Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as
CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as
City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large
school districtSchool districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Public Schools is currently the
third largest school district in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with more than 400,000 students enrolled in the school district. The position of CEO of the CPS was created by Mayor
Richard M. DaleyRichard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
after he convinced the Illinois State Legislature to place CPS under the mayor's control. Illinois school districts are generally governed by locally-elected school boards, where each district board hires a superintendent, who in turn hires administrators such as principals, who then must be approved by the school board. In contrast, Chicago Public Schools has a Board of Education whose members are appointed by the mayor, essentially making the entire system completely accountable to the mayor. CPS is headquartered in the 125 South Clark Street building in the
Chicago LoopThe Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
.
Jean-Claude BrizardJean-Claude Brizard is the CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Directly before coming to Chicago, he served as a superintendent of the Rochester City School District. He started his career as a teacher, then an administrator in the New York School SystemBrizard was born an hour north of...
is the current CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS). A previous CEO,
Arne DuncanArne Duncan is an American education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.-Early years and personal:...
, became Secretary of Education under President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Schools
CPS is a vast system of primary, secondary, and disability
schools confined to
Chicago'sChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
city limits. This system is the second largest employer in Chicago with over 43,000 employees.
Most schools in the district, being prekindergarten-8, elementary, middle, or secondary, have attendance boundaries, restricting student enrollment outside of any given residential area. A school may elect to enroll students outside their attendance boundaries if there is space, and or if it has a magnet cluster program. Full
magnet schoolIn education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
s, such as Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy, are open to student enrollment citywide, provided that applicants meet a level of high academic standards: living near a magnet school does not guarantee admission. Magnets offer a variety of academic programs with various focuses (agriculture, fine arts, international baccalaureate, Montessori, Math, Literature, and Paideia programs, among others). The
Chicago High School for the ArtsThe Chicago High School for the Arts offers a four-year college preparatory curriculum combined with intensive training in the performing and visual arts...
(ChiArts) is the system's only audition based performing and visual arts high school. Chicago was the largest city in the country without a public high school for the arts until the establishment of ChiArts in 2009.
Elementary schools
The school system contains two levels of elementary-middle school programs which make selective admission only.
Regional gifted centers have an area of focus (such as math and science) and require one type of assessment. There are eleven regional gifted centers:
- Delano
- Lenart Regional Gifted Center
Ted Lenart Regional Gifted Center is located in the southeast side of Chicago Chatham neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois Lenart School serves grades K-8 with a selective enrollment program for gifted students. The school is part of the Chicago Public Schools, CPS, system...
- Beasley
- Beaubien
- Bell
- Carnegie
- Coonley
- Edison
- Keller
- Pritzker
- South Loop.
Classical schools, in contrast to regional gifted centers, take a liberal arts approach focusing on all areas. Classical school applications thus require a different type of assessment. There are five classical schools:
- Decatur
- McDade
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Skinner North
- Skinner West.
Secondary schools
At the secondary level, CPS operates nine selective enrollment high schools. These are;
- Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy
Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy is a public selective enrollment high school located in the Roseland area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is operated by Chicago Public Schools...
- Jones College Prep High School
William Jones College Preparatory, commonly known as Jones College Prep, is a four-year selective enrollment prep school located in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
- King College Prep High School
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. College Preparatory High School is a high school located in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood on Drexel Blvd., about one kilometer from Lake Michigan...
- Lane Technical College Prep High School
Albert G. Lane Technical College Preparatory High School , is a public, four-year, magnet high school located on the north side of Chicago...
- Robert Lindblom Math & Science Academy
- Northside College Preparatory High School
Northside College Preparatory High School is a Chicago Public-Selective Enrollment School. Founded in 1999, it was the first new Chicago Public High School to be built in 20 years. It is a selective enrollment school, teaching at the Honors and AP levels only...
- Walter Payton College Prep
Walter Payton College Preparatory High School is a selective enrollment public high school in Chicago, Illinois.- History :Walter Payton College Prep, founded in 2000, is part of the Chicago Public Schools system. The school, which is located on Chicago's near north side, is notably one of the...
- Westinghouse High School
- Whitney Young Magnet High School
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School is a highly selective Chicago public school that opened its doors to students on September 3, 1975 as the city's first public magnet high school...
Selective Enrollment high schools work on a point system out of 900 points:,
- 300 points for the 7th grade standardized testing (ISAT
ISAT can stand for:*Integrated Science and Technology*International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial*Illinois Standards Achievement Test*Idaho Standards Achievement Test*International Student Admission Test*International Schools Association of Thailand...
