Skyline Report

In 2021, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) launched Skyline, a digital K-12 curriculum that aims to ensure every student can access high-quality, rigorous instructional materials that engage their interests and reflect their identities. While this bold initiative was greatly needed and demanded by educators and advocates, CPS teachers have repeatedly voiced concerns regarding implementation, support, student accessibility, and material quality.

In an effort to elevate the voices of educators and ensure Skyline’s success, Educators for Excellence-Chicago (E4E-Chicago) surveyed and interviewed nearly 400 CPS teachers about their experience with the Skyline Curriculum during the 2022-2023 school year. E4E-Chicago’s Skyline Teacher Action Team then reviewed this data to identify critical areas for improvement, crafted recommendations for action, and presented them to district leadership. CPS responded with a commitment to enhancing Skyline and welcomed additional feedback from teachers and E4E-Chicago to make further improvements.

Following this meeting, E4E-Chicago conducted another survey in the fall of 2023 to see if CPS teachers’ experiences with Skyline shifted. The survey results yielded valuable insights on areas for growth, as well as areas that have improved since the last survey. The Skyline Teacher Action Team once again convened with these new results to update their recommendations with the hope that CPS will continue its ongoing partnership with educators and take action to make critical improvements.

All CPS teachers and students, especially learners who are diverse, multilingual, and from underserved communities, deserve access to a high-quality, culturally relevant curriculum. The Skyline curriculum is not only a historic financial investment, but it’s also a major opportunity to align teaching and learning districtwide and a powerful lever for closing the opportunity gap. If implemented with fidelity, it can serve as a model for school districts across the country.