Centering Chicago Public Schools’ Portfolio Strategy on Racial Equity, Students & Community through Organizational Learning & Innovation

Abstract

In 2013, the massive closure of 50 Chicago Public Schools bred community mistrust, harmed students academically, and left abandoned school buildings as relics of community divestments. With current declining enrollment and the need for accelerated learning, there is an urgent call to examine the district’s portfolio of schools and ensure every Chicago neighborhood has high-quality, well-resourced school programming for 330,000 students. Moreover, there is a vital need to take a different approach to manage the district’s portfolio of schools that strengthens the community, improves learning for students, and establishes greater trust among students and families.

In the capstone, I elevate two different small-scale innovations – one focused on improving the current portfolio approach and another focused on introducing a radical schema to disrupt the traditional portfolio approach. The capstone describes a liberatory design approach to co-create and implement both innovations. While each small-scale innovation had varying success amid leadership transitions, organizational learning is key to centering the portfolio approach around racial equity, community responsiveness, and student experience.

The capstone outlines potential implications for me as a leader, Chicago Public Schools as the site, and the PreK-12 education sector. Chicago Public Schools acknowledges that a portfolio approach for all schools must include racial equity, community responsiveness, and student experience. The district is on a path to make significant strides to redefine the traditional portfolio model to restore community trust and reimagine effective school options for all Chicago Public Schools students.