Education Priorities
High-Quality Education For All
Our state’s broken school funding formula means that many neighborhood public schools are unable to provide students with all of the resources they need to succeed, including adequate teaching staff. In addition to working with our state-level lawmakers to secure more funding for CPS, Alderman Hopkins will work with his fellow aldermen to find more creative streams of revenue - including private-public partnerships - so that CPS can hire more teachers and offer more innovative programs like part-time apprenticeships.
An Accountable Elected School Board
Alderman Hopkins supports an elected school board, with a hybrid modification to ensure continued mayoral accountability. Alderman Hopkins believes that the mayor should retain some accountability in the process by appointing a Board President, and Chicago residents should be given the opportunity to elect members to the Board.
Robust After-School Programs
From coding classes to fine arts training to book clubs, after-school programs are vital supplements to public education in Chicago. After-school programs help keep kids off the street and give them a reason to remain in school – even if they do not enjoy their regular classes – by tapping into their inherent interests. Alderman Hopkins supports expanding funding for these programs to ensure that our students are prepared for the challenges of the 21st-century workplace and have outlets for exploring untapped skills and talents.