Civic Consulting Alliance supported Chicago Public Schools with  a sustainable Project Management Office structure that defines how projects are managed, monitored, and supported to enable coordinated implementation of the 2025 Black Student Success Plan across CPS departments and external stakeholder groups.

While Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has made efforts to address long-standing racial inequities in education, Black students continue to suffer from historic and persistent gaps in educational opportunities and outcomes. To address these systemic inequities that have stood in the way of Black student achievement, CPS committed to co-create a Black Student Success Plan alongside key community stakeholders.

Civic Consulting Alliance supported Chicago Public Schools with the design, preparation, and execution of eight community round tables that would lead to impactful recommendations for the Black Student Success Plan. These recommendations could be considered for incorporation into the district's upcoming five-year strategic plan.

Civic Consulting Alliance recently completed several collaborative projects with local and state governments to meet the urgent needs of asylum seekers, and prepare long-term, sustainable strategies for future influxes of new arrivals to Chicago. Clients featured below include Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and the Johnson transition team.

Since Mayor Harold Washington asked the business community for pro bono help analyzing the City budget, we have proudly served the Mayor’s Office to advance its most important and timely initiatives. Beginning with supporting the mayoral transition in 2019, we have worked closely with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Office to advance initiatives aligned with our mission and to support projects where Civic Consulting Alliance was uniquely positioned to make an impact.

In January of 2022, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union reached an agreement to re-open classrooms for in-person learning based on the implementation of additional measures and investments in COVID-19 mitigation efforts across the school district. This included COVID-19 testing of at least 10% of the student population at each school, KN95 masks for every student and staff member, and metrics that guide a school’s decision to convert classrooms or the entire school to remote learning, among others. However, CPS’ ability to manage, launch, and monitor the implementation of these efforts was limited by capacity constraints at the executive and strategic planning levels following the recent CEO leadership transition. CPS and the Mayor’s Office requested that Civic Consulting Alliance provide implementation planning and management support during this critical period for public health and the CEO’s first 90 days.

Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) five-year vision for 2019 – 2024 committed to building upon the district’s academic progress, ensuring continued financial improvements, and strengthening integrity through regular parent and community engagement in all parts of the city.

The first five years of a child’s life are the most important for healthy development, well-being, and lifelong success. Over the last few years, we have worked with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to expand the number of pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) seats, and CPS invested significant funding to build Pre-K classrooms with the goal to achieve Universal Pre-K.

The Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services (ODLSS) supports school networks, schools, and families with all issues related to special education including instruction, interventions, and legal and compliance supports. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) serves nearly 50,000 diverse learners who receive special education support and services. Each year, these students represent ~15% of CPS’ total student population, and nearly 90% of diverse learners are students of color (~50% are Latinx, ~40% are Black).