school year driving her three kids at least an hour each way to Inter-American Magnet School in Lake View.

She felt she had no choice after the district said it would not provide transportation at the beginning of the year for two of her children.

By the time all her kids got bus service in the second semester, Meléndez was exhausted — especially on days she spent another hour driving to work.

So shortly after Chicago Public Schools announced this summer that it wouldn’t provide busing to about 5,500 eligible general education students, largely those in gifted and magnet programs, Meléndez and her husband pulled their two youngest children out of the school. It was a wrenching decision: The Spanish dual language school felt perfect for the couple, who are originally from Puerto Rico and want their children to be bilingual.

Meléndez recalls telling her husband: “Sweetie, I can’t do this anymore.” Their oldest, a seventh grader, now takes a CTA bus two hours each way.

The family’s decision illustrates one way Chicago’s school bus crisis could impact enrollment and the socioeconomic and racial diversity of the city’s magnet and gifted programs. Many of these schools were created under a federal desegregation consent decree, but have been criticized for lacking diversity and enrolling larger shares of white and Asian American students since federal oversight ended in 2009. As working-class families find it difficult or impossible to take their children far distances to school, the absence of a transportation option could segregate the schools even more.

Parents at Inter-American are looking for solutions, as other gifted and magnet programs have also sought their own alternatives to the lack of busing.

Inter-American is already seeing the impact and some families have left.

“I would be really worried about what this change would mean for the demographics for these schools and for the goals of magnet schools in Chicago more generally,” said Halley Potter, an expert on school integration policy and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation.

Parents share transportation challenges

Citing a severe driver shortage, Chicago Public Schools announced in late July that it would limit bus transportation this year to students with disabilities and those who are homeless, both groups which are legally required to receive transportation. The district is currently under state watch to make sure it’s meeting those legal requirements.

The district said it has pursued several solutions to hire more drivers, including boosting driver pay rates by $2 – to $22 to $27 an hour – and hosting hiring fairs. But as of late last month, the district still had only half the number of drivers on hand and announced that busing would not be extended to more families for the rest of the semester. The district offered CTA cards to the 5,500 children who lost busing, but as of late last month, just about 1,600 took that option.

In a statement, CPS spokesperson Samantha Hart said the district is “acutely aware” of the challenges families are facing with longer commutes.

“We are committed to continuing to work with our vendors, City partners and our families to identify solutions and ensure every eligible student has safe, secure, and reliable transportation to and from school,” Hart said.

The transportation crisis has already had a small impact on enrollment at Inter-American, where nearly half of the school’s 641 students come from low-income families. Fifty-three families were eligible for transportation at the school. As of Oct. 2, six children have transferred out of the school due to the lack of transportation, according to the district.

At least two more children transferred out after Oct. 2 because of transportation issues, said Maria Ugarte, chair of Inter-American’s Local School Council. Ugarte has also heard from many parents who are considering leaving, and she wonders how lack of busing will impact next year’s enrollment.

At a meeting last month with the school’s principal, one parent said he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up the commute to school. A mother shared that her commute involves taking the CTA with her three children, including a 2-year-old, every morning and evening— and doing that daily is becoming stressful.

Alexis Luna, who lives in Belmont Cragin, splits dropoff and pickup responsibilities for her third grade daughter with the girl’s father. But her daughter may have to miss school on days that the girl’s father is out of town for work, since Luna’s work schedule is inflexible and she can’t take days off.

Luna “lost everything” when her business closed during the pandemic, so she cannot afford to miss work or quit. She said she is struggling to pay for the increased gas costs.

For Rocio Meza, the lack of transportation means she can’t search for a job this year as she handles the hourlong pickup and dropoff each way at Inter-American for her 12-year-old daughter. She’s also responsible for driving her older son with disabilities to doctor’s appointments on some mornings, which sometimes makes one of the children late.

She and her husband have discussed transferring their daughter out of Inter-American – two other schools are within a few blocks of their house – but the family loves the school.

”Do I really want to do this and give up the education and experience she’s getting at Inter-American to go to another school?” Meza said.

Some attempts to find solutions at the school level haven’t come to fruition.

The school’s principal, Juan Carlos Zayas, launched a voluntary task force with parents to look for ways to ease the transportation issue. Ideas included a rideshare app and hiring a bus company on their own, according to recordings of the meetings. Both options would likely be too costly for parents, task force members said. For example, one parent found a company that would charge $158 per child this month — if the bus was full with just a couple of stops.

The district granted the school $157,000 in funding to host before- and after-school programs to accommodate more flexible pickup and dropoff times. The principal recently surveyed families for their interest and expects programming to start Oct. 23, a district spokesperson said.

Last month, Luna tried to distribute a survey to arrange carpooling for interested parents. The survey asked for information such as where their child’s old bus stop was and how many children they had. Zayas emailed Luna and several other parents that the “attempt to collect personal information” was a “clear violation” of district policy and that it was circulated to teachers without his knowledge.

District officials pointed to a CPS policy that prevents anyone from circulating ads, subscription lists, meeting invitations, books, maps, articles, or other political or commercial materials among school employees or students without approval from the principal or other district officials.

Still, some parents are trying to figure out carpool arrangements, Luna said.

Transportation woes could decrease diversity in magnet programs

During CPS board meetings, parents at magnet and gifted programs have said they are worried that the lack of transportation will most greatly impact children whose parents don’t have flexible work schedules to take young children on lengthy transit commutes or the money and time to drive them. That could force less-resourced families to transfer out of magnet programs or gifted programs or choose not to apply for them for next school year.

Once seen as a solution to the city’s segregated schools, the city’s magnet, gifted, and selective enrollment programs have been criticized for failing to achieve their diversity goals. A 2019 WBEZ analysis found that just 20% of these schools met the definition of racial diversity embedded in a now-lifted court order for Chicago to integrate its schools.

CPS uses a lottery for enrollment in magnet programs like Inter-American. Seats are offered based on the socioeconomic status of the neighborhood a student lives in. Sometimes priority is given to siblings or to students living close to the school.

Inter-American lacks racial diversity — 85% of its students this year are Hispanic, and 10% are white, according to district data. However, the school is more socioeconomically diverse, with 47% of its students coming from low-income families, still far below the district’s average of about 71%.

During one of the task force meetings, one parent expressed concern that working-class families would leave, and more local families from the surrounding affluent Lake View neighborhood would get seats — changing the face of the school.

At the same time, less transportation for magnet and gifted families could mean more students enrolling in their neighborhood schools. Bolstering neighborhood schools is a priority for Mayor Brandon Johnson.

After pulling her daughter and son out of Inter-American, Meléndez enrolled them in her local neighborhood school, Canty Elementary. There, about half of the students are Hispanic, 44% are white, and about 2% are each Black and Asian American. Just over 43% come from low-income households.

Her daughters like the school so far, Meléndez said. Canty, which is not a dual-language school like Inter-American, is just a five-minute drive away from home. But the outcome of their story is likely not the norm: In a city as segregated as Chicago, more integrated neighborhood schools like Canty are a rarity.

Potter, from The Century Foundation, said Chicago Public Schools has done “really important work” in finding ways to spur diversity in selective and magnet schools. The district’s lotteries that try to enroll students from different socioeconomic backgrounds often result in more racial diversity, too, she said.

But, Potter said, “without transportation support, a lot of that can fall apart.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Rising share of Chicago Public Schools graduates are pursuing college, study finds

2023-10-12T18:25:42+00:00

A rising share of Chicago Public Schools students enrolled in college in recent years, and far more are earning degrees or certificates at two-year colleges.

That’s according to a study released Thursday by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and the To & Through Project, which tracks college enrollment. Additionally, the study found that more Chicago students than ever are projected to pursue and complete college over the next decade.

The study’s findings run counter to national trends of sagging college enrollment during the pandemic; nationwide enrollment in two- and four-year colleges fell by .6% from 2021 to 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Many young people across the nation are questioning whether higher education is worth the cost, said Jenny Nagaoka, one of the study’s authors and deputy director of the Consortium on School Research.

Higher education is “tremendously expensive, student debt is a huge issue [and] ultimately for a lot of students they’re unclear if the payoffs will be there,” Nagaoka said. “But CPS students are still going to college. They’re still seeing there’s value in it.”

Research shows that a college education can lead to better salary-earning potential, provide better access to high-quality housing, and contribute to better overall health, according to a review of literature by Healthy People 2030, a federal government-led project that tracks health data.

“We are hearing so much discouraging news about achievement in our schools right now, and this is not to say that’s not real, but I think it’s really important to note that at the same time, we’re actually also seeing increases in attainment,” Nagaoka said.

