Chicago

Exciting education reforms are currently underway in Chicago, home to the nation's third largest school district.  The district, long a pioneer in the school turnaround space, has recently unveiled a focus on performance management, launched additional learning opportunities to extend the school day, and is in the midst of re-engineering teacher evaluations.  Furthermore, in the last year the state lifted the cap on charter schools and passed legislation linking teacher evaluations to student performance. There is, however, more work to be done.  Reports indicate that more than 70% of 11th grade students fail to meet State standards and graduation rates are near 50%. A high-quality education improves opportunities for students in Chicago and contributes to the local economy. To address Chicago's unique challenges and deliver high-quality education, we need more skilled leaders working in the field of education.

Talent for Organizations Solving Chicago's Education Challenges

Since 2009, we have partnered with more than 20 education organizations including CPS, AUSL, Teach For America, Advance Illinois, Ounce of Prevention Fund, The Chicago Public Education Fund, the Noble Network of Charter Schools, the Consortium for Educational Change and the Consortium on Chicago School Research. We supply Partners with great talent for critical projects and full-time employment.  Chicago partners have utilized Fellows to develop performance metrics, manage turnaround school renovations, develop a state report card on education, research best practices for early educator training programs, increase departmental operating efficiency and evaluate programs.

Skilled Professionals Recruited to Work in Education in Chicago

We recruit talented and passionate leaders to the education sector.  Fellows apply diverse professional, academic and personal experiences to priority projects, leveraging new perspectives, critical skills and a sense of urgency to achieve goals.  Fellows are positioned to become leaders in education in Chicago through high-level work experience, training on complex issues in education reform and collaboration with local education experts and peers.

Alumni: Leaders in Education in Chicago

In Chicago, 77% of Education Pioneers Alumni work full-time in the field of education. Jennifer Dai, Kellogg MBA and 2006 Education Pioneers Fellow, could have continued her career path in the private sector, but is now Director of Academic and Operational Evaluation at CPS where she sets quality standards and provides school-level support in the Office of New Schools.

Investors

Education Pioneers is supported by private contributions from corporations, foundations, and individuals. We would like to recognize the following donors for making our efforts possible:

The Joyce Foundation
The Crown Family
The Finnegan Family Foundation
MetLife Foundation

Advisory Board

We are grateful to the following individuals who generously support Education Pioneers as local advisory board members:

Jason Cascarino, The Chicago Public Education Fund
Jonathan Furr, Holland & Knight, LLP
Pranav Kothari, Mission Measurement, LLC
Angela Rudolph, The Joyce Foundation

Contact Information

Chicago Managing Director: Julayne Virgil
julayne.virgil@educationpioneers.org

407 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 600
Chicago, IL 60605