Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third largest school district in the United States. CPS is only smaller than Los Angeles Unified School District and the New York City Public Schools (which is the largest school district in the US.'', For the 2019–2020 school year, CPS reported overseeing 642 schools, including 477 elementary schools and 165 high schools; of which 514 were district-run, 118 were charter schools, 9 were contract schools and 1 were SAFE schools. The district serves over 355,000 students.
Chicago Public School students attend a particular school based on their area of residence, except for charter, magnet, and selective enrollment schools. The school system reported a graduation rate of 78.9 percent for the 2018–2019 school year. Unlike most school systems, CPS calls the position of superintendent "Chief Executive Officer", but there is no material difference in responsibilities or reporting from what is traditionally a superintendent. CPS reported an average of 20 pupils per teacher in elementary schools and 24.6 pupils per teacher in high school. 82.5% of CPS students are Latino or African-American. 76.4% of the student body come from economically-disadvantaged, and 18.8% of students are reported as English Language Learners. Average salaries for 2008-2009 were $56,915 for teachers and $120,659 for administrators. For the 2013–2014 school year, CPS reported 41,579 staff positions including 22,519 teachers and 545 principals. In 2019, CPS reported a budget of $7.7 billion with $3.51 billion from local sources, $1.87 billion from the State of Illinois and $733 million from the U.S. Federal Government. Per student spending was reported at $13,078 in 2010.
In recent years, Chicago Public Schools has led the nation in test score improvement, learned at a faster rate compared to 96% of all school districts in the country, and as of 2017 has an all-time high graduation rate.
History
As Chicago was started as a trading outpost in the 1800s, it took several years for a citywide school system with adequate funding and instructional personnel to emerge. As early as 1848, during the first term of the 12th Mayor of Chicago, James Hutchinson Woodworth, the city's need for a public school system was recognized by the city council. A higher educational standard for the system was stated by the mayor, both to reflect his philosophy as a former teacher, and to add an attribute to Chicago that would continue to attract productive citizens. In 1922, the school board voted unanimously to change policy that allocated library access based on color, " the same privileges to Race children to enter all the libraries as the white children enjoy", but maintaining segregated schools and specifying that "in each branch library all employees should belong to the race which attended the particular school".School closures
From 2001 to 2009, CPS, under Arne Duncan's leadership, closed dozens of elementary and high schools due to classrooms being at low capacity or underperforming. Despite claims that the closures would help underperforming students, University of Chicago researchers found that most of the students who transferred as a result of the closures did not improve their performance. This is what led to the Renaissance 2010 initiative, which focused on closing public schools and opening more charter schools that were focused on one of the government structures: charter, performance, or contract. During this program's time, it has closed over 80 schools and plans to open 100 charter schools. This also include five military schools, three of which have Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs. In response to CPS's announcements in 2013 that it was considering closing nearly 200 schools, many Chicago parents, students, teachers and community activists voiced their opposition through the media and at hearings around the city. In addition, several Illinois lawmakers, including chairman of the Senate education committee William Delgado, pushed for a moratorium on school closings in CPS, citing "the disproportion effect on minority communities, the possibility of overcrowding and safety concerns for students who will have to travel further to class." On May 22, 2013, the school board voted to close 50 public schools. However, the majority of the closed schools have been in poor neighborhoods with a black population, such as Bronzeville. These areas are not only sites of demolished public housing, but now to closed-down schools. For every four schools that have been closed, three have been in these neighborhoods. Over 88% of the students affected by these closings have been African American.In a 2017 analysis, Local Government Information Services analyzed CPS’ published school occupancy data and found that CPS could save almost $200 million per year by closing more than 100 schools that are mostly empty. 304 of the 566 buildings CPS operates are “underutilized,” or at least 20 percent empty. Of the underutilized schools, 116 are more than 50 percent empty; 77 of those are more than 70 percent empty.
Student and teacher protests
In 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago initiated the closing of 54 public schools. Of the 54 public schools to be closed were 53 elementary schools and one high school. Mayor Rahm Emanuel claimed the school closings were a direct result from the nearly $1 billion deficit the city was facing due to under-enrollment at the schools. The schools to be closed were located on Chicago's South and West sides which provided education to mainly African-American Students. The Mayors decision to close the schools was met with rage and feelings of injustice by the communities affected and the Chicago Teachers Union. As a result, the CTU and other education activities responded by protesting.In May 2013, the Chicago Teachers Union were joined by students and other education activities to march against the closings of 54 public schools that year. The activists planned three days of nonviolent demonstrations across the city of Chicago. The CTU gathered an upwards of 900 protesters to participate in rally's, marches, and sit-ins against Mayor Rahm Emanuels decision to close the schools. Over 150 protesters participated in a sit-in in the middle of LaSalle Street, blocking traffic, and forcing the response of the Chicago Police Department. Many protesters peacefully left the scene when asked to by the CPD, but many held their ground. Protesters that did not agree to leave the scene were issued tickets. Over 50 people were arrested throughout the entire protests, but no acts of violence were reported.
