The Council of the Great City Schools is the only national organization exclusively representing the needs of urban public schools. Composed of 67 large city school districts, its mission is to promote the cause of urban schools and to advocate for inner-city students through legislation, research and media relations. The organization also provides a network for school districts sharing common problems to exchange information, and to collectively address new challenges as they emerge in order to deliver the best possible education for urban youth.


                                                     Student enrollment characteristics of the Great City Schools, 2009-2010

                                                     Total Student Enrollment........................................................6.9 million

                                                     Hispanic...............................................................................................38%

                                                     African American.................................................................................33%

                                                     White.....................................................................................................20%

                                                     Asian/Pacific Islander..........................................................................7%

                                                     Alaskan/Native American....................................................................1%

                                                     Free/reduced price lunch eligibility.................................................69%

                                                     English Language Learners...........................................................17% 

                                                     Students with Individualized Education Programs.....................14% 

                                                     Total Number of Teachers.......................................................433,855

                                                     Student-Teacher Ratio.....................................................................16:1

 

                                                     Number of Schools.......................................................................11,684

Member districts: Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Bridgeport, Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale), Buffalo, Caddo Parish (Shreveport), Charleston County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Chicago, Cincinnati, Clark County (Las Vegas), Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Duval County (Jacksonville), East Baton Rouge, Fort Worth, Fresno, Guilford County (Greensboro, N.C.), Hillsborough County (Tampa), Houston, Indianapolis, Jackson, Jefferson County (Louisville), Kansas City, Little Rock, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami-Dade County, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, New York City, Norfolk, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orange County (Orlando), Palm Beach County, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Richmond, Rochester, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Ana, Seattle, St. Louis, St. Paul, Toledo, Washington, D.C., and Wichita.

School districts eligible for membership must be located in cities with populations over 250,000 and student enrollment over 35,000. School districts located in the largest city of any state are also eligible for membership, regardless of size. If the Board of Education has jurisdiction over areas outside the central city, then the enrollment of those areas may also be included for purposes of eligibility, but the population outside the central city shall not.