Two new studies released by the University of Chicago explore the diversity of Chicago Public Schools principals and the critical skills and experiences they need to lead effectively.

In his second inaugural address this month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised to “make preschool available to every family throughout the state” — a feat that will require solutions to staffing shortfalls, school capacity limitations and an increase to the state’s nearly $600 million early childhood education block grant program.

Key Findings

• If 2021 rates hold over the next decade, of 100 current CPS ninth-graders, 82 would graduate from high school within four years; 37 would enroll immediately in a four-year college; 13 would enroll immediately in a two-year college; and 27 would complete any college credential within 10 years of starting high school.
• The CPS high school graduation rate declined for the first time in recent history: Among 2017–18 first-time ninth-graders, the high school graduation rate was 81.8% in 2021 vs.

Middle and high school students are used to answering questions at school. But they don’t often get asked how they view their teachers and classrooms.

Last month, Chicago Public Schools students got a chance to weigh in when they took a new 15-minute survey inviting them to rate statements such as: “In this class, my ideas are taken seriously.” “This teacher makes what we’re learning really interesting.”

Generally, Evanston Township High School teachers and students are feeling more stress and less trust in the institution, according to the most recently released data from the 5Essentials survey that students and staff took last spring.

Every year, students at schools across Illinois take the survey, which poses 80 questions to students and 150 questions to teachers about their daily lived experiences in the classrooms and hallways at school...

Key Findings of On the Path to Becoming a Chicago Public School Principal

• The majority of principals cited people skills and emotional intelligence skills, along with organizational and managerial skills, as most important for successful leadership.
• Principals who had first been assistant principals said that role best prepared them to lead their own school.
• Formal principal preparatory programs and peer networks also provided essential skills.

Before Leyla Spells became a registered nurse, one major obstacle stood in her way: the National Council Licensure Examination, a standardized test she needed to pass. Spells had taken the exam three times, failing to answer the minimum number of questions correctly—spending hundreds of dollars each time to retake it.