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.
The number of administrators and teachers in Illinois public schools has increased while the number of students has declined. Illinois is adding administrators faster than teachers.
Chicago Public Schools Board of Education candidates have varying positions on school choice, according to a Chicago Sun-Times and Chalkbeat Chicago questionnaire.
The Chicago Board of Education’s five-year plan includes redefining student success and ending school ranking based on performance. It also includes expanding sustainable community schools, which record among the lowest student outcomes.
More than a dozen candidates filled out an Illinois Policy questionnaire to give voters a better idea of who is running for office. Read their answers below.
Chicago voters will pick from 31 candidates for 10 school board seats. The Chicago Teachers Union is trying to expand its political power by pushing a candidate in each of the 10 districts.
Black and Hispanic students are around six times more likely to be proficient in reading at selective enrollment high schools compared to traditional public schools in Chicago. But the Chicago Teachers Union wants to eliminate these schools that are a lifeline to the city’s minority students.
Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...