In favor of an elected CPS board

Chicago Public Schools soon will launch a new information system for students, teachers, parents and staff. This single application, called Aspen, will merge various existing grading, attendance and parent communications system. This means the way teachers take attendance, manage students’ grades, and the way students, parents and administrators monitor student performance, will be placed under a one-stop shop application. This enormous systemwide undertaking originally was scheduled for implementation in January 2019, during the middle of the school year. Can you imagine coming back from winter holiday break to deal with a significant system change?

After some feedback from staff and stakeholders involved, CPS wisely decided to postpone implementation of Aspen until April. You have to wonder how deliberations of this districtwide policy change would have sounded and how the roll-out would have looked had elected school board members been involved. The direct educational experience and internal knowledge from voices like CPS parents, teachers, paraprofessionals or principals would have brought relevant input to this monumental decision.

Currently all CPS board members are appointed by the mayor. This leads to less of a chance for healthy discourse, restricts diverse critical viewpoints and limits public policy input from stakeholders. CPS listened to feedback about new student information and communication. This also should be the year the CPS board is transformed from an appointed body to a more democratic, inclusive and diverse group of voices that works better to support students, teachers, staff and parents in the form of an elected school board. — Froylan Jimenez, Chicago, Chicago Public Schools history teacher