Aaron "Jitu" Brown
Chicago Board of Education, District 5a, on the Chicago ballot November 3, 2026. Incumbent. Endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Campaign site (aaronjitubrown4cps.org)
Running on
Brown says he is running to responsibly expand the Sustainable Community Schools model with community input, ensure equitable access to early childhood education starting with pre-K, and win equitable funding from the state of Illinois. His platform also calls for increasing the number of Black and Brown educators, strengthening Local School Councils, culturally relevant curriculum, and ending punitive standardized testing, with District 5 families building a pre-K through 12th grade vision for their schools.
Background
Brown is a longtime education organizer who serves as national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance and was a lead organizer in the 2015 hunger strike that saved Dyett High School, helping develop the Sustainable Community Schools model. He served about 15 years on Local School Councils and won the District 5 seat in November 2024.
Compiled from public sources:
Everyone in this race: Chicago Board of Education, District 5a