) (multiply the percentage by 1.515 to get the number of points)
- 300 points for the entrance exam (tested in vocabulary, literature, math) (multiply percentage by 3.03 to get the number of points)
- 300 points for 7th grade grades (A=75, B=50, C=25; D and below=0)
Competition is fierce, and many factors decide whether students are admitted or not:
- Ranking: Students are asked to rank their top 6 high schools—the higher a school is on the list, the higher the chance a high school will choose to admit a student
- Points from the point system mentioned above
Other high school options
In addition to the selective enrollment high schools, a number of other possibilities exist for high school students. These include military academies, career academies, and charter schools. Lincoln Park High School and
Von Steuben Metropolitan Science CenterVon Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, formely known as Von Steuben Metropolitan High School, is a high school in Chicago, Illinois, located on the north branch of the Chicago River.The school is named for Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben....
are neighborhood "magnet" high schools, which also offer various honors programs to students citywide. More specialized options, such as the
Chicago High School for the ArtsThe Chicago High School for the Arts offers a four-year college preparatory curriculum combined with intensive training in the performing and visual arts...
and the
Chicago High School for Agricultural SciencesThe Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences is a public secondary magnet school opened in 1985 by the Chicago Public Schools as a unique, experimental high school devoted to teaching agricultural science to urban students...
are also available.
Military academies
In partnership with various
Junior Reserve Officers' Training CorpsThe Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a Federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States...
programs, six high schools are operated as public military academies.
- Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville (Army)
- Carver Military Academy (Army)
- Marine Math & Science Academy (Marine Corps)
- Phoenix Military Academy (Army)
- Rickover Naval Academy (Navy)
- Air Force Academy High School (Air Force)
Career academies
Within Chicago Public Schools, 9 high schools have been designated as "Career Academies". According to CPS, these schools have "intensified resources to prepare students for careers in business/finance, communications, construction, health, hospitality/food service, manufacturing, performing arts, and transportation. Vocational shops, science labs, broadcast journalism labs and media/computer centers help students gain 'hands on' experience." As of the '09-'10 academic year, these schools were active career academies.
- Austin Polytechnic
- Chicago Vocational Career Academy
Chicago Vocational High School is a public 4-year vocational high school serving students in the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It opened in 1940.The school was barely opened when the outbreak of World War II caused a change in plan...
- Dunbar Vocational Career Academy
- Farragut Career Academy
Farragut Career Academy High School is a public 4-year high school located in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. As a Career Academy, Farragut emphasizes a curriculum that combines academic instruction with work-study experiences and vocational training...
- Manley Career Academy
- Prosser Career Academy
Prosser Career Academy is a public vocational high school located in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It was opened in September 1959 for males only, adding females decades later. Prior to the summer of 1998 the school's name was Prosser Vocational High School...
- Richards Career Academy
- Simeon Career Academy
- Tilden Career Community Academy
Charter schools
Chicago has a growing number of Charter Schools which receive nearly all of their operating budgets from the same tax sources as CPS. Charter schools receive about 70% - 75% of the operating expense per pupil afforded regular district schools, but charters, unlike regular district schools, must pay facilities costs from per student allocations. Charter school teachers, who must be certified or "highly qualified," as defined in the Illinois Charter School Act, may unionize, although they are not required to. In 2009 the number of charters available in Illinois was increased from 60 to 125 by the state legislature. Up to 45 charters may be issued in Chicago.
Headquarters
The main offices of Chicago Public Schools are located in the 125 South Clark Street building in the
Chicago LoopThe Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
. The 20 story building, managed by MB Real Estate, and originally built as the Commercial National Bank, has 570910 square foot of space.
Performance
The April 21, 2006 issue of the
Chicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
revealed a study released by the Consortium on Chicago School Research that stated that 6 of every 100 CPS freshmen would earn a bachelor's degree by age 25. 3 in 100 black or
LatinoThe demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
men would earn a bachelor's degree by age 25. The study tracked Chicago high school students who graduated in 1998 and 1999. 35% of CPS students who went to college earned their bachelor's degree within six years, below the national average of 64%.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0604210147apr21,1,3297441.story?page=1&coll=chi-newsroom-hed
Chicago has a history of high dropout rates, with around half of students failing to graduate for the past 30 years. Criticism is directed at the CPS for inflating its performance figures. Through such techniques as counting students who swap schools before dropping out as transfers but not dropouts, it publishes graduation claims as high as 71%. Nonetheless, throughout the 1990s actual rates seem to have improved slightly, as true graduation estimates rose from 48% in 1991 to 54% in 2004.
See also
- List of schools in Chicago Public Schools
- Chicago Public High School League
The Chicago Public High School Athletic Association, commonly known as the Chicago Public League , is the interscholastic competition arm of the Chicago Public Schools...
- Local School Councils
Every Chicago public school has a Local School Council which consists of parents, community members, teachers, and the principal of the school. All members of the council are elected and conduct monthly meetings which the public can attend....
- Renaissance 2010
Renaissance 2010 was a program of the Chicago Public Schools school district of Chicago, Illinois, United States.In 1997, the Illinois General Assembly approved 60 charter schools for the state...
- Middle School Cadet Corps
The Middle School Cadet Corps are cadet programs for middle school students in the United States.Per 2005, Chicago had 26 Middle School Cadet Corps enlisting more than 850 kids, overseen by the JROTC program...
External links
News and commentary