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News Release
at The Chicago Public Education Fund
Cindy Lieberman, Director of Communications
(312) 558-4520
September 12, 2007
Teach for America, Harvard Graduate School
of Education Announce The Principal Leadership Pipeline
The Chicago Public Education Fund, Pritzker Traubert Family
Foundation Launch Program to Recruit, Train and Place Top
Teach for America Alumni in Chicago Public School Principal
roles
CHICAGO-Teach for America-Chicago,
the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Chicago Public
Schools (CPS) announced today an innovative collaboration
to create a new generation of school leaders for CPS. With
the financial support of The Chicago Public Education Fund
(The Fund) and the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation, Teach
For America and CPS will recruit high-performing Teach For
America alumni to attend a school leadership program at the
Harvard Graduate School of Education and then enter into a
one-year residency under the tutelage of a principal at a
Chicago elementary or high school. After the residency, the
new principals will then take the helm of some of Chicago’s
most challenged schools.
Two Teach For America alumni will inaugurate
the Chicago program and attend the Harvard Graduate School
of Education this fall, with the goal to expand to as many
as ten students to enter the program in subsequent years,
said Josh Anderson, executive director of Teach For America-Chicago.
Over the next five years, Teach For America could have as
many as 50 school leaders in the pipeline, a group that would
reach some 15,000 Chicago children a year.
“Since Teach For America was
founded in 1990, we have not only seen countless lives of
students impacted, but we have seen the lives of our alumni
changed by the experiences they had teaching successfully
in schools where success is too often not the case. By entering
school leadership positions, our alumni can multiply that
success exponentially,” Anderson said. “The potential
of this new program is additionally exciting because it comes
along at the perfect time. We are thrilled to provide CPS
a pipeline to a new generation of school leaders.”
The initial investment of $310,000 from The Fund and $115,000
from the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation will be used
to build the infrastructure for the Teach For America-Harvard
Graduate School of Education collaboration.
“As a venture philanthropy,
we invest in new programs that have strong people behind them
and significant potential to make a deep impact,” said
Janet Knupp, founding president of The Fund, which has allocated
more than $3.9 million to create a pipeline of expert principal
talent for Chicago over the past seven years. “A collaboration
with Teach For America and the Harvard Graduate School of
Education is a tremendous opportunity to attract and prepare
great leaders for Chicago’s public schools.”
Chicago business executive Penny Pritzker said, “The
Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation believes that strong school
leadership is critical to the success of every Chicago public
school and each student. We are investing in this collaboration
with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Teach For
America so that more dedicated, effective teachers can be
provided with the knowledge, skills and support needed to
become dynamic, innovative principals in Chicago’s public
schools.”
The Teach For America alumni began their principal leadership
preparation by participating in a professional education institute
at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In this program,
they worked alongside school leaders from all over the world
toward becoming effective instructional leaders. In September,
the program participants enter the Harvard Graduate School
of Education’s master’s degree program, through
which they will engage in classroom and practicum work tailored
to preparing exceptional school leaders.
“The Harvard Graduate School of Education is committed
to making a profound impact in urban school districts throughout
the nation,” said Dean Kathleen McCartney. “These
Teach For America alums have already shown a strong commitment
to improving the lives of learners. Through this collaboration,
we will provide a pathway for these outstanding educators
to prepare for the opportunity to serve as principals in Chicago.”
Teach For America alumni go through a rigorous application
process which includes multiple interviews by Teach For America
and a CPS Area Instructional Officer. The candidates must
apply to and be accepted to the School Leadership Program
at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Following the
year-long master’s program, which includes an internship
in an urban public school, fellows will spend one year in
residency and a minimum of four years as principal in Chicago
public schools.
The first cohort of graduates will serve as resident principals
in Area 14, the high-need Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Greater
Grand Crossing neighborhoods. While serving as principals,
there will be continued opportunity for professional development
through the Harvard Graduate School of Education, including
institutes through Programs in Professional Education and
online learning experiences through WIDE World.
“This approach leverages each organization’s greatest
strengths and will foster a kind of school leadership that
will serve Area 14 and its children most effectively,”
said CPS Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan, who himself
is Harvard trained. “The program is unique in that it
is designed to meet the needs of a specific area in the city
and in that it is recruiting a pool of highly successful leaders
to the principalship early in their careers. If we meet our
goals with the program, there is clear potential for replication
in other areas of the city and across the country.”
Currently, 18 Teach For America alumni are already principals
in Chicago area schools, while a corps of 240 of the nation’s
most promising future leaders are working as first- and second-year
teachers and directly impacting the lives of nearly 13,000
CPS students annually. They join more than 200 Teach For America
alumni who are still working in the region as teachers.
“Teach For America teachers bring a diversity of skills
and a commitment to quality education that is of great benefit
to our students,” Duncan said. “I am optimistic
that this program will bring in a new cohort of high-caliber
principals with both the technical and practical experience
to dramatically increase student performance in struggling
schools.”
About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent
college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and
rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding
educational opportunity. This year, 4,400 corps members are
teaching in over 1,000 schools in 25 regions across the country,
and more than 12,000 Teach For America alumni continue working
from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental
changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity.
For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.
About the Harvard Graduate School
of Education
Since its founding in 1920, the Harvard Graduate School of
Education has been preparing leaders in education and generating
knowledge to improve student opportunity, achievement, and
success. Today, our faculty, students, and alumni are studying
and solving the most critical challenges facing education:
student assessment, the achievement gap, urban education,
and teacher shortages, to name just a few. Our work is shaping
how people lead, teach, and learn in schools and colleges
as well as in after-school programs, high-tech companies,
and international organizations. The HGSE community is pushing
the frontiers of education, and the effects of our entrepreneurship
are improving the world.
About The Chicago Public Education Fund
As a venture capital fund for public education, The Chicago
Public Education Fund is an unprecedented catalyst for improving
school leadership and student achievement in Chicago Public
Schools. Launched by a group of corporate and civic leaders,
The Fund invests private sector dollars and management expertise
in early stage, high-impact programs aligned with school district
priorities. In 2000, The Fund provided a seed investment which
enabled Teach For America to expand into the Chicago area.
For more information, visit www.cpef.org.
About the Pritzker Traubert
Family Foundation
The Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation supports efforts to
improve public education in the City of Chicago and to ensure
that children attending kindergarten through 12th grades have
access to a quality, public education. For more information,
visit http://ptffoundation.org.
About Chicago Public Schools
The Chicago Public Schools is the nationa's third-largest
school system. It includes more than 600 schools and serves
about 415,000 students. For more information, visit http://www.cps.k12.il.us.
# # #
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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