With Janice Jackson stepping down as CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will now be on the hunt for the 10th person to head the district since the position was created in 1995. Here’s a look back at the people who’ve held the spot and where they are now.
Education
A trio of Chicago colleges have already announced they will require students be vaccinated for COVID-19 ahead of the fall semester. On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said such a requirement for all college-bound students is “under discussion.”
Six public meetings, including one held entirely in Spanish, have been scheduled for the first week in May before CPS officially releases its fiscal year 2022 capital plan later in the summer.
More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced school closures around the city, Chicago Public Schools says it is planning to resume in-person learning full time for students this fall.
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would invest $25 billion to convert the nation’s fleet of gasoline- and diesel-powered school buses to electric vehicles, building on a component of President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan to improve children’s health.
The fourth quarter of the school year has begun for Chicago Public Schools. And on Monday, nearly 26,000 high school students were expected to return to their classrooms to resume in-person learning for the first time in more than a year.
Chicago Public Schools high school students will return to the classroom on Monday if teachers agree to the framework announced Thursday by the district and the Chicago Teachers Union.
A bill that would create a 21-member elected board to oversee Chicago Public Schools advanced Wednesday in Springfield, but some lawmakers who supported the bill said they’re not yet fully sold on it. CPS parents tell us how they think the school board should be structured.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said “adequate progress” hasn’t been made at the bargaining table with CPS after union delegates voted over the weekend to approve Wednesday’s remote-only work action.
Americans owe more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. Now, President Joe Biden is facing new calls to cancel $50,000 or more of loan debt per student. But critics say it would put an undue burden on Americans who never went to college.
As students wrap up their spring semesters, colleges and universities have started announcing plans for the fall. We discuss the outlook for three area universities.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates on Sunday evening voted to keep high school staffers out of schools beginning Wednesday as the union continues negotiating with CPS over how to safely reopen those schools.
The Chicago Teachers Union is asking Chicago Public Schools to delay its target reopening date for high schools by one week in order to allow more time to learn about coronavirus variants and current transmission rates.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she was disappointed that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that gives a subset of Chicago firefighters the same retirement package as their peers, saying it will “result in a deeper financial burden to the taxpayers of Chicago.” Days earlier, he signed another law Lightfoot had pressured him to reject.
Defying Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill Friday restoring the ability of the Chicago Teachers Union to bargain with the city over a wide range of issues, including class size, layoffs and the duration of the school year.
The Chicago Lighthouse offers children’s education, vision care, rehabilitation and job training for the blind, visually impaired, disabled and veteran communities and employs them in a variety of capacities.