K-12 Education

We demonstrate our commitment to urban education by developing and investing in programs and initiatives that serve children from pre-K through high school and by working with teachers and principals to improve our city’s school system.

As a champion for quality preK-12 education for students throughout Chicago, UChicago extends its core educational mission through a range of programs designed to provide our city’s youth with the broad-based academic knowledge and well-developed study skills they will need to succeed in college and beyond.

We provide mentoring, tutoring, and other academic support to help Chicago Public Schools students thrive in high school and prepare for college. We also operate a top-tier neighborhood charter school with three South Side campuses, and we work with educators to improve school quality and achieve better outcomes for students throughout the Chicago Public Schools system.

In addition, our civic leadership programs and community collaborations offer UChicago scholars and students deeper insights into urban issues while helping to build new generations of thoughtful, well-prepared community leaders.

News

01/21/2022

Play space is a million-dollar idea

Collaboration between UChicago students and Claremont Academy sixth graders wins $1.5 million city grant

01/03/2022

Teaching incarcerated youth, UChicago law students find new perspectives on legal system

To illuminate the nuances of ongoing legal debates, Prof. Emily Buss taught a virtual seminar that brought Law School students together with incarcerated youth. Buss designed the course with her former student Heidi Mueller, now the director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice; and IDJJ Supt. Tresa D. Dunbar.

12/22/2021

Chalkbeat: Chicago quietly launches overhaul of schools serving its ‘forgotten students’

The number of new arrivals at alternative school campuses outside of the district fell due to the districts pushes, along with help from the University of Chicago’s Education lab.

Profiles

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Abraham and Karen Potts
Maroon Tutor Match

“[Tutor Meera Santhanam] really taught him how to study and prepare for testing and, more than that, showed him the value of studying. She’s given him valuable insight into college and what it requires.”

Akanksha Shah
Maroon Tutor Match

“Maroon Tutor Match helped me learn to work with people — not just students and families, but tutors as well — who were very different from me and had different priorities and struggles. Getting a better understanding of where people are coming from is invaluable.”

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