The study used a measure called the Post-Secondary Attainment Index, or PAI, to project college enrollment and completion based on current high school graduation and college enrollment and completion rates. Researchers calculated graduation rates slightly differently from the district, which is why they’ve come up with an 84-percent graduation rate for 2022 versus 82.9% reported by CPS. (The authors emphasized that the index is not meant to be a prediction; rather, it is a “starting place” to understand how to improve current patterns.)

This year the index is 30%, meaning that if CPS graduation and college enrollment and completion rates remained the same over the next decade, 30 out of 100 current ninth graders would earn a college credential by the time they are 25, researchers project. That is a 2.4 percentage point increase over last year and the highest rate on record since researchers began calculating this index in 2013. At that time, the index was 23%.

This year’s ninth graders were in middle school when the pandemic shuttered school buildings.

Nagaoka said they’re “cautiously optimistic” that these trends won’t reverse in the future, since this year’s record-setting data reflects students who were in high school and college during the pandemic.

But the study also found significant racial disparities within the data. For example, 66% percent of Asian American women would earn a college credential over the next decade according to the PAI, but just 13.6% of Black men would do the same.

During an event Thursday announcing the study’s findings, CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova acknowledged that the district has more to do to close racial disparities.

“With these groups, especially at the high school level, we’ve learned that one of the most impactful ways we can provide support is by establishing partnerships that will provide mentorship and guidance to the students throughout their high school experience,” she said.

The researchers also studied college enrollment data from 2022 and college completion data from 2021, based on data that was available. Some highlights included:

60.8% of CPS students who graduated in 2022 immediately enrolled in two-year or four-year colleges, 1.5 percentage points higher than the class of 2021.
There are stark racial disparities in who pursued college upon graduation in 2022. For example, nearly 80% of white women immediately enrolled in college upon graduation, while just 45% of Black male students did the same.
Just over 53% of English learners immediately pursued college after graduating last year, compared with 68% of former English learners.
For the class of 2015, nearly 56% of students who immediately enrolled in a four-year college and roughly one-third of students who immediately enrolled in a two-year college eventually earned a bachelor’s or associate degree, or earned a certificate by 2021.
For those who did not immediately enroll in college in 2015, roughly 3% earned a bachelor’s degree within six years. Another 5% completed an associate degree or certificate. While those rates are on the rise, they are 1.7 percentage points smaller than similar completion rates for the class of 2009.
The percentage of students who earned some sort of college credential after enrolling in four-year schools dipped by .6% between the graduating classes of 2014 and 2015.

Chkoumbova attributed the gains to various efforts across district schools to keep students interested in school and prepared for the future, including more career and technical education and dual-credit programs. She also pointed to the district’s work on how it disciplines students. Rather than suspending students, schools are using restorative practices to keep them connected and in class.

A district spokesperson pointed to a host of other programs, such as a new pilot initiative that aims to re-engage young people who are no longer in school or working. The spokesperson also pointed to efforts to get students interested in college and staying there. That includes the Direct Admissions Initiative, which tells seniors whether they can get into a select list of colleges, and another program that provides students with support and mentorship in the two years after they graduate from high school.

Nagaoka also highlighted the increase of 5.6 percentage points in the two-year college completion rate for class of 2015 graduates, the largest increase by far over at least the past six years.

That increase, researchers and Chkoumbova noted, coincides with the onset of Chicago’s STAR Scholarship, which former Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced in the fall of 2014 and offers free tuition to City Colleges for any CPS student with at least a 3.0 grade point average by high school graduation.

Chicago’s college enrollment rates beat national figures for high-poverty schools by about 11 percentage points, researchers found. Nagaoka attributed this in part to efforts by counselors, nonprofits, and others who work in schools to ensure students know about their college options.

More specifically, CPS requires students to create a post-secondary plan, or “evidence of a plan for life beyond high school,” in order to graduate from high school. That requirement forces students to have a conversation about what’s next, she said.

Ninety-seven percent of seniors in the class of 2022 submitted a post-secondary plan, a district spokesperson said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

At six Illinois college campuses, advocates seek to create ‘comfort’ for foster care peers

2023-10-02T10:00:00+00:00

Grace Ward spent four years in foster care before enrolling at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021. On campus, 200 miles south of her hometown of Rockford, she felt alone.

Before Ward entered care, she had missed three years of school and had briefly lived in homeless shelters with her mother. In her foster home, she was expected to prioritize chores over homework, babysit younger children, and call the police if a child was having a mental breakdown, she said.

A few months before coming to the university, she had a violent disagreement that involved her foster parent, leading Ward to end that relationship and head to school without knowing anyone well on campus.

“You kind of have to figure out and navigate for yourself now,” Ward said. “How do you find comfort in your life?”

Now a junior studying animal sciences, Ward has taken up a new role: peer advocate for youth on campus who have experienced foster care. The new gig, she hopes, will create the support system for others that she craved as a freshman.

Ward has joined the state’s new Youth in Care - College Advocate Program, or Y-CAP, which pairs peer advocates like Ward with other college students who have experienced foster care. The goal is for the advocates to check-in regularly with their mentees, help them navigate college life, and ultimately create a support system they’re missing.

A 2021 study found that of Illinois youth in foster care who turned 17 between 2012 and 2018, 86% enrolled in community college. Of those, just 8% graduated, according to the study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Students told researchers that they felt alone, largely weren’t aware of financial aid options, and that they needed more specialized attention.

As for what would help them, some interviewees said they wanted someone to help monitor their academic progress. Others said they wanted a support group, the study said.

“Young people with a background in foster care on college campuses are not getting the supports they need to be successful,” said Amy Dworsky, a senior research fellow at Chapin Hall at University of Chicago who co-authored the study and helped the state create the advocate program.

The state’s Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS, launched the $200,000 program this year after its youth advisory board signaled that college-bound foster youth needed more support on campus, said Chevelle Bailey, deputy director of DCFS’s office of education and transition services. Some colleges have similar mentorship programs, but “there’s no consistency” across all Illinois campuses, Bailey said.

The program has launched one year after a new state law went into effect requiring each Illinois college to have a liaison that is charged with connecting students who are in foster care or are homeless with resources and assistance.

Department officials want colleges to be more “foster-friendly,” Bailey said, noting that foster youth need extra support in a new environment like college. These youth are at higher risk of dropping out of school, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In Chicago, which houses the most foster youth of any jurisdiction, 40% graduated on time from the city’s public schools last year, compared with 83% of all CPS students, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

DCFS contracted with Foster Progress — an advocacy organization for foster youth that runs its own high school mentorship program — to oversee YCAP on six college campuses this year. That includes University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Chicago, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Harold Washington College, and Kishwaukee College.

“One reason we started small is to make sure we do this right and not take on too much we can’t handle,” Kim Peck, DCFS’ downstate education and transition services administrator.

Nearly 20,000 Illinois children were in foster care as of last month, according to DCFS data. These youth have likely experienced abuse or neglect that led them into the system, and often cycle through multiple foster homes before they age out of care at 21.

So far, Foster Progress has hired three advocates on Ward’s campus, and they’ve identified four mentees, said LT Officer-McIntosh, program manager for Foster Progress. She’s expecting to hire a total of 10 peer advocates, who are paid $15 an hour, to support up to 100 mentees across all the campuses.

There are three parts to the mentor-mentee relationship, Officer-McIntosh said.

Advocates are supposed to hold regular check-ins, where they’ll track goals for what the mentee would like out of the experience and will also navigate college questions and deadlines, such as for financial aid.

Peer advocates and mentees will also pick a short group training they want, such as on resume building, and volunteer together so that they feel more rooted in the surrounding community.

Beyond this framework, program leaders want peer advocates and their mentees to figure out a support system that works best for them.

“Our goal with YCAP is to not tell them, ‘This is how you build community from our perspective,’” Officer-McIntosh said. “It needs to be rooted in the things that they identify, that they want out of a campus community and the experience in YCAP.”

Ward wants to help mentees with whatever they need to grow, whether that means being “a shoulder to lean on” or just instructions for how to do laundry.

Sometimes when she walks around campus, Ward thinks about how different her life is now. She wants her mentees to similarly feel like they have a “safe space” that doesn’t involve talking about required paperwork or upcoming court dates, if they don’t want to.

“It’s not something to be like, ‘You’re a foster youth,’ Ward said. “It is something to be like, ‘You have gone through challenges in your life; this is a time to ease those challenges, so you don’t constantly struggle and feel like you’re struggling.’”

Correction: Oct. 2, 2023: A previous version of this story said a 2021 study was conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago. The study was conducted by researchers at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools is becoming less low-income. Here’s why that matters.

2023-09-06T22:09:52+00:00

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About six years ago, Lori Zaimi’s daughter told her mom that another longtime friend was leaving their elementary school in Edgewater on the North Side. The friend’s apartment building, she explained, had been sold to someone who was going to renovate it.

Zaimi recognized the familiar story of gentrification, when higher-income families move into a working class neighborhood and drive up property values. She’d seen property demolitions and pricey single family housing go up across Edgewater, the formerly working class neighborhood where she grew up.

