Changes and Challenges: How Stakeholders Can Support Chicago Public School Students in a Shifting Governance Landscape
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| Title: | Changes and Challenges: How Stakeholders Can Support Chicago Public School Students in a Shifting Governance Landscape |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Lynne Graziano, Michelle Croft, Nick Lee, Julia deBettencourt, Andrew J. Rotherham, Bellwether |
| Source: | Bellwether. 2024. |
| Availability: | Bellwether. 650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20001. Tel: 877-636-0909; Web site: https://bellwether.org/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 18 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Joyce Foundation Steans Family Foundation (SFF) |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Public Schools, Urban Schools, Governance, Boards of Education, Partnerships in Education, Educational Change, School Administration, Barriers, COVID-19, Pandemics |
| Geographic Terms: | Illinois (Chicago) |
| Abstract: | Over the last 30 years, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has become a rare model for urban school district improvement. That success stems, in part, from an expansive network of nonprofit organizations, advocates and grassroots community leaders, business leaders, and philanthropic funders that work together -- often in partnership with the district -- to strengthen education citywide. Today, CPS faces many of the same challenges as other large school districts -- declining enrollment, chronic absenteeism, the looming fiscal cliff, and students struggling socially and emotionally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. CPS also faces a challenge most other districts don't: a major change in its governance from an appointed to a much larger elected school board between now and January 2027. This challenge also presents an opportunity for stakeholders in Chicago to come together and recapture the spirit of progress that created steady improvement in CPS over more than 30 years. "Changes and Challenges: How Stakeholders Can Support Chicago Public School Students in a Shifting Governance Landscape" provides an overview of the changes and challenges to Chicago's public education landscape pre- to post-pandemic, drawing from research and interviews Bellwether conducted with more than 20 Chicago- and Illinois-based education advocacy and civic organizations and funders. It also provides student-centered recommendations that serve as a road map to (1) create consensus and collaboration, (2) elevate community voices, and (3) build an informed electorate. [Additional support for this report was provided from the Vivo Foundation.] |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED664817 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Over the last 30 years, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has become a rare model for urban school district improvement. That success stems, in part, from an expansive network of nonprofit organizations, advocates and grassroots community leaders, business leaders, and philanthropic funders that work together -- often in partnership with the district -- to strengthen education citywide. Today, CPS faces many of the same challenges as other large school districts -- declining enrollment, chronic absenteeism, the looming fiscal cliff, and students struggling socially and emotionally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. CPS also faces a challenge most other districts don't: a major change in its governance from an appointed to a much larger elected school board between now and January 2027. This challenge also presents an opportunity for stakeholders in Chicago to come together and recapture the spirit of progress that created steady improvement in CPS over more than 30 years. "Changes and Challenges: How Stakeholders Can Support Chicago Public School Students in a Shifting Governance Landscape" provides an overview of the changes and challenges to Chicago's public education landscape pre- to post-pandemic, drawing from research and interviews Bellwether conducted with more than 20 Chicago- and Illinois-based education advocacy and civic organizations and funders. It also provides student-centered recommendations that serve as a road map to (1) create consensus and collaboration, (2) elevate community voices, and (3) build an informed electorate. [Additional support for this report was provided from the Vivo Foundation.] |
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