Career Changers and Recent College Graduates
Career Changers and Recent College Graduates teach in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), both traditional and charter. ICTC works with school principals to support new teachers in becoming effective, achievement-accelerating leaders within their schools.
A snapshot of Chicago Public Schools:
• Over 90% of students are children of color and 85% are from low-income families
• Approximately one out of every three CPS high school students does not earn a diploma each year
• Only six out of every 100 freshmen entering a CPS high school will earn a bachelor's degree by the time they reach their mid-20s
• 74% of Illinois charter school students come from low-income backgrounds
• 64% of Chicago charter school students are Black and 30% of the city's charter school students are Latino/Hispanic
Faith-Based Community
Corps members teach in Catholic elementary schools within the Archdiocese of Chicago, specifically in those schools supported by the Big Shoulders Fund. The Big Shoulders Fund, like ICTC, seeks to provide support to the Catholic schools in the most high-need areas of Chicago. We consistently partner with Big Shoulders schools each year to provide excellent teachers for students that need them most.
A snapshot of Big Shoulders Catholic schools, many of which host our corps members:
• Nearly 25,000 students are enrolled
• Of them, approximately 80% are racial/ethnic minorities
• Students come from a wide range of religions and roughly 35% are non-Catholic