She has also seen the impact in her daughter’s school, where Zaimi became principal in 2015. These days, she said, rent is “unaffordable for many of our families.”

A decade ago, nearly 73% of students at the school, Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies, came from low-income households, according to district data. Last school year, that figure was just over 34%.

Zaimi’s school is not alone. Ten years ago, 85% of Chicago Public Schools students came from low-income households. Now, that figure is 73% — a 12 percentage point drop — according to district data from the 2022-23 school year. Chicago Public Schools considers a student “economically disadvantaged” if their family’s income is within 185% of the federal poverty line. This year, that threshold is $55,500 or less for a family of four.

The drop, experts say, is driven by several factors, including gentrification, population and enrollment shifts, as well as a potential dissatisfaction with district schools.

Even though the number of students from low-income families has dropped, nearly three-quarters of the district’s student body is still considered “economically disadvantaged.” But if the downward trend continues, Chicago schools could continue to see fewer dollars than expected from the state, which funds districts in part by considering how many students from low-income families are enrolled.

For individual schools, such as Peirce, the decline has led to the loss of Title I money, federal dollars sent to schools with high shares of low-income students. But as the school has become more mixed-income, it has also become more racially diverse: Last school year, Peirce was 47% white and 32% Hispanic, compared to 17% white and 62% Hispanic 10 years ago.

As the district enrolls a smaller share of students from low-income households, Chicago’s schools continue to look different from how they did a decade ago, especially in rapidly changing neighborhoods. That shift raises questions about who schools are serving, how they should be resourced, and what the district — and the city — can do as it continues to lose students.

Low-income drops happening across Chicago, but steeper in some neighborhoods

Peirce is one of more than 200 schools that have seen their share of students from low-income families drop by more than the districtwide decline of 12 percentage points, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of the district’s public school enrollment data from the 2022-23 school year.

The analysis of the past decade also found:

While overall enrollment has also fallen, it’s still outpaced by the loss of students from low-income families. The district enrolled 31% fewer students from low-income families than in 2013, as the district’s overall enrollment dipped by 20%.
When looking at neighborhoods, schools in Lincoln Square and Irving Park, on the North Side, and West Elsdon, on the Southwest Side, saw a median 20 percentage point drop or more in students from low-income households since 2013. That’s more than any other community area.
Nine of the top 10 schools that lost the largest shares of students from low-income households were located on the North Side, across gentrifying neighborhoods.
Half of them enrolled more children last school year than they did 10 years ago, bucking citywide trends.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, 73 schools saw increases in their share of students from low-income families. One-third are on the South and West sides — regions that have also lost the most residents between 1999 and 2020, according to a 2022 report from UIC.

CPS officials use two methods to find out which students are from low-income households. They automatically count students who receive certain government aid meant for low-income families, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. And they collect forms handed out at the start of the school year that ask families to report their income, which in the past helped the district determine students who qualified for free or reduced price lunch.

In 2014, CPS became eligible for the federal universal free meals program for districts that serve at least 40% students from low-income families. With less pressure on schools to collect the forms, which are not mandatory, some have suggested that the district may be collecting fewer of them, potentially skewing the data about low-income families.

A CPS spokesperson said it could be “one of several reasons” behind the drop in the district’s share of low-income students. However, district officials declined to share the rate at which forms have been returned over the past decade, instead asking Chalkbeat to file an open records request for that information.

There’s some evidence that those forms do not get filled out, particularly among new students, said Elaine Allensworth, who studies education policy and is Lewis-Sebring Director of the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

In the 2014-15 school year, 86% of preschoolers and 81% of kindergartners were listed as coming from low-income families, on par with children in other grades, district data show. The next school year, after the district became federally eligible for universal free lunch, around 62% of preschool and kindergarten students came from low-income families, while figures in older grades shifted just a couple percentage points from the previous year.

“That says to me new families that are coming into CPS are not signing up for free lunch,” Allensworth said, who added that population shifts are also a likely contributing factor.

The current data for early grades could also signal that CPS is likely to see its low-income population decline further. Last school year, nearly one-quarter of preschoolers and close to half of kindergarteners were from low-income families, compared to more than three-quarters of students in nearly all of the older grades.

Multiple principals told Chalkbeat they don’t believe missing paperwork is a big contributor — or that it is a factor at all — since their funding heavily relies on collecting those forms.

Another factor in the drop of low-income students could be a slight uptick in families seeking out private schools. Of Chicago’s low-income families, 10% were enrolled in private school in 2021 — an increase of 3 percentage points from 2019, according to an analysis of Census data by Jose Pacas, chief of data science and research at Kids First Chicago. That’s after little change since 2012, the last time there was a similar increase.

That coincides with the COVID pandemic when CPS switched to virtual learning, as well as the launch of Illinois’ tax credit scholarship program, which began in the 2018-19 school year. The program grants tax credits to people who fund scholarships for low-income students who want to attend private schools. That program is expected to sunset this year.

Some low-income parents, like Blaire Flowers, say they’re frustrated with the lack of good school options available in the neighborhoods they can afford to live in. Her daughter takes two buses to a charter high school miles away from their home in Austin on the West Side because Flowers wasn’t able to find a school she liked in their own neighborhood.

West Side parent Blaire Flowers, pictured in the center, is surrounded by four of her five children.

The mother of five also fears that CPS won’t provide her 4-year-old son who has autism with an adequate education. She’s already struggled to secure bus transportation for him this year, and she’s heard frustrations from parents of older students with disabilities who have had trouble securing services they’re entitled to.

If Flowers left Chicago, she’d follow in the footsteps of many friends and family members, some who found the city too expensive, she said.

“Everyone I know, that I was close to, has left the city,” Flowers said.

As neighborhoods gentrify, schools face stark choices

The demographic changes in Chicago Public Schools are largely a reflection of a changing city, experts said.

From 2010 to 2020, Chicago’s population grew by 2%. The median household income also grew by more than $20,000, according to U.S. Census estimates. But during that time, the school district saw enrollment decline by 60,000 students. In recent years, the city’s population has dipped by 3%, driven in part by an exodus of working class families.

“The share of working class families in Chicago is decreasing with time, as its industry and economy shifts toward white collar jobs that skew upper class, college educated,” said William Scarborough, the lead author of the UIC report, who is now an associate professor of sociology at the University of North Texas.

School closings, including the mass closures under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, may have also pushed some working-class families to leave the city if they lost a beloved neighborhood school, Scarborough added. More people left the majority Black census tracts that experienced those 2013 school closures versus similar areas that did not, according to a WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times investigation.

As schools lost students, some principals doubled down on enrolling the kids who lived in their neighborhood.

That’s what happened at Alexander Hamilton Elementary School in Lake View on the North Side, which saw one of the biggest drops in the share of students from low-income families. In 2013, Hamilton enrolled nearly 40% of children from low-income households, according to district data. That dropped to roughly 9% last school year.

James Gray, who was the principal from 2009-17, inherited an enrollment crisis when he took over Hamilton, which had narrowly escaped closure. The school enrolled 243 students when he arrived – roughly half of the almost 500 it served in 1999. He set out on what he called a “guerrilla effort” to sign up more neighborhood children, offering tours of the school, hosting weekend events and open houses, and even venturing to the park to chat up parents of toddlers — or potential future students.

Gray was successful. By the time he left, enrollment had jumped back up to about 480 students. He noticed that his students were increasingly coming from wealthier families. They were also more white. But that’s who lived in the neighborhood.

In 2013, the school was 47% white, 12% Black, 30% Hispanic and 4% Asian. Last school year, 73% of students were white — on par with the racial makeup of Lake View — while just 3% were Black, just under 13% were Hispanic, and nearly 4% were Asian American. (Hamilton’s current principal did not respond to a request for an interview.)

Though the shifts at individual schools can be stark, the racial breakdown districtwide has only changed slightly. As of last school year, the district’s students were 4% Asian American, 11% white, 36% Black, and 46.5% Hispanic. Ten years ago, 3% were Asian American, 9% were white, 40.5% were Black, and close to 45% were Hispanic.

Research has shown that students in diverse schools, both socioeconomically and racially, perform better academically than schools that are not integrated.

At the same time, families who become the minority may not feel as included or even shut out from their schools. As more neighborhood white families enrolled at Hamilton, Gray said, he received an anonymous note that said he had “driven Black and brown families away.”

It also stung when former students would visit and notice improvements at the school — bankrolled, in part, by parent fundraising efforts — such as new hoops and backboards in the gym and a new science lab.

They would say some version of, “Oh Mr. Gray, I wish you could have done this while I was here,” he recalled.

“They realized their experience was different from the kindergarteners or first graders’ experience over time,” Gray said.

