CPS’ Five-Year Strategic Plan

2025-2029

Community Engagement

Community engagement will be the foundation for CPS’ upcoming five-year strategic plan.

In order to create the best plan for our District and ensure that local priorities are being addressed, we need input from our communities. Please join one of our upcoming engagement sessions to make your voice heard!

12,800+

Stakeholders Engaged So Far

5455 State of the District Sessions Community Survey 9,154 EFMP Round Tables sessions (to-date) 16763 Black Student Success Working Group 2 Student Voice Round Tables events 5280 Budget Round Tables sessions 1194 State of the District Central Office 387 School Leader Budget Survey

Engagement Opportunities

CPS is hosting a series of community events and engagement opportunities to provide information to our community and gather feedback that will inform the District’s Five-Year Strategic Plan.

Strategic Plan Community Forums

Chicago Public Schools hosted a series of community forums this spring to continue bringing awareness to the five-year strategic plan and gather feedback on the priorities. These vital community engagement sessions will help CPS set priorities as a District and respond to where student and family needs are greatest.

Here are the materials that are used at the Community Forums:

For some sessions we had participants provide written feedback on note catchers or post-it notes. This feedback can be viewed under applicable sessions by clicking (View Written Feedback). In addition, feedback was captured in the breakout sessions and can be viewed here by strategy. An external research team is in the process of conducting an analysis of feedback across all the sessions. Upon completion, this report will be publicly posted. CPS has also posted the video from the citywide virtual meeting.

Central:  April 15
6 - 8 PM
Crane HS
2245 W Jackson Blvd
View Written Feedback

City Wide: April 20 
9 - 11 AM
(Virtual)
View Video

West: April 23
6 - 8 PM
Collins HS
1313 S Sacramento Dr

South: April 24
6 - 8 PM
Englewood STEM
6835 S Normal Blvd

Far South: May 1
6 - 8 PM
Corliss HS
821 E 103rd St
View Written Feedback

North: May 2
6 - 8 PM
Roosevelt HS
3436 W Wilson Ave
View Written Feedback

Southwest: May 8
10 AM - 12 PM
Richards HS
5009 S Laflin

Past Engagement Opportunities

CEO State of District Briefings

In October and November of 2023, CPS held a series of “State of the District” briefings in communities around the city. These briefings gave community members an opportunity to hear from CEO Pedro Martinez and other CPS leaders about the District’s successes and challenges, and get involved in shaping the District’s next strategic plan.

We invite you to view a recording of the virtual session held on October 21. View a summary analysis of the briefings below.

View Analysis

Budget Office Community Roundtables

Every year, CPS works with communities across Chicago to develop our District's budget. In November, Chicagoans from neighborhoods across the city joined a series of roundtable events to get important information about school funding, connect with others in the community about local school needs, and give feedback to district leaders.

We invite you to view a recording of the virtual session held on November 16. View a summary analysis of the roundtables below. 

View Analysis

Black Student Success Roundtables

One of the key components of the District's next Five-Year Strategic Plan will be a Black Student Success Plan. CPS has created a Black Student Success Working Group, which brings together students, educators, school and District leaders, researchers, community-based organizations, labor, and city and state partners to collaborate and develop this plan to support Black students in achieving greater academic success. This working group held a series of public roundtables to listen to the community about current challenges and recommended solutions. For more information view the the Black Student Success Plan page.

March 12
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Northside (Uptown)
Uplift Community High School (900 W Wilson Ave)

March 13
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Southside (Englewood)
Kennedy King College (U-building - 740 W 63rd St)

March 14
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Westside (North Lawndale/ West Humboldt Park/ Garfield Park)
Beidler Elementary (3151 W Walnut St, Chicago, IL 60612)

March 15
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Southeast Side
CVCA (2100 E 87th St,)

March 19
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Virtual 

March 19
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Far Southside
Corliss High School (821 E 103rd St)

March 20
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Southside (Bronzeville/Hyde Park)
Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts (555 E 51st St)

March 21
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Far Westside (Austin)
Michele Clark Magnet High School (5101 W Harrison St)

EFMP Community Roundtables

From December 2023 through February 2024, CPS hosted neighborhood-specific roundtable discussions across the city regarding our school facilities. Families and staff were able to collaborate and share their thoughts on how the District should prioritize repairs, construction projects, and overall investments in our school buildings. CPS held one session for each of the District’s 16 planning areas.

We invite you to view a recording of past sessions and view a copy of the unique presentation in English and Spanish that was given at each session. After viewing one of the recordings, we also invite you to offer feedback by filling out the EFMP Roundtable Exit Survey.

SUBMIT FEEDBACK

Shape Our Future Survey

Over the winter, CPS provided families, staff, community members, and students in grades 6–12 to fill out the Shape Our Future survey. The survey was designed to give all stakeholders the chance to share the details of their CPS experience — including honest feedback on where the District is succeeding, where improvement is needed, and what priorities should be part of the District’s next Five-Year Strategic Plan. Learn more about the survey results by viewing the analysis reports.

Survey Analysis

View the analysis reports to learn more about the Shape of Our Future survey, including recommendations, key findings, and methodology.

View Survey Analysis

View Open-Ended Analysis