Chicago schools get $500K for services: Success won't be judged by student outcomes, says mayor

Chicago Public Schools will add 16 schools to a union-backed program that gives high-poverty schools $500,000 a year to offer student and family services, reports Mila Koumpilova for Chalkbeat.

"The Sustainable Community Schools initiative has offered after-school programs, parent outreach, restorative justice support, and other services in tandem with community nonprofits at 20 schools since 2018," she writes.

So far, there's no evidence the extra services improved student learning, according to pandemic-era evaluations. "Academic outcomes were largely in line with those at schools with similar demographics not receiving the extra support," Koumpilova writes, and the participating schools lost more enrollment than the district average.

At a press conference announcing the program's expansion, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he "wouldn’t measure success based on student outcomes, such as test scores and graduation rates, but rather on the extra staff and programs the schools offer students," reports Koumpilova.

Expanding community schools was part of the Chicago Teachers Union contract. The mayor is a former CTU organizer.

The community schools program was inspired by activism that led to the reopening of the South Side’s Dyett High School in 2015, said school board member Jitu Brown at the press conference. Dyett's graduation rate is 87 percent. But fewer than 10 students in a school of 500 are proficient in reading and math, according to the Illinois State Report Card. The chronic absentee rate is 75 percent.

The district is facing a $734 million budget deficit. It's hoping for a state bailout.