While the demographic shifts have led to more income and racial diversity at some schools, that diversity could be fleeting as gentrification continues to push longtime neighborhood families out.

John-Jairo Betancur, professor of urban planning and policy at UIC, said as property values “dramatically” increase, families — and their children — leave for other neighborhoods or the suburbs, causing enrollment in the local schools to drop. At the same time, birth rates are declining in Chicago and more households do not include children, Betancur noted.

That has happened in Logan Square, home to Lorenz Brentano Math & Science Academy elementary school.

Similar to Hamilton, Brentano was at risk of closure due to low enrollment in 2013. Principal Seth Lavin’s priority when he became principal in 2015 was to bring in more students. He, too, was successful through various efforts, giving more than 100 school tours his first year, he said.

Today, the school enrolls almost 700 children, a 62% increase from a decade ago. But the school looks different. Roughly 39% of students come from low-income households, a nearly 50 percentage point drop from 2013 when 88% did. The school has also become more diverse: Half of Brentano’s students are Hispanic, just over a third are white, and about 5% are Black. A decade ago, 85% of students were Hispanic, while 5% were white, and 4% were Black.

Lavin said he is worried that gentrification has already “pushed out a lot of families” and will continue to do so, leading to a “great sense of loss” for families who have long called Logan Square home, and believe Brentano is at the heart of their community.

“It’s heartbreaking that even as we grow, and there’s expansion and the programming and things we didn’t have before that we’re able to get because of enrollment growth, that we’re losing families that should have those things, too,” Lavin said.

‘We have to keep kids in neighborhoods’

Lavin can spot six buildings outside of Brentano that have been renovated and hiked up rent prices in the last several years. He said the city “desperately” needs affordable housing and a pathway to home ownership.

“If we want to keep kids in neighborhood schools, we have to keep kids in neighborhoods,” he said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has said that building more affordable housing and boosting neighborhood schools are priorities for his administration. Specifically, the mayor wants to grow the district’s Sustainable Community Schools model, which provides extra money for wraparound support and programming.

Separately, Johnson’s vision for school funding would alleviate pressure on principals to enroll more children in order to have a well-resourced school, or even to avoid closure. Though in the past more students meant more funding, CPS officials have been shifting toward funding schools based on need, not just enrollment. But that comes as the district stares down financial challenges, including a fiscal cliff as COVID relief dollars are set to run out.

If the city does nothing to address issues such as affordable housing, Chicago will shift toward “a city that primarily serves elites,” said Scarborough, the author of the UIC report.

District officials have not yet researched the trend around losing students from low-income families, a spokesperson said.

But many principals have noticed these shifts for years.

Even with how her community has changed, Zaimi’s school has two counselors and more staff focused on academic intervention. Still, she wishes she had more funding to hire a parent resource coordinator who could work with families, as well as instructional coaches who could help new teachers or those using new strategies in the classroom.

After all, she emphasized, her students have a lot of needs, regardless of their income. And, last year, more than one-third — about 370 — came from low-income families. That’s larger than the enrollment of entire schools in Chicago.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Thomas Wilburn is the senior data editor for Chalkbeat. Reach Thomas at twilburn@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago parents, advocates call for transparency in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s school board picks

2023-06-16T19:26:03+00:00

A group of Chicago parents and advocacy organizations are urging the mayor’s office to keep the public better informed about upcoming appointments to the city’s Board of Education.

In a Wednesday letter, the advocates, who are primarily focused on education and disability justice, asked the mayor’s office to do an open call for members, increase transparency around the qualifications for selection, and outline the administration’s goals for the composition of the school board. Along with the letter, the group also asked to meet with the mayor.

Four of seven current school board terms are set to expire on June 30, but Mayor Brandon Johnson could replace all of them like his predecessors did. He will be the last mayor to appoint members of the school board before Chicagoans get the chance to vote for their school board members.

In 2024, the board will expand from seven to 21 people — a much larger school governing body compared to other major cities — with the mayor appointing the school board president and 10 of those seats. By 2027, the board will be fully-elected.

Until then, said Miriam Bhimani, Johnson should live up to his campaign promise to “stand for the people.”

“Standing for the people means that you need to trust and respect the deep reservoirs of experience and knowledge that families have in a city, and you do that by being transparent,” said Bhimani, a researcher for one of the letter’s signees, FOIA Bakery, which focuses on transparency.

In a statement to Chalkbeat, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said that “As a Chicago Public Schools parent and former educator who fought for an elected representative school board, Mayor Johnson is a partner to many of these individuals and organizations seeking education justice. He sees them, he hears them, and he will ensure that appointments to the Chicago Board of Education reflect the principles they value.”

While on the campaign trail, Johnson told Chalkbeat that in the transition to an elected board, “We need candidates who are deeply invested and knowledgeable from the communities served to have a fair chance to win races to influence the education of their children.”

In a press conference last week, Chalkbeat also asked Johnson when he planned to appoint school board members.

“We’re going through a process now where we are reviewing those who are currently on the board, and those who ultimately align with our vision,” Johnson said. He also said his deputy mayor for education Jen Johnson is working with him on appointing school board members.

Advocates say they want that vision to be more clearly defined and communicated to the public. Bhimani said the administration has stayed “opaque” about the process so far.

“What does the CPS board do and why do they do it? We really need the answer to that question from this administration,” Bhimani said. “What are the metrics of success and who are they doing it for? Are they there for the taxpayers? Are they there for children in the system?”

The letter sent Wednesday listed priorities for experience and expertise that board members should have, including in bilingual education, undocumented students, unhoused students, students who are incarcerated, and students with disabilities.

Terri Smith, a parent advocate who has a daughter with hearing loss, said she wants board members who have expertise and personal experience with students with disabilities.

“Unless you consciously decide how you want to comprise the board, then all you’re doing is hunting and pecking for solutions to things and hoping that you come up with the right one,” said Smith, who signed the letter. “Even if you do research, it’s still taking more time than it should if you had a content expert right there on the board.”

Cassie Creswell, director of Illinois Families for Public Schools, also stressed experience with students with disabilities as a priority. She said that’s especially important after a state investigation found Chicago Public Schools did not fully train staff on use of restraint and seclusion, which put students with disabilities particularly at risk. An April letter from the Illinois State Board of Education outlined violations, including untrained staff using outlawed methods of restraint.

Chicago Public Schools said in a statement that top district and Board of Education leadership has been “transparent about the need for improved systems, strategies, and services” to support students with disabilities, and that the district will “remain committed” to working with ISBE, parents and advocacy groups to develop improvements.

Creswell said that before the transition to elections, the appointed school board must be prepared to address this issue.

“There is a backlog of things to deal with that are extremely urgent right now – the district’s recognition status with the state being at stake because of unresolved special education issues that involve literally life and death matters for children,” Creswell said. “These board appointments, that’s who we’re legally putting in charge of addressing this, so it really matters.”

Creswell said transparency in the appointment process is not only crucial for the upcoming vacancies but for the transition to a hybrid and then fully elected board. She wants meetings to be more accessible. Currently, the board meets during weekday working hours in the Loop, which Creswell said prevents many people from attending.

Smith also said this is a time to set precedents.

“When elections happen, we want people to feel that it’s important to come forward and say ‘I’m electable because I bring this to the table, not just because I’m rah rah or I have a political affiliation.”

Max Lubbers is an intern for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Max at mlubbers@chalkbeat.org

Chicago wants schools to adopt a new $135 million curriculum. It is getting high marks and pushback.

2023-03-31T11:00:00+00:00

When Andrew Avila landed his first teaching job at Chicago’s Bronzeville Classical Elementary in 2021, he got to work creating lesson plans for his students, who would be returning to in-person learning amid the pandemic.

The newly minted science teacher had access to Skyline, a new online curriculum created by Chicago Public Schools. It offered a wealth of materials and ideas connecting science to his students’ experiences. A lesson on thermal energy, for example, explained how air conditioner units increase summertime temperatures in Chicago.

Chicago teacher Andrew Avila, who uses Skyline at Bronzeville Classical Elementary, has occasionally felt overwhelmed by the volume of resources on the platform.

But at times, Avila felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of lessons and other materials, housed on a digital platform that could be tough to navigate.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m drinking water from a firehose because there are so many resources I can turn to,” Avila said.

CPS is betting big that Skyline — the unprecedented $135 million trove of lessons in math, reading, science, social studies, and other subjects — will help students bounce back from COVID’s profound academic damage.

The curriculum remains voluntary for schools, but the district has started pressing campuses that have not yet adopted Skyline to prove they have other quality curriculums in place.

An analysis by Chalkbeat and WBEZ found that roughly half of the district’s campuses report using Skyline for at least two subjects, with the highest adoption rates at schools that serve predominantly low-income Black students. In other words, Skyline is shaping the learning of tens of thousands of students, including some of Chicago’s most vulnerable, amid a high-stakes pandemic recovery.

