Chalkbeat Chicago

The proposal would put a high school where the Harold Ickes Homes once stood near 24th and State streets. 

Just 15 percent of the district’s third through eighth graders who took the test this spring met state standards in math, and a fifth of students met standards in English language arts.

“Keeping it real: You have been cheated,” Richards principal Ellen Kennedy told graduates. “This pandemic robbed you of so many of the high school experiences you so richly deserve.” 

Public hearings on the budget start next week and the Chicago school board will vote on the spending plan at its June 22 meeting.

The district’s special education classroom assistant substitute pool has been stretched thin.

Chicago Public Schools cases have increased in recent weeks, surpassing what it saw at its previous peak during the Omicron surge.

The incumbent leadership group known as Caucus of Rank and File Educators will retain power over the Chicago Teachers Union for another three years, but they face growing opposition.

A mayoral election and a transition to an elected school board loom during the next CTU leadership’s three-year term, with the potential to redraw an often combative relationship with the city. 

This spring for students across Chicago, prom — the perennial cornerstone of that final stretch before graduation — doubles as a milestone on the way to reclaiming a measure of normalcy.

Martinez, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, is experiencing mild symptoms. He began experiencing cold-like symptoms on Wednesday before testing positive on Thursday.

In December, only 5.4 percent of Dunne students were fully vaccinated. But in the past few months, the school has seen an increase in uptake to 42.3 percent, close to CPS' overall average.

Some have questioned the curriculum, and others say the Virtual Academy isn't providing enough support for English language learners or meeting the needs of children with disabilities. 

Fewer than 4 percent of CPS teachers are Black men, and fewer than 5 percent are Latino men, in a district where students of color comprise around 90 percent of enrollment.

After two years of steep enrollment losses magnified by the pandemic, the district proposed cutting budgets at 40 percent of schools, while the remainder could see comparable or increased funding.

Zapata Academy was slated to lose about 13 percent of its budget next fall — a cut that could claim eight teaching positions and a preschool classroom. The district has since said it will reverse a portion of this cut.

Sick days for mental health and getting more substitute teachers into classrooms are some of the bills approved in Springfield.

Jobs, volunteer opportunities and arts programs will be available at Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Libraries and other city agencies.

The budget package also includes a “Back to School” tax relief for families and teachers for school supplies and clothing items.

Advocates fear the cuts could undermine efforts to recover from the pandemic and thrust once-bustling campuses into a cycle of staff and program cuts that trigger more family defections.