Community activist Joyce Chapman has been appointed as the seventh member of Chicago’s Board of Education, which will now be operating at full capacity for the first time in nearly a year.Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday announced Chapman, a Chicago Public Schools grad and chairwoman of the Far South Community Advisory Council, will fill the seat vacated by former board member Amy Rome last summer.
“Joining the Chicago Board of Education is an immense honor that will allow me to serve Chicago families across the city,” Chapman said in a statement. “As a board member, I will continue to use my experiences for the schools to have access to the resources needed for academic success." According to the city, Chapman is a lifelong Chicagoan who has worked as a community leader in numerous roles over the past several decades, working as the founder and president of the Pullman Community Development Corporation, vice chair of the Neighborhood Housing Services Board and president of the Gately Park Advisory Council. For 10 years, Chapman also served as beat facilitator in the Chicago Police Department’s 5th District.
Lightfoot in a statement said she selected Chapman due to her “commitment and dedication to improving life outcomes and opportunities for our young people and communities.” “Chicago's families have tackled many challenges in the past few years, which makes it that much more necessary for our Board of Education to be made up of a knowledgeable team that will stop at nothing to help them and the students in their care access the resources they need,” Lightfoot said. “With Joyce Chapman as a member of our Board of Education, I am confident that our students will continue to have a quality education regardless of where they live in our city.