District leaders say that by ensuring students get lessons that reflect their grade levels, Skyline helps teachers speed up learning rather than constantly backtracking to material students should have learned earlier. Some educators praise Skyline for offering rich resources that help novice educators such as Avila hit the ground running and seasoned ones rejuvenate their teaching.

But others say the curriculum is not ready for prime time. A wonky digital platform can make it hard for teachers to navigate a slew of lessons and assignments that many say can be overwhelming. In some subjects, student materials include dense blocks of text with few visuals that can especially challenge struggling learners.

The district says it is continually strengthening the curriculum — created in-house with help from several curriculum companies — with input from educators and students, including recent improvements to the online platform. Still, some educators remain wary of a centralized curriculum in a district that has traditionally given teachers leeway to design their own lessons.

Getting the Skyline rollout right is enormously important, say curriculum experts such as David Steiner at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education. He notes that many teachers are routinely pulling materials off the web, acting “like DJs for playlists of instructional materials” — a task that’s unfair to lay on overworked educators and one that leaves students’ education to chance.

“In this moment of fragility and uncertainty, we need to reduce the zone of ‘anything goes’ and chaos, and, ‘This is my unique curriculum and my unique classroom,’” he said.

How a uniquely Chicago curriculum originated

In Chicago, wealthier schools have often been able to buy quality learning resources while low-income campuses made do with cobbled-together or outdated materials and books.

Former Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson saw a solution: a curriculum bank filled with high-quality lessons in every subject. She said it could tackle massive disparities in academic achievement across the city’s 500-some district-run campuses. What’s more, by developing it in-house, experts could tie in Chicago’s history and present day, making it more engaging for students.

The district enlisted five companies to help develop and implement the lessons and built-in assessments, with input from some Chicago teachers. It came to draw heavily on federal COVID-19 relief dollars to foot the six-year, $135 million bill. Ultimately, Skyline — and the technology it relies on — became some of the priciest items the district bought from outside vendors with pandemic recovery dollars.

Chicago formally launched Skyline in the summer of 2021, a couple of weeks before Jackson stepped down.

Javee Hernandez teaches her sixth grade students social studies using the new Skyline curriculum at Bronzeville Classical Elementary School.

That summer, Javee Hernandez — a veteran social studies teacher at Bronzeville Classical whose classroom is across the hall from Avila’s — joined principal Nicole Spicer and other school leaders in deciding whether to adopt the new curriculum. Bronzeville Classical, a test-in school on the South Side where students learn a grade ahead of their age, had opened just a few years earlier, in 2018.

The administration felt the school’s math and reading coursework was strong, but social studies and science could benefit from a revamp. Enter Skyline.

“This was a free, high-quality, rigorous option,” said Spicer. “Skyline became a resource that really was a no-brainer for us.”

The district has offered schools like Bronzeville a slew of incentives to opt into Skyline: free books and math supplies, dollars to spend on science lab equipment, expanded access to technology. But even as Bronzeville has embraced Skyline, other schools have been more cautious.

Schools skipping Skyline must defend their choice

One elementary school principal who left the district last year said she was asked to make a case that her school’s English language arts curriculum passed muster.

She and her teachers largely agreed the school would benefit from adopting Skyline in the later grades; after two years of pandemic schooling, educators felt drained and ready for a break from the labor-intensive process of designing lessons from scratch. But in the earlier grades, the principal compiled test scores and other data to argue that her teachers should be allowed to continue using their own lessons. The district agreed.

“They don’t come out and say, ‘You have to do it,’” the principal said. “But if you can’t prove your school is using a high-quality curriculum, then the pressure is on to adopt Skyline.”

Chalkbeat and WBEZ are not naming several school leaders who did not have district permission to speak with the media; the former principal asked to remain anonymous to avoid burning bridges with the district.

A high school principal said she asked most of her teachers to take last school year to “tinker” with Skyline and do the extensive professional development the district offers. But she has mandated it for a few teachers who did not have robust lesson plans and struggled in the classroom.

This year, the district asked schools to evaluate their curriculums across the board against a district rubric that defined what made for a quality curriculum and recently shared results with principals: Roughly 20% of campuses do not have quality curriculums in reading, math, or social studies, and about 10% do not have one in science.

Mary Beck, the district’s head of teaching and learning, said the district is now working with those campuses to make a plan.

“If you don’t have a high-quality curriculum, what’s your plan to get to a high-quality curriculum?” she said. “Skyline is obviously the example, but not the only example.”

The number of schools adopting Skyline is growing each year. As of January, as many as 432 schools were using the curriculum for at least one subject, roughly 83% of all district schools.

In elementary schools, the English curriculum is the most popular and math is the least (not including world languages, which are not offered by all campuses).

Majority Black schools have adopted the curriculum at the highest rates. Campuses that serve mostly white students — only about two dozen districtwide — have been slowest to embrace Skyline, Chalkbeat and WBEZ found.

In Chicago, 432 schools have adopted Skyline for at least one subject, with majority Black schools using the curriculum at the highest rates.

Skyline adoption has also been slower at high schools, though some high-needs South and West side campuses were early adopters across all subjects.

A couple of principals told Chalkbeat and WBEZ they opted in mostly just to get the free resources from the district.

The high school principal said her school adopted Skyline in all subjects, but buy-in varies.

On one end of the spectrum, science teachers at her school really like the curriculum, which draws heavily on the well-respected curriculum called Amplify Science, and have rolled it out faithfully.

On the other end, English teachers dabbled but ultimately returned mostly to lessons they had developed previously. Social science teachers found the materials too challenging for struggling readers; some are picking and choosing parts to incorporate.

Some teachers struggle to navigate Skyline

Caprice Phillips-Mitchell, the chair of the Chicago Teachers Union elementary steering committee and a kindergarten teacher at Fort Dearborn Elementary School on the South Side, said she hears from a number of teachers who are unhappy with Skyline. And this school year, she experienced some of the problems herself.

Phillips-Mitchell said parts of the Skyline curriculum are too challenging for students or require prior knowledge teachers need to fill in. Because online lessons and assignments are not “user friendly,” teachers say they are printing out the lessons and making copies. Sometimes when teachers try to go back to a lesson, it is gone and replaced with something new.

She said her school was told it must adopt Skyline. That meant she had to stop using an English language arts curriculum she and other teachers liked. Phillips-Mitchell says she believes schools serving low-income students of color are facing more pressure to adopt Skyline.

“Why give anyone a curriculum that’s not really ready to be rolled out?” she said. “Do you do it in some of these Black and brown communities that may not have such a voice?”

The Chicago Teachers Union applauds the district’s effort to create a curriculum bank. But chief of staff Jen Johnson said it is problematic that some teachers are being told that it’s mandatory, while district leaders insist it is not.

“The unevenness of implementation means that teachers are experiencing dramatically different messages,” she said. “We do not support this being some kind of citywide mandated curriculum that takes away important teacher autonomy.”

Johnson said staff need more planning time to consider and digest a new curriculum in order to buy into it and implement it well. She often hears about problems with the online interface or mistakes in the materials. For example, one social studies lesson somehow omitted an entire state.

Teachers and educators across the district interviewed by Chalkbeat and WBEZ echoed the concerns about the platform and what many said is an overwhelming amount of resources. The platform is designed by a company named SAFARI Montage.

The former elementary school principal said she understands the good intention of offering teachers a wealth of resources to choose from, but “Skyline is overly packed with lessons. It’s really too much information for teachers.”

A couple of educators told Chalkbeat and WBEZ that because the Skyline platform was frustrating to use, they instead accessed math materials directly on the website for Illustrative Math, the curriculum that the district adapted for Skyline — essentially defeating the purpose of having a district math curriculum.

A current West Side elementary principal said his teachers largely moved away from using the Skyline reading curriculum in the early grades — with his blessing — because of some of these frustrations. His school sprang for a different early literacy curriculum this year.

Other educators say some of the materials for students have dense text and few engaging visuals. Much of the curriculum is translated into Spanish, but there are questions about how well-suited the lessons are for English language learners. And some teachers say it can be too challenging to make the lessons accessible for students reading below grade level, especially at the high school level.

Bronzeville Classical Principal Nicole Spicer believes that Skyline has made her teachers’ jobs easier and made lessons more engaging for students.

At Bronzeville Classical, teachers and Spicer, the principal, say they can relate to some of these concerns. But they also feel strongly the district has been listening and making helpful changes — and overall, Skyline has enriched their teaching and made their work easier.

Earlier this winter, sixth graders in Hernandez’s classroom learned about how rugged mountain geography influenced the early engineering of the ancient Inca people. She took the Skyline lesson on the topic and made it her own, creating engaging slides with stunning images of the Andes mountains.

Skyline, Hernandez says, has helped her cut down significantly on the time she used to spend on nights and weekends looking for lesson materials online.

