In 2014, The Learning Collective worked with Chicago Public Schools’ Office of New Schools to devise innovative and analog solutions to decrease the dropout rate of CPS’s most at-risk students. These solutions could improve the lives of thousands, and even tens of thousands, of Chicago’s teens. We also evaluated a proposal to open a new CPS blended learning charter school. We utilized many elements of the blended learning planning process and evaluation tool we developed for EL Haynes Charter School and funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Building on that work, in 2018 and 2020 The Learning Collective was the sole external expert to serve on panels to evaluate new school applications in Chicago.
The Learning Collective also leads teams of CPS staff in evaluating Chicago charter schools. In 2019, The Learning Collective updated CPS’s school review protocol and led the review of five schools. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, TLC further updated the review protocol to reflect remote learning then led the review of six schools. In 2021, TLC continued updating the protocols then led the in-person reviews of four schools. In 2022, TLC led 20 renewal visits for CPS.