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The To&Through Project’s events are intended for a diverse cross-section of education leaders and partners from the K-12, higher education, nonprofit, and civic communities. Presenters and panelists come together to share new research findings as well as share ideas and strategies for helping Chicago’s under-resourced students succeed in high school and college. The To&Through Project also hosts monthly Data Collaboratives designed to elevate and promote dialogue around new and emerging work focused on applying data to youth development efforts. You can watch recordings of our previous events on YouTube.

Upcoming Events

Supporting newly arrived migrant students in Chicago Public Schools

More than 5,700 newly arrived immigrant students have enrolled in Chicago Public Schools since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year (Chalkbeat). Many are refugees and asylum seekers facing a variety of challenges navigating systems and barriers in this new city and country.

April Data Collaborative - High Jump

Nate Pietrini & Ariana Pozos will share findings and implications from High Jump's 2023 research initiative focused on using "empathy interviews" to gain deep insights into the daily experiences of economically disadvantaged children of color attending selective enrollment high schools in Chicago.

Spotlight on Student Voice: Centering Young People as Experts in Student Experience

How can we better put student voice and student feedback into action? Join us on May 2nd at 2:00pm (CST) to engage in discussion with Middle Grades Network (MGN) Student Fellowship and its alignment with one of their partner schools, Sumner Math & Science Community Academy. Participants will learn about the process of student voice implementation and understand how direct feedback from students can be used to shift practice.

May Data Collaborative - The People’s Music School

Natalie Butler and Marc Wilson will present on The People's Music School's use of quantitative and qualitative data analysis to deepen student impact over a long-term journey with the school.  The People's Music School is one of the nation's only and largest free music schools, partnering with CPS schools to provide high quality after-school music programming in Chicago's historically underserved communities. Natalie is their Dean of Learning & Teaching and Marc is the Chief of Strategy and Partnerships.

Kegs & Cases: Supporting CPS students in their journeys after high school

Join us in-person for our second annual To&Through Kegs & Cases event at Guild Row (3130 N Rockwell St, Chicago, IL 60618). We will share our latest Learning Case– a qualitative look at how practitioners are supporting CPS alumni in their postsecondary journeys in the first two years after high school graduation. Come participate in a facilitated case learning experience, learn about how this resource can support the learning communities you engage with, and network with our To&Through community with drinks and snacks! 

June Data Collaborative: OneGoal

Susie Tovar, E.M. Saunders, Veronica Nieves and Drew Stricker will share about the OneGoal organization and recent quantitative analysis about postsecondary outcomes for students “in the middle” academically (GPA: 2.25-2.99). OneGoal is a postsecondary access and success organization working with schools and districts to transform postsecondary advising so that all students can define their futures. Susie is the Senior Director of Teacher Support, Junior Year of High School; E.M.

Past Events

Inquiry and Action Workshop: To&Through Milestones Tool

This 90-minute in-person workshop will allow participants to explore the To&Through Milestone Tool and learn how the data can be used to inform the support efforts of Chicago Public Schools students on their paths to high school and college completion. Participants will be able to work side by side with To&Through Tool Experts to explore the Milestones Tool, learn helpful navigation strategies, and practice sharing findings that can inform their work to support CPS students.

March Data Collaborative - Noble Schools Network

JY Sun (Senior Director of College Analytics & Insights), Sarah MacCallum (Senior Director of College Counseling), and Claire Goodrich (Senior Director of Data) will present on how the Noble Schools network uses their college counseling framework in practice as well as associated KPIs and data systems they utilize to track progress.

Exploring College Success for Black Graduates of Chicago Public Schools

On February 20th, 2024, join us for a virtual presentation and discussion focused on the success of Black college graduates in Chicago Public Schools and the opportunities to strengthen college pathways and outcomes for Black CPS graduates. Following a presentation of data and existing research by Dominique McKoy of the To&Through Project, attendees will be invited to a post-presentation discussion to reflect on the implications and collective opportunities to improve our supports for Black CPS students and alumni.

February Data Collaborative - Kids First Chicago

Jose Pacas, Chris Poulos, and Micaelan Valesky will present key data insights that supported an in-depth report series of parent-led recommendations to help stem Chicago’s Enrollment Crisis. Jose, Chris, and Micaelan are part of the Data Science and Research team at Kids First Chicago.

January Data Collaborative - Evidence 2 Action Workshops

Rosa Ramirez Richter (UChicago Consortium on School Research) and Dom McKoy (The To&Through Project) will present on efforts to share research and data with CPS parent and community LSC members in our new Evidence to Action workshop series. Rosa is the Director of Engagement and Partnerships at the UChicago Consortium on School Research and Dom is the Deputy Director of the To&Through Project.

Research Spotlight: Evidence to Inform Holistic College Admissions Policies

As we continue to navigate a college admissions landscape following the Supreme Court ban on race-conscious admissions and a context that is increasingly test optional, how are we re-thinking what equitable admissions policies can look like? A new report examines the idea of contextualized evaluation to account for the opportunities available within a high school and the broader context of individual schools, which seeks to level the playing field among different applicants coming from starkly different high schools, neighborhoods, and backgrounds.

December Data Collaborative - Embarc Post Secondary Team

Thomas Goodwin (Director of Data & Analytics) and Frank Miller (Lead Postsecondary Success Coach) will provide a presentation highlighting their utilization of Postsecondary Success (PSS) metrics, including non-college options, to drive and enhance Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) outcomes. Additionally, they will explore the reciprocal relationship between SEL measures and the enhancement of the PSS curriculum.

Research Release: The Finishing in Four Years Fallacy: 4-year versus 6-year

On the Dec 5th, 2023 at 2pm join the To&Through Project and UChicago Consortium for the release of a new research brief and student stories series focused on CPS graduates' time to college completion.

November Data Collaborative - T&T Student Stories

The To&Through Project​ team will present on their expansion of the Student Stories initiative. These stories aim to humanize quantitative To&Through findings by zooming in on individual CPS student journeys to highlight the successes, challenges, and complexities that exist across the many post secondary pathways chosen by CPS graduates.

Inquiry and Action Workshop: To&Through Milestones Tool

Join the To&Through team as we explore new 2022 data on our To&Through Milestone Tool! This 90-minute in-person workshop will allow participants to explore the To&Through Milestone Tool and learn how the data can be used to inform the support efforts of Chicago Public Schools students on their paths to high school and college completion.