Chicago Public Schools Launches Back-To-Class Drive
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Google and Facebook ads along with text messaging and robo-calls are all part of this year's arsenal designed to get Chicago public school students back to school on time.
Extended year schools, so-called Schedule E schools, begin Aug. 8.
Regular-year schools begin Sept. 6.
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School officials and politicians kicked off this year's back-to-school effort at Harris Park on 62nd and Drexel in the Woodlawn neighborhood.
Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard says it's vital that students kick off the school year right on the first day.
The new back-to-school campaign is: First Day: Better Attendance, Better Students, Better Life.
School officials plan to go door-to-door giving out literature to parents in areas that have the most trouble with school attendance.
They also plan to give out several thousand back-to-school kits that include notebooks, crayons, markers, a ruler and more.
Schools spokeswoman Becky Carroll says the kits cost $11 each and so far, corporate donations have covered the cost. She says about 6,000 kits are planned for distribution at neighborhood festivals in the next few weeks.
