Deputy Mayor Jen Johnson is taking a personal leave to focus on health and family. It comes amid tensions between City Hall and Chicago Public Schools.

While Chicago students are graduating high school and enrolling into colleges at higher rates, more needs to be done to ensure they complete college.

Chicagoans will elect school board members for the first time on Nov. 5. Here’s a guide to who is running in each district.

Chalkbeat, WBEZ, and the Chicago Sun-Times partnered to get to know the candidates running for school board and ask them a series of policy questions. Use this guide to search who is running and find out where they stand on the issues.

2024 School Board Elections

Rafael Yáñez is the seventh new Chicago school board member

Deputy Mayor Jen Johnson is taking a personal leave to focus on health and family. It comes amid tensions between City Hall and Chicago Public Schools.

While Chicago students are graduating high school and enrolling into colleges at higher rates, more needs to be done to ensure they complete college.

Chicago Public Schools data from 2023-24 found that third through eighth grade students are making progress on state tests. SAT scores and high school graduation rates remain steady.

Chicago alderpeople questioned Martinez over the school system’s budget as Mayor Brandon Johnson continues to spar with CPS over financial troubles at both city hall and the school district.

Even as enrollment remains relatively stable, it is still far lower than a decade ago and could mean tough decisions ahead for Chicago Public Schools leadership.

The Illinois State Board of Education kicked off budget season with a public hearing Thursday to get input on what it should propose to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said he has been asking for the city to contribute more Tax Increment Financing funds to CPS in order to stabilize its budget.

After the entire school board decided to step down amid a budget dispute, criticism from city aldermen and others is raining down on Brandon Johnson.

The resignations will come after weeks of pressure from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration to oust CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and take out a high-interest loan to cover costs — which the mayor’s appointed board has so far declined to do.

The pro-school choice advocacy group contributed enough in several board districts to lift campaign contribution limits for all candidates.

In response to a complaint about bus service at Chicago schools, CPS officials cited several factors behind continued transportation problems.

The district is seeing increases in most student groups, including big bumps in the number of children learning English as a new language.

Neither the board nor Pedro Martinez directly addressed Mayor Brandon Johnson’s request for the schools chief to quit.

The Chicago neighborhoods that either Raquel Don, Yesenia Lopez, or Eva A. Villalobos will represent include Pilsen, Little Village, Bridgeport, and Brighton Park.

The Chicago neighborhoods that Therese Boyle, Miquel Lewis, Lanetta Thomas, and La’Mont Raymond Williams will represent include Washington Heights, Beverly, and Auburn-Gresham.

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The Chicago neighborhoods that Kate Doyle, Ebony DeBerry, Maggie Cullerton Hooper, or Bruce Leon will represent include parts of West Ridge, Edgewater, Rogers Park, Andersonville, Lincoln Square, Albany Park, North Park, and Uptown.

Kimberly Brown, Andrew A. Davis, Thomas Day, Carmen Gioiosa, Ellen Rosenfeld, and Karen Zaccor come from different backgrounds, ranging from teaching and community organizing to marketing and the military.

Chicago School Board District 5 stretches from the West Loop to Austin. There is one candidate on the ballot — Aaron ‘Jitu’ Brown — and two people running as write-ins: Jousef Shkoukani and Kernetha Jones.

The Chicago neighborhoods that either Jennifer Custer or Michelle N. Pierre will represent include Jefferson Park, Edison Park, Portage Park, and Norwood Park.

The Chicago neighborhoods that either Angel Gutierrez or Felix Ponce will represent stretch from the South Loop to McKinley Park, and Back of the Yards.

The Chicago neighborhoods where Robert Jones, Karin Norington-Reaves, Adam Parrott-Sheffer, and Che 'Rhymefest' Smith are vying for a school board seat stretch from Hyde Park to the Illinois-Indiana border.

District 6 has three candidates on the ballot and one write-in candidate running for a seat in Chicago’s first school board race. Here’s what you should know.

The Chicago neighborhoods that Jason Dónes or Carlos Rivas Jr. will represent include parts of Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Belmont Cragin, Logan Square, Avondale, Old Irving Park, and Mayfair.

The move comes after the teachers union claimed that CPS CEO Pedro Martinez is planning for school closures — and after the mayor asked Martinez to resign.

Chalkbeat, WBEZ, and the Chicago Sun-Times partnered to get to know the candidates running for school board and ask them a series of policy questions. Use this guide to search who is running and find out where they stand on the issues.

In recent contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union, the district proposed consolidating the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund with the state’s Teacher Retirement System.

The Chicago Board of Education can ultimately decide to keep Martinez or fire him.

Chicago’s Board of Education oversees policies that can impact how well students do in school. Academic performance has improved at CPS over the past three decades, but there is vast room for improvement.

Chicago schools chief denies teachers union claim that he is looking to consolidate schools

The Chicago Board of Education owns more than 800 school buildings, annexes, and other property. It would cost $14.4 billion to update and repair all of Chicago’s public school buildings.

The new strategic plan also focuses on providing more support to Black students, those with disabilities, younger children, and English language learners.

The Chicago Board of Education oversees many different types of schools, including magnets, selective enrollment, and charters.

The Chicago Board of Education is one of the state’s largest employers with more than 41,000 people on staff.

The plan includes several priorities meant to bolster communities with high-needs, including to improve academic achievement for Black students and reduce teacher vacancies.