Mayor Emanuel and CPS to Hire More Than 250 Social Workers and Special Education Case Workers to Support Students in High Needs Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, July 16, 2018

CHICAGO - Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools today announced a $26 million investment to hire 254 new full-time, school-based positions for the 2018-19 school year to ensure students in high needs schools have equitable access to the social and emotional and special education support they need to succeed, inside and outside of school. To better support student needs, $26 million will be allocated to fund a total of 160 social worker positions to support 160 schools and 94 special education case manager positions at 78 schools. This investment will help provide students with critical resources that will support their emotional and academic well-being, and allow teachers, counselors and administrators to focus more of their time and energy on quality instruction and student supports.

“Providing comprehensive, sustained support for Chicago’s students will strengthen their connections to school and help them stay on the path to success,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “More professional support in our schools will help create not just better learning environments, but better results for students in and outside of the classroom.”

To select district schools that would benefit most from a dedicated social worker, CPS focused on high needs schools— including those educating a high number of low income students, students in temporary living situations, English Learners (ELs), and refugees— and considered data from the 2013 Chicago Economic Hardship Index to identify 60 high schools and 100 elementary schools.

“The district’s significant investment to promote equitable access to trained support staff will help ensure additional resources are directed to the city’s highest need communities so that all students can have a fair shot at a high quality education,” said CPS CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson. “We cannot allow a student’s life circumstances to determine whether or not they will access a high quality education. By providing our highest need schools with dedicated social workers and case managers, we can make a significant difference in the lives of the students who need our support the most.”

The district’s 94 additional special education case managers will work with school leaders, teachers, and support staff to create an inclusive environment and ensure that all students with diverse learning needs receive services specified in their IEPs. These positions are being allocated directly to 40 elementary schools and 38 high schools based on the number of diverse learners at the school. These dedicated case managers will be solely focused on ensuring students with IEPs are getting the support they need and deserve. At many of these schools, teachers and counselors were previously provided a stipend to cover case management responsibilities due to a lack of dedicated case managers at the school. By providing schools with dedicated case managers, staff who previously had to spend time and energy managing their case management responsibilities can instead focus on their primary instructional and student support roles.

Today’s announcement builds on the district’s three-year vision, and our commitment to fostering strong social and emotional support and improving the quality and consistency of special education services. By providing these critical positions to schools, students will have the individualized supports and services they need to lay the foundation for a successful future.

The following 160 (60 high school and 100 elementary) schools will receive a full-time social worker:

