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
No Data Collaborative in July!
August Data Collaborative - Ingenuity
Angela Lin and Christine Ng will present on Ingenuity’s continuum of data products tailored for different stakeholders, informing strategy and driving change within arts education in CPS. Their focus will be on the latest annual State of the Arts Report and new interactive dashboard. Ingenuity’s mission is to ensure that every student, in every grade, in every CPS school, has access to the arts as part of a well-rounded education.
September Data Collaborative - BUILD Chicago
Community-based organizations can greatly benefit from logic models, but often struggle to develop and maintain logic models that are well aligned with evolving on-the-ground program realities. Dave Koch will present on two games recently implemented with program staff at BUILD, a violence prevention organization working with young people on Chicago’s west side, which helped center the perspective and gain the buy-in of program staff while developing and implementing a new logic model.
Upcoming Events
August Data Collaborative - Ingenuity
Angela Lin and Christine Ng will present on Ingenuity’s continuum of data products tailored for different stakeholders, informing strategy and driving change within arts education in CPS. Their focus will be on the latest annual State of the Arts Report and new interactive dashboard. Ingenuity’s mission is to ensure that every student, in every grade, in every CPS school, has access to the arts as part of a well-rounded education.
September Data Collaborative - BUILD Chicago
Community-based organizations can greatly benefit from logic models, but often struggle to develop and maintain logic models that are well aligned with evolving on-the-ground program realities. Dave Koch will present on two games recently implemented with program staff at BUILD, a violence prevention organization working with young people on Chicago’s west side, which helped center the perspective and gain the buy-in of program staff while developing and implementing a new logic model.
October Data Collaborative - City Colleges of Chicago
City Colleges of Chicago’s Decision Support team will share how they’re supporting data-informed decision-making for continuous improvement. City Colleges of Chicago is Illinois’ largest community college system, serving more than 60,000 students annually. It is comprised of seven independently-accredited colleges: Harold Washington College, Harry S Truman College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College, Olive-Harvey College, Richard J. Daley College, and Wilbur Wright College.
November Data Collaborative - Career Village
Eric Reyes and Abby Lupi will present their journey and two-year plan for measuring Career Readiness at CareerVillage.org, an organization that aims to democratize access to career information and advice. Historically, they did this through their Q&A forum and have since released Coach, their AI career coach. Eric is the Director of Data, and Abby is the Senior Data Analyst at CareerVillage.
December Data Collaborative - CPS Metric Redesign
Jeff Broom, Augusta Smith, Jonathan Harper, and Jake Brekelbaum will present how Chicago Public Schools is implementing the new Continuous Improvement and Data Transparency policy. The new policy shifts away from summative school rating and towards a holistic view of schools that includes student outcome metrics, measures of the conditions present at schools, and the district provided resources and supports aligned to those metrics and conditions.
Past Events
August Data Collaborative - Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative
Dr. Sarah Cashdollar will present IWERC’s research on access to dual credit coursework in the state of Illinois. Dr. Cashdollar is Associate Director of IWERC Research, Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative, University of Illinois.
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.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Chicago Scholars
Derrick Fleming and Alberto Morales will present how Chicago Scholars is working to improve male scholars' college graduation rates by building on their college access, success, and leadership development model and leveraging the expertise of other youth mentoring nonprofits. Derrick is the Managing Director of Strategic Engagement for Chicago Scholars and Alberto is the Founder of Morales Consulting.
Kegs and Cases: To&Through Learning and Networking Event
It’s been a long time since the To&Though Community has gotten together in person and we are excited to see you! Come to engage with our new qualitative data experience: Learning Cases! You’ll have the opportunity to read our newest learning case on post-secondary counseling and then discuss the tensions and questions it raises with peers. There will be time to network and catch up with friends and colleagues. First round is on us!
Research Spotlight: A New Paradigm for Funding Illinois Universities
Research spotlight: A New Paradigm for Funding Illinois Universities: After decades of funding cuts and no system for doling out state appropriations to universities, how can we rethink this process to provide the resources universities need to equitably serve students?
To&Through Data Collaborative: Western Illinois University
Justin Schuch will present on Western Illinois University's use of student data to inform their student support and retention strategies via their Connections Mapping Program. The approach brings together multiple data sets from throughout the institution focused on decisions students make during the early part of the semester. Justin is the Executive Director of Retention Initiatives at Western Illinois University.
Practice Spotlight: Chicago Public Schools Office of Equity
To engage in school-wide equity work, it is essential for educators to build common understanding of foundational equity concepts from the CPS Equity Framework. Join us on Tuesday May 9th, 2023 at Noon to hear from Chicago Public School’s Dr. Fatima Cooke, Chief Equity, Engagement, Strategy Officer and Evangelina (Eva) Covarrubias, Executive Director of the Office of Equity as they revisit core elements of the CPS Equity Framework such as the CPS definition of equity, Targeted Universalism, and Liberatory Thinking, and relates them to work within schools.
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 on the tool can be used to inform the support efforts of Chicago Public Schools students on their paths to high school and college completion. Participants will have the opportunity 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.
To&Through Data Collaborative: CPS Alumni Support Initiative
Jenny Zuluaga will present on the CPS Alumni Support Initiative that ensures CPS graduates connect and persist in their postsecondary pathways of choice and aims to grow the CPS alumni champion community. Jenny is the Director of Alumni Persistence and Success, in the Office of School Counseling and Postsecondary Advising (OSCPA) at Chicago Public Schools.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Cristo Rey Network
Stephanie Arias and Bianca Paiz will present the Cristo Rey Network's national college decision making framework and seek input on their data tracker, containing over ten thousand award letters and college decisions from across 38 high schools in 24 states. Stephanie is the Vice President of College Initiatives and Bianca is the Director of College Initiatives for the Cristo Rey Network.