Dear CPS Families,
We hope that everyone has been staying safe and cool during this hot summer weather!
Our school year begins in just three weeks, with K-12 students returning to class on Monday, August 18, and Pre-k students beginning their school year the following day on Tuesday, August 19!
Below is information to help families start the school year strong! Please click on the topics that interest you to get the information you need! All details are also available on our Back-to-School Website at cps.edu/b2s.
- Key Dates
- Free CTA Rides on August 18
- Required Forms
- School Meals
- School Supply Lists
- Back-to-School Resources for Students with Disabilities
- Attend the CPS Back-to-School Bashes
- Join CPS at the Bud Billiken Parade
- Supporting Students’ Mental Health
- CPS Staff: Celebrate CPS Arts Programming at Ravinia
- CPS Budget Update
Thank you for reading this message; we’re looking forward to welcoming our students back to school in just three weeks!
- Chicago Public Schools
Key Dates
All dates for the 2025-26 school year are now available on the CPS calendar. Please review the calendar for all breaks, holidays, Professional Development Days, Parent-Teacher Conference dates, and the start and end dates for the 2025-26 school year.
A reminder that classes begin for all K-12 students on Monday, August 18, with all Pre-k students starting school the next day on Tuesday, August 19. You can check your school’s arrival and dismissal times using the CPS School Locator.
Required Forms
Please carefully review the Student Health and School Forms Booklet, which includes important information on CPS health requirements and services for the 2025-26 school year. It also contains all of the forms that must be submitted by parents to their school, including:
- Student Medical Information
- Request for Emergency and Health Information
- School Messaging Consent Form
- Media Consent Form and Release
- Family Income Information Form
School Meals
CPS serves FREE breakfast and lunch to every student, every day. Check out school menus here.
School Supply Lists
Access the school supply list for your student’s grade here.
Back-to-School Resources for Students with Disabilities
The CPS Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) has created this resource to help the families of children with disabilities get ready for a strong start to the school year. Included here is an overview of special education services in CPS, information on navigating the special education process, and details on ways for families to share their feedback as we continue improving the educational experience of our students with disabilities.
Back-to-School Bashes
We invite CPS families to attend one of the District’s upcoming Back-to-School Bashes! These free events include food and entertainment, and students can walk away with a backpack filled with new school supplies! The bashes are also a great opportunity for parents to connect with staff and other families, get answers to questions about the school year, and connect to various services, including health care and vaccines.
The schedule for this year’s Back-to-School Bashes is below:
|
Date and Time |
Location |
|
Tuesday, July 29, from 12 to 4 p.m. |
Columbus Park (500 S Central Ave on the West Side) |
|
Wednesday, July 30, from 12 to 4 p.m. |
Winnemac Park (5100 N Leavitt St on the North Side) |
|
Tuesday, August 5, from 12 to 4 p.m. |
Piotrowski Park (4247 W 31st St on the Southwest Side) |
|
Thursday, August 7, from 12 to 4 p.m. |
Gately Park (810 E 103rd St on the Far South Side) |
Join CPS at the Bud Billiken Parade
Don’t miss out on another Chicago back-to-school tradition—The Bud Billiken Parade. Join us for this community celebration on Saturday, August 9, 2025, and look out for CPS in the parade. We hope to see you there as we mark the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year. Learn more here.
Supporting Students’ Mental Health
Along with their academic success, CPS is committed to supporting our students’ mental and emotional health. In that spirit, we began a partnership last school year with Hazel Health to provide free, virtual therapy sessions for all CPS high school students. These services will continue during the 2025-26 school year, with high school students having access to virtual therapy sessions either at home or at school. For more information or to sign up, families should visit getstarted.hazel.co/district/cps.
CPS Staff: Celebrate CPS Arts Programming at Ravinia
The Department of Arts Education is inviting CPS staff and their families to a free concert to celebrate the launch of the CPS Arts Education Plan 2.0: Cultivating Creativity, the start of the 2025–26 school year, and the champions of arts education across CPS.
Concert Information:
- Location: Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL
- Date: Saturday, August 16, 2025
- Gates open at 5:00 PM
- Concert begins at 7:30 PM
Reserve your ticket by Friday, August 1, 2025 (see below for reservation/ticket promo code information)
Promo Code Information:
- CPS staff gain access to 4 free lawn tickets. Use the promo code CPSARTSED25.
- Children under 15 and students with a valid ID get in free.
To reserve the lawn tickets:
- Click HERE to go to the event page
- Click on Tickets
- Select Lawn (General Admission) and click Buy Tickets
- Enter the promo code CPSARTSED25 and click Go
- Select your ticket quantity
- Click Continue
- Log in or create a new account
CPS Budget Update
Thank you to everyone who attended our Community Feedback Sessions and Public Learning Session around the CPS budget for the 2025-26 school year, and to everyone who filled out the recent budget survey. Your honest, insightful feedback is helping us make decisions that will allow us to balance our budget responsibly while maintaining a rigorous, joyful, and equitable daily learning experience for every student. We will continue to provide updates on the 2025-26 budget as we get closer to the start of the school year. To stay up-to-date, visit cps.edu/budget.