Past Grads Meet on New CPS Alumni Site

"Chicago Public Schools launches the new Web site, CPSalumni, to connect an estimated three million people, who have attended or worked in Chicago Public Schools, with separate home pages for every school in CPS history. CPS is the first large urban public school district to organize its alumni in this way.

The goal of CPSalumni.org is to build relationships with alumni and their former schools and classmates, engage alumni in supporting their schools, share information about alumni groups and activities, encourage the sharing of stories and photos about school experiences, and archive public education in Chicago."

The official launch of the site will be today at the Bateman Elementary School.

So, what does this have to do with Chicago history, you might ask? Glad you did...

Elliot Ness
Amelia Earhart
Nelson Algren
Edgar Rice Burroughs

Any of those names sound familiar? Of course they do, and they are all alumni of the Chicago Public School System. For more information, see the Honor Roll on the site.

What attracted me about the new site is that 1)every school that has existed in the CPS system will have a page and 2)they want to create a "living history and archive of public education in Chicago - rich stories, famous people, etc." These goals provide a fantastic opportunity to connect the past and present by including the history of each school and paying particular attention to early Chicagoans who attended the school and made a distinctive mark on the city; the school's genealogy, if you will. It might even make an interesting project for current students, engaging them in the process and learning a little Chicago history along the way.

The purpose of the CPS Alumni site is to connect those who have graduated from a CPS school and, perhaps, encourage involvement with today's students. Great idea. The CPS gets a bad rap pretty much everyday and can use all the help they can get.

For more information on the development of the Chicago Public Schools see the article in the Encyclopedia of Chicago, Schools and Education.