Students are welcomed on a red carpet by teachers, staff and parents on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Thousands of children return to classes on the first day of school for Chicago Public Schools students on Aug. 24, 2026.
Students are welcomed on a red carpet by teachers and staff on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Students line up as they arrive on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Students line up to enter the building on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Ashli Reynolds helps her son, Ashton, 7, into his backpack before his first day of second grade at Harold Washington Elementary in Chicago's Burnside neighborhood on Aug. 24, 2026. (Arthur Maiorella/Chicago Tribune)Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with teachers and staff, welcomes students to the first day of school with a red carpet at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood on Aug. 24, 2026. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Teachers and staff welcome students to the first day of school with a red carpet at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood on Aug. 24, 2026. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Students line up as they arrive on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Students find their way on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King greets students on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Maria Del Rocio Rodriguez fixes her daughter Ximena’s hair while her children Omar, left, 12, and Valeria, 4, eat breakfast before their first day of school on Aug. 24, 2026, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)Maria Del Rocio Rodriguez guides daughters Valeria, 4, left, and Melissa, 3, out of the mobile classroom at Matthew Gallistel Language Academy in Chicago on Aug. 24, 2026, after learning the first official day of preschool doesn’t start until Tuesday. Standing at the doors are paraprofessionals Lucia Serrano, left, and Zayra Cabrera. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)Mayor Brandon Johnson dances down the hallway as students sing on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Mason Elementary in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Students line up to enter the building on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
