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Mayor To Announce Plan To Help Kids Meet New CPS High School Graduation Requirement

CHICAGO (WBBM Newsradio) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel has promised to unveil plans to make sure every Chicago Public Schools student has the support they will need to meet new graduation requirements he announced last year.

Last April, the mayor announced, starting with the current freshman class, in order to graduate, high school students must show an acceptance letter to a four-year university, a community college, a trade school or apprenticeship, an internship, or a branch of the armed services.

Asked if CPS had enough guidance counselors and other resources to make it possible for every student to meet the new requirement, Emanuel on Monday told students at the Mikva Challenge Youth Summit that an announcement will come later this week.

"To be honest, if Amy and I, our three kids need support as they plan for their education, we can do that; but that's not true for everybody. That's essential, then, that CPS and the city step in and ensure that every child has that plan," he said.

The mayor said he and CPS Interim Chief Executive Officer Janice Jackson would announce new resources to help high schoolers meet the new graduation requirement.

"One of the pledges that Janice and I made when we said we were going to get to universal post-high school education planning for every child was making sure that in other high schools across the city, resources were there, and guidance counselors," he said.

While the mayor did not offer any details on his plan to help students meet the requirement, he said the effort will involve a partnership between CPS and the City Colleges of Chicago, which already offer free tuition and books for up to three years for public school students who graduate with a 3.0 GPA.

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