The Chicago Public Education Fund

08/24/2026

Five years ago, Charlene Reynolds became principal at Dewey Academy of Fine Arts in Englewood, the same neighborhood where she grew up. Today, she leads with a simple rule: never waver. Not on your vision, not on your expectations for students and staff, and not on yourself.

This is what it means to Power Possibilities for her students and community.

Dewey's 2026 5Essentials Effective Leaders score landed at 61, rated "Strong," reflecting a school where instructional goals consistently show up in the classroom.

Last year, her team set out to strengthen student writing. By the end of the 2025-26 school year, Dewey posted an IAR proficiency score of 53.4% on its Illinois State Board of Education report, outperforming both the district (42.8%) and the state (53.1%).

Principal Reynolds is also a lead principal in our 2026-27 Foundational Schools Pilot, where she supports fellow school leaders navigating similar challenges in small schools. As the new school year begins, hear from Principal Reynolds on what's driving Dewey's growth and what she's building next.

To our Chicago Public Schools teachers, school leaders, staff members, and students, happy first day of school!

08/18/2026

The Fund and fellow PIE member organizations are excited to share that we are finalists for the 2026 PIE Network Eddie for Best Collaboration.

Finalists in this category worked in coalition to achieve significant impact for students and families. The coalition, in collaboration with elected officials, key stakeholders, and the larger sector, helped CPS secure a balanced FY26 budget that protected school-level resources and avoided new borrowing, safeguarding classroom investments for more than 316,000 students.

PIE Network members, cast your vote through Aug. 28. Learn more about this year’s dynamic nominees: https://www.pie-network.org/what-we-do/the-eddies/2026-eddies/

Grateful to work alongside Civic Federation, Advance Illinois, and Kids First Chicago in this effort, and thankful to PIE Network for recognizing coalition work that puts students first.

08/17/2026

The Fund is hiring an Associate, Data & Innovation to manage our Salesforce systems, build dashboards, and turn data into insights that support Chicago public-school principals. We're looking for someone with 2-3 years of data analysis experience (nonprofit/education a plus) and a passion for using data to drive better outcomes for schools!

BACKGROUND The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) supports public schools by investing in the talented educators who lead them. As an independent nonprofit organization, we partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago, the local philanthropic community, principals, and aspiri...

08/14/2026

This week, the CBOE’s Agenda Review Committee met to confirm a new Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs and to advance two advisory referendum questions for the November ballot.

The meeting also included an extended public discussion on how the district plans to implement the amended FY27 budget, where our Chief Public Affairs Officer, Nelson Gerew, testified before the Board. His testimony highlighted three realities shaping this moment:

▪ The $100 million amendment restores some positions but does not allow for a full reversal of the original budget's cuts.
▪ The timing is tight. Teachers return on Monday (Aug. 17), students the week after (Aug. 24), and school-based plans are already set.
▪ The additional state funding the amendment assumes may not fully materialize, which would require further adjustments down the line.

Still, as Nelson reminded the Board, "minimizing disruption at schools remains the right objective." That's not just a policy message. It's what he wants for his own kids this fall: a school year that starts on time, with every child welcomed and supported.

Edison Park Elementary Principal Jeffrey Finelli made a similar request to the Board. He described the intense, months-long work that goes into a strong school opening, and cautioned that reopening budget decisions now will pull principals away from that work at exactly the wrong moment.

We're grateful for Principal Finelli, for Nelson, and to all the school leaders across the city working hard to make this transition as smooth as possible for students and families. With the first day of school just over a week away, The Fund remains ready to support CPS and the Board as this work continues.

08/11/2026

Community voting for SXSW EDU 2027 session proposals is open through Sunday, Aug. 23 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

With more than 1,500 applicants in the mix, we are proud to share that four proposals from our Mallot Educator Fellows have advanced to the community voting stage.

Our Fellows' sessions tackle chronic absenteeism from multiple angles: building school climate and shared leadership under pressure, deploying practical levers against chronic absence, and rebuilding a sense of belonging for students who've disengaged. These sessions reflect the on-the-ground work our Fellows are leading in their schools every day.

Voting takes two minutes, and every vote helps put CPS principals in front of a national audience.

Take a few minutes to support our principals! Create a free SXSW account, then click the heart icon next to each title:

▪️Through Hard Years: Climate & Results (Panel) - https://tinyurl.com/climate-results

▪️Leading Under Pressure: Data, Trust, Shared Leadership (Panel) - https://tinyurl.com/leadership-pressure

▪️Four Levers Against Chronic Absence (Workshop) - https://tinyurl.com/chronic-absence

▪️From Absence to Belonging (Workshop) - https://tinyurl.com/workshop-belonging

Share these links with your network!

