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.
Events
Featured Events
To&Through Milestones Tool 101 Workshop
In this 90-minute introductory and interactive workshop, participants will dive into the To&Through's online public data tool, which shows CPS students’ outcomes on key academic metrics from the sixth grade through college. You’ll understand our specific philosophy on data use, learn about the different “lenses” of available CPS outcomes data, and how the Milestones Tool can (and can’t) be helpful in your work to strengthen student pathways to and through college.
October Data Collaborative | The Learning Partnership
Steven McGee, President, and Randi McGee-Tekula, Vice President, of The Learning Partnership will present on The Learning Partnership’s research on computer science education in CPS. Their work is part of the Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS), which is a partnership with CPS, DePaul University, Loyola University, University of Illinois Chicago, City Colleges of Chicago, and Partner to Improve.
November Data Collaborative | HEAR Scholarship Foundation
Vera Pollina, Executive Director, and Laury Wolf, Program Manager, of the HEAR Scholarship Foundation will present on gathering scholar data to drive programming opportunities. They will share about the early stages of surveying their college freshman cohort to determine the unique needs for support in a changing college landscape.
Upcoming Events
November Data Collaborative | HEAR Scholarship Foundation
Vera Pollina, Executive Director, and Laury Wolf, Program Manager, of the HEAR Scholarship Foundation will present on gathering scholar data to drive programming opportunities. They will share about the early stages of surveying their college freshman cohort to determine the unique needs for support in a changing college landscape.
To&Through Milestones Tool Superuser Workshop
Calling all To&Through Milestones Tool fans! Want to delve deeper into the hidden features of the Tool that only superusers know about, and collaborate around use cases for the Tool and the CPS student outcomes data found there? Join us for this virtual workshop to practice finding and communicating insights from the Milestones Tool and share potential actions to take with that data.
December Data Collaborative | CPS and Civic Consulting Alliance
From May 2025 to June 2026, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), in partnership with Civic Consulting Alliance, convened a diverse working group of school leaders, teachers, counselors, partners, and central office staff to develop a middle school strategy and plan that builds upon current initiatives as a key postsecondary success commitment.
Past Events
Investigating Educational Attainment for CPS Students from a Community Perspective
Join us to investigate key attainment metrics for CPS students based on the community area in which they live rather than the school they attend. At the webinar, we will present key findings from new research that analyzes differences in patterns of high school enrollment as well as high school and college attainment between Chicago’s community areas. Attendees will also be among the first to explore the new, first-of-its-kind To&Through Community Milestones Tool.
Research Spotlight: Race, Advanced Math, and the Transition to High School
What are the academic and social factors that explain disparities in students’ likelihood of getting on (and staying on) the accelerated math track during the transition to high school? Join us at our Research Spotlight webinar on October 27 at noon (CST) to learn about Dr. Yasmiyn Irizarry’s recent study on advanced math course-taking in the ninth grade and its implications for practice and policy.
Research Spotlight: The Impact of COVID-19 and Racial Trauma on Emerging Adolescents
Experts in adolescent development and the creation of racial identities will discuss the impact of COVID-19 and incidents of racial trauma on emerging adolescents. The panel will include Dr. Rob Jagers from CASEL and Dr. Joanna Williams from Rutgers University. The panel will be moderated by Jenny Nagaoka of the University of Chicago with a welcome and introduction by Dr. Nancy Deutsch of the University of Virginia.
To&Through Data Collaborative: OneGoal on the "Fellow Journey Map"
Sam Koenig will present on the "Fellow Journey Map," an interactive student-facing data view for OneGoal fellows to understand what postsecondary milestones they have accomplished so far, and what they should work on next. Sam is the Senior Analyst at OneGoal.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Innovare & the Chicago Literacy Alliance
Nick Freeman of Innovare - Social Innovation Partners and Annie Rezac and Kaitlyn Childs of the Chicago Literacy Alliance will present on the LEI: Insights dashboard, which provides a shared map and a common set of data to empower the Chicago Literacy Alliance and its member organizations to make strategic, data-informed decisions to address the opportunity and access gaps facing Chicago communities.
To&Through Data Collaborative: CPS and To&Through on the College Match Framework
Brian Harris and Roy McKenzie will present on work to update Chicago Public Schools' College Match Framework, which uses high school students' GPA and SAT scores to help them put together an initial list of reach, match, and safety schools. Brian Harris is a GEAR UP College and Career Student Services Specialist at CPS and Roy McKenzie is a research analyst with the To&Through Project.
To&Through Data Collaborative: CPS Equity & Data Working Group
Presenters on behalf of the CPS Equity & Data Working Group (EDW) will discuss their recently developed How to Apply an Equity Lens to Data guidelines, developed to support data analysts, users, strategists, and scientists throughout the district in driving the use of data through an equity lens.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Chicago State University
Dr. Jane Stout will present on data-informed efforts to better understand successful student pathways at Chicago State University. Dr. Stout is the Assistant Director of Data Analytics at Chicago State University.
To&Through Middle Grades Network Practice Spotlight: Leveraging Student Voice
At this To&Through Middle Grades Network (MGN) Practice Spotlight, leaders from Florence Nightingale Elementary School presented their process for creating a Student Voice Committee to improve students’ sense of belonging.
Student Perspectives on Supporting Their College Pathways
CPS students experience thousands of different college pathways. What are their perspectives on the supports needed to make it to and through? Join us on May 20 at 12:00 PM (CST) for a discussion with CPS graduates about their experiences with college transfers and leaves.