>>> CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS KICKED OFF THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR LAST WEEK AMID A WAVE OF MIGRANT STUDENTS AND A SWELTERING HEAT WAVE.

THEY'RE ALSO FEELING THE HEAT OVER SHORTAGES OF TEACHERS AND BUS DRIVERS.

NOW IN THE HOT SEAT IS SCHOOL CEO PEDRO MARTINEZ, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, BRANDIS.

>> YOU ENROLL 2,000 ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS ON AVERAGE EVERY YEAR THIS.

YEAR YOU ALSO HAD THE ADDITION OF AT LEAST 2,000 MIGRANT STUDENTS.

HOW ARE YOU MEETING THE ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE NEEDS BUT ALSO THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF THESE NEW ARRIVALS?

>> ABSOLUTELY, BRANDIS.

ONE OF THE THINGS I'M VERY PROUD OF IS JUST THE INFRASTRUCTURE WE'VE BUILT IN THE DISTRICT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES.

EVERY YEAR WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE EMBRACED 2,000 TO 3,000 NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN OUR SYSTEM.

WE HAVE ONE OF THE LARGE NEST THE COUNTRY WITH OVER 70,000 STUDENTS.

WE HAVE ALMOST -- WE ACTUALLY HAVE 3,000 CERTIFIED BILINGUAL TEACHERS.

WE HAVE OVER 2,000 ACTUALLY CLASSROOMS WITH TRANSITIONAL BILINGUAL PROGRAMS AND ANOTHER 3,000 ESL CERTIFIED TEACHERS SO.

THE CHALLENGE FOR US REALLY IS THAT MIGRANTS ARE COMING ALL OVER THE CITY.

WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY.

SOMETIMES WE SEE CHILDREN THAT SHOW UP IN NEIGHBORHOODS OR SCHOOLS THAT DON'T HAVE THESE PROGRAMS.

AND SO THAT'S THE BIGGER CHALLENGE, BUT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE FEEL CONFIDENT WE CAN SERVE THE CHILDREN.

OF COURSE, AS YOU SAID, ACADEMICS IS JUST ONE CHALLENGE THAT THESE FAMILIES HAVE.

SO PARTNERING WITH THE CITY TO GET THEM OTHER SUPPORTS, WHETHER IT'S MENTAL HEALTH, HEALTHCARE, OF COURSE, OUR FAMILIES ARE VERY TRANSIENT, SO THEY MOVE FROM PRESHELTER TO SHELTERS, SOMETIMES TO OTHER TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.

SO THOSE ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE SEEING MORE, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, OUR TEACHERS HAVE EMBRACED THESE FAMILIES.

AND WHAT'S GREAT IS I'M SEEING PARENTS ENROLL IN THE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS THEMSELVES, TAKING ESL CLASSES.

>> WHEN THAT IS THE CASE, MAYBE SOME SCHOOLS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MULTICULTURAL, MULTILINGUAL STAFF AND TEACHERS TO WORK WITH THOSE STUDENTS, ARE THOSE FAMILIES REDIRECTED TO A SCHOOL THAT DOES HAVE THE SUPPORTS THEY NEED?

>> YEAH, SO THAT'S THE CHALLENGE, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY HAVE THE PROGRAMS IN THE CITY FOR US TO SERVE THOSE FAMILIES.

SOMETIMES THE FAMILIES GET ATTACHED TO A SCHOOL.

SO THAT IS A TOUGH CONVERSATION TO HAVE WITH THE FAMILY.

AND OF COURSE, THE FAMILY SOMETIMES HAS TO MOVE JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE MOVING FROM ONE HOUSING UNIT TO ANOTHER.

AND SO THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS WE ARE HAVING WITH FAMILIES NOW, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE VERY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY BLESSED TO HAVE A DISTRICT THAT HAS SUCH A LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND SO EVEN AS FAMILIES ARE MOVING, WE CAN FIND SCHOOLS THAT MEET THEIR NEEDS.

>> ON THE SUBJECT OF THE TEACHER SHORTAGE THAT SO MANY SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE EXPERIENCING, YOU WROTE THAT CPS IS STARTING THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH HISTORICALLY HIGH LEVELS OF STAFFING.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE OR QUANTIFY YOUR TEACHER SHORTAGE NOW?