08/07/2026

In July, 24 CPS leaders had contracts approved by their Local School Councils and accepted by the Chicago Board of Education.

Notably, 12 earned their first principal contracts, with the majority stepping up from assistant principal roles in their own buildings. The remaining 12 had their contracts renewed, extending their leadership through 2030 and beyond.

Of the 24 principals recognized this month, 19 are current or former participants in The Fund's programming, including 12 through our PLCs and masterclasses, eight through our network grants and supports, and two through our Malott Educator Fellowship.

New and renewed alike, these educators are proof that Chicago's principal pipeline runs deep within its communities.

Congratulations to all!

08/06/2026

Nearly 7 in 10 Chicago Public Schools principals shared their perspective in our 2026 Engagement Survey, and we're acting on what we heard.

We're celebrating strong AP satisfaction (76%) and expanding Learning Labs to spotlight great principal-AP partnerships. We’ll continue to elevate growth and overall leadership through our pilots, relaunching the Executive Principal Program, investing $1.5M+ in leadership development (including a new AI-powered cohort projected to save 2–10 hrs/week on admin work), and advocating for greater budget predictability alongside partners like the Civic Federation.

Over 10 years of survey data tells us that school leader satisfaction is a pivotal part of improving student outcomes. To help honor their hard work, commitment, and impact, we are thrilled to launch our yearlong Principal Appreciation campaign themed .

We will continue to celebrate YOU and your leadership with a variety of events throughout the year.

Read the full findings → ChicagoPrincipals.org

08/05/2026

On Tuesday, The Fund joined Chicago Public Schools for the School Leader Back-to-School Kick-Off and Appreciation Happy Hour at the Chicago Symphony Center. Together, we honored and the resilient leaders who ensure our young people can , no matter the hurdles.

Today, we’re excited to officially launch our annual Principal Appreciation Campaign.

This year's campaign theme, , builds on the messages we heard from CPS leadership yesterday. School leaders in Chicago are the engine that keeps the system moving for over 600 schools. Our talented educators turn a stretched budget and uncertain political climate into a joyful, rigorous, equitable experience for young people on day one, and every day after.

To every leader who took a much-needed breath with us to kick off the year, thank you. We see you, and we’re excited to be with you in the year ahead. Follow along over the coming weeks as we continue to celebrate the educators powering possibilities citywide.

Make sure you check out our 2026-27 leadership learning opportunities: https://tinyurl.com/LearningLabs2026-27

08/03/2026

Last week, the Chicago Board of Education voted to approve Chicago Public Schools' FY27 budget.

The Fund's Chief of Innovation and Continuous Improvement, Mariel Laureano, testified on behalf of the hundreds of principals and Local School Council members who built and passed their school-level budgets on time this summer, under one of the most difficult budget cycles in memory. She urged the Board to honor those decisions and preserve the stability that school leaders and their communities are counting on as the new year begins.

Mariel also highlighted the value of the community conversations held in schools citywide this summer, which gave families and educators a chance to engage directly with the FY27 budget process. Notably, she encouraged CPS to continue that dialogue in the year ahead.

Finally, she highlighted the need for long-term fiscal sustainability so school leaders will not be forced to weigh building needs against student needs every year.

The Board ultimately passed a $9.96B budget, 11-7-1, including a late amendment tied to $150M in new, unsecured state revenue. As this plays out, The Fund will continue tracking how it affects schools and will keep advocating for the long-term financial sustainability our students and school leaders need.

Be sure to follow our CEO Heather Y. Anichini on LinkedIn for further analysis on all things CPS budget and education sector. https://lnkd.in/p/gVP9SRhb

You can view Mariel's full testimony here.

08/03/2026

This week, we’re proud to spotlight Niambi Riggins-Thomas, principal at Oscar DePriest Elementary School and a member of our 2025–26 Malott Educator Fellowship cohort.

Principal Riggins-Thomas joined the Malott Educator Fellowship mid-year and immediately began building momentum at DePriest. This spring, third-grade English Language Arts proficiency increased from 2% to 13% on the school's Illinois Assessment of Readiness.

She helped drive that growth by launching an after-school tutoring program tailored to individual student needs and maintaining a clear instructional focus on acceleration rather than remediation.

At the same time, Principal Riggins-Thomas strengthened the school's approach to attendance by pairing her team's daily outreach with a grant-funded university partnership that provides wraparound services and home visits for more than 30 students at risk of chronic absenteeism, all at no cost to the school.

After nearly three years without stable principal leadership, DePriest has made remarkable progress under Principal Riggins-Thomas's leadership, moving from intensive support status to commendable within six months.

These gains reflect more than improved academic outcomes. They represent a school community rebuilding trust, strengthening connections with families, and creating the conditions for every student to learn, grow, and succeed.