The Grants Issue

Back when I was writing for Catalyst Chicago, we regularly tracked recent philanthropic grants to education-related Chicago nonprofits. Our grants section was one of the most-read sections of the magazine. This week, I'm bringing back a mini-version of the grants section, but focused more on upcoming grant deadlines.

Tonight is the deadline for community groups and education-related nonprofits to apply for $10,000 Partnership Grants from the Chicago Education Alliance. About 15 partner grantees will organize 30-50 people to attend three convenings where CEA can listen to their thoughts on its key education issues: effective school board governance, fiscal stability, and data transparency. The grant overview, which includes an application link, can be found here. The project will wrap up in August.

A Better Chicago is accepting applications for Every Day Counts, which offers up to $500,000 for joint school-community efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in six Chicago neighborhoods: Austin, Englewood, Garfield Park (East and West), Little Village/South Lawndale, South Shore, and Woodlawn. The goal is to address root causes of absenteeism and strengthen students' sense that school is relevant, engaging, and a place they belong. Applications are due February 27, and projects will operate through the 2026-27 school year, with the possibility of renewal.

Press Forward Chicago, a pooled fund for journalism based at the Chicago Community Trust, has released an RFP for coverage of the 2026 school board elections. Due to staggered terms, 2026 is the only election cycle in which all 21 seats will be voted on at once. The goal of the grants is to foster editorial collaboration among local newsrooms, led by Chalkbeat Chicago.

In December, the Polk Bros. Foundation announced it had selected 27 organizations to serve in one of three "advisory cohorts," one for each of its new funding priorities: closing the life expectancy gap, building community wealth across generations, and fostering a participatory, multiracial democracy. Each organization receives $75,000 for its participation. Though education is no longer a distinct funding priority, Polk Bros. incorporates it into wealth-building. All three advisory cohorts include education-related nonprofits, from Mikva Challenge to SkyArt to the To & Through Project, to name a few. Polk Bros. is also opening three new funding opportunities related to its new priorities between now and May.

Congratulations to Chicago Scholars, creator of the REACH Pathways app and the recent winner of A Better Chicago's $500,000 Challenge Grant. REACH Pathways delivers college and career learning and navigation to underserved high school students. Since the app launched in 2022, more than 25,000 Chicago high school students have used it. The grant will allow Chicago Scholars to partner with two nonprofits serving young teens--High Jump and Project OneTen--to embed REACH Pathways into their programming while Chicago Scholars strengthens the app's personalization through AI.

In late January, the arts education nonprofit Ingenuity announced $1.7 million in arts residency grants for 125 Chicago Public Schools. You can view the full list of grantees here.

Seen: Alex Kotlowitz

A trio of former teachers now involved in education policy--Allison Jack, Jim O'Connor, and Kris Reichmann--have been hosting quarterly happy hours for educators and their allies for quite some time. Last night's happy hour featured an outstanding headliner: Alex Kotlowitz, whose book "There Are No Children Here" was a formative read for many attendees.

Kotlowitz let the crowd know he has a new book in the works, one he hopes will speak to folks across our polarized politics. Asked how he and reporters Linda Lutton and Ben Calhoun obtained permission to embed at Harper High School for their award-winning 2013 radio documentary for This American Life, he said the principal gave them the green light. "I don't think she asked CPS communications," he added.

News Bites

Super Search: On or Off? The school board is ending its contract with Alma Advisory Group, the search firm hired to guide the process of selecting a new superintendent/CEO for CPS. In November, finalist names were leaked to the media, and Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero withdrew his candidacy. The Chicago Westside Branch of the NAACP recommended the board retain Interim Superintendent/CEO Maquline King through the 2026-27 school year to give the fully elected board the chance to hire a new permanent school district leader.

Last week, six board members released a statement accusing Mayor Brandon Johnson and his appointees of "making it impossible for a professional firm to see this through." They also recommended keeping King in place until the end of the 2027 school year and pausing the search until the fully elected board is seated.

But a spokesperson for the school board told the Chicago Tribune that the search "remains on track" to hire a permanent superintendent in time for the start of the 2026-27 school year. Board President Sean Harden told WBEZ that applications for the job closed on February 6, and Alma will spend the remainder of its contract, which ends in less than 30 days, helping the board prepare to hold "final interviews."

Federal afterschool funds vanish. According to WBEZ, the Trump administration's midyear decision to stop funding the Full Service Community Schools grant has already cost Illinois' schools 150 afterschool programs. Two lawsuits have been filed to restore the funds, but programs in 32 schools across the state are at risk of closing. The grant was expected to continue for three more years.

"Pandemic babies" struggle with behavior. The Hechinger Report tells us that elementary educators in nearly two-thirds of U.S. schools want more help managing young children's challenging behaviors. The "pandemic babies" are now about 6 years old, and they continue to struggle to manage their emotions and behaviors.

Local School Council Appointments. In January, the school board appointed about 50 Local School Council members, including students. One appointment, that of Hancock College Prep teacher Monique Ramsey, was deferred. You can see the full list of appointments here.

Board Rule reader survey. Board Rule wants to know more about you, dear reader. If you haven't already taken our survey, please take a few minutes to do so before Feb. 27. You could win a $100 gift card, and you will definitely help Board Rule become more sustainable and more responsive to its audiences.

Remembering Rev. Jesse Jackson

While Chicago delivers hundreds of tributes to Rev. Jackson, Board Rule will simply note a "Six Degrees of Helen Shiller" connection. Last year, Uptown housing advocacy group Voice of the People posted a tribute to its board president, Eric Butler, written by his daughter, Kesha Butler Bickel. Butler, a native Chicagoan, grew up deeply engaged with Operation Breadbasket, reciting "I am somebody" and boycotting a South Side grocery store that refused to hire Black workers. Jackson delivered his mother's eulogy upon her untimely death, when Butler was only 8 years old.

As an adult, Butler's career included a stint as chief of staff for Alderwoman Helen Shiller.