Dozens of volunteers also visited students in the neighborhoods around four other CPS high schools.
"Our presence on the sidewalks today is to let students, the community and the neighborhood know that we're with them, and we really want to make things work to get them to graduation," said Chicago Board of Education President Rufus Williams.
A record 93.7 percent of CPS students attended the first day of school Tuesday, but Williams points out that means 24,000 students did not show up.