Later, students explored design and engineering by the Spartans and ancient Greeks — culminating in a discussion of how these long-gone cultures influence design in present-day Chicago, such as its Soldier Field.

“They’re able to make that connection with the past and the present, which is really neat,” Hernandez said.

Javee Hernandez’s adoption of Skyline has saved her time on curriculum development over nights and weekends.

Beck, the teaching and learning head, says the digital curriculum was designed to be revised and improved quickly in response to teacher and student feedback. District leaders meet regularly with a steering committee of 120 teachers to get ongoing feedback. Beck said the district worked with SAFARI Montage to improve the platform and revamped some courses and units. It’s now focusing on upgrading materials meant for students.

Isabella Kelly, a member of a districtwide student advisory group, said fellow students had both positive feedback and suggestions for improving Skyline during a focus group on the science and French curriculums she hosted last spring.

Kelly, an Ogden High senior and student leader with the group Mikva Challenge, said students found the lessons engaging and loved the opportunities to collaborate on projects and work in small groups. But they also sometimes struggled navigating the online platform.

“The biggest challenge they faced was learning along with their teachers,” she said. “They wanted a little more assistance.”

Skyline is a key tool for academic recovery, district leaders say

In a recent webinar, district leaders reminded principals that rolling out a new curriculum is a heavy, time-consuming lift, and urged them not to get discouraged by the “growing pains,” as Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova put it.

By keeping lessons and assignments squarely on grade levels, the curriculum can play a key part in COVID academic recovery, officials have said. It’s encouraging teachers to avoid constantly reteaching material from earlier grades — an approach shown to hamper academic catchup. That’s challenging work, Beck acknowledged, but the schools can layer other support, such as a specialized program for struggling readers called Wilson.

Beck said Chicago has worked with a group of curriculum experts to continually evaluate Skyline and better understand its impact on student outcomes, but that’s still a work in progress. The University of Chicago is studying whether the curriculum is paying off in early literacy improvements.

Steiner, at Johns Hopkins, says he is generally skeptical of the enormous energy and expense that go into creating an in-house curriculum in all subjects given the quality of off-the-shelf curriculums — especially if the district makes it voluntary. But he said rallying around a strong curriculum, particularly the collaborative work of teachers adopting it as grade level or subject matter teams, can be powerful for urban districts such as Chicago.

Some educators say that in a district where top leadership has been in flux for years and initiatives come and go, they are reluctant to buy into Skyline in a big way.

But Chkoumbova said the district knows adoption is a “long and hard process for schools,” and Skyline is here to stay.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.

How one Chicago school social worker is grappling with COVID’s toll on students

2022-12-09T12:00:00+00:00

Inside a staff bathroom at Piccolo Elementary School on Chicago’s West Side, Mary Difino wiped away tears and tried to catch her breath. It had been a long day in another stressful week.

A spate of fights and a string of cyberbullying incidents among students two months into the school year had taken a toll on Difino — the school’s only social worker.

In the last six years, she has juggled caseloads across two separate schools, participated in an 11-day teachers strike, and navigated a pandemic that upended schools for 18 months.

Still, Difino had harbored hopes that COVID-related disruptions had passed, and things might be getting back to normal. After all, this was supposed to be the year Chicago Public Schools — and its 322,000 students and 39,300 staff — recovered from the upheaval of the pandemic. This would be “one of the strongest years ever” in the district’s history, CEO Pedro Martinez said on the first day of school this fall.

At first, Difino felt that might be the case. Even her students described school as “more chill” with “less drama.”

But she soon realized her students’ trauma was deep-rooted.

Students were behind academically. Behavior problems were going up. Staff shortages at the school that serves Latino and Black students continued to stretch an already depleted workforce.

It felt, Difino said, “just as hard as last year.”

She was maneuvering between crises and helping the behavior team come up with school-wide plans to address some of the fighting and bullying. Plus, she still had to keep up with her regular caseload and small group counseling sessions.

Difino’s job as a school social worker is like “four jobs combined into one,” she says. She’s also responsible for supporting students with disabilities — and managing the paperwork that goes with their Individualized Education Programs or 504 plans — which includes doing diagnostic assessments and meeting with parents and other school staff.

In the bathroom, Difino took another deep breath, then headed back to her office. There she tidied up and fixed her desk. She grabbed her soccer bag from that morning’s Piccolo girls soccer team practice and a binder full of drills and activities. Her role as coach for second, third, and fourth grade students is a reprieve from her frenetic duties during school hours.

She thought about what was needed to calm the fights and help her students: a restorative justice coordinator, smaller class sizes, perhaps another social worker.

But as Difino left for home that night, that wish list seemed far away — and she just felt exhausted.

Chicago doubles number of school social workers

The week before students returned to Piccolo in August, Difino recruited her boyfriend to help set up her office.

They adjusted furniture, arranged plants, and decorated the walls with posters plastered with encouraging phrases such as “We rise by lifting others” and “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

It would be Difino’s second year full-time at Piccolo, rather than bouncing between two separate schools. It is something she and other social workers in the district have long wanted: to be able to settle in and focus on one group of students in one community.

Mary Difino has advocated for smaller classes sizes, more staff, more programming, and affordable housing for student in Chicago Public Schools.

Difino often felt misunderstood as a young person, and gravitated to social work after years of working with at-risk students. She wanted to help kids who might not have the words to say what they’re feeling or what they need. Kids having a rough time at home. Kids needing a little extra support.

“I just thought it was purely wonderful there is a job that existed purely for those students,” she said.

When Difinio started her career in 2018, Chicago Public Schools had 337 social workers. Now, there are 618.

Until 2019-20, Difino juggled a caseload of about 100 students across two West Side elementary schools — Piccolo and Chalmers. It was, she says, a nearly impossible task.

That, in part, motivated Difinio to become more involved with the Chicago Teachers Union.

In her second year with the district, teachers went on strike for 11 days — and ended up winning provisions to increase the number of social workers and other key school staff. Under the contract between the district and the teachers union, every school must have a social worker by 2024.

Difino remembers the 2019 strike as a huge win, but it came at the cost of being villainized by some media and members of the public.

Federal COVID relief funds have since helped the district bolster its social and emotional staffing. Nationally, some school districts have struggled to hire these positions. In Chicago, 28 social worker positions remained unfilled district wide as of last month, according to the district staffing data.

The doubling of social workers in the district means there’s now one for roughly every 520 students — a huge improvement, but still short of what’s recommended by the National Association of Social Workers.

That organization says schools should staff one social worker for every 250 students. At schools where students are experiencing high levels of trauma, the recommended ratio falls to one social worker for every 50 students.

Even though Difino’s caseload has gone down, she still feels stretched — many days having to quickly pivot from one-on-one meetings with a student or small group sessions to deal with the fallout of a fight or another crisis. It often disrupts a consistent schedule for students in her caseload, she said.

Amid the pandemic that exacerbated pre-existing traumas and disparities, she questioned the district’s way of allocating funds for school social worker staffing positions, especially on the South and West sides — communities that were hard hit by COVID and experience higher levels of gun violence and disinvestment.

Social workers are assigned to schools based on the number of students with special education needs, population, and size. The district said it prioritized schools with the greatest needs.

Currently, every school has a social worker assigned to it. But they’re not all full-time. Only 392 schools have at least one full-time social worker, according to the district.

Federal funds also helped hire additional support, including counselors. According to Chicago Public Schools, 117 schools now have two counselors.

The district said in an emailed statement that it also aims to meet the social-emotional learning needs of students through additional crisis support, programs with wraparound services such as Choose to Change and Back to Our Future, and partnerships for supplemental mental health support with community groups and hospitals such as Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital.

But Difino wasn’t thinking about abstracts and funding philosophies when she set up her classroom.

School social worker Mary Difino spent the week leading up to the new academic year decorating her room to create a calm, welcoming space for students.

She recalled students disoriented by unpredictable quarantines, countless fights, and behavioral problems. And she remembered accompanying a few students to the hospital and frequently staying long after dismissal to manage family crises.

“The lack of consistency was really hard” for students, their families and school staff, Difino said. “Last year, we had to learn all over how to be in school, with new routines, and precautions.”

The previous 18 months of remote and hybrid instruction presented other challenges for social workers trying to address very specific goals for students with Individualized Education Programs.

Instead of focusing on school work or academic and social goals, students often preferred to talk about the impacts of quarantines and remote learning. They just wanted someone to listen, she remembered.

On the first school day in late August, Difino arrived 40 minutes before the bell to put the final touches to her room. She greeted students in the halls and walked some kids to class while others stopped by her room to check whether they would be meeting this year.

She left campus that day feeling that this would be a more manageable year than the two years that preceded it.

That sense of optimism would not last long.

