Facebook Twitter
Essential education reporting in Chicago
Community & Wraparound Programs Chicago City Hall

Looking for a summer job? Applications for One Summer Chicago are open until Friday.

By  Becky Vevea Becky Vevea
  Updated  
Republish
Two teens work on a “ShopBot” for computer-aided design and fabrication at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.

Chicago’s youth summer jobs program, One Summer Chicago, is now accepting applications from residents ages 14 to 24.

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago / Getty Images

Update: City officials extended the deadline to apply to Friday, June 9. This story has been updated to reflect the change.

Chicago teens looking for a summer job can now apply online through One Summer Chicago — the city’s youth employment program, which has seen a decline in participation in recent years.

Applications opened Feb. 28 and are due June 9. The program will run for six weeks, from June 26 to Aug. 4, and any Chicago resident ages 14 to 24 is eligible to apply. 

Last summer, 20,544 youth participated in the program, which offers jobs, internships, service learning, and career exploration programs, according to a new report released by the Department of Children and Family Support Services. Just over 16,000 teens worked jobs and internships, while others enrolled in programs aimed at career exploration and service learning. 

Those numbers have yet to recover from a steep drop in participation in 2020 — when summer programs were virtual or hybrid. Roughly 20,000 youth got jobs through One Summer Chicago during the first summer of the COVID pandemic, compared to more than 30,000 in 2019. 

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had hoped last summer would see a rebound, calling for a “summer of joy” when the application opened. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson promised to double the number of youth employed during his first 100 days in office. Summer jobs and youth employment more broadly were key issues in the mayoral runoff election between Johnson and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas.

Summer teen employment dropped across the country in 2020, but rebounded in 2021, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Still, the number of teens with summer jobs has been declining in recent decades. Prior to 2000, more than half of American teens worked summer gigs. Now, it’s around a third, the report found. 

In addition to One Summer Chicago, Chicago Public Schools offers a wide range of summer programs — including academic catch-up required for students who failed certain grades — that got a big boost with federal COVID recovery money. 

For more information about One Summer Chicago, the city has a list of frequently asked questions online. 

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.  

The Latest
A man and two children walk down a sidewalk by a yellow school bus.
Politics & Policy
Chicago Public Schools is mailing out transportation stipends this week
The district said it will begin to mail out checks of up to $500 this week. Parents can pick up checks from their child’s school.
By Samantha Smylie
 
Three kindergarten read books together with their teacher at a table with books and hand puppets of different animals.
Literacy
Chicago Public Schools says students in kindergarten to second grade made progress in reading during 2022-23 school year
Officials said about 40% of kindergarten through second grade students were at or above grade level by May, up from 9% in September. They declined to share school-level data or any information about how students fared on early math assessments
By Becky Vevea and Samantha Smylie
 
Mayor Brandon Johnson sits with Aidan Hughes at a mock broadcast studio at Southside Occupational Academy High School in Englewood. The school provides job training and life skills to older students with more challenging disabilities.
Special education
Chicago Public Schools considers opening more specialized programs for students with disabilities
Officials are considering opening more so-called specialty schools meant to help students with more challenging disabilities transition into the real world.
By Reema Amin
 
In the foreground, a student raises their hand. Their face is not visible. In the background, a teacher writes on the whiteboard in a middle school classroom.
Campaigns and elections
Chicago’s local school council elections are happening in April 2024. Here’s how to run.
People interested in running for a seat at their local public school can apply between Oct. 16 and Feb. 8, 2024. Elections will take place on April 10, 2024 for elementary schools and April 11, 2024 for high schools.
By Michael Gerstein
 
Silhouettes of students with their hands raised in front of a map.
School Enrollment
Chicago Public Schools enrollment is stable after more than a decade of decline
Preliminary data analyzed by Chalkbeat shows just over 322,000 students were enrolled as of the 20th day of school, when the district takes an official count. The stable number comes after a decade of dramatic annual declines.
By Reema Amin
 
Two adults stand at the front of a classroom full of students sitting at desks.
Student & School Performance
More Chicago students met state reading and math standards last school year — but are still behind pre-COVID levels
School-level data from the 2023 Illinois Assessment for Readiness shows many schools have not returned to pre-pandemic levels of students meeting standards in reading and math.
By Reema Amin and Becky Vevea