Vallas: What new school board members should know about Chicago Public Schools

By Paul Vallas

01/16/2025

Chicago’s first elected school board was just sworn into office. Here’s what members should know about what the Chicago Teachers Union has done to damage Chicago Public Schools and the city’s children, plus eight steps to undo the damage.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

Chicago Teachers Union took over Acero charter schools to stifle parents’ rights

By Mailee Smith

12/23/2024

The Chicago Teachers Union played a long game with Acero charter schools: unionizing them, undermining them and then taking them over. Now students and parents are left without the charter schools they chose.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

19 of 20 schools touted by Chicago Teachers Union see reading lag in 2024

By Hannah Schmid

11/26/2024

The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing to expand the 20 “sustainable community schools” in the district. But the model doesn’t work: fewer students are proficient, absenteeism is higher.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

Election’s over. What’s next for the Chicago School Board?

By Mailee Smith

11/06/2024

Voters have chosen the first 10 members of their elected Chicago Public Schools board. Amid a chaotic fall, here are answers to some common questions about what’s next for public education in Chicago.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools

CTU-backed candidates losing majority of Chicago School Board races

By Dylan Sharkey

11/05/2024

Chicago Teachers Union allies were losing most Chicago School Board elections. CTU spent more than $1 million on its candidates, but voters made it clear they are tired of paying more to get less from city schools.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

Chicago Public Schools’ financial crisis can again be fixed by state oversight

By Joe Tabor

11/05/2024

By 1980, financial mismanagement led Chicago Public Schools to lose its ability to borrow money, to miss multiple payrolls and vendor payments, and to drop deep into debt. The state stepped in with a financial oversight authority. It’s time to do that again.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools

Fewer than 1-in-3 Chicago Public Schools students read at grade level

By Hannah Schmid

11/01/2024

Chicago Public Schools third- through eighth-grade state test scores increased in 2024, with reading finally surpassing 2019 levels. But for Chicago’s 11th grade students, both reading and math remained below pre-pandemic levels.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools sees uptick in enrollment, but still lower than 10 years ago

By Hannah Schmid

10/16/2024

For the second year in a row, student enrollment has slightly increased in Chicago Public Schools. But the effects of a decade-long annual loss of enrollment remain, with 71,378 fewer students than in 2014.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools spends more, gets poorer test scores

By Chris Coffey

10/10/2024

Chicago Public Schools’ instructional and operational spending both reached all-time highs. Did the extra money improve student learning? Nope.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools adds 2,500 staffers for 80,900 fewer students

By Chris Coffey

10/09/2024

Chicago Public Schools enrollment dropped 80,900 from the 2011-2012 school year to 2023-2024. But staffing increased by over 2,500 and costs rose $3.5 billion.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools

A way out: Bankruptcy authorization would give struggling Illinois municipalities options

Published Feb. 10, 2025 Even though federal COVID relief funds provided an unexpected windfall, that one-time jolt of cash could leave many Illinois localities even worse off than they were before. That boost in revenue allowed local governments to put off difficult budgeting decisions, and as that revenue dries up, municipalities will have to contend...

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A way out: Bankruptcy authorization would give struggling Illinois municipalities options

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Joseph Miscimarra

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students