Enrollment at Chicago Public Schools has dropped by about 9,000 students compared with this time last year, the district’s Interim CEO Macquline King announced at the Chicago Board of Education meeting Thursday morning, adding another item onto the pile of worries plaguing a board facing obstacles and problems.

District enrollment as of the 20th day of school decreased roughly 2.8% to 316,224 students, King said. The decline affects multiple student groups, including those identifying as Black, Latino, economically disadvantaged, English language learners and students in temporary living situations.

The district did see increased enrollment numbers in some demographics, however, including those identifying as white, Asian and multiracial, as well as students with disabilities. Student attendance rates since school began Aug. 18, are also up compared to previous years, King said.

More data will become available in later weeks, King said.

The enrollment drop comes as the district and board wrestle with a multitude of issues, including the potential restructuring of central office leadership, recent reports by WBEZ and the Sun-Times that special education students are not receiving legally required services, the upcoming closure of a charter school and ongoing financial uncertainty.

Those concerns took center stage at Thursday’s meeting as multiple board members and stakeholders raised concerns about transparency from the central office, including the rollout of possible changes to the district’s “Network” system.

King’s potential restructuring of the school networks could reduce the number of “network chiefs” or liaisons between schools and CPS’ central office from 17 to 14. The district touts its long-term network system as a way to provide groups of geographically-divided elementary and high schools with specialized support, direction and leadership.

The network chiefs interact with the school staff and communities, and act as a direct link between principals and the district’s administrators, providing expertise on curriculum, instruction and programmatic initiatives. A reorganization could shift the long-standing relationships between schools, their principals and CPS leadership.

At Thursday’s meeting, King reiterated that no decisions have been made and CPS intends to move forward with transparency, something board members said was lacking when the changes were first floated to school principals last week.

Multiple members of the hybrid elected and appointed school board echoed a need for stronger communication between the board, district leadership and school communities. Good communication strengthens relationships and trust between communities and CPS, which has frayed in some places, members said Thursday.

“It felt very uncomfortable to be blindsided by this and not be able to give responses to the people reaching out to us about this,” Carlos Rivas, who represents District 3B said to King. “And notably that it was very upsetting for them.”

Students, community members voice concern for charter school’s future

Supporters of EPIC Academy pleaded with the board Thursday to save the charter high school from closing at the end of the school year, 16 years after it opened.

EPIC’s board of directors voted Sept. 17 to shutter the South Shore-based school because of rising operational costs coupled with a decline in revenue driven by steady drops in enrollment in recent years. The school’s enrollment dropped from more than 500 students in 2020 to roughly 250 students this year, according to school officials. The board approved a two-year renewal of EPIC’s charter contract in May. All students will be moved into a district school that best fits them, a CPS spokesperson told the Tribune, but there is no definitive closure date.

Parents are already pulling their children from the academy, social studies teacher Andrew Escalante said during the public comment period Thursday.

“Students that I’ve been teaching for years have already begun to transfer to other schools, afraid they will not finish the year,” Escalante said. “And our seniors, who have worked so hard to reach this milestone, deserve to graduate from their high school. They should not be forced to finish their journey somewhere unfamiliar, especially in the middle of their senior year.”

There are 57 EPIC seniors who would transfer to another school in their last year of high school if the academy were to close mid-year, senior Ayomide Olatunji told the board.

“Stand with the 57 seniors who deserve to finish what we started,” Olatunji called on the board. “Stand with the EPIC community that has always believed in its students.”

Multiple board members said they plan to find a solution, although it is unclear whether that will involve providing financial support to keep EPIC’s doors open until the end of the school year.

Originally Published: September 25, 2025 at 1:13 PM CDT