Less than 8% of NEA and IEA’s spending in 2022 was on representing teachers, according to the unions’ federal reports. That could be why nearly 203,000 public school employees – including more than 6,000 in Illinois – have left NEA since 2017.
Illinois voters polled were 3 to 1 in support of the state’s only school choice program, Invest in Kids. But unless lawmakers act, the program ends this year.
“If Invest in Kids sunsets, we would probably move out of state. The scholarship is the only thing that has kept us here for the last six years.”
Mayoral appointments to the city’s school board tell the public a lot about that mayor’s philosophy. That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to who Mayor Brandon Johnson is appointing. It’s also important to understand what options should be on the table when it comes to fixing the failing Chicago Public Schools system.
Last fall when he wanted to get reelected, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he supported extending a scholarship program available to low-income and working-class families – Invest in Kids.
With the public education system failing students, the only way to ensure all children have access to a good education is to expand educational options for all.
The Chicago Teachers Union told lawmakers what to do over 1,360 times in just six legislative sessions. It used its powerful position to pressure the state to follow its radical politics. Here are five examples of the union placing politics over its core purpose.
“One of my children was coming home from school frustrated, emotional and explosive. I asked the kindergarten teacher if she was seeing any issues at school. She said, ‘No. Everything is fine.’”
Much attention is rightly being paid to how city policy can address the need to provide young people with meaningful opportunities for work. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
In 2013, Chicago closed 50 nearly empty schools. Since then, the CTU has barred charters and other schools from using these empty buildings to provide schooling options for local students. After railing against these school closures, CTU leadership locked students out of full-time, in-person learning for 17 months during 2020-21.
Illinois celebrated its highest graduation rate in a decade. But high school student proficiency and average SAT scores are dropping as chronic absenteeism increases across the state.
The graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates in Chicago were below the statewide average in 2022. Reading and math SAT scores were also below the Illinois average. Other large districts in Cook and the collar counties performed better.
Illinois may soon require all public school districts to front the costs of a full-day kindergarten program starting in 2027. There is no designated financial support from the state. Opponents said it’s not about a lack of desire or need, but the lack of funding.
Illinois is in the minority of states graduating a higher percentage of students during the first two years of the pandemic. But state data shows those high school students’ SAT scores are dropping and a smaller percentage are immediately continuing onto higher education.