Chicago Public Schools parents said at a community meeting Thursday that one of the most important items on their wish list for a new CPS chief is they have a connection with Chicago.
Ideally, that means they graduated from a school in the district, they said.
“If that’s possible that would be best because that way they know the city and the schools,” said Dannys Bastidas, mother to second and seventh graders at Burbank Elementary School in Belmont Cragin.
Bastidas was one of about two dozen residents who gathered at Steinmetz College Prep, 3030 N. Mobile Ave., for the Chicago Board of Education’s first of several public meetings intended to gather community input as its search for the next CPS leader gets underway.
“It was very important to the board that we include community voice in this search and make sure we hear from all of you and what you are looking for in this next leader,” said Jennifer Custer, one of the board members for District 1.
Ed Bannon, the other District 1 board member, was also at the meeting. About 50 people registered to attend.
The board is holding community meetings in each of the 10 school districts over the next three weeks to get feedback on what residents value in a new head of CPS. It will also conduct focus groups and release a survey for broader feedback.
Outgoing CEO Pedro Martinez was fired from the top CPS job in December. His contract allowed him to stay through June because he was fired without cause.
In March the Board of Education voted unanimously to require the next leader of CPS to be a licensed educator, changing the role from a CEO to a traditional superintendent for the first time in decades.
Chicago’s schools have had a mayor-selected CEO since 1995, when they became the first in the country to be overseen by a chief executive — a corporate title that at times has troubled parents and advocates.
Martinez is headed to Massachusetts where he will take charge of K-12 schools as education commissioner. The timeline for a permanent replacement is unclear. Officials said the meetings kick off the first of four phases in the search.
Adriana Garcia, who attended Thursday’s meeting and has a son is in the ninth grade at Taft High School in Norwood Park, agreed with Bastidas and wants the next leader to have a connection with CPS.
“I’d like for them to know CPS so they can understand us because if they aren’t familiar they won’t know our children’s needs,” Garcia said.
She added that she’d also like for the next leader to understand the value of protecting vulnerable groups like the Latino and African American communities. Garcia wants more equity in the way schools are funded.
“I want them to focus that all schools get the same resources, and not leave us minorities with less and the majority with more,” Garcia said.
Melinda Flores, who has a child at Burbank Elementary and one at Steinmetz, wants the next schools chief to be more collaborative with parents so “we can work together to get our children into universities and graduate with careers.”
She’d also like for them to have graduated from a CPS school “so they can know the system.”
Applications for the position opened on April 25. After the community engagement process is finished, the board will review public input with its partner executive search firm Alma Advisory Group. The findings will be made public, officials said.
“I really hope they do consider our voices,” Flores said.
The next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Hubbard High School, 6200 S. Hamlin Ave.
Contributing: Sarah Karp, Nader Issa