News Release
at The Chicago Public Education Fund
Aidan Leonard, Development and Communications Associate
(312) 558-4503

April 26, 2004

Venture philanthropy fund to deploy talented teams of teachers, principals to improve student achievement
Business-backed group launches $15 million second fund; lead investment from Pritzker Foundation pushes effort past halfway mark

CHICAGO—Four years after launching Chicago’s first venture philanthropy for public education, business leaders Thursday will unveil a new, $15 million drive to improve the way Chicago Public Schools recruits, deploys, and rewards its approximately 28,000 teachers and 600 principals.

The Chicago Public Education Fund’s second leadership fund will receive a significant boost Thursday, when the Pritzker Foundation invests $1.4 million, bringing the Chicago family’s cumulative commitment to $2 million. The Fund has already raised $8 million toward its $15 million goal.

“We’ve made real, measurable progress in building a pipeline of talented people to lead our classrooms and schools,” said Janet Knupp, president of The Chicago Public Education Fund. “With the continued support of the business and civic community, we can do a great deal more.”

Knupp and The Fund’s board of directors said they’ll build on the progress they made during their first $10 million fund, completed last year. That effort recruited hundreds of talented new teachers, launched a district-wide initiative to identify master teachers, and emphasized principal development programs that combine education and management models.

“With Leadership Fund II, we will build on our central role as a strategic partner to Chicago Public Schools in developing great principals and teachers,” said Scott Smith, chairman of The Fund and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The second fund has also earned Mayor Richard M. Daley’s support.

“This new leadership fund will support our efforts to make every school a school of choice for our students and their families,” Daley said. “The Fund’s continued focus on leadership will help us make that vision a reality.”

Penny Pritzker, chairman of Classic Residence by Hyatt and president of Pritzker Realty Group, says that The Fund “has an unprecedented opportunity to use our dollars as a catalyst to help Chicago Public Schools develop and place talented people in the schools that need them the most. I’m particularly proud of the progress CPS is making in preparing and recruiting principals.” She currently leads a Fund-sponsored task force of business leaders who are working with CPS officials to help overhaul the way the district grooms aspiring principal candidates.

“Getting great people into every classroom, into every school—if we do that well, we’re going to be very, very successful, and The Fund has been the leader from day one in helping us in that area,” said Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan. “I think going forward, we’re going to see some dramatic changes in how we do business, and that’s going to be just a great help to all of our children,” he said.

Duncan will join The Fund’s board of directors and investors at 4:15 p.m. Thursday for The Fund’s annual meeting and formal kickoff for Leadership Fund II at Northern Trust, 50 S. LaSalle St.

The Fund will also announce a new, $1 million investment from the Citadel Group Foundation, led by Ken Griffin, who serves on The Fund’s board. The Rauner Family Foundation and Chicago Tribune Charities, a McCormick Tribune Foundation fund, have also invested more than $1 million each since The Fund was created.

Knupp, The Fund’s president, said The Fund will continue to invest “dollars and ideas” in programs that recruit school leaders. Leadership Fund II will add to that by providing incentives to teams of teachers and principals who agree to work in the city’s lowest-performing schools. “Teachers and principals who agree to tackle the toughest challenges—and then rise to meet them—ought to be compensated accordingly,” Knupp said.

Investors emphasize that money isn’t the only thing the new effort will bring to the table. “What makes The Fund different,” says Citadel’s Griffin, “is that it supplies the missing ingredient to success. What we hope to bring to the school system are ideas and concepts that, when implemented on a broad scale, will create a tremendous impact.”

The Fund’s early track record earned it at least quarter of a million dollars each from The Goldman Sachs Foundation, Northern Trust, Harris Bank, and Washington Mutual. Nine other individuals and family foundations also invested at that level.

Bruce Rauner, chairman of private equity firm GTCR Golder Rauner, says The Fund’s venture capital model is a big reason for its appeal. “I’ve been involved with many non-profit organizations that emphasize education, but I’ve never found one that was better positioned, better structured, or more disciplined than The Fund. It’s very similar to the way we do it in the for-profit venture capital world.”

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As a venture capital fund for public education, The Chicago Public Education Fund is an unprecedented catalyst for improving school leadership and student achievement system wide. Launched by a group of corporate and civic leaders, The Fund brings private sector dollars and expertise to high-impact programs aligned with Chicago Public Schools priorities. Find out more at www.cpef.org.
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