Education Initiatives

In order to achieve our goals and objectives we have four areas of work under Education.

Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE) is the first-ever citywide education reform coalition led by high school students in community-based organizations. These youth have completed research aimed at tackling the issue of the huge drop-out rate in Chicago’s high schools as well as the low levels of college enrollment. VOYCE have participated in site visits to schools “that work” in Chicago and California. The primary achievements of our local VOYCE chapter are: the establishment of a working partnership with Perspectives High School, which increases the likelihood that the youths’ voice will be amplified in any school reform efforts; the development of three student research interns and 21 youth as peer researchers; and the engagement of a total of 75 students in the research process. (Web Site »)

Click here to view our  VOYCE One Pager 2011

Parents and Residents Invested in School and Education (PRISE) Reform Led by TARGET Area, PRISE Reform is a three-year old statewide effort aimed at building a dynamic learning coalition of parents, students, and community stakeholders working for quality school reform. PRISE released a community research report and launched its full initiative in August 2008. PRISE was developed to help address the lack of parent and community involvement in the school reform dialogue.   By providing support through a series of learning and leadership opportunities, PRISE is preparing parents to play an integral role in the decision making process in education reform efforts.  We work in 5 local schools including: Scott Joplin, Clara Barton, Oglesby, Cuffe and Perspectives. (Website)

Grow Your Own Illinois(GYO) is an innovative partnership of 16 community-based organizations, higher education institutions, and school districts that supports parents, community members, and paraprofessionals in low-income communities of color to become highly qualified teachers. The goals of the initiative are to: graduate 1,000 new teachers of color by 2016; improve teacher retention in low-income schools; recruit for hard-to-staff schools; and increase cultural competence and community connections of teachers.  Currently, 45 parents/paraprofessionals are enrolled in college-level classes held in Auburn-Gresham.(Web Site»)

The Campaign to Improve School Achievement and Attendance Program (CISAP) is an intervention and prevention program designed to raise the academic achievement of kindergarten through third graders by increasing the rate of parent involvement, building strong partnership between parent and schools, providing one-on-one support for students in the classroom, and identifying local clergy to assist in reducing truancy among the student body. In addition, program staff and parent-leaders provider capacity-building workshops for parents and identify community partners that are willing to volunteer at the school. CISAP is currently based in two south side schools, Scott Joplin and Clara Barton. (Web Site »)

To get involved or learn more about our education work, click here