Student mental health needs multiply

The return to school has been shaping up as another challenging year across the nation, said Christy McCoy, the president of the School Social Work Association of America.

“The residual impact of the last couple of years with the pandemic, all the disruptions in schools, the increase of racialized violence — and community violence,” left lingering trauma that has sparked behavioral issues among students, McCoy said.

Some students are exhibiting more aggressive external behavior including bullying and fighting in middle schools and high schools, and internal behaviors with some children struggling to focus and pay attention in class, she added.

“We have youth that are really struggling with engaging and knowing how to do school again,” McCoy said. “When you think of all the gaps of learning that have happened in the last couple of years, youth are really struggling.”

In a statement, Chicago Public Schools said it had prioritized mental health, social-emotional learning, and support services amid the pandemic that “had a disproportionate impact on our communities of color.”

“We recognize that our students continue to struggle with the impact of the pandemic as well as ongoing trauma in their lives,” the district said in an email.

Jackie King-Papadopoulos, another social worker with the district, put it more simply: At this moment, every school has high needs.

“I think that every student that is in Chicago Public Schools, every teacher, every adult that is in Chicago Public Schools is adjusting to life in this pseudo-post-pandemic world,” said King-Papadopoulos, who works at Morton School of Excellence in East Garfield Park.

Last year, King-Papadopoulos started the year at an elementary school in Austin before she was transferred to another school in Uptown. Amid higher expectations, teachers were trying to help students catch up academically while also dealing with challenging behavioral concerns, she recalled.

“Whenever you have that much of a struggle with academics, the social and emotional part is going to really be impacted as well,” King-Papadopoulos noted.

The pandemic has had a varied impact on students. The youngest children are learning to be around other kids, while middle school children are relearning how to be in a classroom, she said. Others are just not coming to school at all, adding to the social worker’s concerns about chronic absenteeism.

At Morton, King-Papadopoulos noted there is still some carryover of fighting among middle school students, but she has heard from teachers and staff that the students who struggled the most with disruptive behavior last year are doing much better this year.

“I think that everybody has made some positive strides in terms of how they’re coping with things,” King-Papadopoulos said. “I do think that everybody’s kind of breathing a sigh of relief that’s so far this year, feels about as normal as they think that it possibly can.”

King-Papadopoulos has been able to meet her caseload, handle new referrals, hold small group interventions, visit classrooms, support teachers, and is part of the behavioral health team.

But it is sometimes a juggling act, she acknowledged. “I also feel like everybody feels like the situation is very tenuous.”

Social workers confront fights, bullying, paperwork

At Piccolo Elementary, the honeymoon phase of the new school year quickly ended.

Difino scrambled to respond to big fights and bullying. She zagged between mediating conflict resolution and connecting parents with resources. She accompanied a student experiencing a mental health crisis to the emergency room.

And the physical fights didn’t let up — some even involved family members during school dismissal. In mid-September, there were four brawls in one day, involving about 16 students, she recalled.

It took an “all-hands-on-deck” approach — by Difino, the principal, school counselor, and other Piccolo staff — to untangle which students were involved, come up with potential restorative approaches and consequences, work out a safety plan, and fill out paperwork to document the fights.

“I don’t think any of us will really understand the effect that quarantine and COVID had on us,” she said later, “but I think that behaviors become habits really quick.”

On days like that, Difino said, school social workers are forced to make tough decisions of whether to scrap some responsibilities to handle a crisis or not respond to a crisis within 24 hours as required.

Piccolo Elementary school leaders, students, and community leaders gathered in mid-October to cut the ribbon on a new playground for students at the Humboldt Park campus.

In Difino’s five years at Piccolo, she has seen the school add more programming for students before, during, and after school. She credited the principal with bringing in six community partners to do art therapy, sports programs, and providing supplemental counseling, as well as implementing initiatives that center the voice of students.

On paper, Difino’s school is considered adequately staffed by district standards. According to district staffing data, Piccolo has a dean of students, a school counselor, at-risk student coordinator, and a few security staff. It also partners with Becoming a Man, or BAM, to offer counseling and social emotional services to Latino and Black boys.

Still, Difino said it still doesn’t feel like enough to address the persistent behavioral concerns.

“There’s just not enough manpower in the building to do all of that when there is such a high frequency of fights and police-involved incidents — on top of your regular responsibilities,” she said. She advocates for smaller class sizes, more staff to help mediate conflicts, and more affordable housing for students and their families.

“It’s like every school is seen as a spreadsheet,” she said, “not as humans with unique needs, or communities with unique needs.”

On one early December day, as the school year trundled to winter break, Difino pivoted from helping a student in crisis for a few hours to meeting with a mother and her child for an annual IEP assessment. For about an hour, they discussed the previous year’s goals and made new objectives for the rest of the year.

Difino spent the next few hours in her office, filling out forms and writing up paperwork.

Piccolo students are grappling with so much outside of the school walls — too many guns, not enough food, no stable places to call home, said Difino. Those pressures often translate into classroom disruptions or academic struggles.

“When kids have big behaviors, it’s really easy to not see them as a kid anymore,” Difino said. “Usually when they have difficult behaviors, they don’t have the words to say what they’re feeling or going through.”

After the holidays, she hopes to get back to a consistent schedule for her small groups and build on the progress she is seeing in her students.

She envisions tailoring activities around their specific needs and interests. Maybe talking about basketball. Or incorporating play-based learning with Legos.

She still believes in what she does and, she says, no matter the obstacles — the lack of support from the district, the cascading responsibilities — she will find a way to do her job.

Purely for the students.

Mauricio Peña is a reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering K-12 schools. Contact Mauricio at mpena@chalkbeat.org.

Youth-led Chicago initiative gets $10 million grant to expand its reach

2022-10-11T11:00:00+00:00

For years, Bezaleia “Bezzy” Reed watched her brother Caleb advocate for racial and social justice issues such as removing police from schools and curbing gun violence.

His life was cut short when he was shot in July 2020, and about a year later, Bezzy joined Communities United to honor her brother, who had been a youth leader at the grassroots organization. Reed, a senior at the alternative Chicago public school Pathways in Education, worked alongside other youth to help tackle mental health issues in her West Side community. The activism helped her heal from her brother’s death.

Now, thanks to a $10 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the racial justice organization will be able to help thousands more Black and Latino youth in partnership with the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Communities United, which formed in 2000, and the Lurie hospital will use the money to expand a youth-led initiative that helps young people heal through skills building and activism such as leadership training, healing circles, and community outreach.

The grant comes at a time when communities of color are grappling with racial inequities and trauma exacerbated by the pandemic.

Healing Through Justice: A Community-led Breakthrough Strategy for Healing Centered Communities will be expanding its efforts to help 3,000 Chicago youth develop leadership skills so they can advocate for changes at their schools or in city government, said Laqueanda Reneau, a Communities United youth organizer. As part of the eight-year initiative, Communities United and the hospital will also work with health providers to update their mental health strategies based on a decade of research with input from Black and Latino youth.

The two organizations also have worked toward removing police from schools, changing Illinois’ zero tolerance expulsion policies, and refocusing school disciplinary policies toward more restorative practices.

Helping youth heal by taking action

From losing family members to COVID-19 to losing friends to gun violence, young people are carrying a lot of trauma, Reneau said.

“This is how we should be engaging our young people,” she said of the program. “This is how we should be engaging our youth in a way that allows them to make informed decisions in a way that supports them and leads them ultimately to healing that we all need.”

“This approach to trauma really offers youth in the community an alternative to other forms of expression,” said Dr. John Walkup, chair of the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Lurie Children’s and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“There is a draw in many of the communities in which we work toward gang life or other kinds of alternatives for being powerful and strong. But this really provides a positive and powerful alternative to those other ways that youth try to dig their way out of the trauma they’ve experienced.”

Young people channel pain into activism

In the summer 2020, Marques Watts reached out to Communities United after losing his brother Derrion Umba Ortiz and friend Caleb Reed. Watts, who attends the University of Wisconsin in Madison, recalled feeling helpless over the lack of mental health resources and wanted to ensure other young people didn’t struggle to find those supports.

The 19-year-old said Communities United programs help him cope by being around other young people dealing with the same thing.

Communities United “showed me my voice matters in society and just how much I can really impact my city,” Watts said.

Like Watts, Reed said Communities United has allowed her to heal and grow mentally and emotionally during a challenging period. Most importantly, she feels heard. She’s hopeful the grant will allow the organization to help more youth dealing with trauma and fighting for change.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to continue the work we have been doing,” she said. “It’s a sign we are doing a great job and that we should keep going.”

Mauricio Peña is a reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering K-12 schools. Contact Mauricio at mpena@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago food bank supplies free lunches for children during the summer

2022-07-13T22:24:01+00:00

On the ground floor of a 23-story apartment building in Uptown, Carol Dunbar and Tammie Dennis make sure 30 sets of little hands are washed.