CPS teacher strikes
The teacher's union first strike occurred in May 1969, which lasted two days. The second strike occurred in January 1971, lasting four days from January 12 through January 15. The strike resulted in an 8% teacher's salary increase and a 7% increase for school staff workers. Another strike by the union occurred in January 1973, which lasted twelve days. The union was requesting that their salaries be increased and their class sizes be smaller. On September 3, 1975, The union went on strike for eleven days as a result to restore the loss of teaching and clerical jobs, overcrowding of classrooms. In February 1980, The union striked again for a total of ten days; asking for paydays worked during financial crisis, changes to school board's spending cuts and job cuts. In 1983, CPS teachers went on a fifteen-day strike from October 3 to October 18 demanding a 10% salary increase. Superintendent Ruth B. Love offered raises between 1.6% and 4.8%, but the teachers' union rejected the proposal. The strike ended with the teachers receiving a 5% raise, 2.5% bonus and a one-year pact. Chicago public school teachers went on a ten-day strike from November 23 to December 3, 1984, which resulted in a 4.5% raise. In 1985, the teachers had a two-day walkout. CPS teachers went on a nineteen-day strike from September 8, to October 3, 1987. In September 2012, CPS teachers went on a nine-day strike, walking off the job for the first time in 25 years. The work stoppage, which began during the second week of the 2012 school year, culminated with a march on City Hall. Striking teachers voiced complaints about pay, teacher evaluations, and benefits, as well as general concerns about the neglect of the city's public school system. Soon after the strike, CEO Jean-Claude Brizard stepped down from his position. On October 17, 2019, The Chicago Teachers Union began another strike that lasted 11 days. The contract negotiated by the CTU and Mayor Lori Lightfoot resulted in the teachers winning smaller class sizes as well as more support staff. Furthermore, the students will have five of the eleven days added to their school year.Demographics
For the 2018–2019 school year, CPS reports having 361,314 students including 17,668 in preschool, 24,128 in kindergarten, 213,651 in grades 1–8, and 105,867 in grades 9-12. The racial makeup of the student body is 46.7% Hispanics, 36.6% African-Americans, 10.5% white, 4.1% Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.2% Multi-Racial, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and 0.3% unknown. Chicago Public Schools were the most racial-ethnically separated among large city school systems, according to research by the New York Times in 2012, as a result of most students' attending schools close to their homes. In the 1970s the Mexican origin student population grew in CPS, although it never exceeded 10% of the total CPS student population. From 1971 to 1977 and then to 1979, the Mexican student population in the Near West Side's CPS district 19 increased from 34% to 43% and then over 47%, respectively. In the 1980s, among the total CPS student population, the numbers of non-Hispanic Whites declined while Hispanics and Latinos, African-Americans, and other minorities increased. In 1982 16.3% of the CPS students were non-Hispanic white, while over 19% were of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and/or Cuban origin; that year the Hispanic and Latino population had overtaken the non-Hispanic White population.Schools
CPS is a system of primary, secondary, and disability schools confined to Chicago's city limits. This system is the second largest employer in Chicago.Most schools in the district, whether prekindergarten-8th grade, elementary, middle, or secondary, have attendance boundaries restricting student enrollment to within a given area. A school may elect to enroll students outside its attendance boundaries if there is space or if it has a magnet cluster program. Full magnet schools are open to citywide student enrollment, provided that applicants meet a level of high academic standards. Magnets offer a variety of academic programs with various focuses, such as agriculture, fine arts, international baccalaureate, Montessori, math, literature, Paideia programs, and STEM. STEM Magnet Academy is the first elementary school in the state of Illinois, and among the first in the nation, to offer a STEM-focused curriculum. The Chicago High School for the Arts is the system's only audition based performing and visual arts high school. Chicago was the largest city in the country without a public high school for the arts until the establishment of ChiArts in 2009.
