Students on the move as parents reject underperforming neighborhood schools
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Chicago Public Schools career-office director Rita Raichoudhuri and CEO Janice Jackson present the report at Wells High School, 936 N. Ashland Ave. A Chicago Public Schools study suggests that more than elsewhere in the district, families here reject local schools for top-tier alternatives nearby. The Mid-North Side region has lost 13% of its student population in four years, according to a Nov. 15 presentation by Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson at Wells High School, 936 N. Ashland Ave. High schools are half-full; 58% of high school students travel outside the region, and only 16% attend their designated neighborhood school. Turnarounds are a challenge when more families are leaving the city than are moving in, Jackson admitted. Combined with birth-rate trends, she expects Miami-Dade County to overtake Chicago as the third-largest public school district. With state funding still tenuous, Jackson says long-term capital plans will require a stronger fiscal footing.