Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges team up with UIC to help students get 4-year degrees
The new partnership has been dubbed Chicago Roadmap 2.0 and builds on a previous partnership between CPS and CCOC called Chicago Roadmap, which helped CPS students transition to City Colleges of Chicago by creating specific curricula and learning pathways to prepare them for community college. Chicago Roadmap launched in 2020.
City officials said the program has become a nationally recognized partnership between K-12 schools and community colleges, so now they are launching a second phase that focuses on helping students complete bachlor's degrees.
Chicago Roadmap 2.0 aims to ensure students can transition seamlessly from high school to community college and then to four-year institutions without losing credits and by reducing barriers to transfer.
The new phase will introduce structured pathways to a four-year degree from UIC, starting with the fields of health care, education, computer science and business.
Students will have access to proactive advising, personalized degree planning and targeted support services. The partnership will also ensure credits from Early College, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs align with a bachelor's program so credits are not lost when transferring. Early College programs allow high school students to complete free college coursework and earn college credits before they graduate high school.
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Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Excitement amid cuts: CPS families on the first day
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Cruz and her husband, Ivan, had to get their three daughters and eldest son out the door before 8:15 a.m. When their younger son, Lionel, starts classes in early September, the mornings will get even more hectic. 'It's crazy, but we manage,' Cruz said. Her hands rested over her swollen belly: She's eight months pregnant. The couple, both Mexican immigrants who came to Chicago decades ago, met at a nearby church when they were teenagers. The family's experience with CPS has been mixed. Eleven-year-old Lionel is autistic, and before he transferred to a school outside the district two years ago, there was only one special education classroom assistant to manage his classroom. He was almost expelled after he pulled the fire alarm, Cruz said. 'It wasn't working before,' she said. 'They didn't know how to take care of him.' Lionel now attends a therapeutic day school in Clearing. While her experience with Lionel was rocky, other investments in CPS give Cruz hope. George Washington High School in the East Side neighborhood — where her oldest daughter attends and Cruz serves on the Local School Council — was selected as one of the district's new sustainable community schools. The school will receive an additional $500,000 to partner with nonprofits and provide wraparound social services to students. 'That makes a difference,' she said. At 8:17 a.m., the family piled out the front door. Jadelinn and her 5-year-old sister, Jayne, each held paper towels and tissue boxes to give to their teachers. They wore matching pink backpacks. 'I'm gonna see all my friends,' Jadelinn said, jumping up and down in front of her parents. After their parents dropped them off, the sisters didn't look back.
Bloomberg
a day ago
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Chicago Schools Seeks $1 Billion of Short-Term Debt as Cash Gone
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