Chicago Public Schools Continues Support of New Students with Welcome Center Pilot

 

Chicago Public Schools Continues Support of New Students with Welcome Center Pilot

Welcome Center at Clemente High School Will Centralize Supports for One Region of the City while all schools continue to enroll new students

CHICAGO – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez announced Monday, July 17, that the District will continue providing enrollment support for new students at schools across the city and through a pilot Welcome Center at Roberto Clemente Community Academy High School which will provide enrollment services for new arrivals living in the West Town and Humboldt Park communities. The new Welcome Center builds on the District’s ongoing work to support new arrival students and families as they enter CPS classrooms.

"Since my first day in office, my team and I have been working to create the strongest possible plan to support newly arriving families in Chicago, and this Welcome Center is an essential part of that plan," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Regardless of the language a family speaks, their country of origin, or the circumstances that have brought them to our city, this Welcome Center is equipped to serve them, and that commitment to service will always be one of our city's greatest strengths.”

Schools across the District have long served newly arriving children, assessing students for English language and other educational services as well as connecting families with District and external resources to support their health and well being. That work has historically taken place at CPS schools  and will continue to largely take place at schools in the 2023-24 school year with the Welcome Center serving as a pilot center where such services become centralized and streamlined for the West Town and Humboldt Park areas.

“The diverse and vibrant neighborhoods across Chicago bear witness to our long tradition of welcoming new students from around the world. Those that come here in search of a better life have enriched our culture and strengthened our communities and our schools,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “They deserve all we have to offer. With strong collaboration from our partners, we will continue supporting any child of new arrivals who enroll in our schools, not only because it's the law, but because it's the right thing to do and an honor to serve each child who walks through our doors.”

Federal, state, and local policies make clear that all children have the right to immediate enrollment in public schools regardless of their national origin, citizenship, or immigration status. The announcement confirmed alignment with these policies and also reaffirmed the District’s commitment to ensure that every student in Chicago feels welcomed, supported, and safe in their school communities.

English Learners make up more than 20 percent of the District's enrollment, with CPS families from all over the world speaking hundreds of home languages. CPS schools have access to high-quality curriculum across all content areas that are grade-level appropriate, meaningful, and responsive to their communities and identities. The District has also worked hard to recruit and retain talented teachers and school leaders that meet the diverse needs of students, with $3 million in additional funding in FY2023 for more licensed teachers than ever before, including bilingual educators. The District’s FY2024 budget calls for a $15 million increase in funding for bilingual instruction, including $8 million for enrollment adjustments at schools receiving new students.

With the recent influx of new arrivals, in part due to Texas bussing people to sanctuary cities, the District has worked with our partners at the City and school-level leaders over the past year to enroll students and ensure proper placement and academic support. CPS receives information, including children's date of birth which is used to schedule school enrollments, from the Chicago Department of Family & Support Services (DFSS) and other partner organizations. In addition, the District provides support for new arrival students and families under federal, state and local policies aimed at assessing students’ linguistic, academic, and social-emotional needs and placing them in the appropriate instructional setting with access to resources that meet each student’s specific needs. Immigrant and migrant children and youth experiencing homelessness are considered “Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS)” as defined by the Federal McKinney-Vento Act.

The pilot Welcome Center at Roberto Clemente High School will centralize these supports for families that are living near the West Town and Humboldt Park communities and have been referred to CPS by the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), other government agencies, or community based organizations. Families referred to the new pilot Welcome Center will visit by appointment only and be escorted to and from the Welcome Center which is slated to begin accepting referrals later this week.

Just as they do in our schools, CPS staff at the new Welcome Center will guide families through the registration and enrollment process, assessing each student’s language, academic, and social-emotional needs and placing them in the appropriate learning environment. The pilot provides the opportunity to centralize and streamline these supports for a specific geographic location and explore how best to serve families across the city. CPS will consider expanding this model to additional sites throughout the city depending on success and ongoing need. Clemente High School was selected as the initial pilot site based on its location in a dense newcomer area, existing resources and infrastructure to meet the operational demand, and the school’s vast experience taking in large numbers of students from newly arriving families. Similar criteria will be used to determine other pilot locations as needed.

Outlined below are some of the services available to all students at all schools and ones that the Welcome Center pilot will provide to referred newly arriving families with school-aged children living close to the West Town/Humboldt Park area.

Language Access and Supports

Registration/Enrollment Support

Language Screenings

Food and Nutrition

  

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