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Chicago Public Schools faces many challenges today, as it strives to educate a wide and diverse student body. To achieve that end, the school system offers a wide range of programs to help students succeed and even excel in their academic endeavors. Check out these six programs currently offered by the Chicago Public Schools district.

Academic Decathlon

Chicago Public Schools boasts the highest enrollment in this national competition than any other school district in the country. Approximately 70 schools compete within the local district in the , with nine-member teams representing each school. Each team must consist of three students with an A-average, three students with a B-average, and three students with a C-average.

Students compete in seven different academic areas and on three different levels of competition. The purpose of this activity is to foster a spirit of teamwork, while individual members work toward academic excellence. Nearly all of the students that participate in the Academic Decathlon through CPS graduate from high school, and more than 70 percent head to college after graduation.

Arts Education

The strives to offer Chicago students more opportunities to explore various forms of art outside the classroom setting. The department provides offerings in dance, theatre, music, and visual arts. In addition to providing programs for students, the Department of Arts Education serves as a resource for teachers and administrators within the Chicago Public Schools system.

The goal of the Arts program is

Serving more than one million students each year, the New York City Department of Education is the largest school district in the country. This district faces serious challenges when it comes to ensuring all students in the city get at least one or two hot meals every day, regardless of their income level. With a wide variety of services provided by the School Food division of the New York City Department of Education, students throughout the city get the nutrition they need all through the school year and beyond.

About NYC School Food Services

According to the NYC School Food , this department serves around 850,000 meals to more than 1.1 million students in New York City every day. The department offers a free breakfast program to all students in the city, based on the philosophy that students that start their day with a nutritious meal perform better academically. The department also serves lunch and 1,700 schools across the city, including free lunches for many students that qualify.

According to the of the New York City government, qualification for free or reduced-price lunch is based on family income level. A family of five qualifies for the free lunch program if their monthly income is $2,927 or below. That same family of five can also qualify for a reduced-price lunch, where the student only has to pay 25 cents per meal, if their monthly income is $4,165 or

The , one of the largest public school districts in the United States, has very specific goals for its students. Those goals are outlined at the district website, as well as the strategies the district plans to use for achieving those goals. The goals all point towards preparing students for career or college readiness once they graduate from Los Angeles high schools. However, the strategies begin implementation long before students ever set foot in a high school in the county.

Goal 1: Prepare Students for Career and College by Transforming the Teaching and Learning Process

At the foundation of this goal is the implementation of Common Core Standards. According to the , Common Core Standards provide a consistent expectation for all students and faculty within the Los Angeles Unified School District. These standards encompass English Language Arts and mathematics. English Language Development standards are also in place for the district to ensure English learners are able to master the core requirements for English Language Arts.

Common Core Standards were chosen by the Los Angeles Unified School District for a number of reasons, including:

• These standards provide for career and college readiness after high school
• Common Core Standards include rigorous content and develop high-order skills
• The standards are consistent, understandable, and measurable
• Common Core Standards are evidence-based
• These standards are used by other countries, so students in L.A. remain competitive on a global level
• Common Core Standards build on the strengths of

The Renaissance School Initiative was created to help transform some of the lowest-performing schools in Philadelphia by giving them over to charter organizations. At the time this article was originally written, six additional struggling schools were slated for charter school takeovers and the district was evaluating applicants for the role. While this process was hailed by some as an effective way to raise the quality of education in one of the largest school districts in the country, others worried that there was not enough evidence to support allowing more public schools to be absorbed by charters.

About the Renaissance School Initiative

The Renaissance School Initiative was established by the School District of Philadelphia on January 27, 2010, according to the district’s website. The goal of the initiative is to bring dramatic student improvement through the transformation of some of the city’s lowest-performing schools. To accomplish this goal, the district solicits help from individuals and organizations with a positive track record of turning around struggling schools in Philadelphia. These efforts reflect broader national conversations about education reform, including the issues explored in the article “Is School Reform Doing More Harm Than Good?” Schools are given over to public charters so the necessary changes can take place internally to bring about the much-needed improvements in student achievement. The district has cited three important components required to meet their goals for all Philadelphia schools, which include:

• Identifying the lowest-performing schools that will require a transformative change to improve
• Identifying the entities

The debate over school choice is a heated one in Houston Independent Public Schools, one of the largest school systems in the country. A new plan introduced in the state legislature is bringing the question of school choice into the limelight in Texas once again. The Houston district is weighing all sides of the issue, from the potential money-saving benefits to the possibility of a higher quality of instruction for students across the district.

What is School Choice?

According to the Examiner, school choice involves the ability of families to choose the best education option for their children. Options might include neighborhood public, charter, magnet, and private schools. Some families might also opt for online or homeschooling with this model. With a school choice option, families can take the tax dollars that would typically go directly into the school district where they live and put that money into the form of education that they determine is best for their individual child.

The new plan introduced to the Texas legislature allows a variety of “choice” options, according to The Villager. These might include allowing companies to enjoy a cut in state franchise taxes if they contribute to private school scholarship programs and traditional “choice” measures, including school options across district lines and lifting enrollment caps on current charter schools. Also known as a school voucher system, the plan would allow families to use their tax dollars to offset tuition at private schools if