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Chicago’s Need for Special Education Teachers
If you’re considering a career as a teacher, you might find the most rewarding opportunities in special education. Over the past decade, Chicago and the nation have experienced a severe shortage of special education teachers. Special education teachers work with students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. In 2019–20, […]
A Return to School Perspective from the Academy for Urban School Leadership
As Chicago Public Schools students head back to the classroom this month for their first full-time, in-person learning experience in 17 months, many will be grappling with significant learning and social emotional loss. After schools transitioned to remote learning in March 2020 and only partially reopened in spring 2021, an alarming number of students were […]
Twenty years of Transforming Lives in and out of the Classroom
AUSL is an equity-focused non-profit that works tirelessly with the belief that all students should have access to an excellent education. Since 2001, AUSL’s conviction for equity in education has impacted thousands of students and families who reside in under-resourced communities. This weekend the Chicago Teacher Residency celebrated the graduation of Diverse Learner, Elementary, and Middle School teachers. Hear from CTR graduate Amaziah […]
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Honoring Our Graduates: AUSL Network High Schools
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]AUSL extends congratulations to AUSL Network High School students. AUSL, its teachers and staff congratulate our students on their accomplishments throughout High School and wish our students well on their journey through college and beyond. Their commitment to excellence in education, especially during a second semester disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest fighting for the Black Lives Matter movement is exceptional. Congratulations on finishing your final year of school. The AUSL Network is excited to see...
Honoring Our Graduates: AUSL Network Elementary Schools
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]AUSL extends congratulations to AUSL Network Elementary School students. AUSL, its teachers and staff congratulate our students on their accomplishments throughout Elementary School and wish our students well on their journey through High School. Their commitment to excellence in education, especially during a second semester disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest fighting for the Black Lives Matter movement is exceptional. We congratulation them on finishing another year, and to our 8th graders,...
Developing a ‘North Star’ for Middle School Graduates
Developing a ‘North Star’ for Middle School Graduates Success Bound at AUSL It’s your first day of high school. The halls are crowded and loud, and the scene overwhelms you. For comfort, you opt for your 8th-grade bookbag, a sign of more familiar times. After 1st-period, you realize this bag is missing your mandatory history book. You rush down three flights of stairs, across the crowded hallways, and finally make it to your locker. You can’t remember your combination. The bell rings. You now have a tardy, and this is your first week. This scenario might sound familiar to you. The...
AUSL Teachers and Graduates of Chicago Teacher Residency address the Chicago Board of Education Meeting
On Wednesday, April 22nd Dray Patterson an instructional math coach at the Marquette School of Excellence, and Jessica Kimbrough a Diverse Learners teacher and mentor at Dvorak School of Excellence spoke at the Chicago Board of Education Board meeting. Both are graduates of the Chicago Teacher Residency (CTR) and teach in AUSL network schools. Jessica began her teaching career through the CTR, AUSL’s teacher training program, and has served as a Diverse Learners Teacher at Dvorak School of Excellence for over six years. In Jessica’s address to the CPS Board, she described her commitment...
Collins Academy High School “Our Chance Now” Lab Grand Opening
The Collins Academy held the grand opening for their “Our Chance Now” Lab, a new computer and robotics laboratory donated by Chance the Rapper’s foundation Social Works. Collins Academy received $100,000 for their new computer science program which included repurposing space and adding a Mac, robotics, gaming, and digital computer labs. The “Our Chance Now” Lab includes a Design Media lab outfitted with Mac computers, robotics and 3D printer areas, a networking computer lab, a gaming center, and an instructional area. The Lab allows the Collins Academy to provide a robust Career and...
Congressman Danny Davis Visits NTA Student Congress
Congressman Danny K. Davis, Illinois Representative from the 7th District, visited National Teachers Academy, an AUSL Network School on Friday, Ferbruary 14. Congressman Davis participated in the third annual inauguration of the NTA Student Congress. Students in grades 3-8 participated in elections. Each homeroom elected one Representative and each grade elected two Senators for the Student Congress. These students will work with NTA Principal Isaac Castelaz to address issues such as service-learning projects, selecting backpacks/uniforms, choosing incentives and more. Principal Castelaz,...
Middle School Football Kicks Off
In September, for the second year, AUSL kicked off its fifth and sixth grade flag football league. Students play at one of our four AUSL schools equipped with an AstroTurf field. During October, games are played every Wednesday and conclude on November 5th. The league has enjoyed tremendous appeal from both boys and girls. In consultation with the Chicago Bears, AUSL follows the concussion protocol allowing students to play only after twelve years of age. AUSL’s junior high school football league for seventh and eighth graders kicked off as well, for the fifteenth year.. This league is...
Phillips Academy High School Featured on NBC Sports Drive
The Phillips Academy Wildcats football team was highlighted on NBC's Sports Drive program. The Wildcats won the Illinois High School State Championships in 2016 and 2017. The Drive provides a behind the scenes look at the Phillips football program. The first episode can be viewed here. Your browser does not support...
Mayor Lightfoot Visits Solorio Academy High School
Today Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a press conference on Arts in Education at Solorio Academy High School, an Academy for Urban School Leadership school. Mayor Lightfoot was joined at the podium by Dr. Janice Jackson, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Victor Iturralde, Principal of Solorio Academy, and Mark Kelly, Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). Mayor Lightfoot and Commissioner Kelly celebrated the Arts in Education, choosing to make the announcement at Solorio Academy because of the school’s commitment to arts education....
Chicago Teacher Resident Featured on ABC7
Resident teacher Rae Weatherspoon was interviewed and featured on ABC7 Chicago on her first day of teaching at National Teacher's Academy (NTA) in the Near South Side Neighborhood. The school is a particularly special place for Rae, as she lived in the neighborhood and attended NTA for middle school. NTA is also where Rae had Courtney Langston as a teacher, who encouraged her throughout her schooling and to apply to the Chicago Teacher Residency. Rae says Courtney, "is like my mom," and she wants to be able to give back to other students as Courtney has done with her as a teacher, mentor,...
