Chicago Public Schools Test Scores and Meal Concerns

Chicago Public Schools officials say they’re working to address students’ concerns about meal and test score deficiencies, but some parents remain skeptical. With test scores still below pre-pandemic levels, and continued worker shortages in CPS cafeterias, parents have raised concerns about school performance, student achievement, meal deficiency, and test score inadequacies.

One Parent’s Conversation with Chicago Public School Officials

One parent, Maria Zea, who has children in Kindergarten, 4th and 7th grade, said she had met with school leaders previously and addressed several issues, including understaffing at her kids’ school (George Washington Carver Elementary).

“I am not being heard by CPS officials and it is frustrating,” said Zea. “It’s normal for my kids to come home hungry. They say they haven’t eaten all day because their lunch was thrown away for not having money on their account. How are they going to learn?”

She said that when teachers are absent or have left early because of a personal matter, substitutes often take over their positions without any training on how to teach.

“The substitute doesn’t know what’s happening,” Zea said. “They don’t know our schools’ curriculum or standards.”

“You’re not going to find someone halfway honest to tell you what’s really going on in the schools,” she said. “We are not being heard.”

Being Heard

Parents need to feel heard, they need to know that their concerns are being addressed. They need to be assured that their voices have been heard and will be acted on in a timely manner. In order for this to happen, parents must have access to people who are willing and able to listen and act accordingly on behalf of their children.

“They need more guidance counseling,” one parent added. “My son needs somebody to talk to when he’s feeling threatened or bullied.” They may want to consider adding guidance counselors. It’s important that students have someone to talk with about any other issues they may be having.

“When I hear about [these issues], I hear about them as an opportunity for us to figure out what happened, how we can fix it,” the parent said. “I don’t see these situations as things that should cause us all to panic.”

Chicago Public Schools Turning the Page

In the last few years, CPS has been working to improve both test scores and meal quality for their students. To do this, CPS plans to address staffing issues and facilities.

CPS is improving its staffing by adding additional teachers and staff members who will help ensure that every student has access to a good education. This includes hiring more nurses, counselors, librarians, and other professionals who can support students when they need it most.

In addition to adding more staff members, CPS is also making sure that schools have enough resources to work with these new employees effectively. For example, some school buildings may need new furniture or equipment like computers or projectors. Others might need repairs made on faulty plumbing systems or heating systems that are no longer working properly during cold weather months when temperatures drop below freezing outside.

How it affects the Education of the Students

“There are now 80,000 fewer students in the district than there were a decade ago,” stated Pedro Martinez, Chief Executive Officer for CPS. “Where are these kids going?”

Some believe that the problem can be solved by ensuring the students are well-fed and ready to focus in school.

It is evident that these issues are resulting in failure and less success rate and a low attendance rate. The problem isn’t about the students not being able to eat. It is about the food the schools provide and how it may also affect the reasons behind the test scores lowering in the second half of the year. Martinez plans to fix the situation by adding suppliers and hosting tasting events. The hope is that students will have the opportunity to choose what they want and do not want in their future lunches.

By Diego Elizarraraz

Sources:

CBS: Chicago Public Schools head discusses concerns with test scores, student meals

Yahoo!: Chicago Public Schools CEO on low test scores, food concerns

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