The Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) is an education equity focused not-for-profit.
Fast facts
80%
1,200+
Chicago Teacher Residency Alumni
59%
Equity in Education Starts with Good Teachers
We leverage nearly two decades of learnings through our partnerships with schools and school districts across the country with the goal of unlocking student potential.
To achieve the goal of providing access to an excellent education, we have three service lines:
Chicago Teacher Residency
Residents earn a scholarship, a Master of Education at DePaul University and gain in-classroom experience from a mentor teacher. Graduates are hired as a teacher in a CPS Opportunity School with an annual salary of $68,000.
Advisory Services
The Liberated Way team supports forward-thinking schools and systems-level leaders to partner with their school communities in defining, calibrating on, and implementing an equity-driven vision for the student experience.
School Management
Donors like you allow us to meet the educational and social-emotional needs of students in under-resourced communities
A key approach to recruiting and training teachers is through investment in public-private partnerships that recruit and train excellent educators committed to serving our most at-risk students.
Events at AUSL
Advisory Services
LiberatED Way: Students and families in underserved communities want to see school reimagined. They want experiences that are rigorous, relevant, tend to students’ social and emotional needs and affirm student identity.
We support forward-thinking school and systems-level leaders to authentically partner with their school communities in defining, calibrating on, and implementing an equity-driven vision for the student experience that leads to whole-child success.
“I’m a huge, huge fan of who you are (CTR), what you are going to do, and the AUSL family. There’s nothing more important that we can do than put great teachers into the classrooms of our children across Chicago, particularly in our most underserved communities.
Our students are going to need teaches who believe in them, who see their potential, who can help them through the stress and trauma to envision a set of possibilities way beyond what the day to day reality might feel like.
Your collective commitment and courage inspire me.”
– Arne Duncam, former Secretary of Education and CEO of Chicago Public Schools, speaking at graduation on the power of the CTR to transform educational outcomes for students.
In the news
Hear others tell of how AUSL is advancing equity in education and training high-quality teachers.
The Academy for Urban School Leadership Elevates Student Success with Annual Fundraiser
Philanthropists Greg and Kim Wasson and Institutional Partner DePaul University Honored on November 9, 2022 for Their Support of Equity in Education
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
The Academy for Urban School Leadership to hold its Twentieth Anniversary Annual Fundraiser on November 3, 2021
Philanthropists Mike and Robin Zafirovski and Corporate Champion Greg Case, CEO of Aon, Honored for Their Support of Equity in Education CHICAGO, November 1, 2021 — The
AUSL Board Member Named a CRAIN’s Notable Nonprofit Board Leader
AUSL Board Member, Cardelle Spangler Named a Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Nonprofit Board Leader Congratulations to Cardelle B. Spangler on her inclusion as a Crain’s Chicago Business
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
AUSL Launches New Advertising to Appear in Crain’s Chicago Business and the Chicago Tribune
Educational Equity Nonprofit Brings Excellence to Chicago Schools The Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) is an equity focused non-profit that works tirelessly with the belief that
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
AUSL’s Creative Writing Group -An Anthology of Snippets
AUSL offered an after-school creative writing program to 4th – 8th graders. The purpose of this program was to inspire creative writing for our network schools through
AUSL Schools to Transition Back to CPS Management
Upon a joint review of the successful transformation of the Chicago Public Schools under our management, CPS has announced that AUSL will begin to transition management of
Black History Month Art Contest
In February, AUSL hosted a virtual arts contest for Network students. Students used their creativity through visual arts to represent – What Black History means to them
Chicago Teacher Residency Named one of the Nation’s top Programs for Contributing to a Strong, Diverse Teacher Workforce
Chicago Teacher Residency (AUSL) has been named among the top in the country for leading the way in maintaining selective academic admissions requirements and driving greater teacher
