CPS presented its early learning and progress monitoring update to the board on May 29, reporting record pre‑K enrollment, curriculum rollout and early‑grade assessment results.

Leslie McKinley, chief officer for Early Childhood, said the district now offers pre‑K programming in more than 370 elementary schools, serving over 19,000 students — an increase of more than 53% in full‑day pre‑K enrollment since 2020. McKinley said 84% of pre‑K students meet early‑childhood block grant at‑risk criteria and that the district has expanded access to students with diverse needs.

Nicole Milberg, chief officer for Teaching and Learning, and other curriculum leaders described Skyline, the district’s grade‑level curriculum for pre‑K through 5 that emphasizes culturally relevant texts, systematic foundational‑skills instruction and high‑quality instructional materials. Dr. Jane Fleming and Dr. Corey Morrison outlined literacy key practices and a math‑fluency program that uses classroom games rather than time tests.

CPS assessment staff presented mid‑year i‑Ready results for K–2 that show CPS students outperforming peers in a comparator set of other large urban districts, and an internal cohort analysis that tracked students across three consecutive years and found average gains of seven percentage points in reading and four points in math for consistently enrolled cohorts.

Board members asked for end‑of‑year progress aligned to strategic plan targets; district staff said the end‑of‑year window was open and final targets will be reported when data are processed. Members also asked about supports for dually identified students and for students who speak languages other than English and Spanish; staff said the curriculum includes language supports and the district is working to expand aligned text sets in other major CPS languages.

District leaders described ongoing family engagement, professional learning for teachers, and pilot family math nights that distributed at‑home kits for fluency games. The board did not take action on curriculum at the meeting; staff said they will continue to expand training and report results.