The Paw Print

By Kieran Blake, Editor-in-Chief

On Tuesday, Dec. 16, Payton’s Local School Council voted 9-2 (no abstentions) to approve Principal Shabazz’s contract for the next four years. This vote followed nearly a month of deliberation that spanned three LSC meetings.

One feature rarely seen in Chicago Public Schools’ principal contracts is a comprehensive addendum. This addendum consists of a list of stipulations added to the normal contract offered to a principal. The principal then must agree to the contract with these added stipulations. In Principal Shabazz’s case, these stipulations pertained to academic performance, communication, school culture, school climate, supporting staff and supporting teachers. The eight individual addenda are listed below and were transcribed from both the reading of the addendum conducted by LSC parent representative Rishi Agrawal at the Dec. 16 meeting and a PDF of the contract.

1. To support strong academic performance:
   • The Principal shall provide the LSC quarterly that include data disaggregated by race/ethnicity, gender, English Learner status, Diverse Learner status, and economic disadvantage status on student progress on attendance, Freshman On Track, Sophomore On Track, enrollment in early college credit courses, and PSAT and ACT assessments administered by CPS. The reports should include strategies and initiatives connected to the Continuous Improvement Work Plan (CIWP) that focus on increasing support to close equity gaps in the above metrics and continue to strengthen student performance.
2. To enhance communication:
   • The Principal shall establish processes to publicly respond to questions submitted by members of the school community, on a monthly basis, concerning general issues that impact a significant number of individuals in the school community including but not limited to academic, budget, school environment, school safety, and scheduling topics.
3. To enhance culture and climate:
   • The Principal shall greet students throughout the day (e.g. during passing periods, lunch time) when feasible and provide regular reports to the LSC.
   • The Principal shall collaborate with Student Government to establish a regular, bi-monthly enrichment-period forum, or other similar forum, for students to have the opportunity to speak directly with the Principal, when feasible, or other administrators.
   • The Principal shall use email communication to notify the student body about the opportunity for them to establish a Student Voice Committee (on a semester basis until said committee is established) alongside a faculty sponsor to forge stronger student-adult partnerships in school improvement. The Principal shall meet with the committee at a minimum monthly.
4. To support teachers:
   • The Principal shall provide semester reports to the LSC, faculty, and staff that identify CIWP-aligned professional development through district-mandated PD structures and include evidence of implementation monitoring (e.g. walkthrough trends, ILT or Departmental feedback, or instructional artifacts).
   • The Principal shall attend and participate in ILT meetings at least once per month. Should this not be possible in a given month, the Principal shall provide written input (agenda notes, recommendations, or feedback) to the ILT Chair no later than 24 hours before the scheduled meeting.
   • The Principal shall implement a documented relationship-building plan to strengthen cross-department connections through scheduled activities (e.g., department visits, staff discussions) and, when feasible, attend said activities. The Principal shall submit semester summaries to the LSC detailing activities completed, participation levels, and emerging themes.

This contract will be in effect from the 2026-27 to the 2030-31 school year. To read the LSC’s letter sent out by Mr. Olson on Dec. 19 regarding the contract renewal, click here.