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
August Data Collaborative | Project OneTen
Adrian Villarreal from Project OneTen will walk through their Student Engagement Dashboard, powered by Airtable, and show how we use real-time data to track participation, growth, and retention. We’ll highlight our Flag System, a key tool to ensure students receive timely support and stay on track, activating staff and partners as needed. Adrian Villarreal is the Director of Operations & Impact at Project OneTen.
To&Through Spotlight: Sparking Engagement in the Middle Grades
Adolescence is one of the most critical periods for brain development and learning. Research also indicates that student engagement drops dramatically during this time. This is why the middle grades are a period of vulnerability but also of tremendous opportunity. This is a cornerstone of the work of our To&Through Middle Grades Network.
September Data Collaborative | To&Through’s 100th Data Collaborative
Come celebrate our 100th To&Through Data Collaborative! We’ve been hosting these data-centered collaborative spaces since 2017 and we are reaching the milestone of hosting our 100th Data Collaborative! Join us for a highlight of the impact of our Data Collaboratives over time AND join Alex Ritson and Dominique McKoy from the To&Through Project to provide input on the rollout of our new Milestones Tool lens showing outcomes for CPSChicago Public Schools students filtered by Higher Ed institutions.
Upcoming Events
August Data Collaborative | Project OneTen
Adrian Villarreal from Project OneTen will walk through their Student Engagement Dashboard, powered by Airtable, and show how we use real-time data to track participation, growth, and retention. We’ll highlight our Flag System, a key tool to ensure students receive timely support and stay on track, activating staff and partners as needed. Adrian Villarreal is the Director of Operations & Impact at Project OneTen.
To&Through Spotlight: Sparking Engagement in the Middle Grades
Adolescence is one of the most critical periods for brain development and learning. Research also indicates that student engagement drops dramatically during this time. This is why the middle grades are a period of vulnerability but also of tremendous opportunity. This is a cornerstone of the work of our To&Through Middle Grades Network.
September Data Collaborative | To&Through’s 100th Data Collaborative
Come celebrate our 100th To&Through Data Collaborative! We’ve been hosting these data-centered collaborative spaces since 2017 and we are reaching the milestone of hosting our 100th Data Collaborative! Join us for a highlight of the impact of our Data Collaboratives over time AND join Alex Ritson and Dominique McKoy from the To&Through Project to provide input on the rollout of our new Milestones Tool lens showing outcomes for CPSChicago Public Schools students filtered by Higher Ed institutions.
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 this Milestones Tool can (and can't) be helpful in your work of strengthening student pathways to and through college.
October Data Collaborative | CPS Academic Progress Indicator
Peter Leonard and Kevin Shallcross will share how Chicago Public Schools has developed and is implementing the Academic Progress Indicator (API), the "Student Growth to Proficiency" measure in the Continuous Improvement and Data Transparency Policy (CIDT). The API uses shifts in standardized achievement to provide an understanding of student progress over time. Peter Leonard is the Executive Director of Student Assessment & MTSS and Kevin Shallcross is the Manager of Data Quality in the Department of School Quality Measurement & Research.
Exploring Pathways From High School to Career and Their Payoffs in Illinois
Does higher education still pay off for students? How have students from low-income families in Illinois fared after high school, and how do their education and earnings outcomes compare to more economically advantaged students? What education and employment opportunities best support upward economic mobility for Illinois students?
To&Through Milestones Tool Superuser Workshop
Calling all To&Through Milestones Tool fans! We 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?
November Data Collaborative | Chicago Youth Boxing Club
Noah Pickens and Adrian Guzman, from the Chicago Youth Boxing Club (CYBC), will present on their efforts to develop a competency-based evaluation protocol that captures the holistic impact of their year-round boxing and mentorship programs. Their approach centers youth and community transformation, and they are seeking ways to improve our ability to capture a blend of quantitative, demographic, and developmental data to measure change over time.
December | Kids First Chicago: The State of Chicago Public Schools
Kids First Chicago (K1C) will present its latest State of Chicago Public Schools report—an annual data-driven review of how CPS students are doing both academically and socioemotionally. The report highlights key indicators such as student proficiency, growth, on-track rates, chronic absenteeism, post-secondary outcomes, and parent engagement.
Past Events
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.
Building Your Data Story: To&Through Tool Workshop
This 90-minute virtual workshop will allow participants to explore the To&Through Milestone Tool and learn how the data on the tool can be used to craft data stories that can help articulate equity opportunities, inform responses to the data, and communicate strategies to take action. Whether you’re familiar with the Milestones Tools and want to take your data practice to the next level or are brand new to the Tools, this session is for you.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Praxis Institute
Fausto Lopez and Joshua Prudowsky will present on the Praxis Institute's evaluation of 2022 One Summer Chicago an enrichment youth programming, where nearly 25,000 Chicago youth participated with in-person programming for the first time in two years. Their presentation will focus on Praxis Institute's efforts to democratize evaluation for nearly 100 community-based organizations, their continuous quality improvement process, and lessons learned. Fausto is the Co-Founder of the Praxis Institute and Josh serves as the Director of Program Development & Impact.
Annual Update on the Educational Attainment of CPS Students
On February 9th, 2023 at Noon CST, the To&Through Project and UChicago Consortium will share their newest report on the 2021 Educational Attainment of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Students. Researchers will provide a picture of educational attainment during the 2020-2021 school year for students of different race/ethnicity groups, students who began as English Learners, and students with disabilities. Presenters include Jenny Nagaoka, Deputy Director of the UChicago Consortium on School Research, and Shelby Mahaffie, Research Analyst II at the To&Through Project.
(UPDATE) To&Through Data Collaborative: Matt Muench - P33
Matt Muench will present on the TechChicago Equity Index, Chicagoland's first effort to understand the full picture of what it will take to make Chicago the most inclusive tech city in the country. Matt is the Chief Impact Officer at P33.
Data Spotlight - Cultivate: Exploring Student Mindsets Through Survey
Join us for a presentation on the Cultivate Survey with Camille Farrington, Director of the Equitable Learning & Development Group at the UChicago Consortium, and Elliot Ransom, Co-CEO of UChicago Impact, as they share a new survey being used across CPS called Cultivate.
To&Through Data Collaborative: The To&Through Project
The To&Through Project team will present on their expanded use of qualitative data and efforts to develop qualitative resources, such as case studies, to inform Chicago practitioners' understanding of college access and success for CPS students.
The Case for Making Chicago’s Selective High Schools and Colleges Less Selective
Join us for a thought-provoking look at studies on selectivity in high school and colleges with University of Chicago To&Through Project Director Alex Seeskin. He will dive deep into existing research and discuss implications for school districts and higher education institutions.
Centering Equity in Organizational Change
Join us for an online panel discussion featuring Rito Martinez, Co-Director of the Truth, Healing, and Equity Fellowship (T.H.E. Fellowship) and Jacquelyn Lemon, CEO of NewRoot Learning Institute. The panel discussion will focus on approaches to beginning and sustaining equity-centered change efforts in organizations that aim to better serve young people of color.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Inclusive Economy Lab and Moneythink
Dr. Chimare Eaglin, Portfolio Manager at the UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab, and Hannah Smith, Director of Education Partnerships at Moneythink, will present on how they are supporting financial literacy and knowledge of college affordability best practices for interns participating in the Milgrom Social Justice Fellowship.