Chicago Public Schools Launches Black Student Success Plan During Black History Month Celebrations

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will celebrate Black History Month in February with a series of District-wide events and year-long initiatives, including the launch of the CPS Black Student Success Plan.  

 

The District’s Black students have made strides academically over time, particularly those who graduated in 2023 and 2024 with more students graduating and earning early college credits and credentials, however, District officials remain dedicated to undoing all obstacles to Black student success.

 

"Our students are enriched by learning about the history of Black people in America and around the world, a vital demographic within our school communities," said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “Ensuring our students can connect with their past and learn from it has a real world impact. The Class of 2024 Black high school graduates have achieved significant academic success, but there is still work to be done to address opportunity gaps."

 

On February 21, in alignment with the District’s five-year strategic plan, the District will release its inaugural Black Student Success Plan while celebrating the fifth anniversary of the CPS Equity Framework. This plan is a key step in the District’s ongoing commitment to eliminating educational opportunity gaps and ensuring Black students have the support needed to achieve academic success and personal growth. Set to launch Spring 2025, the plan will embed strategic goals across central office, networks, and schools. The plan will center on implementing culturally-responsive practices and instruction, ensuring equitable resource allocation, increasing the recruitment and retention of Black educators and leaders, and fostering meaningful engagement with Black students and families. Through this strategic plan priority, CPS reaffirms its dedication to creating a more equitable and inclusive educational experience for all students.

 

Since the announcement in 2024 introducing the Black Student Success Working Group, District officials have engaged with stakeholders to analyze data and present recommendations to CPS leadership and the Chicago Board of Education for consideration in the development of the Black Student Success Plan. Members of Local School Councils (LSCs), students, parents, community members, and teachers, among others. In March, the District will host a series of community roundtables directly following the plan's launch."

 

“Since the release of the Black Student Success Working Group recommendations, we have been intentional about socializing those recommendations across the District for teams to make meaning of them, and incorporate the feedback of stakeholders, such as students, District staff, community members, and school leaders, with the development of the Black Student Success Plan,” said CPS Black Student Success Director Eugene Robinson Jr. “This engagement will continue through the launch and early implementation of the plan.”

 

The District recognizes Black History year-round through the social science K-12 Skyline curriculum, which offers a variety of resources and units to explore Black identities and experiences. Students delve into such topics as legacy, resistance movements, counter narratives, and identity, connecting past and present struggles. For instance, eighth graders study the desegregation of Little Rock's Central High School in 1957, while high school students examine the impact of apartheid on Black South Africans.

 

Local Black histories are integrated throughout the curriculum, including the Great Migration, historic Bronzeville, and Harold Washington's 1983 mayoral campaign. Leading up to Black History Month, educators in the District delved into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s activism and the profound messages in his speeches and writings. Dr. King's “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” continues to resonate with students and educators alike with passages such as: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

 

To ensure that Black history is not limited to a single month, the Social Science department provides additional resources through monthly newsletters, featuring mini inquiries that incorporate Black experiences and perspectives year-round. 

 

The District has made recent progress in advancing educational equity, with Black students in Chicago showing growth despite opportunity gaps. The 2023-24 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) results highlight this progress. Results reveal CPS has exceeded pre-pandemic proficiency rates, with a 4.6 percentage point increase from last year and a 10.5 point increase since 2021-22. Black students' growth on the English Language Arts (ELA) IAR exam outpaced overall District growth in 2024. Black male students in grades 3-8 achieved a 10.7 percentage point increase in reading proficiency since the 2021-22 school year. While there is still work to be done, these gains signal that the District's efforts are driving continuous improvement, reinforcing the District’s unwavering commitment to eliminating opportunity gaps and creating an equitable educational system for all students.

 

CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova emphasizes the importance of addressing systemic barriers that hinder Black student success. 

 

“The District is committed to removing these obstacles and calls upon the community to support efforts to better serve Black students,” said CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova. “Together, we can create an inclusive educational environment where all students have the opportunity to thrive.”

 

Dozens of District and school-based events are scheduled for February, including the following events. Reporters are welcome to attend these events but must alert the communications department at communications@cps.edu.

For more information regarding Black Student Success, visit the CPS website: https://www.cps.edu/strategic-initiatives/black-student-success.