Dear CPS Families,
Chicago Public Schools is pleased to present the 2019-20 Annual Regional Analysis (ARA). This marks the third year we have released this report to provide families with a clear set of information about schools in your community.
Aligned with CPS’s Five-Year Vision, released in March 2019, the ARA is a comprehensive set of data that provides transparency into school quality, quantity, choice, and program variety across the district. The ARA ensures CPS leadership, educators, students, and families are working from the same set of information and helps us make informed, equitable decisions that meet the unique needs of every child.
We released the ARA for the second time in 2019 and engaged parents, educators, and community members from across the city. District leaders worked with CPS families to review the data for their respective communities and gather their feedback. Based on the extensive feedback we received last year from parents, educators, and community members, we have further refined this year’s ARA to include information on the district’s Community Schools partnerships, and the report will now be available on www.cps.edu/ara in a more interactive, accessible, and searchable format that can be translated into multiple languages.
Families and school leaders are also using ARA data to advocate for academic programs they would like to see added to their schools. In this year’s second annual Academic Program RFP process, 54 schools were invited to submit full proposals for a change in academic focus at their school. Decisions will be made soon about which schools will receive programmatic investments in the fall of 2020.
CPS is also excited to welcome our new Chief Portfolio Officer, Bing Howell, whose team is committed to engaging in a community-based, data-driven, and fully transparent school improvement process. The ARA will continue to be a vital tool to support these efforts.
The release of the ARA is one of the many ways we will continue to pursue educational equity throughout the district. Please review the 2019-20 ARA and consider using this data as a springboard for conversations with your school community about how CPS can better serve you.
Sincerely,
Janice K. Jackson, EdD
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is committed to providing a high-quality public education for every child, in every neighborhood, that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at CPS provide rigorous technical training in high-wage, high-skill, in-demand industries that prepare high school students for post-secondary success.
During the 2019-20 school year, over 15,000 students enrolled in CTE courses, spanning 35 unique career pathways at 78 high schools. In an effort to provide additional access to high-quality CTE programming that will ensure CPS students’ success in college, career and civic life, CPS created an additional 1,000 seats in three citywide CTE programs open to students from every high school: the Chicago Builds construction training program, the Chicago Police and Firefighting Training Academy, and Cooperative Education work-study.
CTE’s goal is to support increased student access to existing programs, which include internships and apprenticeships across the city to explore, experience, and obtain the career of their dreams.
This year, CPS launched nine new CTE programs; seven were at schools that did not previously have CTE programming.
Mayor Lightfoot and Dr. Jackson are setting new goals to increase the quality of career and technical education programs. By 2023, CTE’s goal is that all students will receive some form of career exposure before graduation and half of all eligible students will be matched with an internship or apprenticeship through one of our employer partnerships.
In the next five years, Career Launch Chicago—a collaboration between CPS, City Colleges of Chicago, and corporate partners—will provide 1,000 students with apprenticeships in the fields of information technology, manufacturing, and healthcare.
CTE programs are funded through the federal Carl D. Perkins and state Career and Technical Education Improvement (CTEI) grants. Schools interested in opening a CTE program can apply for consideration through the Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE). Applications are considered and prioritized based on a variety of metrics, including labor market need, post-secondary alignment, student interest, fit with school vision, and equity.
Enrollment does not include Ag Academy course enrollments to avoid double-counting.
Over-enrollment is due to in-process program phase-in/out.
The Annual Regional Analysis is a set of facts to inform community dialogue and district planning to address a central guiding question - What do families and communities need in terms of school options?
The purpose of the ARA is to support CPS’s goal of providing every student with a high-quality education in every neighborhood by giving stakeholders a consistent array of information regarding school quality, enrollment patterns, school choice, and program offering by region. The goal is to ensure that every student in Chicago has access to quality public schools and a variety of schools and programs.
The report includes information on all CPS schools, including traditional neighborhood, selective enrollment, magnet, charter, special education specialty, and Options (alternative) schools. This document is a common fact base from which to understand the school landscape in communities. The intent of the ARA is not to provide recommendations but rather a set of findings based on the data that serves as input to inform community dialogue and district planning.
The ARA is organized in 16 geographic regions, aligned with Chicago Neighborhoods Now planning zones. The regions were created by the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development based on research on housing and jobs. They are defined with natural boundaries, such as rivers and railroads, in mind. These elements and transportation options are likely considerations for families in choosing schools. With the goal of utilizing a consistent structure year to year, these regions are more stable than city wards and school networks.
Explore this section to learn important background information about the region.
Explore this section to learn more about how many Level 1+/1 schools and seats are in CPS.
Explore this section for information on the number of seats and enrollment patterns in CPS.
Explore this section for information on school choice patterns and student commute distance and time.
Explore this section to learn more about the variety of schools and program types available throughout CPS.