The experience to lead. The independence to do what’s right. The resolve to fight for every child in Chicago.
As President of the Chicago School Board, Jessica will work to ensure all students have access to excellent, well-resourced schools. Explore Jessica’s priorities below and the concrete steps she will take to enact them.
Put Students First — Not Politics
As Board President, Jessica will refocus the Board of Education on what actually matters: making sure every child in Chicago has the right to an excellent education, regardless of a student’s zip code. Jessica will drive CPS to set clear goals and make sure students have the support they need to learn and grow, fuel the important work of educators with the resources they need to be successful, hold leadership accountable for results, and ensure that our schools are places where the young people of Chicago feel included, engaged, and prepared for the future.
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The earliest years are critical in a child’s development. As President, Jessica will partner with the City and the State to expand Pre-K access for 3 year olds at schools and in communities, while also expanding partnerships with key programs that support families from birth to Pre-K enrollment. When Jessica is President, the CPS Board will make early learning a priority with clear, measurable goals for success, and with a focus on the students furthest from opportunity: students with disabilities, Black students, students learning English, and students living in poverty.
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Under Jessica’s leadership, the CPS Board will focus not just on whether students graduate, but whether they are ready for college, a trade program, or another pathway to success. She will fight for programs that keep older students engaged and on track through their pathway of choice after graduation.
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As President, Jessica will fight to eliminate the racial and socioeconomic inequities that keep students and families from accessing the right school for them. That means evaluating enrollment processes for kindergarten and high school where too many families struggle to access the schools and programs they seek, identifying the gaps that families are falling through, and making sure the system is fair and equitable for every kid.
Declining enrollment among school-age Chicagoans is not just a budget problem — it is a signal that families are losing confidence in the system. As President, Jessica will work to restore confidence and pride in CPS. And she’ll track enrollment as a share of the city's total school-age population as a public accountability metric, treating it as a measure of whether the district is earning the trust of Chicago families.
Stand with Every Student, Every School, and Every Community
Jessica believes the voices of students, families, and communities belong in the room where decisions are made — not consulted after the fact. As Board President, she will make community representation a standing expectation of how this board operates: building district-wide structures that bring LSC leaders, faith institutions, families, and local organizations into the board's ongoing work — consistently, not just in moments of crisis.
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No decisions about our communities should be made without their voices at the center. Jessica will build a replicable community engagement structure — connecting LSC chairs, faith and community leaders, parent mentor groups, and local elected officials into organized, district-wide networks with direct lines to the board. These will not be advisory councils for show. They will be the mechanism by which communities hold the board accountable and the board responds to communities.
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Federal threats to Title I funding, bilingual education, DEI programs, and the rights of immigrant students are real and immediate. As Board President, Jessica will work with the Mayor, the Governor, and peer school districts across Illinois to defend CPS from federal overreach — and will use the community structures she builds to mobilize families and communities in that defense.
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Every CPS student — regardless of immigration status, language, race, disability, or zip code — deserves a school that is safe, welcoming, and built for their success. Jessica will establish board policies and partnerships that protect students' rights and dignity, and will ensure that no family fears sending their child to school.
A Responsible Path to Long-Term Financial Stability
CPS is underfunded — and too many of the dollars it does receive never reach a classroom. Jessica will do the hard work of changing both: building real partnerships with the City and State around a shared, multi-year financial recovery plan, and establishing the credibility that makes Springfield want to invest in Chicago's schools. The measure of success is not a balanced budget in any one year. It is a parent enrolling their child in kindergarten with the confidence that this district will be there — stable, resourced, and focused on their child — every step of the way to graduation.
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Right now, only 59 cents of every CPS dollar reaches a school. As Board President, Jessica will set a public goal for increasing the share of district funds that reach classrooms directly, and will require the central office to justify every administrative budget line by what it produces for students.
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No single actor — not CPS, not City Hall, not Springfield — can solve this deficit alone. Jessica will convene City and State partners around a shared multi-year financial plan with public milestones, honest tradeoffs, and clear accountability. The plan must show legislators in Springfield that CPS can spend responsibly before asking them to invest more. Specifically, this plan must ensure the district’s credit rating reaches investment grade (BBB-/Baa3) and build up a cash reserve that covers two months of daily cash expenditure.
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CPS receives only 73% of what Illinois's own Evidence-Based Funding Formula considers adequate. Jessica will build a real legislative coalition — including suburban and downstate districts — to fully fund our schools. She will also push for full reimbursement of services for our most vulnerable students and for the State to meet its pension obligations.
Principled, Independent Leadership — A Board That Actually Governs
The board's job is to govern the city’s public school system in a way that’s accountable to the students and families it serves. The board must hold CPS leadership accountable to make sure students and educators have the support they need, budget responsibly, and set clear goals for the system. Five years from now, every Chicagoan should be able to say they knew what this board was focused on — because our communication was clear, our actions matched our rhetoric, and the results showed up in schools. Jessica will lead that board through collaboration, and with the independence she’s already shown in her actions and in her votes.
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Jessica is the only candidate in this race whose independence is documented in votes, not just promises. She opposed the irresponsible high interest operating loan that would have harmed Chicago taxpayers and families, even under intense pressure from City Hall. She led the independent search for a new CPS superintendent with integrity. As Board President, she will answer to Chicago's children and to parents and taxpayers – not political interests — not the Mayor, not a union, and not any donor.
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Jessica will lead the board in adopting a clear governance framework: standing and ad-hoc committees that do real work between board meetings, a public legislative calendar, defined criteria for major decisions, and transparent feedback processes that give school communities genuine input before decisions are made.
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The Board President's relationship with the Superintendent is critical. Jessica will build a genuine working partnership: the Board President as partner and champion, keeping board members in the lane of governing — not managing, and building connections with the community to make sure the board and district are responsive to current and changing needs. She will establish a transparent, public CEO evaluation framework with clear goals tied to student outcomes, and hold that standard consistently.
As an open and communicative leader, Jessica wants to hear from you. Do you have feedback or ideas about this plan? Email vote@biggs4chicago.com.