Chicago schools hope to boost first-day attendance

The head of the Chicago Public Schools is pushing to make sure public school students attend the first day of fall classes.

CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard says in a news release the school system will lead a campaign that includes door-to-door outreach and robo-calls to students’ homes, and an advertising campaign. The school district is also asking everyone from parents to other city agencies to help get the word out to encourage school attendance.

The call to improve attendance comes as teachers and the district negotiate over pay and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s calls for longer school days. Talk of a possible strike has increased with the rejection by both sides of an arbitrator’s recommendations.

School starts at Chicago’s so-called early-start schools on Aug. 13 and other schools on Sept. 4.