Greater Chicago-Northwest Indiana

Greater Chicago-Northwest Indiana Our Work

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Teach For America teacher with young students

For nearly 20 years, Teach For America has played a pivotal role in the educational progress made across Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana.

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When Teach For America began its work in Chicago in 2000, the city was on the brink of major change. In 1987, Education Secretary William Bennett famously said, ''I'm not sure there's a system as bad as the Chicago system.” However, at the turn of the century, the city had begun to invest in principal development, innovative data systems, and new school models.

Since then, Chicago Public Schools have become a beacon of hope. In a study that came out from Stanford in the fall of 2017, Chicago Public Schools students were shown to have made the fastest academic progress of the 100 largest school districts in the country as measured by the National Assessment for Educational Progress. For the last 18 years, Teach For America has been the primary talent pipeline for Chicago’s education system, and has provided greatly needed support to under-resourced districts in Northwest-Indiana. And in the 2020-2021 school year, we will place our first cohort of 10 corps members in North Chicago. Sixty-seven percent of our alumni work in education, though upon joining the corps only 10 percent thought they would remain in the field.

After their time in the corps, our alumni advocate for change both inside the system and out—challenging the status quo with tough questions and innovative solutions. Though we’ve seen tremendous progress in Chicago and Northwest Indiana since Teach For America arrived in 2000 and are eager to begin our partnership in North Chicago, there is still much work to be done in our region, and a real opportunity to make a difference.

An Introduction to Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana

Learn about the work of our incredible Teach For America community members in Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana.

2800

Alumni

230

Corps Members

25

Executive Leaders

260

School Leaders

“We as Teach For America members, regardless of what we’re doing or where we’re working, are part of a movement together.”

Justina Schlund

Executive Director, CPS Office of Social and Emotional Learning

Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana Corps Member 2009

Aneesh Sohoni

Aneesh Sohoni

Twin Cities '09

Executive Director

Teach For America Chicago-Northwest Indiana

Aneesh began his career in education as a corps member in the Twin Cities teaching high school English and serving as department chair.

Regional Staff & Advisory Board

Connect With Us

Office Contact

Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana
300 West Adams Street
Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60606

(312) 254-1000

Media Inquiries

Please contact us at press.center@teachforamerica.org.

Donations Mailing Address

Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana Region
PO Box 398468
San Francisco, CA 94139-8468