>> YEAH, SO OUR VACANCY RATE, BRANDIS, NOW IS GOING TO BE HITTING JUST CLOSE TO 4%.

ONE OF THE LOWEST WE'VE HAD IN SEVERAL YEARS.

WE'VE ALSO ADDED MANY MORE TEACHING POSITIONS, EVEN AS OUR ENROLLMENT DECLINED OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, FOUR TO FIVE YEARS SO.

WHAT I'M SEEING IS SMALLER CLASS SIZES IN MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGHEST POVERTY NEIGHBORHOODS.

ESPECIALLY NOW WITH OUR ASYLUM SEEKERS, WE MADE SURE WE HAD ENOUGH CAPACITY FOR THOSE CHILDREN AS WELL.

COMPARED TO OTHER LARGE DISTRICTS, THEY'RE FARING VERY WELL.

WE HAVE IN OUR CLASSROOMS TODAY 500 MORE TEACHERS TODAY THAN WE EVER HAD.

COMPARED TO LAST YEAR AND PREVIOUS YEARS, WITH SLIGHTLY LESS STUDENTS.

SO I BELIEVE WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE NOW.

THERE WILL BE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS THAT SOMETIMES WE WILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, HIGHER VACANCY RATES.

WE DO A LOT OF HAND HOLDING WITH THOSE SCHOOLS, PROVIDING LONG-TERM, YOU KNOW, OTHER RESOURCES TO HELP THEM AS WE FIND TEACHERS.

>> WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YOU DID TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT RATE DOWN TO 4%, SO LOW.

>> YEAH, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M PROUD OF, BRANDIS, IS THAT WE HAVE, FIRST OF ALL, SOME OF THE HIGHEST STARTING SALARY IN THE NATION FOR TEACHERS, IN THE LOW 60s.

AND OUR AVERAGE SALARIES ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN THAT.

I SAY THAT UNAPOLOGETICALLY BECAUSE OUR TEACHERS DESERVE TO BE WELL COMPENSATED.

THEY ARE WORKING REALLY HARD.

AND WE ALSO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS LAST YEAR WE PUT SO MANY ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS THAT NOT ONLY SUPPORTED OUR CHILDREN BUT ALSO OUR TEACHERS.

I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.

EVERY SCHOOL NOW HAS FREED UP INTERVENTION TEACHERS.

BEFORE THIS, TEACHERS WHO HAD CHILDREN BELOW GRADE LEVEL THAT WERE STRUGGLING, THEY HAD TO WORK ON THOSE ISSUES BY THEMSELVES.

NOW WE HAVE INTERVENTION TEACHERS.

WE HAVE ACADEMIC COACHES IN OUR HIGHEST POVERTY SCHOOLS.

THESE ARE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE NEWER TEACHERS THAT NEED MORE SUPPORT.

EVERY SCHOOL NOW HAS AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS.

SOMETIMES THE TEACHERS THEMSELVES OR WITH PARTNERS.

WE'RE CREATING A BETTER ENVIRONMENT FOR TEACHES TO BE SET UP FOR SUCCESS.

WE'RE SEEING HIGHER MORALE, RETENTION RATE, AND WE'RE ATTRACTING MORE TEACHERS TO WANT TO JOIN OUR SYSTEM.

>> SO AFTER THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES, OBVIOUSLY, HUNDREDS OF CHICAGO STUDENTS, IT'S REPORTED, INCLUDING THOSE WITH DISABILITIES ARE STILL WAITING FOR BUS ROUTES, BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR DISTRICTS NOT JUST THIS YEAR, LAST YEAR AS WELL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, PARTICULARLY FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS?

>> YEAH, SO YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE MADE THE DECISION TO TRY TO TRANSPORT EVERYBODY.

AND SO WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THAT, WE HAD OVER 3,000 STUDENTS THAT WERE ON ROUTES THAT WERE AN HOUR OR LONGER EACH WAY.

AND THAT WAS EXTREMELY -- INCLUDING MANY THAT WERE OVER 90 MINUTES.

WE HAD THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS THAT WE COULDN'T TRANSPORT RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR BECAUSE, AGAIN, WE HAVE SO MANY STUDENTS.

