U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez Tuesday celebrated the District’s progress in preparing more students for success in college and careers with record-breaking graduation rates, growing participation in Early College and Career Education programming and more than $2 billion in college scholarships awarded last year alone. The celebration at Walter Henri Dyett High School for the Arts emphasized collaboration with private, public, non-profit, and higher education partners across the city that are equipping CPS graduates with the knowledge as well as the skills and experiences to soar in their post-secondary lives. The Class of 2023 achieved an 84 percent graduation rate, setting a record at CPS, surpassing the Class of 2022 achievement of 82 percent, and continuing an upward trend; the CPS graduation rate was 59 percent just a decade ago, in 2013. The Class of 2023 collectively earned more than two billion dollars in scholarships, the highest amount ever awarded to a CPS class since 2013. Fourteen schools reported earning scholarships totaling $20 million or more. CPS graduates are attending higher education powerhouses like Stanford, Harvard, Howard, Spelman, Morehouse, Michigan, and institutions around the world.