Chicago’s first-ever partially elected school board was sworn in Wednesday, marking a historic moment after nearly two decades of grassroots parent activism and statehouse debates over whether voters should decide the direction of Chicago Public Schools.The new board members took their oaths of office and met for the first time amid a tumultuous few months for the Board of Education and school district — but the political divisions that have dominated that period largely made way for celebration.Board President Sean Harden, who was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson in December, congratulated new members for “becoming part of history as members of the largest public school board in the United States.“Students and families throughout the city of Chicago have a board that reflects their neighborhoods and their best interests,” Harden said. “I am incredibly optimistic about the district’s future, and I look forward to building new relationships, developing consensus with my fellow board members and keeping students and families at the core of our work. … We have an amazing opportunity to create an educational environment that’s unmatched in the United States.”Only 20 members — 10 elected and 10 appointed by the mayor — took part in Monday’s meeting, which served as the monthly preview of district proposals that will be considered at the regular board meeting Jan. 30. The mayor’s office still has not named its 11th appointee to complete the 21-member board.Board members filed into the newly renovated boardroom in the basement of CPS’ downtown headquarters, some taking pictures with parents and others taking in their new meeting space. Elected member Yesenia Lopez posed for photos in her seat with family members during the meeting’s intermission. Che “Rhymefest” Smith received loud cheers when he took his turn among the 20 board members who made brief comments after their swearing-in Wednesday.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times Even CPS CEO Pedro Martinez let out some smiles and laughs. He had been subdued in recent weeks as he faced public criticism and was fired by the board last month.“I love your new offices, it looks like a spaceship,” Illinois Network of Charter Schools official Allison Jack later told the board at the end of her public comments.Che “Rhymefest” Smith, the philanthropist and Grammy Award-winning rapper, was among the more popular new board members sought out for photos. Smith, elected in District 10, received loud cheers as he took his turn among the 20 board members who made brief comments after their swearing-in.“Traveling the world, living in different parts of the world, being able to earn Academy Awards and Grammys — that was not the pinnacle of the beauty of my life,” Smith said.“The pinnacle of the beauty of my life is being elected by a community who sees fit to have a new era in education, and who can see what Chicago Public Schools can be,” he said.Board member Norma Rios-Sierra, a mayoral appointee in the 3rd District, said, “Today marks a new chapter of hope.“[For] far too long, our families have faced systemic barriers and countless inequities in our education system,” she said.Aaron “Jitu” Brown, a longtime activist who won the 5th District election, reflected on the work that went into making an elected school board a reality.“Thank you to everybody who believed in this moment,” he said. “There is a little saying. "First they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.’ In 2006, when we passed out petitions at the Bud Billiken Day Parade, they laughed at us. When we proved in 2014 that 90% of Chicago wanted an elected school board, they fought us. And today, we sit here.” Chicago Board of Education members Debby Pope and Michilla “Kyla” Blaise high-five Wednesday during a board meeting break at the Chicago Public Schools headquarters in the Loop. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times “I am honored to be here,” Brown said. “I am fiercely committed to earning the respect of the children of the city of Chicago, being able to look them in the face and say, 'We are giving you an equitable school system.'”Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates told the board and audience in her public comments that she wanted to “apologize for being emotional in this moment,” recalling the CTU’s efforts to create an elected school board, including her door-knocking campaigns with Brown.“I know for a fact that we are going to transform the Chicago Public Schools into a place that provides an equitable and just education no matter what neighborhood they live in,” Davis Gates said. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez let out some smiles and laughs Wednesday at the new board’s inauguration. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times There were only two brief hints at the divisions that have engulfed the board and CPS.The first came 40 minutes into the meeting, when there was a split vote for board vice president. Jessica Biggs, an independent who won election in the 6th District, was nominated against Olga Bautista, a mayoral appointee. Bautista won 12-7 in a vote that fell largely along the political lines of the past year, with candidates backed by the CTU or appointed by the mayor voting for Bautista and opponents for Biggs.Ellen Rosenfeld, who criticized the mayor and CTU in her successful 4th District campaign, telegraphed her feelings when casting her vote: “I'm voting for Jessica Biggs. I wish I could tell you why.”The other touchy moment was when CTU charter division chair Jennifer Conant criticized a push by anti-CTU elected members last month to delay major decisions, including efforts to intervene in the Acero charter school closings. Johnson’s appointed seven-member board went ahead and voted to save the schools anyway.“Last month, some of you seated today advocated for the Board of Education to wait and do nothing about the Acero school closures,” Conant said. “But parents and educators fought hard for a decision to be voted on as soon as possible. And we are grateful that the board voted in December to save at least five of the seven schools from closure.Inaction would have caused them to lose even more families and teachers due to the uncertainty that Acero has created, likely dooming efforts to save those schools.” Elected member Yesenia Lopez posed for photos in her seat with supporters during the meeting’s intermission.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times