A TALE OF THREE CITIES Stunningly, the Frederick Douglass Academy, with 47 classrooms built to accommodate 1,000 students, has only 27 students. Yet the school has 28 full-time staff members. As a result, in 2023-2024, Douglass spent $93,000 per pupil.
Chicago, the so-called Second City, is the third-most populous city in the U.S., but its school district is currently the fourth-largest. (Miami is now third.)
The city’s schools are in disarray, and students are abandoning them. Enrollment has fallen sharply over the past 15 years, from nearly 403,000 students in 2010–11 to just over 316,000 in 2025–26. This decline has left about 150 of the city’s schools half-empty, and 47 are operating at less than one-third capacity, driving up costs and limiting course options.