# President of the Chicago Board of Education

The Chicago Board of Education is led by a president.
Since the 1995 Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act went into effect, the president has been directly appointed by the mayor of Chicago, rather than being elected among the members of the board.
Beginning with the 2026 Chicago Board of Education elections, after which the Board of Education is slated to become an entirely-elected board, the president will be directly elected at-large by the city's voters. It will be one of four at-large citywide elected offices in Chicago (alongside the mayor of Chicago, city clerk of Chicago, and city treasurer of Chicago).

## Officeholders
### Chairmen of the Chicago Board of School Inspectors (1840–1857)

Until 1857, the head of the school board was known as the "chairman of the Chicago Board of School Inspectors" Written records of the board prior to 1840 are incomplete.
| Name | Tenure |
| William Jones | 1840–1843 |
| J. Young Scammon | 1843–1845 |
| William Jones | 1845–1848 |
| E. S. Kimberly | 1848 |
| unknown | 1849 |
| Henry Smith | 1850–1851 |
| William Jones | 1851–1852 |
| Flavel Moseley | 1852–1853 |
| William H. Brown | 1853–1854 |
| Flavel Moseley | 1854–1857 |

### Presidents of the Chicago Board of Education (1857–1995)

| Name | Tenure | Notes |
| Flavel Moseley | 1857–1858 | |
| Luther Haven | 1858–1860 | |
| John Clark Dore | 1860–1861 | |
| John H. Foster | 1861–1862 | |
| Walter Loomis Newberry | 1863 | |
| Charles N. Holden | January 1, 1864–September 1, 1866 | |
| George C. Clarke | 1867 | |
| Lorenzo Brentano | 1868 | |
| John Wentworth or S. A. Briggs | 1869 | Sources differ as to whether Wentworth or Briggs was board president in 1869 |
| William H. King | 1869–1870 | |
| Eben F. Runyan | 1870–1872 | |
| William H. King | 1872–1874 | |
| John H. Richberg | 1874–1876 | |
| W. K. Sullivan | 1876–1878 | |
| William H. Wells | 1878–1880 | |
| Martin Delany | 1880–1882 | |
| Norman Bridge | 1882–1883 | |
| Adolf Kraus | 1883–1884 | |
| James R. Doolittle Jr. | 1884–1885 | |
| Adolf Kraus | 1885–1886 | |
| Allan C. Story | 1886–1888 | |
| Graeme Stewart | 1888–1889 | |
| William G. Beale | 1889–1890 | |
| Louis Nettlehorst | 1890–1891 | |
| John McLaren | 1891–1893 | |
| A. S. Trude | 1893–1895 | |
| Daniel R. Cameron | 1895–1896 | |
| Edward G. Halle | 1896–1898 | |
| Graham H. Harris | 1898–1902 | |
| Clayton Mark | 1902–1905 | |
| Edward Tilden | 1905–1906 | |
| Emil W. Ritter | 1906–1907 | |
| Otto C. Schneider | 1907–1909 | |
| Alfred R. Urion | 1909–1910 | |
| James Burton "J. B." McFatrich | 1910–1912 | |
| Peter Reinberg | 1912−1914 | |
| Michael J. Collins | 1914–1915 | |
| Jacob Loeb | 1915–1917 | |
| Edwin S. Davis | 1917–1922 | |
| John Dill Robertson | 1922–1923 | |
| Charles Moderwell | 1923–1925 | |
| Edward B. Ellicott | 1925–1926 | Died in office |
| Julius F. Smietanka acting | 1926–1927 | Served on acting basis |
| Walter J. Raymer | 1927 | |
| J. Lewis Coath | 1927–1928 | |
| H. Wallace Caldwell | 1928–1930 | |
| Lewis E. Myers | 1930–1933 | |
| James B. McCahey | 1933–1948 | |
| Charles J. Whipple | 1947–1948 | |
| William B. Traynor | 1948–1955 | |
| Sargent Shriver | 1955–1960 | |
| Thomas L. Marshall | 1960–1961 | |
| William G. Caples | 1961–1962 | |
| Clair Roddewig | 1962–1964 | |
| Frank M. Whiston | 1964–1970 | |
| John D. Carey | 1970–1979 | |
| Catherine Rohter | 1979–1980 | |
| Kenneth B. Smith | 1980–1981 | |
| Raul Villalobos | 1981–1983 | |
| Sol Brandzel | 1983–1984 | |
| George Muñoz | 1984–1987 | |
| Frank Gardner | 1987–1989 | |
| James Compton interim | 1989–1990 | Served on an interim basis |
| Clinton Bristow Jr. | 1990–1992 | |
| Florence Cox | 1992–1993 | |
| D. Sharon Gant | 1993–1995 | |

### Chairmen of the School Reform Board of Trustees (1995–1999)

| Name | Name | Tenure | Notes | Citation |
| | Gery Chico | 1995–1999 | Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley | |

### Presidents of the Chicago Board of Education (1999–present)

| Name | Tenure | Notes |
| Gery Chico | 1999–2001 | Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley |
| Michael Scott Sr. | 2001–2006 | Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley |
| Rufus Williams | 2006–2009 | Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley |
| Michael Scott Sr. | 2009 | Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley; died in office |
| Mary Richardson-Lowry | 2010–2011 | Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley |
| David J. Vitale | 2011–2015 | Appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel |
| Frank M. Clark | 2016–2019 | Appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel |
| Miguel del Valle | 2019–2023 | Appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot |
| Jianan Shi | 2023–2024 | Appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson |
| Mitchell Johnson | 2024 | Appointed by Mayor Johnson, served one week before resigning over controversies |
| Sean Harden | 2024– present | Appointed by Mayor Johnson |