Over the last 30 years, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has become a rare model for urban school district improvement. That success stems, in part, from an expansive network of nonprofit organizations, advocates and grassroots community leaders, business leaders, and philanthropic funders that work together — often in partnership with the district — to strengthen education citywide.
Today, CPS faces many of the same challenges as other large school districts — declining enrollment, chronic absenteeism, the looming fiscal cliff, and students struggling socially and emotionally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. CPS also faces a challenge most other districts don’t: a major change in its governance from an appointed to a much larger elected school board between now and January 2027.
This challenge also presents an opportunity for stakeholders in Chicago to come together and recapture the spirit of progress that created steady improvement in CPS over more than 30 years.
Changes and Challenges: How Stakeholders Can Support Chicago Public School Students in a Shifting Governance Landscape provides an overview of the changes and challenges to Chicago’s public education landscape pre- to post-pandemic, drawing from research and interviews Bellwether conducted with more than 20 Chicago- and Illinois-based education advocacy and civic organizations and funders. It also provides student-centered recommendations that serve as a road map to 1) create consensus and collaboration, 2) elevate community voices, and 3) build an informed electorate.
