Chicago Public Schools Welcomes Back Students for First Day of School Monday, August 26

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CHICAGO - Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students returned to classes today for a school year that promises continued academic growth, skills development, extracurricular opportunities and time with new and old friends. As a District, CPS continues to see improvement across many academic metrics, from higher reading and math scores to ever-increasing high school graduation rates as well as operational progress, including more students routed on yellow school buses.

"Thank you to the parents, guardians, caregivers and families who have helped prepare our students for the year ahead," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "A passion for knowledge, and care for our young people is at the heart of every neighborhood school in Chicago, and as a CPS parent, I hold a deep gratitude for our teachers and staff today, with a big thank you to our parent mentors, school leaders and volunteers who go the extra mile."

Mayor Johnson and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez started the first day together at Sharon Christa McAuliffe Elementary where they rang in the school year before proceeding to Chalmers STEAM Elementary School, one of three schools in the North Lawndale neighborhood that are rolling out aligned STEAM lessons and programming this year. Mayor Johnson and CEO Martnez will end the day at Washington High School on the Southeast side. Chicago Board of Education President Jianan Shi and fellow Board members also are visiting staff, teachers, families and students in schools across the city today.

"The first day of school is a wonderful time for students to reconnect with teachers and friends and explore the possibilities of the year ahead," said Board President Shi. "We want to build school communities that foster lifelong learners and lifelong friendships as students tap into their many strengths and passions."

The District communicated with school leaders and families Sunday about work to ensure school buildings will stay cool and comfortable Monday and Tuesday while under an excessive heat warning as issued by the National Weather Service. All classrooms have air conditioning and the District works closely with our City partners, including Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications to ensure the system is prepared for any weather issues and can respond in a timely manner when any issues or concerns may arise. CPS canceled outdoor athletic competitions scheduled for Monday and Tuesday and directed any outdoor practices to be moved inside or canceled on these days. Recess and physical education classes will also be held indoors on Monday and Tuesday.

Core Instruction and Continued Academic Growth
CEO Martinez, in collaboration with District and school leaders, teachers, parents and community members, set new foundational standards of excellence for all schools in the 2022-23 school year that have continued and promise to be even more integrated in School Year 2025. The model calls for serving students with the most needs through targeted investments and staffing, such as the hiring of nurses, counselors, social workers, academic interventionists, tutors, restorative justice coordinators, and advocates for students in temporary living situations (STLS) as well as establishing reasonable class sizes and providing foundational staffing positions for all schools and more staff in schools with the greatest needs.

"I am thrilled to ring in the 2024-25 school year and continue to build on our gains in literacy, graduation rates, capital investments, and college and career success," said CEO Martinez. "We are looking forward to students' continued academic growth and well-being while also ensuring our staff and faculty have the support and resources to maintain healthy, safe, and welcoming school environments."

BACK-TO-SCHOOL BASICS
The District is employing more than 600 additional teachers and 500 more school-based educational support personnel over last school year. This includes restorative justice coordinators, teacher assistants, special education classroom assistants, and counselors. Increased staff positions follow increases among specific student groups, including Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS), English learners, and students with disabilities.

The diversity of the District's new hires remains strong; 49 percent of new CPS teachers identify as Black or Latinx, up from 33 percent in 2017, and 60 percent of new CPS teachers identify as teachers of color, up from 38 percent in 2017. The District has nearly 2,500 more teachers this school year than in 2019.

CPS educators and staff continue working hard to ensure students have access to academic support and the resources they need to focus on their education, from one-to-one devices for all students to enriching field trips and out-of-school time activities.

Like in many parts of the country, students from the city's most marginalized neighborhoods were most impacted by the pandemic, increasing academic disparities that already existed due to long-standing disinvestment in urban communities and challenging socio-economic conditions. CPS invested heavily in practices and programs that center on the instructional core and focused on learning acceleration and strengthening grade-level instruction, investing in high-quality, culturally-relevant curriculum, as well as increased extracurriculars before and after-school to ensure that students have access to rigorous and relevant lessons as well as opportunities to connect with peers and have fun while developing skills in sports, the arts, and other shared interests.

For the second consecutive year, preliminary 2024 state academic assessment data show CPS elementary school students continue to make strong academic progress, achieving gains in both English Language Arts and math when compared to 2023. Progress on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) exam, administered to third through eighth graders in the spring, reflects similar gains posted on CPS-administered tests.