THE BOARD MADE A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION, THEY CHANGED THE POLICY A YEAR AGO.

WE GAVE WARNING TO ALL OUR FAMILIES THIS POLICY WAS PRIORITIZING OUR DIVERSE LEARNERS AND STUDENTS THAT WERE HOMELESS.

WE MADE THE TOUGH DECISION TO START WITH THEM FIRST.

SO WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESULT, WE ARE NOW ABLE TO TRANSPORT ALL OF OUR DIVERSE LEARNERS, NEW REQUESTS THAT WE GET -- AND WE GET REQUESTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR -- WE GET THEM WITHIN TWO WEEKS.

AVERAGE ROUTE TIME NOW IS 28 MINUTES, AND THE MAJORITY THAT -- AND THEN THE FEW STUDENTS THAT ARE OVER 60 MINUTES, IT'S 60 TO 65 MINUTES.

SO WHAT WE'RE ALSO DOING, BRANDIS, WE'RE HAVING HIRING FIRST, AND WE'RE INCREASING SALARIES, WAGES FOR OUR BUS DRIVERS.

WHEN I STARTED IT WAS $15 TO $20 AN HOUR, NOW IT'S $20 TO $25, AND NOW IT'S $22 TO $27.

WHAT THAT'S RESULTING IN IS WE'RE NOT LOSING BUS DRIVERS.

WE'RE STARTING TO GAIN BUS DRIVERS.

THE CHALLENGES, THOUGH, I HAVE MORE CHILDREN THAN EVER WITH IEPs REQUESTING TRANSPORTATION.

>> YOU'RE SPENDING FOR YOUR TEACHERS, YOUR BUS DRIVERS, BUT THERE COULD BE A LOOMING FISCAL CLIFF ONCE THE PANDEMIC FUNDS DRY UP.

YOU'VE EXPANDED SUMMER SCHOOL, OBVIOUSLY, INCREASING STAFF AND SOCIAL WORKERS.

SOMEWHAT IS THE PLAN?

>> I DID ASK MY FORMER BOARD TO GIVE ME A THREE-YEAR RUNWAY, AND BRANDIS, YEAR ONE WAS LAST YEAR.

AND OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, WE HAD AMAZING, WE HAD STRONG ACADEMIC RESULTS.

WE'RE GOING TO SHOW A START OF A STRONG RECOVERY.

YEAR TWO IS THIS YEAR, AND REALLY WHAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE IS THAT WE REALLY WORK HARD TO REALLY HAVE A STABLE YEAR FOR NEXT YEAR.

SO AFTER NEXT YEAR, WE WILL HAVE THAT LARGE CLIFF.

WHAT I WANT TO DO IS MAKE SURE WE GIVE OUR MAYOR, MYSELF, OUR PARTNERS THE TIME TO ADVOCATE WITH SPRINGFIELD, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW THE SHORTFALL WE HAVE FROM THE STATE WOULD MORE THAN OFFSET THE LOSSES WE HAVE FROM THE FEDERAL FUNDING SO.

REALLY FOR US IT'S A REVENUE ISSUE AND IT'S A STATE ISSUE.

BUT I ALSO KNOW SPRINGFIELD, YOU KNOW, THEY INHERITED THIS.

THEY DIDN'T CREATE THIS.

THEY'RE GOING TO NEED TIME ALSO TO HELP US FIND SOLUTIONS.

AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO, GIVE US THAT TIME.

>> COUPLE SECONDS LEFT, HAVE YOU HEARD FROM OR ASKED FROM MAYOR ONSON A COMMITMENT ABOUT JOB SECURITY?

>> WE'RE DEVELOPING A GOOD RELATIONSHIP.

I WOULD SAY THIS, WE'RE ALIGNED IN VISION AND WHAT WE WANT FOR THE DISTRICT.

HE BELIEVES IN WELL FUNDED SCHOOLS.

I HAVE A CONTRACT, SO IT REALLY IS BOTH OF OUR CHOICES, RIGHT, ABOUT WHAT OUR RELATIONSHIP IS GOING TO EVOLVE TO.

I'M EXCITED ABOUT HIS