The Chicago Public Education Fund

10/13/2026

"I often think of the role like air traffic control. We're (principals) managing so many different agendas, but we're all making sure that planes are taking off and landing," Principal Edward Collins.

For five and a half years, Principal Collins has led Luther Burbank Elementary School in Belmont Cragin, serving a community of about 640 students. Nearly 90% of Burbank students are Latino, and the school serves a predominantly economically disadvantaged student population.

In 2026, Burbank earned a Strong rating for Effective Leaders on the 5Essentials survey, reflecting the leadership Principal Collins has built across the school.

At Burbank, families are part of the team. Last school year, staff turned after-school flex days into family engagement nights, from a movie night to a fundraiser, with a family literacy night coming later this month.

His message to fellow principals this Principal Appreciation Month: "Keep calm, act with a clear mind, enjoy the job."

We’re thrilled for Principal Collins to share his story live at our Principal Storytelling Evening on Oct. 15!

10/12/2026

"I'm a product of Chicago Public Schools, so when I walk in the building every day, I just see possibilities for our students," Principal Stacy Gray.

Since 2019, Principal Gray has led James E. McDade Elementary Classical School in Chatham.

Today, 91.6% of McDade students are proficient in reading, and 87% are proficient in math. That is more than double the district average in reading and more than triple the district average in math.

Students are still growing, too: McDade ranks in the 64th percentile for reading growth and the 68th for math.

She credits collective ownership. Families, teachers, and staff share responsibility for every result, from academics to social-emotional learning. "When one of us looks good, we all look good." And when McDade hosts an event, its families fill the room.

Her message to fellow principals this Principal Appreciation Month: remember your why, and take time to acknowledge yourself and all the work you've done.

We’re thrilled for Principal Gray to share her story live at our Principal Storytelling Evening on Oct. 15!

10/12/2026

Chicago's name comes from shikaakwa, the Miami-Illinois word for the wild onion that grew along the Chicago River.

Today is Indigenous Peoples' Day, a day to honor the histories, cultures, and continued presence of Native peoples across the Americas.

Chicago sits on the homelands of the Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi nations. The Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Kickapoo, and Illinois nations also lived, traded, and gathered here. Chicago is still home to a large intertribal Native community.

In Chicago Public Schools, people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native include:
▪ About 0.3% of students
▪ About 0.2% of teachers
▪ About 0.2% of principals

We believe every student deserves to see themselves in the people who lead their school, and we're committed to building a school leader pipeline that reflects all of Chicago's students.

The Indigenous Peoples Power Project and Greenpeace USA created a toolkit on how to be a good relative. A few places to start:
▪ Learn whose land you're on, then learn its history and what those nations are doing today
▪ Listen to Native voices, and share Native stories, media, and organizations
▪ Support local Native-led organizations, like the American Indian Center of Chicago
▪ Show up year-round, not just today

Access the full toolkit: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/indigenous-peoples-day-how-to-be-a-good-relative/

Learn more about the history of Indigenous Peoples' Day: https://indianyouth.org/indigenous-peoples-day/

Learn what Indigenous Peoples’ Day is, when it falls in 2026, its history, and meaningful ways to honor Native communities. Discover how you can take action!

10/09/2026

The Fund is excited to welcome the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) to facilitate the next session of our Learning Series on Thursday, Oct. 22!

Designed for assistant principals, this multi-session series builds instructional leadership capacity, strengthens school systems, and supports AP professional growth. Each quarter, experts in principal preparation lead a new area of strong school leadership, so participants engage with all four principal anchors over the course of the year.

In this session, assistant principals will walk away with:
▪️ Instructional leadership tools
▪️ Observation and feedback frameworks
▪️ Strategies for building coherent schoolwide systems

Registration is open. Book your seat here: https://chicagopublicfund.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a5eozronjjjBJNI

Dr. Cynthia Barron will lead this session, alongside facilitators Dr. Diamond Bogard and Dr. Gregory Jones.

Note: This session is in person from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Fund Office (200 W. Adams St., Suite 1175). Breakfast, lunch, and parking will be provided!

IAA credit included.

10/09/2026

Next Thursday, three Chicago principals take the stage to share their stories of school leadership.

Meet the storytellers for our 2026 Principal Storytelling Evening:

▪️Principal Stacy Gray | James E. McDade Elementary Classical School
▪️Principal Edward Collins | Luther Burbank Elementary School
▪️Principal Angelica Altamirano | Gurdon S. Hubbard High School

Together, they bring more than 20 years of experience leading Chicago public schools and serve students and families across the South, Northwest, and Southwest Sides.

Starting next week, we’ll introduce you to each of them. Then join us Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry to hear their stories in full.

This Principal Appreciation Month, we’re celebrating the leaders powering possibilities for Chicago students!

10/09/2026

The Fund is excited to welcome Educators Thriving to facilitate the next session of our K-12 Administrators Leading for Well-being Collaborative Series on Wednesday, Oct. 21!

This professional learning community helps school leaders strengthen educator well-being and retention through research-based learning, peer collaboration, and real-time practice. Participants connect with fellow administrators, reflect on staff well-being, and test leadership strategies they can apply in their own schools.

In this session, leaders will:
▪️ Gain practical strategies for supporting staff well-being
▪️ Receive personalized feedback through an AI-enabled conversation simulator
▪️ Apply their learning directly to leadership practice

This session aligns with the Culture & Trust anchor and the CIWP's Connectedness & Wellbeing focus area.

Registration is open. Book your seat here: https://chicagopublicfund.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a5eozronjjjBJNI

Note: This session is in person from 9 to 11 a.m. at The Fund Office (200 W. Adams St., Suite 1175). Breakfast, lunch, and parking will be provided!

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10/09/2026

Principals shape how every student learns. That starts with our youngest learners, from their first day of pre-K through third grade.

Last week, The Fund was proud to join the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and Lloyd A. Fry Foundation in supporting Principal Preparation and P-3: Building the Field, a national convening hosted by the National P-3 Center at the University of Colorado Denver.

About 30 leaders from eight states gathered in Chicago, representing districts, state education agencies, higher education, philanthropy, and national organizations.

Together, they examined why leadership in pre-K through third grade deserves investment and how our systems can better equip school leaders across the full early learning continuum.

A few takeaways from the room:
▪ Strengthening P-3 leadership takes more than a new program or added content. It requires alignment across principal preparation, hiring and selection, professional learning, field experiences, and leadership standards.
▪ Districts, states, and higher education institutions each have a distinct role to play, and lasting change depends on buy-in from all of them.
▪ Participants reached a broad consensus on building a community of practice, such as a Networked Improvement Community, where state leaders, district leaders, and researchers meet regularly to test ideas, share evidence, and learn from one another.

We look forward to building on this work and exploring how stronger principal preparation and development can help school leaders create the conditions for our youngest students to thrive.

10/05/2026

What helps Chicago students succeed?

The Kersten Institute for Urban Education and the UChicago Consortium on School Research released a new series of two-page issue guides to help Board of Education candidates, current Board members, and voters answer that question with evidence.

Built on nearly 40 years of research with Chicago Public Schools, the guides cover:
📊Key metrics on student and school success
📚Attendance and grades
👥 Student experience: connection, challenge, and support
🎓 College and career outcomes
🧑‍🏫 Effective principals
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 School and family partnerships
🧑‍💻 Technology in the classroom

The principal guide confirms what we see in schools every day. Students with effective principals gain months of additional learning each year, and those leaders get there by sharing leadership, keeping great teachers, and partnering with families.

With all 21 Board seats on the Nov. 3 ballot, these guides give every Chicagoan a shared, evidence-based starting point.

Available in English and Spanish!
🔗

Esta información se ofrece a continuación en español.How are Chicago students doing? What helps Chicago students succeed?These questions are especially important today, as Chicago fully elects its school board for the first time.There is a lot of information swirling across the city, and lots of...

10/05/2026

Six Chicago Public Schools principals had contracts approved at the Sept. 24 Chicago Board of Education meeting: two new and four renewed by their Local School Councils.

Both new principals moved into the role from within the schools they will now lead. Anjanette Lipsett moves up from the assistant principalship at Mount Vernon.

The four renewals keep experienced leaders in the buildings they already run, ensuring stable leadership for their school communities into 2031.

Three of the six have engaged with past or current Fund programming.

Congratulations to all six.

10/01/2026

Happy Principal Appreciation Month!

At The Fund, we celebrate school leaders all year long. But October is dedicated to principals, and to the energy they bring into their communities every single day.

Principals are the spark behind strong schools. They build cultures where students feel seen, energize teachers, and turn big goals into real progress in classrooms across Chicago. When a principal leads well, possibilities expand for everyone in the building.

All month, we're shining a light on the leaders who make that happen. Join us in thanking a principal who powers possibility in your community.