The Council of the Great City Schools will hold its 70th Annual Fall Conference, Oct. 21-25, 2026 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place in Boston, MA. Under the banner “Revolutionizing what's Possible in Urban Education” the conference will give big-city school superintendents, board members, senior administrators and college deans of education a forum to discuss issues and share information and best practices to improve teaching and learning.

Valerie Davis

CGCS Chair of the Board

Black Violin

Grammy-Nominated Musical Duo

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Presidential Historian

Jorge Ramos

Journalist and Best-Selling Author

Event Date & Time

Event Location

In 1956, Chicago School Superintendent Ben Willis and School Board Chairman Sargent Shriver held a meeting with leaders from 12 of the largest urban public school systems in the nation to discuss the future of vocational education. The meeting evolved into the Council of the Great City Schools, whose mission is among the most important in the nation—the improvement of public education in America’s big cities.

For 70 years, the Council has stood as the only national organization exclusively representing the needs of urban public schools. We take great pride in our efforts to highlight urban educational issues and, more importantly, to demonstrate that urban students can succeed and that their schools can improve. Moreover, we are extremely grateful to the dedicated superintendents, school board members, staff, and families in the districts we represent for their hard work and investment in programs that have resulted in improved learning outcomes for students.

7.1 MILLION 

17% 

TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS SERVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SCHOOL DISTRICTS

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

73%

17%

ELIGIBLE FOR FREE/REDUCED PRICE LUNCH

STUDENTS WITH INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS