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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.

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: 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. 

To&Through Data Collaborative: Blenda Chiu

Blenda Chiu presented Bottom Line Chicago’s use of financial aid data to improve student supports. Blenda is the Director of Programs for Bottom Line Chicago.

2018 To&Through Convening

The To&Through Project's 2018 Convening brought together more than 220 K-12 and higher education, nonprofit, and civic leaders for a rich series of discussions centered on research and data on what fosters students' high school and post-secondary attainment and featured a keynote address from former U.S. Secretary of Education and Education Trust President and CEO, John B. King, Jr.