My story is the quintessential journey of hope, one on which education serves as a pathway to a better future. Like many before and after me, I arrived in Chicago as an immigrant from Mexico, at the age of 5. My parents, with only a third grade education, were determined to create better opportunities for our family. The nexus of that journey was my Chicago Public Schools classroom. At John Walsh Elementary, I learned English. I discovered my acumen for numbers and made new friends.
Later, at Benito Juarez High School, the support of teachers, counselors and community members led me to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I fully realized how education could transform my life.
My return to CPS as CEO in the fall of 2021, after previously serving as chief financial officer, has been a tremendous honor. Leading the district where my journey began, and where countless other Chicagoans have embarked on similar paths, fuels my commitment to improving daily student learning experiences and outcomes for our students and our city.
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is my regular school visits. Walking through the hallways and classrooms across the city, I am filled with optimism. I see students deeply and enthusiastically engaged in learning and teachers and school leaders constantly testing new strategies to reach our children, never satisfied with the status quo.
These moments affirm that we are on the right track as a system. So do the metrics. We have more than 5,600 additional positions and nearly 2,000 additional teachers since I joined CPS. We’ve doubled down on core instruction, ranking first in reading growth and third in combined reading and math growth in 2023 among large urban districts, according to a national academic scorecard. Our 2024 state assessment reports show continued gains, and our graduation rates continue to climb. The CPS Class of 2024 graduates earned a record-breaking $2 billion in college scholarships.
In late April, CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union began negotiating a new contract for our teachers — professionals we deeply value. Last month, we proposed 4% to 5% annual raises, and we are close to responding to more than 700 CTU requests, reflecting our commitment to good faith negotiations. We are making progress toward a fair agreement.
Amid these academic accomplishments and labor negotiations, my role has come under fire. Whispers of my pending removal returned last week, along with false rumors, such as the notion that I plan to close schools. To be clear: There is no plan to close or consolidate schools.
Furthermore, as a matter of policy, a CEO cannot unilaterally close schools, nor should or would anyone in a district still reeling from the 2013 school closures. To put that disinformation to rest, board President Jianan Shi and I are asking the board to adopt a resolution Thursday to not close any schools through July 1, 2026, when my contract with the board expires.
I’m not naive — this is Chicago, after all, and I know there is always politics. But it’s deeply disappointing to navigate a fusillade of outright lies, part of a concerted campaign to discredit me and my leadership team. Our focus should be on delivering for our kids.
That’s in fact what we celebrated on Sept. 18 as our board unanimously approved our new equity-focused five-year strategic plan to accelerate student learning and strengthen our neighborhood schools.
Hours later, Mayor Brandon Johnson asked for my resignation. I declined. It was not a rebuke of the mayor but rather a decision to pursue our vision for the future of CPS.
I have chosen not to resign because doing so would risk creating a leadership vacuum and instability that could disrupt the strategic progress we’ve made to date. I am the seventh CPS CEO in the past decade. A leadership change is extraordinarily disruptive to any school system, generating a domino effect of change among key positions that can stall progress and diminish opportunities for students. Our long-term vision and initiatives are at a critical juncture, and leaving now would jeopardize continuity and our momentum.
And it’s especially disruptive and unprecedented for a district to lose its CEO in the middle of labor negotiations with the its teachers union.
On top of that, this system will soon welcome our first elected school board, one that will face financial challenges as well as pressure to continue our academic progress. I agree with our labor partners that we must identify more funding to support CPS. We face a structural budget deficit of at least $700 million next year while still carrying debt from past administrations.
We need to find solutions, but, to be clear, I remain against exorbitant, short-term borrowing, a past practice that generated negative bond ratings for CPS and that would likely lead to additional bond rating cuts and higher borrowing interest rates. Additionally, bonds are primarily repaid by operating revenues, and all the additional costs of debt service take away dollars from the classroom — all of which means that future generations of Chicago’s children and taxpayers will ultimately pay the price.
I am grateful to the hundreds of CPS principals and many City Council members, other civic leaders and countless everyday Chicagoans who have come out to support me, but my main concern is not about me, but our future.
I will continue to work with optimism that our board, all dedicated civic volunteers who want the best for our children and our district team will continue to work together. I am committed to building on the momentum that we have collectively made on behalf of students who need and deserve the stability of their school system to deliver on the promise of education, just like it did for me.
Pedro Martinez is the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
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