Chicago Hope Academy winning the 1A boys basketball state title feels like something straight out of the classic Gene Hackman film “Hoosiers.” Yet, even more inspiring than the athletic success is the story behind the founding and growth of this remarkable school — and the tireless efforts made to cover the cost of educating its students, most of whom are Black and Latino children from low-income families. But there’s an even bigger story here.
It’s a story of two schools just a short distance apart on Chicago’s West Side: Manley Career Academy High School and Chicago Hope Academy. This contrast highlights much of what’s broken in the Chicago Teachers Union’s approach to education, particularly its relentless efforts to block competition and protect union jobs at the expense of students.
Athletics aside, Chicago Hope Academy is a top-performing private Christian high school serving a demographic nearly identical to that of many struggling public schools. It does not cherry-pick students based on test scores. The school is racially and academically diverse, with a majority of students being Black and low-income. Over 70% come from low-income families, and 99% receive financial aid.
Hope Academy enrolls 299 students in grades nine through 12. Impressively, 90% of its graduates go on to a four-year college. The school ranks 10th out of 62 non-Catholic Christian high schools in Illinois and 37th out of 158 in the most diverse private high schools in the state, according to school ranking site Niche — a remarkable achievement given the demographics it serves. Just about a mile away sits the Chicago Public Schools’ Manley, with only 83 students currently enrolled.
Yet despite Hope’s extraordinary success — and taking into account the hundreds of low-income applicants it must turn away each year — the CTU shows little regard for the needs of low-income minority families searching for affordable, quality alternatives. Meanwhile, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and more than 30% of CPS teachers send at least one of their children to a private school.
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This is not surprising. The CTU has long fought against providing facilities not only to private schools but also to public charter schools. When then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 50 underenrolled neighborhood schools to help fund an expensive new teachers contract, the CTU pressured the city to block charter schools from leasing those vacant buildings — despite their willingness to enroll displaced students.
The Illinois General Assembly’s CTU-backed decision to let the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program expire also had devastating effects — costing roughly 130 students their scholarships and displacing more than 15,000 students with scholarships across the state. It’s worth noting that 47% of all CPS students are Latino, and 34% are Black, and more than half come from families earning an average household income of just $36,000.
The CTU and national teachers unions are threatened by the superior performance of private schools, particularly parochial schools. Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that Catholic schools didn’t suffer significant academic setbacks during the pandemic and outperformed public schools in all categories. They ranked among the highest in outcomes for low-income students — demonstrating a capacity to serve underprivileged children effectively.
In Chicago, the archdiocese’s schools bucked the national trend of pandemic-related academic decline. Students exceeded their learning goals, according to annual i-Ready assessment data. Students in Chicago’s Catholic high schools graduate at a 98% rate, and 96% go on to college. The Archdiocese of Chicago holds more U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon awards than any other school system in the U.S.
It’s no wonder school choice is gaining momentum: Around 30 states now offer private school choice. School choice is a major priority for President Donald Trump’s administration. Twelve states have moved to universal programs giving every family, regardless of income, access to a voucher or education savings account to attend the school of their choice. Illinois, shamefully, is the only state to eliminate its program.
The Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause guarantees all children access to a free and equal education. It doesn’t specify that education must come from the government. Public school districts routinely contract with private schools for special education and alternative programs. Meanwhile, federal programs such as Head Start, Pell Grants, the GI Bill and student loan programs all support private education.
Illinois should restore and expand its state scholarship program — or Chicago should enact a city-based version — to offer poor families the same choices the CTU president and many of her members already enjoy. And as for Manley? Let Hope Academy lease the building. Give Manley’s students access to a far better school, and open the doors to hundreds of additional low-income children whose families are desperate for a better educational opportunity.
Paul Vallas is an adviser for the Illinois Policy Institute. He ran for Chicago mayor in 2023 and 2019 and was previously budget director for the city and CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
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