Air Force High School
Alcott High School
Ariel Elementary School
Armstrong Elementary School
Austin CCA High School
Back Of The Yards High School
Bass Elementary School
Beethoven Elementary School
Bogan High School
Bouchet Elementary School
Bowen High School
Bradwell Elementary School
Bright Elementary School
Brighton Park Elementary School
Bronzeville High School
Brown W Elementary School
Burroughs Elementary School
Carver Elementary School
Cardenas Elementary School
Cather Elementary School
Chicago Military High School
Chicago Vocational High School
Claremont Elementary School
Clark High School
Clemente High School
Clinton Elementary School
Collins High School
Cook Elementary School
Corkery Elementary School
Corliss High School
Crane Medical High School
Crown Elementary School
Curie High School
Daley Elementary School
Davis N Elementary School
Deneen Elementary School
Dett Elementary School
Dirksen Elementary School
Disney II High School
Doolittle Elementary School
Douglass High School
Drake Elementary School
Dunbar High School
Esmond Elementary School
Fairfield Elementary School
Faraday Elementary School
Farragut High School
Fenger High School
Field Elementary School
Finkl Elementary School
Foreman High School
Fort Dearborn Elementary School
Foster Park Elementary School
Gale Elementary School
Gillespie Elementary School
Goode High School
Graham High School
Hamline Elementary School
Hammond Elementary School
Hanson Park Elementary School
Harlan High School
Hay Elementary School
Hayt Elementary School
Hedges Elementary School
Henderson Elementary School
Hernandez Elementary School
Hubbard High School
Hughes L Elementary School
Hyde Park High School
Infinity High School
Irving Elementary School
Jordan Elementary School
Juarez High School
Julian High School
Jungman Elementary School
Kanoon Elementary School
Kellman Elementary School
Kelly High School
Kelvyn Park High School
Kennedy High School
King Elementary School
Langford Elementary School
Lawndale Elementary School
Leland Elementary School
Libby Elementary School
Madero Elementary School
Madison Elementary School
Manley High School
Marine Leadership High School
Mather High School
Mays Elementary School
McCutcheon Elementary School
McKay Elementary School
Melody Elementary School
Metcalfe Elementary School
Morgan Park High School
Morrill Elementary School
Multicultural High School
New Field Elementary School
New Sullivan Elementary School
Nicholson Elementary School
Ninos Heroes Elementary School
Nixon Elementary School
North-Grand High School
Northside Learning High School
Oglesby Elementary School
O’Keefe Elementary School
Orr High School
Owens Elementary School
Peace And Education High School
Penn Elementary School
Peterson Elementary School
Phillips High School
Prieto Elementary School
Raby High School
Revere Elementary School
Richards High School
Rickover Military High School
Roosevelt High School
Ruiz Elementary School
Sabin Elementary School
Saucedo Elementary School
Sawyer Elementary School
Schubert Elementary School
Schurz High School
Senn High School
Shields Middle School
Simpson High School
Smyth Elementary School
Social Justice High School
Solomon Elementary School
Spencer Elementary School
Spry Elementary School
Spry High School
Steinmetz High School
Stem Elementary School
Stowe Elementary School
Suder Elementary School
Sullivan High School
Tanner Elementary School
Taylor Elementary School
Telpochcalli Elementary School
Thorp J Elementary School
Tilden High School
Till Elementary School
Uplift High School
Ward L Elementary School
Washington Elementary School
Washington High School
Wells Elementary School
Wells High School
Wentworth Elementary School
West Park Elementary School
West Ridge Elementary School
Westcott Elementary School
Whittier Elementary School
Williams High School
World Language High School
York High School
Young Elementary School

The following 78 schools will receive one or two special education case managers:

Amundsen High School
Beard Elementary School
Bell Elementary School
Blair Early Childhood Center
Bogan High School
Burbank Elementary School
Cardenas Elementary School
Chase Elementary School
Chicago Agriculture High School
Chicago Vocational High School
Chopin Elementary School
Christopher Elementary School
Clemente High School
Cleveland Elementary School
Curie High School
Dawes Elementary School
DePriest Elementary School
Disney II Elementary School
Eberhart Elementary School
Edwards Elementary School
Falconer Elementary School
Farnsworth Elementary School
Farragut High School
Foreman High School
Gary Elementary School
Goode High School
Graham High School
Gray Elementary School
Hale Elementary School
Hanson Park Elementary School
Hernandez Elementary School
Hubbard High School
Hyde Park High School
Jamieson Elementary School
Jones High School
Juarez High School
Julian High School
Kelly High School
Kennedy High School
Kilmer Elementary School
Kinzie Elementary School
Lake View High School
Lane Tech High School
Lincoln Park High School
Locke J Elementary School
Lorca Elementary School
Lyon Elementary School
Mather High School
McPherson Elementary School
Morgan Park High School
Neil Elementary School
Nightingale Elementary School
North-Grand High School
Northside Learning High School
Ogden Elementary School
Otis Elementary School
Phillips High School
Prieto Elementary School
Prosser High School
Reinberg Elementary School
Richardson Elementary School
Roosevelt High School
Rudolph Elementary Learning Center
Ryder Elementary School
Sawyer Elementary School
Schurz High School
Senn High School
Simeon High School
Solorio High School
Southside High School
Steinmetz High School
Stevenson Elementary School
Sullivan High School
Taft High School
Vaughn High School
Washington High School
Yates Elementary School
Young High School

Chicago Public Schools serves 371,000 students in 646 schools. It is the nation’s third-largest school district.

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