The rise from 47th in the nation 15 years ago is “unprecedented” according to the advocacy organization Advance Illinois, which pushed for changes to the formula for years before it happened in 2017.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said Tuesday the district should take legal action against the U.S. Department of Education for halting millions in previously awarded magnet school grants to the city’s schools.
The U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday it will not grant Chicago $5.8 million this year and $17.5 million in remaining years under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program. CPS had two active magnet school grants that support six schools.
A letter sent by the school district’s acting general counsel called the U.S. Department of Education’s demands to roll back its Black Student Success Plan and overhaul policies related to transgender students “unreasonable and untenable.”
The U.S. Air Force deactivated the Chicago school's program for noncompliance on Aug. 11, one week before school started. CPS announced it would continue JROTC through the U.S. Army.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and interim CPS CEO Macquline King rang the ceremonial first bell to mark the 2025-26 school year on the playground of Courtenay Language Arts Center.
The Illinois State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to approve new cut scores for the ACT, the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, and the Illinois Science Assessment. The changes will boost the percentage of students considered proficient — but will make comparisons to past years nearly impossible.
The cut scores for English language arts and math will be lowered, resulting in more students labeled as proficient, while science cut scores will go up, resulting in fewer students being considered proficient.
The Office for Students with Disabilities is phasing out two departments and reassigning 65 new roles to work directly with schools, an internal email from Chicago Public Schools shows. The changes aim to put high-quality instruction before compliance, a top district official said.
Chalkbeat spoke with four students who entered high school in 2021 and are graduating this spring. These young people don’t know a world without smartphones and social media and experienced a pandemic during puberty.