Dear Colleagues, Families, and Supporters,
Our first day of classes - Monday, August 30 - is right around the corner, and CPS schools are fully prepared to welcome students back! Teachers return next week to begin planning for the new school year, and we know how excited they are to see their students in person again. They will be working hard these next nine days to create spaces where children feel welcome and supported and where they can get excited about learning.
One group that is especially thrilled about our return to the classroom is our CPS principals, who have been leading with confidence and compassion since the start of these unprecedented times. We have been amazed by their ability to stay positive and focused in the midst of such serious challenges and have no doubt they will be successful in getting our school year off to a strong start. This video features two CPS principals, Principal Bermejo of Edwards Elementary School and Principal Harper of Simeon Career Academy, sharing how they are getting ready to welcome students back to school.
We want to thank everyone who participated in our town hall meetings earlier this week. These were a great opportunity to help parents get their questions answered and understand what school will look like this year. If you were not able to join us for these meetings, you can see a recording in English and Spanish on the district’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/ChiPubSchools.
We remain committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on back-to-school, which this week includes new vaccine protocols for student athletes. We are thrilled that this year, our children will be able to return to the extracurricular activities they love, including sports. To ensure any COVID cases are identified quickly among our student athletes, children in grades 5-12 who play a sport will be required to either submit proof of vaccination or participate in weekly COVID-19 testing during their sports season. Parents of student athletes will receive more specific information on this policy closer to the start of school.
To get us all in the back-to-school spirit over the next week, we have created a social media toolkit for parents and families. We also still have a handful of Back-to-School Bashes scheduled in the next nine days, and we strongly encourage CPS families to participate. These events will get you excited, engaged, and informed about the upcoming school year, which begins for all CPS students on Monday, August 30!
Sincerely,
Chicago Public Schools
Helping Students in Temporary Living Situations Enroll in School The CPS Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS) program helps students without permanent homes enroll in school and access the supports they need to be successful. For some students, a temporary living situation may mean staying in a shelter, in transitional housing, or with relatives or friends. For others, it might mean living in a motel, a car, or in different places at different times. It can also refer to a student who is living on their own without their parents or legal guardian. If you or your family is in a temporary living situation and need help identifying a school to attend, enrolling in school, or receiving needed supports, please contact the STLS program at (773) 553-2242 or STLSinformation@cps.edu. For more information about the STLS program, visit cps.edu/stls.
CPS is Offering COVID-19 Vaccines to Students and Families Since vaccination is one of the best ways to keep our communities safe from the COVID-19 virus, CPS has now transformed three of our school-based staff vaccination sites to serve our students and families. We will also have vaccinations available at several of our upcoming Back-to-School Bashes and through school-based summer programs happening in several high-need communities.
The vaccine is free and no proof of health insurance or immigration status is required. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. For complete details on the vaccine opportunities offered by CPS this summer, please visit cps.edu/vaccinations. For additional questions, families can reach out to vaccines@cps.edu or call 773-553-5437. Families can also visit vaccines.gov for more information, text your zip code to 438829, or call (312) 746-4835 to find other COVID-19 vaccine locations near you.
CEO Search Update The search for CPS’ next CEO continues to be underway. A final report has been released outlining the progress that has been made over the past several months toward selecting our district’s next leader. For more information, please visit our CEO search webpage.
A Look Inside our Schools We’re a little over a week from welcoming students like Kareinna back to school starting on Monday, August 30. She is a soon-to-be eighth-grader at Perkins Bass Elementary School in Englewood. She excels at math and has a goal of keeping her grades steady by displaying a strong work ethic from the first day of school all the way through graduation. Eventually, she’s considering becoming an anesthesiologist.
Our school leaders like Joseph Campbell, the assistant principal at Ronald Brown Elementary Academy, are also feeling energized about the new year. He wants this to be a “back to the basics” year that meets the needs of all students by helping them focus on three key areas: behavior, attendance, and grades. He is also prioritizing giving his staff members time, grace, and understanding.
At the high school level, our principals are applying what they’ve learned over the past few school years to better support students. Principal Barbara San-Roman is focused on social justice to address opportunity gaps that exist for Black and Latinx males, and Principal Lynn Fields Jr. is making sure that each one of his students has a trusted adult that they can talk to about their goals.
High school students from across Chicago like Ibrahim and Jessica will be returning to their schools ready to make a difference after participating in the district’s first-ever Civil Rights Summer Fellowship. This opportunity has equipped them with the tools they need to spread kindness, create more inclusive learning environments, reduce acts of bias-based harm, and strengthen relationships between students and staff. Important Dates:
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