Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced that more than 93 percent of students attended the first day of classes on Monday, August 22, up from 91 percent on day one last year. The uptick follows the District’s strategic effort to offer robust summer programming, from academic recovery classes to those aimed at helping students accelerate, as well as enrichment courses, career exploration and grade-level transition camps.  “Every day in school matters and we are thrilled to see a higher percentage of students were in class as we started the New Year,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.
 
Historical Comparison First Day of School Attendance Rate: 

• 2022-23 School Year: 93.4 percent (Earliest first day in recent history)

• 2021-22 School Year: 91.2 percent (First day of school before Labor Day)

• 2020-21 School Year: 84.2 percent (Remote Learning)

• 2019-20 School Year: 94.2 percent 

• 2018-19 School Year: 94.5 percent 

CPS Strategies to engage or re-engage students

In addition to robust summer programming, CPS continues to provide a variety of engagement and re-engagement programming and services for students and families. These include: 

1. School-level Welcome Back Parties: Schools were allotted funds to host their own school-based events to welcome students back to school.

2. Choose to Change: The District’s evidence-based mentoring program is set to engage with 1000 teens who are heavily impacted by violence and trauma. The program helps students stay or get back to school so they can graduate, stay out of the criminal justice system, and pave their way to a more secure future.

3. Back to our Future:  This new collaborative program with the Illinois Department of Health (IDHS) and community partner organizations addresses the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth and aims to reduce firearm violence, building upon the success of the Choose to Change program.