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
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.
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.
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.
Upcoming Events
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.
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.
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.
May Data Collaborative - Noble Schools
D. Nigel Green & Tyler Portis will present on Noble Schools’ Campus Equity Story dashboard, a newly introduced data tool that measures which campus subgroups have experiences furthest from “promised” goals within the Family, Staff, and Student communities. This dashboard takes information from multiple data tools to narrow the focus to where strategic planning could be better focused. D. Nigel Green is Senior Director of Equity and Tyler Portis is Senior Data Analyst within Noble Schools.
Partnership for College Completion’s College Transfer Report
The Partnership for College Completion will present findings from their recent report, Seamless Success: Transforming College Transfer for Greater Equity, which delves into the barriers faced by transfer students in Illinois, with a focus on community college students striving to transfer to four-year institutions. Informed by student perspectives, the report highlights challenges such as financial stress, administrative burdens, and inequities in transfer pathways, which disproportionately impact students from low-income backgrounds and students of color.
June Data Collaborative - Mikva Challenge
Mikva Challenge's Student Advisory Councial youth will present their Student-Led Local School Council (LSC) Toolkit, which is explicitly designed for student representatives. The toolkit will cover: building confidence; public speaking tips; leadership empowerment strategies; effective communication with teachers, administrators, and peers; conflict resolution and finding common ground; resources on LSC student member voting privileges; ways to elevate student voice in LSC meetings.
The To&Through Project: Kegs & Cases
Join the To&Through Project for our third annual Kegs & Cases at Cruz Blanca Taproom. We will share our latest Learning Case– a qualitative look at the experiences of Diverse Learner students as they navigate decision making, enrollment, and persistence at their chosen post-secondary pathways. Come participate in a facilitated case learning experience, meet & collaborate with stakeholders supporting CPS students, and network with our To&Through community over beers and snacks!
Past Events
Research Spotlight: The Impact of COVID-19 and Racial Trauma on Emerging Adolescents
Experts in adolescent development and the creation of racial identities will discuss the impact of COVID-19 and incidents of racial trauma on emerging adolescents. The panel will include Dr. Rob Jagers from CASEL and Dr. Joanna Williams from Rutgers University. The panel will be moderated by Jenny Nagaoka of the University of Chicago with a welcome and introduction by Dr. Nancy Deutsch of the University of Virginia.
To&Through Data Collaborative: OneGoal on the "Fellow Journey Map"
Sam Koenig will present on the "Fellow Journey Map," an interactive student-facing data view for OneGoal fellows to understand what postsecondary milestones they have accomplished so far, and what they should work on next. Sam is the Senior Analyst at OneGoal.
To&Through Data Collaborative: Innovare & the Chicago Literacy Alliance
Nick Freeman of Innovare - Social Innovation Partners and Annie Rezac and Kaitlyn Childs of the Chicago Literacy Alliance will present on the LEI: Insights dashboard, which provides a shared map and a common set of data to empower the Chicago Literacy Alliance and its member organizations to make strategic, data-informed decisions to address the opportunity and access gaps facing Chicago communities.
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.