Overview
- CPS enrolls just over 316,000 students, down nearly 28% since 2002-03, according to Kids First Chicago.
- Shrinking cohorts are driven by fewer births and fewer school-aged children in the city, with about 20,000 kindergarteners this year, a 27% drop from a decade ago.
- Losses are concentrated on the West and South Sides, including nearly 7,000 fewer students in the McKinley Park network and about 6,000 in Belmont Cragin-Austin since 2015-16, while many North and central areas stayed steadier.
- Latino enrollment has fallen by nearly 7,000 and Black enrollment by about 2,900, though together they still account for 81% of CPS students; English learner counts recently dipped to just over 86,000 after a peak.
- An influx of roughly 9,000 migrant students that briefly offset declines has leveled off, and the report says shrinking schools face higher per-student costs and fewer offerings, urging redesign over closures given a $10 billion budget and a projected $500 million deficit.