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
To&Through Data Collaborative: Nick Mader
Nick Mader will present the tools and process that the Chapin Hall Collaborative uses for allowing its non-profit and public agency partners to request highly customized data analysis reports, which are automatically generated from linked administrative data. Nick Mader is a Senior Researcher at Chapin Hall.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Ada Gomero and Liam Bird
Ada Gomero and Liam Bird will present on the use of data supporting the implementation of the CPS Equity Framework. Ada is the Equity Data Strategist and Liam is the Equity Policy Strategist at Chicago Public Schools.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Cy Hendrickson
Cy Hendrickson will share a version of Hernandez Middle School's student communication tracker that was developing during the transition to emergency remote learning. Cy is the Assistant Principal of Henandez, a sixth through eighth grade CPS middle school serving nearly 1,000 students from Gage Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.
[CANCELLED] To&Through Data Collaborative: Andres Alvear and Jessie Gotsdiner
[CANCELLED] Andres Alvear and Jessie Gotsdiner will present MAPSCorps’s community asset data collected by high school and college students across Chicago. Andres is the Executive Director of MAPSCorps (Meaningful, Active, Productive, Science in Service to Communities) and Jessie is the Director of Operations.
[CANCELLED] To&Through Data Collaborative: Que Keith and Eliza Moeller
Que Keith and Eliza Moeller will present on how the Network for College Success is incorporating principles of Continuous Improvement into their practice. Que is the Director of Data and Continuous Improvement and Eliza is the Director of Research and Continuous Improvement.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Barrington Price
Barrington Price will present on Dominican University's use of student & faculty survey data informing their first-year student retention strategy. Barrington is the Vice President for Student Success and Engagement at Dominican University
To&Through Data Collaborative: Poverty Lab and To&Through Project
The University of Chicago's Poverty Lab and the To&Through Team will host a community discussion about using data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to understand students’ postsecondary trajectories and outcomes. This session will provide attendees an opportunity to share how each other are navigating decision rules, data quality, and limitations of this data.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Alex Seeskin, Alex Usher & Shelby Mahaffie
Alex Seeskin, Alex Usher and Shelby Mahaffie will present work on the development of a Sophomore OnTrack indicator. Alex S. is the Director of the To&Through Project (T&TP), Alex U. is the Associate Director of Data & Research at T&TP, and Shelby Mahaffie is a Research Analyst at T&TP.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Jen Wenner
Jen Wenner presented High Jump’s research-based system for using focus groups as tools for problem identification, progress monitoring and summative evaluation. Jen is the Director of Program Evaluation and Quality Improvement at High Jump.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Dom McKoy and Alex Usher
Dom McKoy and Alex Usher presented an early look at a new version of the To&Through Community Areas Tool that tracks CPS high school and college attainment by Chicago neighborhoods.