Visionary Goal
Students will have a rigorous, joyful, and equitable educational experience facilitated by a fully staffed, highly talented, and diverse workforce at all levels of the District; staff will feel supported, valued, and given opportunities to improve their skills and grow their careers.
Why It Matters
Developing a comprehensive talent strategy is one of the most important initiatives a school district can undertake to create the conditions for students to thrive, particularly those furthest from opportunity. CPS is the largest employer in Illinois. Recruiting a world-class workforce is critical, but nurturing our employees’ growth and development is equally important. It is imperative that CPS employees have ample opportunities to grow and develop while working for CPS—all of which will help us retain employees. It is also especially important that school and District staff demographics reflect Chicago’s diverse student population and their communities. A diverse workforce offers profound academic and social-emotional benefits for all students, especially students of color.
Strategies
- Continue to invest in the Teach Chicago initiative, CPS’ comprehensive strategy to build the highest-quality and most diverse teaching force in the nation.
- Continue to build a diverse workforce at every level of the organization by expanding our teacher pathway initiatives and investing in professional development and leadership development opportunities, especially for employees of color.
- Develop and implement a robust employee experience and retention strategy, including expanding Be Well, our comprehensive employee wellness program, and Lead with CPS, our hub of professional and leadership development opportunities.
- Develop a transition plan to insource select school support services (such as custodial services, technology support, and transportation staff) to elevate service quality, foster greater accountability, and positively change the student experience.
- Continue to monitor, refine, and improve talent strategies. Evaluate the impact of teacher preparation programs on teacher recruitment and retention, and assess employee satisfaction with external partners.
Five-Year Goals
- Reduce teacher vacancies by 25% in majority Black and Latinx schools and be on track to support over 500 CPS graduates to become teachers through the Teach Chicago Tomorrow program, focusing on communities that have historically had understaffed schools (e.g., South and West sides) and teachers in high-need subject areas (e.g., special education, bilingual education, early childhood).
- Strive to recruit 1,500 more Black and 1,500 more Latinx teachers. Ensure that our executive leadership team is more representative of the students and communities we serve.
- Improve teacher retention from 92% to 94%, resulting in more employees staying in CPS, providing stability to our schools, and progressing into more senior roles. Sustain proportional retention rates of Black and Latinx teachers to the overall District rates.
- Commit to transition 25% of privatized support personnel (e.g., custodial, technology support, and transportation workers) to district employees.