AUSL blog
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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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Solorio Students win competitive IST Coalition STEM Challenge
Images courtesy of the @soloriohs Twitter account. Congratulations to Solorio Academy High School students Edgar, Jason & Michael, were the Solorio winners at the IST Coalition STEM Challenge at the ISTI Showcase. These STEM scholars were able to present their project at Google.
Transforming Outcomes by Transforming Leaders: Part 4
Personalizing learning to meet the development needs of our school leaders is a key driver of our continuous improvement as a network.
Solorio High School Awarded Multiple Honors from Chicago Debates
Image courtesy of the @soloriohs Twitter account. Image courtesy of the @chicagodebates Twitter account. Congratulations to the Solorio High School Debate team, who won the Varsity title in a city-wide competition between 34 teams and 260 students. In addition, debate team member Kelvin C. was awarded Debater of the Year and Principal Iturralde was awarded Principal of the Year. Janice Jackson, Chicago Public Schools CEO, stopped by Solorio High School to visit the debate team and celebrate these incredible...
Howe SOE Unveils Newly Renovated Gym
On March 22, AUSL network's Howe School of Excellence unveiled their newly renovated gym. The gym received brand new floors, stage padding, and free-standing basketball hoops generously donated by the Lefkofsky Family Foundation.
The Winners Are In! Here’s who won at the AUSL 2019 STEAM Fair
We are so proud of the hard work of each and everyone one of our network students that participated in our 2019 STEAM Fair, sponsored by Boeing. Students from grades 4-12 from across our network arrived at Collins Academy High School ready to show off their hard work and dedication to their project. The event would not be possible without the time and talents of our many dedicated volunteers from the local community, R1, Americorps, Boeing and the AUSL home office. Below are the winners across grades: GRADE PLACE SCHOOL STUDENT 1 STUDENT 2 PROJECT TITLE 4th Grade 1st Carter Alanna Barrett...
AUSL STEM Successes Presented at the 100kin10 Conference
Dr. Alissa Berg, Dr. Cynthia Brunswick, Danielle Otto (Tarkington School of Excellence), and Melannie Chan (Stagg School of Excellence and alumna of the Chicago Teacher Resident) represented AUSL STEM innovation at the prestigious 100kin10 Summit in San Diego, California in March. Dr. Berg and Danielle Otto presented on creating effective strategies to build administrator support for science standards-aligned instruction for grades K-8. Dr. Brunswick and Melannie Chan were joined by our generous partner, Kassie Davis of CME Group Foundation, to share their work on teacher-led...
Solorio Teacher Wins Prestigious 2019 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching
Image courtesy of @goldenapple_il Twitter. Golden Apple surprised Solorio Academy High School Teacher and former Chicago Teacher Residency alumnus Greta Kringle during the annual STEM fair to award her with the prestigious 2019 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award was given to only 10 teachers in Illinois who were selected from over 550 nominated teachers.
Part 2: Leading with the Learner at AUSL
Learn about AUSL’s personal learning initiative through Ms. Jarrell’s classroom
Bringing Arts and Culture Experiences to Our Students
AUSL believes that a robust arts education is essential to developing the whole child. Learn more about what we’re doing to bring the arts to life for our students.
Johnson SOE Students Win Competitive Dusable Commemoration Essay Competition
Image courtesy of @TheJohnsonWildCats Instagram account. On Chicago’s 182nd Birthday, Jayla J. and Meliyah N. were honored for winning the Jean Baptiste Pointe Dusable Commeration Essay Competition. Both students had to answer the question: If Dusable lived today, what kind of person would he vote for as the next mayor of Chicago to make it a fair and safe place for all people? Jayla and Meliyah took home the 1st and 2nd place grand prize! We are so proud of both of these incredible...
