Mauricio Peña, Chalkbeat Chicago

Chicago Public Schools provides transportation for over 17,000 students. Hundreds of students have commutes longer than an hour.

There are 59 police officers stationed across 40 Chicago public schools. Each school will convene a safety committee before local school councils vote by June 2 on keeping officers in schools, officials said.

The next mayor will be the last to have control of the school district before it transitions to being governed by an elected school board. The runoff election is April 4.

While Vallas has touted his education record, his opponents say he helped create Chicago schools’ current financial problems.

Anne Gray, a veteran music teachers at Franklin Fine Arts Center in Near North Side, is among 13 finalists for the statewide honor.

Trevor Nicholas is nominated for 2023 Grammy Music Educator Award — his second year in a row as a finalist for the honor.

The new or returning mayor will appoint a school district CEO and seven school board members to oversee the district, its $9.5 billion budget, 635 schools and the education of 322,000 children.  

All nine candidates have some tie to Chicago Public Schools and will face numerous challenges in the district if they are elected the city's next mayor.

Chicago’s principals have been unable to unionize because they were considered managerial employees under state law.

Chicago’s practice of not keeping tabs on updated booster vaccination by schools comes as parts of the country are experiencing an uptick in COVID-19.

“It’s a complicated time knowing that this is respiratory virus season, and that that surge that is coming is likely to hit across the whole city,” the city's health commissioner said.

The plan for the school on the former Harold Ickes Homes site has angered some residents and housing advocates who want the CHA to rebuild housing torn down more than a decade ago.

The move to close its Downtown campus marks the latest blow to the charter network that specializes in serving Black boys on Chicago’s South and West Sides.

The move comes after the Chicago Board of Education voted to end its charter agreement with Urban Prep to operate two other campuses in Bronzeville and Englewood.

Infinity High school’s free tutoring program was run by two teachers. Then a group of juniors stepped up to pitch in.

The campuses in Englewood and Bronzeville will remain open under CPS management, officials said. The district plans to keep teachers and staff at the school.

The graduation rate increased to 82.9 percent last year, up nearly 3 percent from the 2020-21 school year.

Chicago Public Schools’ vaccine sites will offer the updated vaccine this week. The district will alert families when the bivalent booster is available to 5- to 11-year-olds.

After 11 years of declining enrollment, Chicago Public Schools now serves 322,106 children, making it the nation’s fourth largest district after Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which serves 324,961 students.

The average school vaccination rate is 39.6 percent across all schools. Rates remain the lowest at predominantly Black schools on the South and West sides, according to a data analysis by Chalkbeat.