The new faces of Chicago's Board of Education

Driving the news: Mayor Johnson announced six new members and re-appointed one member last week. They'll serve until at least 2025, when a 21-member, partially elected board takes over.

• The city will transition to a fully elected school board, which Johnson has supported since he was an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, in 2027.

Context: The board oversees all major decisions for Chicago Public Schools, and historically it has included mayoral allies and well-connected people from business and political circles.

The intrigue: Johnson has signaled a sea change by appointing a group of activists and educators.

• All, aside from Board president Jianan Shi, are current or past CPS parents.

Meet the board: Shi, a former science teacher, joins the board from Raise Your Hand (RYH), a parent advocacy group that was especially active during the 2013 school closings. Shi also has advised undocumented students fighting for immigrant rights.

• Vice president Elizabeth Todd-Breland has served on the board since 2019 and is a history professor at UIC.
• Mariela Estrada has been an organizer on the city's Southwest Side and worked in the Inspector General's Office.

• Mary Fahey Hughes is the founder and director of the 19th Ward Parents for Special Education. She's also worked with RYH.
• Rudy Lozano, son of Latino activist and Harold Washington ally Rudy Lozano Sr., has been a youth activist and organizer in Little Village for decades.
• Michelle Morales has worked in alternative education throughout the city and as a community organizer in Humboldt Park.
• Tanya Woods leads Westside Justice Center in East Garfield Park and teaches law at Loyola University.

What's next: Board members begin their terms on July 18. The next meeting is July 26.