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
March | City Colleges of Chicago
DATE CHANGE: Now Tuesday 3/10 at 2pm (changed from 3/17) In FY25, in response to both rising student need and looming federal program cuts, the City Colleges of Chicago launched the Thrive Strategy: an ambitious system-wide commitment to making basic needs support—spanning food security, housing, mental health, emergency grants, and technology—an integral part of the CCC experience.
April Data Collaborative | UChicago UTEP
The UChicago Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP) will present on a current UTEP project. More details forthcoming. Tinishia Legaux Washington is the Director of UTEP and Kay Fujiyoshi is an Induction Coach and Instructor for UTEP.
May Data Collaborative | Chi-Rise
Erin Estrada and Kate Cronin will present on Chi-Rise's use of program level student data and counselor insights to drive a rigorous college list building process during the 2025-26 academic year. This process brings together multiple quantitative and qualitative data sources across the program's Finance, Fit, Finish trajectory. Erin Estrada is the Chi Rise Program Officer at Crown Family Philanthropies, and Kate Cronin is the Data and Strategy Analyst at Crown Family Philanthropies.
Upcoming Events
March | City Colleges of Chicago
DATE CHANGE: Now Tuesday 3/10 at 2pm (changed from 3/17) In FY25, in response to both rising student need and looming federal program cuts, the City Colleges of Chicago launched the Thrive Strategy: an ambitious system-wide commitment to making basic needs support—spanning food security, housing, mental health, emergency grants, and technology—an integral part of the CCC experience.
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 in this virtual workshop to practice finding and communicating insights from the Milestones Tool and share potential actions we want to take with that data.
Who should attend?
April Data Collaborative | UChicago UTEP
The UChicago Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP) will present on a current UTEP project. More details forthcoming. Tinishia Legaux Washington is the Director of UTEP and Kay Fujiyoshi is an Induction Coach and Instructor for UTEP.
May Data Collaborative | Chi-Rise
Erin Estrada and Kate Cronin will present on Chi-Rise's use of program level student data and counselor insights to drive a rigorous college list building process during the 2025-26 academic year. This process brings together multiple quantitative and qualitative data sources across the program's Finance, Fit, Finish trajectory. Erin Estrada is the Chi Rise Program Officer at Crown Family Philanthropies, and Kate Cronin is the Data and Strategy Analyst at Crown Family Philanthropies.
To&Through 2025-26 Data Collaborative In-Person Celebration
Come mix and mingle with our T&T Data Collaborative community and hear how folks have implemented feedback this year. In-Person!
Past Events
To&Through Milestones Tool 101: Exploring CPS Student Outcomes Data
In this 90 minute introductory workshop, participants will dive into the To&Through's online public data tool that shows CPS students' outcomes on key academic metrics from the sixth grade through college. You'll understand T&T's specific philosophy on data use, learn about the different “lenses” of available CPS outcomes data, and how this Tool can (and can't) be helpful in your work of strengthening student pathways to and through college.
Annual Middle Grades Network Celebration of Learning
Join us to celebrate the remarkable work of partner schools in the To&Through Middle Grades Network (MGN) at our annual celebration of learning. This virtual celebration will feature reflections from our MGN schools on their overall MGN experience, breakout sessions highlighting change ideas tested by schools, highlights from the MGN Student Fellowship.
Middle Grades to College: High School Views on Building Foundations for Postsecondary Success
The CPS Office of School Counseling and Postsecondary Advising and Success Bound will join the To&Through Middle Grades Network to host a panel of high school practitioners who will share advice on how to best support middle grades students in the transition to high school and the foundational skills necessary for postsecondary success. This session is geared towards elementary school practitioners supporting middle grades students and those interested in strengthening the connection between the middle grades and postsecondary success.
April Data Collaborative - UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab
Emileigh Harrison and Kelly Hallberg from the UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab will present research on the impact of the Star Scholarship in Chicago, which offers free community college tuition to high school graduates with at least a 3.0 GPA. Using a regression discontinuity design, their findings suggest that free community college increases overall degree attainment without causing students to substitute 4-year degrees for 2-year degrees.
Using Cultural Wealth to Reframe Community Partnerships
Chicago’s neighborhoods play a large role in helping shape the vibrancy of our city and plan an integral part in shaping the lives of Chicago Public School students. On March 19th, join us to learn about the successful community-centered student success model highlighted in the To&Through Project and Enlace Chicago’s recent release Connected Community: Reframing Community Partnerships Around College Success at Enlace Chicago.
March Data Collaborative - Praxis Institute
The Praxis Institute will present on the evolution of their data sessions to make them engaging and responsive, informed by their learnings after years of leading data collaboratives for Chicago’s youth programs. You can check out the Praxis Institute's recent blog to learn more.
Fausto is the Co-Founder of the Praxis Institute and Josh is a Managing Partner at Praxis.
Exploring Chicago Public School’s Black Student Success Plan
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Black Student Success Plan is a strategic initiative focused on improving daily learning experiences and life outcomes for Black students across Chicago. Join us on February 27th, 2025 at Noon for a two-part webinar exploring Black student success in CPS.
February Data Collaborative - Enlace Chicago
Valerie Coffman from Enlace Chicago will present on a report centered on undocumented students. The presentation will also contextualize immigration within the context of Trump administration and change in landscape.
English Learners in Chicago Public High Schools
The UChicago Consortium on School Research recently published a report examining high school and college outcomes for English Learners in Chicago Public Schools. Join study author Marisa de la Torre (Consortium on School Research), Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro (Latino Policy Forum) and Jorge Macias (Latino Policy Forum) to learnkey takeaways from the study.
To&Through Milestones Tool Workshop: Higher Ed Lens
This 90-minute in-person workshop will offer a guided exploration of the To&Through Milestones Tool's new Higher Ed lens. Participants will connect data to their efforts to support CPS students who matriculate to City Colleges of Chicago, using CCC as an example of what's possible with this data.