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
Upcoming Events
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: 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.
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.
Past Events
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.
Understanding Chicago Public Schools Graduates' College Pathways
On May 19, the To&Through Project and UChicago Consortium shared findings from a new report on Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduates’ pathways through college.
To&Through Data Collaborative: City Colleges of Chicago
Declan McDonnell presented data on efforts to incentivize enrollment at City Colleges of Chicago. Declan is a Data Strategist at the City Colleges of Chicago.
Supporting College Enrollment & Retention During the Pandemic
On April 28 at 1:00 PM (CST), the To&Through Project and the Partnership for College Completion hosted a panel discussion for a deeper look at the practices and policies that led some higher education institutions to see increases in 2020 enrollment and/or retention for CPS graduates. The panel included leaders from Northern Illinois University and Western Illinois University.
2020 College Enrollment & Retention of CPS Graduates During the Pandemic
On April 27 at 12:00 PM (CST), the To&Through Project and UChicago Consortium shared findings from a new report examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduates’ immediate college enrollment and retention rates during the fall of 2020.
To&Through Data Collaborative: MAPSCorps
Nia Abdullah and Jessie Gotsdiner will present MAPSCorps’s community asset data collected by high school and college students across Chicago. Nia is the Executive Director of MAPSCorps (Meaningful, Active, Productive, Science in Service to Communities) and Jessie is the Director of Operations.