CPS has seen the greatest growth in reading from 2022 to 2023 and the greatest net growth in reading from 2019-2023 among large school districts in the U.S., according to the Education Recovery Scorecard. CPS was one of just four large urban districts where students reading proficiency scores were better than before the pandemic. In Illinois, CPS not only outpaced similar districts, but we also outpaced the state as a whole in reading recovery. Due to the hard work of teachers, staff, and families, CPS students ranked first in reading gains among large urban districts and third for academic growth when combining math and reading.

The District continues to implement stronger math strategies and practices to help elementary students develop positive math identities and apply fundamental math concepts at an early age. The implementation of targeted supports such as in-school small-group tutoring time, the use of academic coaches to hone instruction, as well as stronger schoolwide support practices have increased students' access to grade-level materials and created more opportunities to accelerate and take algebra by eighth grade. For example, elementary students will participate in math fluency games, participating in learning that is both meaningful and fun, that will help students foster a strong math identity.

Ongoing attention to early literacy and development of students' foundational reading skills in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade aims to ensure students become accurate, fluent readers in the early grades. Students at all grade levels will participate in lots of writing, including creating their own unique stories, informational texts, and poetry through brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing sessions, and even publishing their work.

"Strengthening our curriculum can only go so far. We have to make our lessons interesting and engaging so students want to learn," said CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova. "We remain committed to developing material and instructional approaches that engages our students and helps them reach their full potential."

CPS investments in students' social-emotional learning and mental health support aim to provide students with equitable access to mental health resources regardless of where they live or go to school.
Through the Office of Social and Emotional Learning (OSEL), schools have access to lessons on social and emotional skills and competencies, including emotion recognition and management, empathy, problem-solving, bullying prevention, and goal-setting.

PREPARING FOR COLLEGE AND CAREERS
CPS has made significant gains in college and career readiness over the past couple of decades, with the class of 2024 earning a record-setting $2.1 billion in scholarships, the District's highest scholarship award number to date. Last year's graduates also earned more than 55,000 college credits more than prior classes.

At the high school level, CPS will continue the expansion of workplace learning, collaborating with local unions to expand student trade opportunities which offer promising career prospects and stable employment.

The District will also work to expand model career pathways in partnership with City Colleges of Chicago, local universities, and industry partners. These pathways allow CPS students to earn early college credit and participate in work-based learning along a continuum, culminating in internships and youth apprenticeships as early as the 10th grade.

In addition, the District will continue to support students with their college readiness efforts through dual credit, dual enrollment, and other early college programs. The Office of College and Career Success works with colleges and universities across Illinois to provide students with clear, accelerated pathways to high-demand, well-paying careers. At the core, these partnerships aim to allow students to transition faster from high school to a desired degree, potentially reducing time and costs. During their junior and senior years of high school, CPS students can take courses at City Colleges of Chicago through dual enrollment and or leverage AP and IB to earn associate degrees or reduce the time to an associate's degree.

FREE NUTRITIONALLY-BALANCED MEALS
Throughout the year, students across the District enjoy access to daily free nutritionally-balanced meals and snacks. In an effort to ensure students enjoy the meals served, the District's Nutrition Support Services (NSS) will continue to host student tastings of new menu options throughout the year. Prior tastings have paved the way for items such as turkey barbacoa nachos, yogurt parfait, and cheeseburger mac and cheese on cafeteria menus. In an effort to increase awareness about food sourcing, NSS will also schedule a series of farm-to-school events.

TRANSPORTATION
Amid the ongoing national bus driver shortage, the District has prioritized transportation services for Students with Disabilities and Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS), allowing families of those priority students who opt out of services to receive a monthly stipend. As of today (Monday, Aug. 26), the District will provide yellow school transportation to more than 9,000 qualifying students compared to 7,100 students at this same time last year. Another 1,913 students with disabilities or in temporary living situations accepted a monthly stipend, down from 3,141 last year as the District increased the number of students with access to yellow school bus transportation.

The District improved capacity levels through a number of initiatives, including adjusting school bell times. Strategic five to fifteen-minute shifts in bell times at 36 schools have enabled tiered student routes and increased the number of routes each vehicle can accommodate.

The District will also launch a pilot hub stop program later this fall where students may access bus transportation to their assigned school from specific locations or "hubs" each morning and be dropped off at the same location in the afternoon.

"We will continue to work relentlessly to ensure as many eligible students as possible can have access to yellow bus transportation," said Chief Operating Officer Charles Mayfield. "Our team is excited to implement the hub pilot later this fall in hopes that it can expand our services."

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