Geographic Determinants of Black Male Educational Outcomes in Chicago

Introduction

I currently serve as an assistant principal within the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system. Over the past 12 years, I have had the opportunity to work in various capacities across both the South and North sides of Chicago, providing me with a unique vantage point from which to observe the educational landscape of the city. Through this experience, I have become acutely aware of the stark inequities that disproportionately affect Black male adolescent students within CPS. This realization is deeply personal, as I have witnessed firsthand how these students — many of whom are filled with potential — often leave high school on divergent paths shaped by a system that fails to support them equitably. Schools are a microcosm of society; school inequities only reflect broader ones that exist in society, past and present.

I want to investigate these inequities further because of my role as an educator and school leader, and because these issues are of urgent importance to the students and families we serve, as well as to society at large. The systemic inequities within CPS perpetuate cycles of poverty, limit opportunities for upward mobility, and widen the achievement gap between Black male adolescent students and their peers (Arnett, 2019).

Through this exploration of the underlying factors that contribute to this disparity, I want to shed light on how leadership within schools can help address these challenges. My goal is to be a voice for equitable educational outcomes for Black adolescent students.

Problem Statement

Educational inequities in Chicago are stark, and they particularly affect Black male adolescents, who face disproportionate challenges in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The school system's administrators know this themselves and report directly: "Our schools have been placed on a direct pipeline to the prison industrial complex" (Arnett, 2019, p. 49). In fact, there are not many options: "Chicago has lost close to 200,000 Black residents because of the lack of housing choices and schooling options" (Arnett, 2019, p. 48). And those schooling options that remain are often unable to help: among CPS students in the last decade, "25% finished high school with an average GPA of 1.51, a D average. Across all CPS graduates the average GPA was 2.36, a low C" (Farrington, 2014, p. 38).

Research highlights that these disparities are rooted in long-standing racial and economic segregation, which continues to shape the educational landscape in Chicago (Kozol, 2005; Lipman, 2011; Shedd, 2015; Todd-Breland, 2018; Wilson, 2012; Wilson, 2019). Chicago Public Schools' funding model, which incorporates a student-based budgeting framework, aims to allocate resources equitably by addressing the specific needs of each school based on student population characteristics. It has the potential to reduce disparities, but challenges like insufficient overall funding and varying implementation effectiveness can still perpetuate inequities. Therefore, to confirm the relevance of these disparities for the principals and students interviewed, it is important to gather qualitative data directly from their lived experiences. By analyzing their narratives and cross-referencing them with existing research, it can be better understood whether the themes of racial and economic segregation — along with disparities in funding and resources — align with their realities. This study aims to explore the perspectives of students and principals regarding factors such as economic resources, school funding, and neighborhood safety, and their contribution to the inequitable educational outcomes of Black male adolescent students within CPS.

The Chicago Public Schools system provides a prime context for understanding these inequities because of its highly segregated and resource-stratified schools. Much like the social determinants of health that impact individuals' well-being, factors like economic resources, neighborhood environments, and school funding significantly influence the quality of education students receive (Anyon, 1997; Rothstein, 2013; Shedd, 2015; Todd-Breland, 2018; Wilson, 2012). Economic resources play a major role in shaping educational experiences, as schools with more funding — with higher budgets drawn from multiple sources, including parents and alumni — are better equipped to provide educational materials, advanced technology, extracurricular opportunities, and access to highly qualified teaching staff (Darling-Hammond, 2010). In Chicago, as in many urban areas across the nation, school funding is often tied to local property taxes, leading to significant disparities between schools in affluent neighborhoods and those in low-income areas. For example, Lakeview High School (NLHS) on the North Side benefits from higher levels of local funding due to its proximity to wealthier neighborhoods and business districts (Barrow et al., 2024). In contrast, Corliss High School (SCHS) on the South Side, situated in a lower-income area, receives less funding, which translates to fewer resources, outdated materials, and limited extracurricular activities (Owens, 2020). This disparity in funding reflects a national trend of inequitable school funding linked to local property taxes, exacerbating existing racial and economic inequalities (Baker & Corcoran, 2012).

Under CPS's student-based budgeting model, funding is allocated on a per-student basis, with adjustments made for factors like poverty, English language learner status, and special education needs (Estevan, 2016). However, declining student enrollment — a persistent issue in many CPS schools, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods — has resulted in significant budget cuts. Schools with shrinking enrollments face a compounded problem: fewer students lead to reduced funding, further limiting resources and making it harder to attract and retain families, creating a cycle of under-enrollment and underfunding (Owens, 2020).

Needs assessments are intended to address these disparities by directing additional resources to schools with higher concentrations of at-risk students. For example, CPS has attempted to provide supplemental funding to schools in neighborhoods with greater socioeconomic challenges, yet the overall inadequacy of district-wide resources often limits the effectiveness of such measures (Hall et al., 2021). These cuts disproportionately affect schools like Corliss High School, where declining enrollment combined with existing funding inequities results in outdated facilities, understaffed programs, and reduced extracurricular opportunities, further exacerbating disparities in educational outcomes. Conversely, schools like NLHS, with stable or growing enrollments in affluent areas, can leverage their budgets and external funding sources to maintain high-quality educational programs (Barrow et al., 2024).

Neighborhood safety further complicates the educational experiences of students in under-resourced schools. Research indicates that students in high-crime areas often face additional challenges, such as chronic absenteeism, heightened stress levels, and limited access to after-school programs — all of which contribute to widening achievement gaps (Sharkey, 2018). In the context of CPS, these factors create distinct educational environments within the same district, where students' experiences vary drastically based on their geographic location and neighborhood conditions, despite being centrally funded by the district (CPS, 2024).