Selective Enrollment
Elementary schools
The school system contains two levels of elementary-middle school programs which make selective admission only. Regional gifted centers have an area of focus and require one type of assessment, akin to an IQ test. Classical schools, in contrast to regional gifted centers, take a liberal arts approach focusing on all areas. Classical school applications thus require a different type of assessment.Secondary schools
At the secondary level, CPS operates ten selective enrollment high schools, the top five include, Walter Payton College Prep, Northside College Prep, William Jones College Prep, Whitney M Young Magnet High School and Albert G Lane Technical College Prep. Selective Enrollment high schools work on a point system out of 900 points:,- 300 points for the 7th grade standardized testing
- 300 points for the entrance exam
- 300 points for 7th grade grades
- Ranking: Students are asked to rank their top 5 high schools—the higher a school is on the list, the higher the chance a high school will choose to admit a student
- Points from the point system mentioned above
Other high school options
Military academies
In partnership with various Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs, six high schools are operated as public military academies:- Air Force Academy High School
- Carver Military Academy
- Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville
- Marine Leadership Academy at Ames
- Phoenix Military Academy
- Rickover Naval Academy
Career academies
- Austin Business and Entrepreneurship Academy
- Chicago Vocational Career Academy
- Dunbar Vocational Career Academy
- Prosser Career Academy
- Simeon Career Academy
Charter schools
The Noble Network of Charter Schools runs eighteen high schools. These schools receive the majority of their operating budgets from the same tax sources as CPS. Charters in Chicago receive 10-25% less public funding than traditional schools, although some studies show their student achievement and performance metrics to be the same as traditional CPS results.
However, in October 2014, the University of Minnesota released a study that shows that Chicago charter schools perform worse than traditional schools in producing students that meet or exceed standards in reading and math. The study also showed that charter schools have lower graduation rates and "are much less likely to be racially or ethnically diverse."
In 2015, the Noble Network of Charter Schools was named the best performing large public charter school system in America by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and was awarded $250,000 by the foundation.
Operations
The structure of Chicago Public Schools was redefined after Mayor Richard M. Daley convinced the Illinois General Assembly to place CPS under the mayor's control. Illinois school districts are generally governed by locally elected school boards, where each district board hires a superintendent, who in turn hires administrators such as principals, who then must be approved by the school board. In contrast, CPS is headed by a Chief Executive Officer and school board appointed by the mayor. CPS is headquartered in the 42 West Madison building in the Chicago Loop, formerly headquartered in the 125 South Clark Street building from 1998 until November 2014. The district has offices in Bridgeport, Colman, and Garfield Park. The 20 story building, managed by MB Real Estate, and originally built as the Commercial National Bank, has of space.Chief Executive Officer
CPS is headed by a Chief Executive Officer appointed by the mayor. The current CEO is Janice K. Jackson. The position was preceded by one of "Superintendent". The first individual to hold this position had been John Clark Dore, who assumed the position in 1854. In 1995, the Government of Illinois passed the Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act, which replaced the position of Superintendent with that of Chief Executive Officer. The first individual to serve under the title of CEO was Paul Vallas.;List of CEOs
The following is a table listing the individuals that have held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools since it was created in 1995:
| Name | Tenure | Citation |
| Janice K. Jackson | 2017—present | |
| Forrest Claypool | 2015—2017 | |
| Jesse Ruiz | 2015 | |
| Barbara Byrd-Bennett | 2012—2015 | |
| Jean-Claude Brizard | 2011—2012 | |
| Terry Mazany | 2010—2011 | |
| Ron Huberman | 2009—2010 | |
| Arne Duncan | 2001—2009 | |
| Paul Vallas | 1995—2001 |
;List of Superintendents
The following is a table listing the individuals that held the position of Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools from its creation in 1854 through its dissolution in 1995:
| Name | Tenure | Citation |
| Argie Johnson | 1993—1995 | |
| Richard Stephenson | 1993 | |
| Ted Kimbrough | 1990—1993 | |
| Charles D. Almo | 1989—1990 | |
| Manford Byrd Jr. | 1985—1989 | |
| Ruth B. Love | 1981—1985 | |
| Angeline P. Caruso | 1979—1981 | |
| Joseph P. Hannon | 1975—1979 | |
| James F. Redmond | 1966—1975 | |
| Benjamin Coppage Willis | 1953—1966 | |
| Herold C. Hunt | 1947—1953 | |
| William Johnson | 1936—1946 | |
| William Bogan | 1928—1936 | |
| William McAndrew | 1924—1928 | |
| Peter Mortenson | 1920—1924 | |
| Charles Ernest Chadsey | 1919—1920 | |
| John Shoop | 1915—1918 | |
| Ella Flagg Young | 1909—1915 | |
| Edwin G. Cooley | 1900—1909 | |
| Elisha Benjamin Andrews | 1898—1900 | |
| Albert G. Lane | 1891—1898 | |
| George Howland | 1880—1891 | |
| Duane Doty | 1877—1880 | |
| Josiah Little Pickard | 1864—1877 | |
| William H. Wells | 1856—1864 | |
| John Clark Dore | 1854—1856 |
Chicago Board of Education
The school board, known as the Chicago Board of Education, is appointed by the Mayor of Chicago.The Chicago Board of Education was established by the Government of Illinois in 1872 to oversee the city's public school system.
