The Nonprofit Strongly Recommends More Transparency, Stakeholder Input, and Communication in Decision That Affects 600+ Chicago Public Schools
December 19, 2024
CHICAGO — At The Fund, we frequently support school-level transitions when principals step out of their roles. This process takes time, deliberate planning, and extensive communication with the impacted communities. We invest the time and energy required to facilitate those transitions because when they are not planned well, leadership changes can negatively affect student learning. These negative effects can last for over two years after the transition.
Leadership change at the top of a school district impacts all students, schools, and communities in that system. That is why, over the last several months, hundreds of school leaders have expressed their reservations with a leadership transition at this time. The 320,000 students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) deserve a thoughtful, well-planned, and well-communicated transition. That cannot happen in a situation where meetings are called with little notice and in ways that make communication with affected communities difficult.
In the last 25 years, The Fund has supported the CPS community through 10 CEO transitions, each of which has impacted schools and school leaders. It is harder to lead in schools when a transition at the top of the system is destabilizing and distracting. Given the negative effects a decision under these circumstances could have on principals, students, and school communities, we urge the Chicago Board of Education to postpone the consideration of CPS CEO Pedro Martinez’s employment status until it has engaged in a more thorough and transparent process of community engagement and stakeholder input. Students’ educational outcomes depend on this.
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About The Chicago Public Education Fund
The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) is a nonprofit organization that improves Chicago’s public schools by investing in the talented educators who lead them. The Fund is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025, underscoring its enduring commitment to collaborating with partners across Chicago’s education sector to redefine school leadership in the city.
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