Student Yehiri Gonzalez and her journey to Teach Chicago Tomorrow

Student Yehiri Gonzalez stands wearing a red t-shirt that says "Believer, motivator, innovator, educator," in front of mural.

The College of Education’s collaboration with the Teach Chicago Tomorrow (TCT) pathways program supports Chicago Public School (CPS) graduates looking to become licensed educators in CPS schools. The program provides individual and community resources to support students of all backgrounds in starting their teaching career. Elementary Education student Yehiri Gonzalez speaks on her experience as a CPS graduate, and how the TCT program is supporting her education as a Bilingual educator.

Illinois State University welcomes first Teach Chicago Tomorrow cohort

Four new ISU students post with their awards and gifts.

As thousands of students celebrated their college decisions across the nation on National Decision Day on May 1, 2023, the ISU College of Education celebrated our Teach Chicago Tomorrow (TCT) pathway scholars for completing their associate degree and transferring to Illinois State University.

NCUE partners with internal and external partners to provide culturally responsive PD

Tree in the shape of a hand with smaller colorful hands as branches.

The goal of the National Center for Urban Education (NCUE) is to support Illinois State University’s rich history of teacher education through a focus on social justice, community-integrated teaching, and culturally responsive practices. As part of our mission, this past year we were excited to partner with the School of Teaching and Learning at ISU as well as the Community Consolidated School District 21 (CCSD21) to create culturally relevant professional development seminars offered to Early Childhood Education (ECE) students and faculty as well as practicing teachers.

TCH faculty and NCUE staff present at AERA annual meeting in Chicago

Dr. Skinner and Dr. Riley present at a conference.

On April 13th, Dr. Elizabeth Skinner and Dr. Apryl Riley presented at the American Education Research Association (AERA) 2023 annual meeting hosted in Chicago. Their paper “’There are Never Just Negatives…’: Community Immersion for Homegrown Teachers,” grew out of their ongoing research of summer programming for Teach Chicago Tomorrow (TCT) students. This research shows how Chicago-based students can participate in a community-integrated, culturally responsive teacher preparation curriculum which supports them to be better teachers and come back and teach in their home school district, Chicago Public Schools (CPS).