DEAR FRIENDS,

Thank you for being a part of another high-impact year at Kids First Chicago! With your support and partnership this year, we:

• Were honored by community anchor Austin Coming Together as Member of the Year in appreciation of our advocacy support on behalf of Michele Clark High School’s bid for the first International Baccalaureate program on the West Side.
• Raised parent voice around critical issues, including multiple media placements during the historic fifteen-day teachers’ strike, funding equity, and more.
• Celebrated our 15th anniversary with 300 friends, partners, and supporters, hearing from keynote speakers Arne Duncan and Dr. Janice K. Jackson about the past and future of Chicago Public Schools.

We continue our work to ensure that Chicago’s public school system is fair and equitable for all students through our ongoing policy efforts, such as our push for equitable funding across the district, and our community engagement, which connected more than 5,000 parents, students, and community members with critical educational improvements in 2019.

There is much more work to be done to ensure that Chicago's public schools are truly equitable for every kid in every neighborhood. But we take a moment during this holiday season to appreciate the accomplishments we've made, together, over the last year, and resolve to continue the work in 2020. 

Onward!