GoCPS deadline extended to Nov. 22

A couple of students wearing coats and backpacks walk along a sidewalk with a school and fence to the right and trees lining a street on the left.
Chicago will extend the deadline for applying to schools that are not a student's zoned option. Pictured: Parents and students walk to school in Chicago on Dec. 18, 2023. (Laura McDermott for Chalkbeat)

Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest education news.

Chicago Public Schools is extending the application deadline for students who want to go to schools outside their assigned neighborhood option.

GoCPS applications will now be due at 5 p.m. on Nov. 22 instead of Nov. 15. This applies to all eighth grade students who are applying to high school.

The district has extended the deadline in the past, including in 2022. Last year, the High School Admissions Test crashed on the day CPS eighth graders were scheduled to take the exam, but the deadline remained in early November. However, high school applicants were given extra time to re-rank their choices.

The HSAT did not have any technical problems this year. CPS students took the exam on Oct. 9. The test will be given to non-CPS students applying to district high schools for the last time on Nov. 23 and 24.

The process for applying to school in CPS has been criticized for being stressful and inequitable. Even so, in Chicago, about half of all public elementary school students go to a school that is not their assigned neighborhood school. At the high school level, about 75% travel to a high school and attend an option that is not their zoned option.

The new CPS five-year strategic plan hopes to shift away from an overemphasis on school choice and increase the number of students attending school in their neighborhood or closer to home.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

The Latest

'We know Tennessee. We know our children,' said Gov. Bill Lee

Some recommendations would require legislative changes.

One of the proposals would prohibit for-profit management companies from leasing property to the charter schools they run.

Manhattan’s Beacon High School has enrolled increasing numbers of students with disabilities. But the school is struggling to accommodate them, sparking concerns over the school’s leadership.

Deandra Thompson would fill the seat left vacant by the incumbent she beat in the November election for IPS school board.

The open enrollment period for Newark Public Schools and city charter schools began on Nov. 2. Families must use separate applications to apply for traditional public or charter schools.