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: Kirat Doshi
Kirat Doshi presented on work around the "My Options" tool, a project to provide OneGoal Fellows with real-time feedback around the development of their college lists. Kirat Doshi is the Managing Director of Analytics at OneGoal.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Nate Flint
Nate Flint presented National Louis University's undergraduate coaching/advising/career milestones, and the data dashboard used to manage them. Nate is the Manager of Undergraduate Analytics at National Louis University.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Patrick Milton
Patrick Milton presented on Chicago Public School's "LEARN. PLAN. SUCCEED. Progress Reports", which provide personalized overviews of potential college options and each student’s level of competitiveness based on available academic metrics. Patrick is the Executive Director of the Office of School Counseling & Postsecondary Advising at Chicago Public Schools.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Megan Lane
Megan Lane shared analysis on current teacher retention measures and trends in CPS, along with plans for building an "on-track indicator" to predict teacher attrition to inform recruiting and school match. Megan is a Strategic Data Project Fellow at Chicago Public Schools.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Jon Furr and Charlie Rosemond
Jon Furr and Charlie Rosemond presented the initial public version of the Illinois Postsecondary Profiles, a new online resource for information and data describing higher education institutions across Illinois. Jon is the Executive Director of Education Systems Center and Charlie is the Data and Outcomes Manager.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Quinton Keith
Quinton Keith presented the Network for College Success’ Tableau data portal for the organization’s 17 CPS partner schools. Que is the Director of Data and Continuous Improvement for NCS.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Monica Bhatt
Monica Bhatt presented the methodology CPS and the Urban Ed Lab recently used to set realistic, data-driven goals across the district, networks, and schools, employing an equity-focused approach to improvement. Monica is the Research Director with the Crime and Ed Labs.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Steven Shewfelt and Emily Cibelli
Steven Shewfelt and Emily Cibelli presented new developments to Ingenuity’s artlook platform. Steve is the Director of Research and Data, Tom is the Manager of Data Strategy and Products, and Emily is a Senior Data Analyst.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Matt Niksch
Matt Niksch presented Noble Charter School’s data systems for college access and success, including the use of Python, Jupyter Notebooks, Google Docs, Github, AWS, and JIRA. Matt is the Chief College Officer at Noble Charter School. See Matt's blog.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Jeff Broom and Bridget Lee
Jeff Broom and Bridget Lee presented a working draft of Chicago Public Schools’ new School Quality Rating Policy (SQRP). Jeff is the Director of School Quality Measurement and Research and Bridgette is the Manager of Performance Policy for CPS.