Chicago Connected was designed to respond to an opportunity to eliminate a barrier to digital learning that disproportionately hurts Chicago’s low‐income families and students of color. The program began with the goal of offering access to approximately 100,000 students in order to narrow the digital divide for CPS families.

Chicago Connected’s public-private partnership brought together a variety of stakeholders to confront digital inequities head-on. An important starting point was understanding the experience of parents and elevating their voices, as well as quantifying the scale of the issue. The program involved Internet Service Providers, Community-Based Organizations, Chicago Public Schools, the City of Chicago, the philanthropic community, a fiscal agent and ongoing parent advocacy partners.

The Chicago Connected team adopted a wide-variety of outreach tactics to market the program, including using data and real-time feedback. They discovered that the three values that matter most in reaching families are trust, repetition, and ease of access. More than anything, the team learned that personal, direct contact yields the highest sign-up rates.