Education

The Chicago Housing Authority on Tuesday kicked off a six-week class at the Illinois Institute of Technology that will teach computer coding to 20 high school students who live in public housing.

The program is part of an effort by CHA to participate in the larger “Summer of Learning” initiative put forth by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. It is also an opportunity for the housing authority to start partnering with higher education institutions.

“This is a college prep program,” explained CHA spokeswoman Cassandra Thiem. “We are trying to grow partnerships.”

Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett lamented on Wednesday the district’s “historic deficit of close to $1 billion,” claiming that CPS finances will be “unsustainable, untenable, and unfair” to students unless new revenue comes into the system.

While speaking Monday at a City Club of Chicago luncheon to an audience that included Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Cheryl Hyman outlined targets that the system hopes to reach by 2018.