This story was originally published by Hyde Park Herald.

Jessica Biggs, a former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) principal and a community organizer, is running for the 6th District school board seat to increase funding and retention of talent in the city’s public schools.

With a long career in education, Biggs said she was motivated to run by the time she spent working to solve inequities in struggling schools as a special education teacher and principal, most recently as principal of Burke Elementary School in Washington Park. And, with a fifth-grader in CPS, Biggs said her daughter deserves “the very best from her school system, as does every single CPS student.”

Jessica Biggs, candidate for Chicago school board in the newly created District 6, filed petitions yesterday morning with the Chicago Board of Elections to secure the coveted first ballot position in the Nov. 5th election. Arriving early on the first day of filing, Biggs turned in nearly 1,700 verified signatures from registered voters in District 6; only 1,000 are required to claim a spot on the ballot.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat.

The hottest place to be in Chicago on Monday morning, it seemed, was a Board of Elections voting site, where residents hoping to run for the city’s first school board election started to line up an hour after sunrise.

This story was originally published by ABC 7.

After years of pushing for an elected Chicago school board, it's finally happening. Candidates lined up Monday to file their petitions, hoping to win a lottery for the top November 5 ballot spot. Many were there before 9 a.m.

Jessica Biggs, a prominent community and school leader with 20 years of experience in education, is entering the race for school board in Chicago’s newly created 6th District. Biggs is the first district candidate to secure more than 1,000 ballot petition signatures entirely with volunteer support, and enters the race with significant momentum and widespread support.