It’s lunchtime at the child care center inside the 303-unit Lakeside Square Apartments. Today’s menu: a barbecue chicken sandwich, corn, honeydew melon, and milk.

Asha Ali, 9, boasts she’s on a list of good eaters, much to the surprise of her mother, Meryem Ali. Asha and her other daughter, Amal, 7, don’t always finish their food at home, Ali said, but they rave about lunches at the center. Vegetables are Asha’s favorite.

The meals served at the summer program inside the apartment building come from the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a 40-year-old food bank that’s partnering with more than 150 local organizations this summer to distribute lunches to children who rely on free or reduced lunch during the school year.

The Food Depository is one of several programs providing meals for Chicago children this summer – at a time when food insecurity in Chicago and other large cities such as New York has been worsened by the pandemic.

According to data analysis by Diane Schanzenbach, Northwestern University labor economist and a board member at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Black and Latino families in the Chicago area are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, with 32% of Black households with children and 28% of Latino households with children reporting food insecurity compared to 16% of white households.

The problem is amplified during the summer when school is out.

Chicago Public Schools estimated that about 70% of students qualified for free or reduced lunches last school year. The school district also distributes free breakfasts and lunches to all children in the city through its LunchStop summer meals program. The program, which runs until Aug. 12, gives parents the option of picking up meal kits to bring home.

LunchStop operates at 75 locations throughout the city. The sites are chosen based on ZIP codes with low food access, high poverty rates, high participation in previous summers, and schools with existing indoor summer programs, according to CPS.

But not all parents can make it to the Food Depository distribution sites or CPS locations to pick up meals.

The Food Depository encourages families with need to go to Rise & Shine Illinois’ website to find locations for all summer meal sites in their area.

At Lakeside Square in Uptown, April Taylor said she appreciates that the child care center in her building provides her daughter with fun, educational programming and healthy meals. Her daughter, Janelle, 8, has regularly attended the summer and after-school programs for three years.

“During COVID, we had this inflation and everything with the food,” Taylor said. “It really is a big help for all of the parents.”

Dunbar, the community services coordinator for Lakeside Square Apartments, said she used to have to drive all the way to the south side to pick up food for the program, but now it’s delivered.

There can be challenges when welcoming new children to the program.

Many families who live in the building are from countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Vietnam, and not all parents are comfortable with English, Dunbar and Dennis said. Sometimes children are also hesitant to try the lunches when they start attending the summer program. Dunbar and Dennis make sure to explain what is in the meals and ask the children to sample the food, they said.

Meseret Alemu said the program helps her daughter, Sharon, 10, with English and supplements her daughter’s education. Sharon enjoys the meals, which help her family if they don’t have food at home or her parents are busy during the day.

Melissa Ly, 15, lives in the building and helps out when she’s not working or at school. She didn’t always have food at home when she was younger, Ly says, but she always knew she could go downstairs and get a meal.

Eileen Pomeroy is a reporting intern for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Eileen at epomeroy@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago aims to revamp its admissions policy for selective enrollment schools

2022-03-10T23:33:26+00:00

Chicago Public Schools plans to change its highly competitive selective enrollment school admissions to make the process more equitable for low-income students.

Under a recently unveiled proposal, the district could do away with its ranking system for the highly sought-after schools — a change it would roll out for the 2023-2024 academic year.

The effort is meant to provide more opportunities for low-income students from under-resourced communities to enroll at the district’s selective enrollment elementary and high schools, which offer rigorous curriculums and are among the highest-ranked schools in the state and in some cases in the country.

“When we look at enrollment patterns at these schools, we see that communities with fewer resources are underrepresented,” CEO Pedro Martinez said in a video discussing the proposed changes.

Advocates have long called for changes to the selective enrollment process, arguing that it shuts out talented students whose families might lack the resources and know-how to navigate the high-stakes applications.

They say the pandemic has added pressure and uncertainty to an already intense – and sometimes demoralizing – process for students and their families. Some have argued the district must open up the process at a time when COVID’s disruption has only widened disparities based on race and family income.

About 30% of seats at selective enrollment schools are currently awarded strictly based on a student’s test scores and grades in seventh grade. Those seats have predominantly gone to affluent, white, and Asian American students, even though Latino and Black students make up a majority of the district’s student body, according to the district.

Of those seats, the vast majority — about 85% of elementary schools and 73% of high schools — go to families in the more affluent tiers, the district said.

The remaining 70% of seats are divided among four socioeconomic tiers. The district factors in where in the city students live in addition to their academic achievement. Students from community areas with the lowest median family income, homeownership rates, and education levels get priority in admissions.

Chicago Public Schools has more than 15,700 students enrolled at selective enrollment high schools.

Under the proposal, the district is asking for the board to reconsider the process and has recommended two options:

Remove the 30% rank and distribute all seats equally among students in communities that fall into four socioeconomic tiers under the district’s system.
Continue the 30% seats for the highest-scoring students regardless of socioeconomic status, but steer more of the remaining seats to students from the most disadvantaged areas in the city.

“With equity as a core value, our district feels strongly about adjusting this process,” said Sherly Chavarria, chief of teaching and learning, in the same video to parents.

CPS officials are seeking feedback from parents as they consider changes to the selection process. The district has created a website to gather feedback and provide additional information to parents, students, and teachers to determine how it moves forward, and whether to formally propose changes to the Board of Education.

“Improving the selective process for our selective enrollment schools is a big step forward toward helping every student reach their potential,” Martinez said in a video, “ ensuring that every CPS student in every neighborhood receives a world-class education and creating a more equitable district for all our families.”

Mauricio Peña is a reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering K-12 schools. Contact Mauricio at mpena@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago comes closer to solving school bus woes six months into school year

2022-02-23T22:58:36+00:00

After wrestling with transportation woes for six months, Chicago Public Schools said it has finally met its obligation to provide bus services to students with disabilities amid ongoing bus driver shortages, but 1,000 general education students are still waiting for routing assignments.

The district said Wednesday that it is prioritizing students who require transportation under federal law — and is now planning to make transportation policy changes to ensure those students are at the front of the line for the upcoming school year.

During Wednesday’s meeting, CEO Pedro Martinez said 715 students with disabilities who were previously without bus service during the last board meeting had been routed, and the district was now transporting about 10,000 students with disabilities.

“I know this has been a struggle with the national shortage of drivers,” Martinez said. “I’m glad we are at this point.”

The district was planning ahead and would make changes to its transportation policy for next school year, Martinez said. The district’s goal is to provide services to all students but would prioritize medically fragile students, students with Individualized Education Programs, those with temporary housing, and low-income students should the driver shortage persist, Martinez said.

However, some students still remain without bus service halfway into the school year, one school board member noted at Wednesday’s board of education meeting.

Board member Lucino Sotelo lauded the transportation team for “making progress” to provide bus service for students with disabilities. Still, Sotelo acknowledged there remained “many unserved” students with temporary housing, or low-income students..

In a statement following the board meeting, Chicago Public Schools noted that transportation requests fluctuate throughout the year as students’ needs change. Since the last board meeting, the district had received 427 new transportation requests from students with disabilities, but 170 of those students had already been assigned a pick-up route.

The district currently has 17 active transportation requests for students with temporary housing and about 1,000 general education students waiting for a routing assignment.

“Like many other school districts across the country, CPS continues to adapt amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Chicago Public Schools said in a statement. “The District continues to work tirelessly to provide transportation to students amid a national driver shortage.’

Last month, the Board of Education adopted a resolution that would shift bus service away from selective enrollment schools and magnet schools by March 7 if the district was unable to meet legal obligations to provide services to students with Individualized Education Programs, medically fragile students, and students in temporary housing.

Chicago Public Schools annually provides transportation to about 12,754 students, of which 56% are students with disabilities. Students with disabilities have transportation written into their IEP, a legally binding document that outlines services they receive. The requirement is backed by federal law.

Since the start of the school year, Chicago, along with districts nationwide, had been plagued by school bus driver shortages, leaving thousands of students without a dependable ride to school. The district struggled for months to make headway.

CPS started the school year with 500 bus drivers instead of the 1,2000 required to meet student transportation needs.

Since the fall, the district’s transportation department has been teaming up with taxi firms and a company called RideAlong, which specializes in providing rides to children, in order to make up for the bus driver shortages. The district has also offered to reimburse families who opt to find alternative transportation for their child.

During Wednesday’s board meeting, Martinez called the school year a “learning process” and said he hoped to work with his transportation team to see how the district could leverage different modes of transportation in the future to meet the needs of its students with disabilities and other vulnerable students.

The district plans to go through a formal policy change over the next two to three months and gather feedback from families before proposing changes to the Board of Education, Martinez said.

Mauricio Peña is a reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering K-12 schools. Contact Mauricio at mpena@chalkbeat.org.