Chicago Public Schools Awarded Federal Grant for Personalized Learning

CHICAGO – Four magnet cluster schools across Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are gearing up to adopt a new learning model that positions students at the center of designing their education. The schools recently received a five-year, $15 million Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant from the United States Department of Education to become exemplar personalized learning schools. 

Personalized learning is an instructional model that allows students to play an active role with their teachers in co-designing their learning path, pace, and environment based on their individual strengths, needs, and interests. The model presents an exciting opportunity for students and families as authentic connections are made to connect learning to their communities and outside the classroom.

“The District is constantly innovating and exploring instructional models to help students learn in ways that work best for their strengths and needs,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “The implementation of personalized learning at these four excellent schools is another example of ongoing efforts to remove barriers to a high quality education that meets the needs of our diverse student population and meets individual student needs to maximize their potential.”

The four schools – Avalon Park Elementary School, Milton Brunson Math & Science Specialty Elementary School, Rudyard Kipling Elementary School, and Logan Square Elementary School – will join 13 personalized learning schools across the District. Implementation begins at the start of School Year 2025-26 and will continue through School Year 2028-29.

Funding will help schools provide professional development to help create best practices and shift classrooms into the personalized learning model. Some schools may incorporate new positions as well as technology, and create or build on community partnerships for enrichment opportunities such as field trips and after-school programming. 

Personalized learning will be instrumental at Logan Square Elementary School where there are large numbers of students on both ends of the learning spectrum, said Principal Kyle Schulte. About a third of students are proficient above grade level while another third or more are below grade level with more urgent instructional needs. 

“We have a lot of unique learners so this will give our kids a customized pathway that meets their needs. They will know their areas of strengths and have the tools to tackle areas of growth,” Principal Schulte said. “Our hope is students will develop a clear understanding of their interests and gain the resources to improve and prepare for a successful high school experience and beyond.”

Over at Avalon Park Elementary School, the grant will help staff build on existing instruction that focuses on tailored and in-depth learning, allowing more precise and effective differentiation of student needs to drive student learning.

“It’s going to be a new wave for Avalon Park,” said Principal Takeshi James. “By diving deeper into personalized instruction, we are going to be able to enhance student engagement, provide real-time feedback, and foster an environment where students feel supported and challenged based on their individual learning profiles.”

Principal James envisions more rigorous training for all staff along with the adoption of new digital instructional tools, classroom toolkits for students and new features that spark creativity and problem-solving. The school may, for example, enhance their unique “hallway bursting” showcases, which allows students to demonstrate their mastery of the standards outside of the classroom and present their personalized successes to the entire school.

Many of these benefits will also apply to Kipling Elementary, where Principal LaWanda Bishop emphasized the importance of more time for small group discussions and conferencing. Having the resources to sit down with students individually will allow educators the ability to craft personalized and data-supported learning paths for students.

“This affords students the opportunity to capitalize on their strengths, with targeted support to grow their individual areas of development, “ Principal Bishop said.

Learn more about personalized learning from CPS’ Department of Advanced Learning and Specialty Programs at this page. 

The MSAP grant is designed to eliminate barriers and increase access to a high-quality education for diverse students by supporting innovative instructional programs at selected magnet schools. This is the third MSAP grant awarded to CPS schools in the past eight years. 

In 2017, CPS received nearly $15 million to transform three neighborhood schools into STEM magnet schools: William H. Brown STEM Magnet Elementary School, Claremont STEM Magnet Academy Elementary School, and Joseph Jungman STEM Magnet Elementary School. All three schools implemented an innovative STEM curriculum while increasing enrollment and promoting student diversity, with Jungman reducing minority student isolation by 24 percent, Claremont by 12 percent, and Brown remained the same, when comparing demographics at the start of school year 16-17 to those at the start of school year 24-25. Each school also increased parent involvement at school events by 110 percent.

In 2022, John J. Pershing STEAM Magnet Elementary School and Maria Saucedo STEAM Magnet Academy received nearly $15 million to implement STEAM programming and began their second year of implementation at the start of School Year 2024-25.