In 1988, the Government of Illinois passed the Chicago School Reform Act, which expanded the Chicago Board of Education's size to fifteen seats.
Currently, the members of the Chicago Board of Education are appointed solely by the Mayor of Chicago. This had been the case since the original creation of the Chicago Board of Education in 1872. However, in 1988, the Government of Illinois' Chicago School Reform Act had created a School Board Nominating Commission consisting 23 parents and community members and five members appointed by the Mayor of Chicago who would recommend nominees to the Mayor of Chicago. This change lasted until 1995, when Government of Illinois' Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act moved the power to appoint members of the board back to the sole authority of the Mayor of Chicago. It also retitled the board as the Reform Board of Trustees, a name which it would hold until the "Chicago Board of Education" name was restored in July 1999.
President of the Chicago Board of Education
The Chicago Board of Education is led by a president. The current President of the Chicago Board of Education is Miguel del Valle. The first individual to hold this position following the 1995 passage of the Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act was Gery Chico.Presidents of the Chicago Board of Education predating the 1995 Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act included Samuel Hoard John Dill Robertson Sargent Shriver, and Graeme Stewart.
Local school councils
In 1988, the Government of Illinois passed the Chicago School Reform Act, which created Local School Councils.Performance
The April 21, 2006 issue of the Chicago Tribune revealed a study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research that stated that 6 of every 100 CPS freshmen would earn a bachelor's degree by age 25. 3 in 100 black or Latino men would earn a bachelor's degree by age 25. The study tracked Chicago high school students who graduated in 1998 and 1999. 35% of CPS students who went to college earned their bachelor's degree within six years, below the national average of 64%. Chicago has a history of high dropout rates, with around half of students failing to graduate for the past 30 years. Criticism is directed at the CPS for inflating its performance figures. Through such techniques as counting students who swap schools before dropping out as transfers but not dropouts, it publishes graduation claims as high as 71%. Nonetheless, throughout the 1990s actual rates seem to have improved slightly, as true graduation estimates rose from 48% in 1991 to 54% in 2004.In 1987, Education Secretary William J. Bennett called the Chicago Public Schools system the worst in the nation. In September 2011, the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research published a report on the school system's performance over the course of 30 years of reform. While the report evaluated three decades of reform, it measured the progress of such policies by "analyzing trends in elementary and high school test scores and graduation rates over the past 20 years." The authors of the report highlighted five of their central conclusions:
Pension fund
The Chicago Public School pension plan has increased its debt from $2.1 billion in 2003 to $10.1 billion in 2016. The table below lists the pension debt for each year since 2003:| Year | CPS Pension Debt |
| 2003 | $2,143,885,319 |
| 2004 | $1,784,125,086 |
| 2005 | $2,422,412,769 |
| 2006 | $2,607,108,968 |
| 2007 | $1,904,575,094 |
| 2008 | $3,720,263,421 |
| 2009 | $7,257,580,085 |
| 2010 | $7,337,415,601 |
| 2011 | $6,596,539,709 |
| 2012 | $7,904,219,385 |
| 2013 | $9,334,547,550 |
| 2014 | $8,652,221,574 |
| 2015 | $9,239,622,495 |
| 2016 | $10,132,842,988 |
The Illinois state government required Chicago Public Schools to move money from education to worker pensions. CPS is the only district in the state that the state government has done this to. CPS filed a civil lawsuit to ask the courts to require the state to rewrite its rules on how it funds schools. The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on February 14, 2017, and is CPS v. Governor Bruce Rauner, Illinois State Board of Education and its chairman Rev. James T. Meeks, Comptroller Susan Mendoza, and state school Superintendent Tony Smith.