Chicago To End Selective High School Enrollment System, Emphasizing Neighborhood Schools

Students would be able to join their neighborhood high school automatically.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the city school board may be making big changes by taking away selective enrollment and magnet schools, ABC 7 Chicago reports. The change comes in the hopes of focusing on equity and building up existing neighborhood schools.

The city’s board voted to approve a resolution that supports neighborhood schools, moving away from the existing school choice system, in which students must be accepted into the enrollment schools, and some must travel long distances for their daily education.

The change should come as no surprise to voters, as Johnson promoted the proposed shift during his campaign, saying students would be able to join the high school in their neighborhood automatically.

Selective enrollment system hasn’t always been the most popular choice, beginning nearly 30 years ago to offer alternative education opportunities. Critics, including some board members, feel the district has pitted schools and students against each other and increased racial inequity it was created to solve. Supporters of selective enrollment argue that parents can choose better schools for their children if the schools in their district don’t meet their expectations or academic standards.

School Board Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland challenged the schools and residents to create a “strong, high-quality pathway from pre-K to high school.”

“It shouldn’t be a competition between schools; it should really be families, knowing that, ‘Hey, my child can walk to school and have a great option,'” Breland said, according to Daily Mail.

Board President Jianan Shi feels the community should guide and inform the plan, saying, “The goal is that we’re able to change the current competition model so that students are not pitted against one another, schools are not pitted against one another.”

Chicago is home to 11 high-ranking enrollment schools, including charter and magnet schools like Walter Payton Prep and Jones College Prep. In 2017, Chicago Public Schools set up a selective enrollment system wherein eighth graders could apply to a specific high school instead of enrolling in their neighborhood school. It worked: Data proved that 76% of students chose the higher-ranking schools over those in their neighborhood schools, as fellow students were just as academically driven.