Committee on Education and Child Development
City Council Meeting May 23, 2018
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, 371,382 students were enrolled at Chicago Public Schools at the start of the 2017-2018 school year; and
WHEREAS, 77.7% of those students are economically disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS, it is the legal and moral obligation of the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois to provide public education to all students; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Public Schools are funded by taxpayers, with more than half of taxpayer dollars going to the Board of Education; and
WHEREAS, staffing deficiencies exist as it relates to librarians, nurses, social workers and counselors are rampant in CPS; and
WHEREAS, there are currently only 296 social workers at CPS to service the more than 371,000 students in CPS; and
WHEREAS, CPS currently employs only 109 occupational therapists to serve the students of CPS; and
WHEREAS, there are only 120 full-time nurses employed by CPS; and
WHEREAS, in 2017-2018 CPS budgeted for less than a third of the number of librarians staffed in the 2012 school year; and
WHEREAS, three out of four Chicago Public Schools do not have a librarian, with only 25 of 167 Chicago Public School staffing at least one full time librarian; and
WHEREAS, the total number of certified librarians at CPS is 40; and
WHEREAS, numerous studies show that students with access to a full-time librarians achieve better test scores in reading and writing than those students without access to librarians; and
WHEREAS, the American School Counselor Association recommends a student-to-student counselor ratio of 250:1, yet the current ratio of students to counselors in CPS is roughly 1000:1; and
WHEREAS, failure to provide school counselors disproportionately impacts first-generation and low-income students; and
WHEREAS, failure to provide students and staff with these supportive services is detrimental to education of students and the learning environment as a whole;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESO...
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