In Chicago Public Schools, it’s possible that some students will go from kindergarten to high school and never have a Black man as a teacher.
According to CPS data, fewer than 4% of CPS teachers are Black men. In a school district where 36% percent of students are Black, that’s a striking imbalance. Nationwide, that figure is even lower – just 2% of teachers are Black across the U.S.
Last fall, three Chicago high schools instituted a pilot program to address that imbalance. The Intro to Urban Education curriculum is designed to encourage young Black and Latino men to envision themselves at the head of the class.
