A maze, not a path: For CPS grads, there’s no standard route from high school diploma to college degree. And the pandemic has added many detours.

CPS graduate Arthur Wells spoke recently on a University of Chicago panel about his nontraditional college journey. “I’m not surrounded by college graduates in my family,” Wells said. “I kind of was in the dark, trying to figure it out on my own.” (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)