Chicago Public Schools students will return to the classroom on Monday, signifying the beginning of a new school year.
Monday marks the first full day of classes for the majority of the district’s some 300,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students.
CPS posted about the start of the new year on Facebook, saying, “Tomorrow’s the big day! We can’t wait to see our students bright and early, ready to learn.”
“On August 18th, I am excited to welcome all of you all back to create new ideas, have your student voice elevated and make your wildest dreams come true,” Tonya Weatherly, Ruggles Elementary S.T.E.A.M. School principal, said in a video message to students districtwide. “This is your year, I am counting on you. I will meet you at the front door, let’s go CPS!”
A number of students spent their last day of summer break getting some much-needed essentials and having fun, too.
To make sure students start the year on a high note, ChiGives Back, an organization focused on empowering underserved communities, hosted its Labor of Love back-to-school event in Englewood. The non-profit handed out free backpacks to students and teamed up with barbershops, so students could get free haircuts to start the year with a new look.
Multiple CPS schools will be visited by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Teachers Union leaders on Monday, according to the union.
“On Monday morning, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter, CTU Recording Secretary Vicki Kurzydlo, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and CPS CEO Macquline King will mark the first day of school with site visits that celebrate major progress for Chicago Public Schools and signal the work ahead to ensure sustainable funding for public education across Illinois,” the union said in a news release, in part.
The delegation will visit Courtenay Elementary, a neighborhood school in Sheridan Park, and Austin High School, newly designated as a Sustainable Community School under the contract agreement reached between CTU and CPS.
While most students will head back to school on Monday, it won’t be the first day for everyone. The district’s pre-K programs are slated to begin on Tuesday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
