CFE Background:

Founded in 1985 by Joyce Rumsfeld and a small group of concerned citizens, the Chicago Foundation for Education (CFE) has dedicated the past twenty years to improving and enhancing the educational experiences provided to Chicago’s public elementary school children. Over two decades later, CFE’s ultimate goal remains to improve student achievement by directing our programs and resources at the teacher level. We continue to promote Character Education throughout all of our programs, which exemplify our guiding principles valuing educational quality, innovation, improvement and integrity.

CFE programs increase student achievement in the following ways:

• Honoring effective teaching practice across Chicago Public Schools
• Developing the expertise and leadership capacity of exceptional teachers
• Providing leadership opportunities for exemplary teachers to replicate best practice through collegial networks
• Promoting the integration of Character Education into instruction

CFE increases instructional quality and directly benefits students through four grant based initiatives:

1. $500 Small Grants - Enable CPS elementary teachers to design and implement an innovative curricular project to increase student learning.
2. Study Group Grants – Train exemplary teachers to mentor and provide professional development to help their colleagues learn and adapt effective teaching strategies to strengthen instruction.
• $1000 Coach Grants are awarded to CPS elementary teachers demonstrating the expertise, leadership and professionalism necessary to facilitate Study Groups of 6-8 teachers around research-based instructional strategies they have developed to successfully increase student learning.
• $300 Team Grants are awarded to CPS elementary teachers interested in becoming part of a Study Group led by a grant-winning CFE Study Group Coach. Teachers apply for Team Member Grants by choosing an Instructional Strategy they are interested in adapting and implementing in their own classrooms from CFE’s Study Group Grant Catalog available Spring 2008. Team Grant recipients are required to meet with their teams for 12 hours between June and December 2008.
3. $1,250 Teachers Network Leadership Institute Fellowship – Assists Chicago’s most outstanding elementary school teachers in conducting action research in their classrooms to improve classroom practice. The program also provides a venue for these teachers to share their research and recommendations for improving student achievement with colleagues while working with educational leaders to inform and influence policy decisions impacting classrooms.
4. $5,000/$10,000 Fund for Teachers Fellowship - Enables Pre-K to 12th grade teachers to design a summer sabbatical to hone their professional expertise while pursuing a professional development opportunity that will also benefit their students.

2008-09 CFE Grant-Winner: “My students benefited greatly and made progress because of this grant opportunity. As I became a more knowledgeable teacher, my instructional ability grew and developed, which undoubtedly impacted my student.  This grant will definitely extend beyond this past year and continue to touch future students.”