Chicago Public Schools Hosts 2024 Local School Council (LSC) Member Swearing-In Ceremony

CHICAGO – Chicago Public Schools (CPS) today welcomed newly elected and returning Local School Council (LSC) members for the upcoming LSC term that begins Monday, July 1. The new members, along with thousands of other LSC members across the District, will serve on the governing bodies of more than 500 CPS-managed schools. Saturday’s afternoon inauguration ceremony demonstrated the critical role that LSC members play in connecting school communities to District leadership, and how they foster student support and community engagement on the most local level.

Mayor Brandon Johnson joined District leaders in delivering brief remarks ahead of the ceremony which was live streamed from Benito Juarez Community Academy.

“Being elected to the Local School Council is both an honor and a responsibility,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Chicagoans who take on LSC roles are instrumental to ensuring that our educational system works for every single family in the City of Chicago. I am proud of the democracy that we have now via LSCs and that we will soon have for our Board of Education.”

The Honorable Judge Daniel A. Trevino of the Circuit Court of Cook County presided over the ceremony with more than 500 new members and guests in attendance.

“I join the District and the community in thanking our newly elected and returning LSC members for their dedicated service to our school communities,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “LSC members play a critical role in connecting their school communities with District leadership by providing feedback, support, and culturally-relevant insight into the needs and concerns of each unique community. I congratulate all of our LSC members for their commitment, and I look forward to working with them all for years to come.”

Chicago Public Schools conducts LSC elections every two years. Saturday’s ceremony celebrated the nearly 5,000 (4,932) new and returning LSC members who will begin the two-year term July 1. Several hundred of those members joined the inauguration ceremony, which was also live streamed from Benito Juarez Community Academy.

The LSCs work to support academic progress, approve school budgets and hire and evaluate principals of the District’s schools. LSC alumni include civic leaders, elected officials, and members of the Chicago Board of Education.

“I am eager to welcome our thousands of new and returning LSC members to this new term,” said CPS LSC Relations Director, Kishasha Williams-Ford. “Our LSC members are dedicated to uplifting our students and families, and I look forward to working with them as they give back to their school communities.”

Saturday’s ceremony included a performance by the Towy Folkloric Dance group from Richard Edwards Elementary, the Kenwood Academy High School Concert Choir, and the Juárez High School Mariachi Band.

###

About Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is dedicated to providing a high-quality education to all students, beginning with the District’s free full-day preschool programming for four-year-old scholars and continuing through neighborhood, magnet and selective-enrollment elementary schools that provide a rigorous K-8 education with schools that specialize in the fine arts, world language and culture, dual language, STEM, International Baccalaureate (IB), classical programs, and more. The rising District-wide freshmen-on-track and high school graduation rates reflect the hard work of the CPS community, including families, staff, and students across 635 schools. CPS celebrates the diversity of its more than 322,000 students who cite more than 190 home languages. Learn more about CPS at www.cps.edu and connect with CPS on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.