Opinion

Chicago's half-empty schools reveal a crisis city leaders refuse to confront

Rooftop Revelations: Let me explain is why the school buildings are empty. The people who run these buildings are largely the problem

By Corey Brooks Fox News

Published September 22, 2026 10:00am EDT

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Rooftop Revelations: Black families need to be restored in America

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On the West Side of Chicago, Frederick Douglass Academy had a grand total of 27 students inside a building that was built for 1,000 students. That is only 2% of the building's capacity. The school was one of 13 Chicago schools that had fewer than 100 students. Across the city, 35% of schools are less than half full. The Chicago Public Schools system has lost more than 77,000 students since 2010.

So where are all the students disappearing to? The answer is an indictment of the city and its public school sector.

It is true that many families have left the city because of its rising cost of living. I know many Black families who have moved out, and their numbers are in the tens of thousands. It is also true that the birth rate in Chicago has dropped by nearly 50% in less than 20 years. It is not surprising that many graduates choose to leave the city instead of staying and starting families here.

NEW YORK CITY'S DECLINING PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT PROJECTED TO LOSE OVER 150K MORE AS POPULATION DECLINES

But these are not the only reasons why so many public schools are suffering from abysmal enrollment numbers.

The........

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