Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 8th graders and their families have been given four more weeks to finish their applications to Chicago Public Schools high schools. Although applications can be submitted electronically at any time, the original due date of Friday, Dec. 11, has been extended to Friday, Jan. 8. But students applying to selective enrollment high schools should still apply ASAP.

Paper applications also will be accepted, and the extension applies to students applying to CPS schools of any level.

“We hope that this added time will give students and families the opportunity they need to carefully consider the many school options that are available throughout the district,” CPS officials said in a message to families. “As a result of this extension, offers for the 2021-22 school year will come out slightly later than in years past, and we will provide an update with the exact date.” Some media reports said those offers might not come until May, when usually the offers come in late March.

“In the meantime, we urge our students to look at all of their options, from their neighborhood schools to offerings in STEM, IB, world language, and selective-enrollment, among others, to determine which environment will best meet their needs,” officials said. 

Students applying to selecting enrollment high schools, however, should submit their applications as soon as possible. All students applying to selective enrollment schools must take an extra exam, and the final date for that exam is Saturday, Dec. 19. Students must submit their applications before they can schedule the exam, which is given in person. More details about applying to selective enrollment high schools are available at this link. Complete information about applying to CPS high schools is available at this link.

The deadline change comes at the same time as research from CPS reports that students from poorer areas in Chicago are less likely to attend selective enrollment and higher-ranked schools than those living in higher-income areas.

“Our analysis of applications data finds that Black students are less likely to apply to a high-performance high school compared to their non-Black peers, and this ultimately translates into different rates of enrollment in high-performance schools by student race/ethnicity,” said a story on the report in the Chicago Tribune. The report noted “similar but smaller differences between students living in neighborhoods with different socioeconomic statuses.”

Looks like it’s up to Cluster Tutoring 8th graders to prove that research wrong!