A Conversation with Janice K. Jackson—The Civil Rights Movement, Equity, and Education

Join us for a conversation about the effects of the historic civil rights movement on Chicago's public education spaces and places of today, including the reclamation of 50 closed public schools in the city. The conversation features Janice K. Jackson, chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools (CPS); Bill Gerstein, a former CPS educator and senior program advisor for Leadership Greater Chicago; and members of civil rights leader Al Raby's family. Read more about Raby and the Raby Foundation.

A light luncheon from noon–12:40 p.m. precedes the program, which will begin promptly at 12:45 p.m. and concludes at 2:00 p.m.

The program is sponsored by the Raby Foundation, Illinois Tech's Office of Community Affairs, the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago,  American Planning Association, and the Illinois chapter of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

As a former student, teacher, principal, network chief, and chief education officer—and now CEO—Jackson has been immersed in Chicago Public Schools her entire life.

As the leader of the third-largest school district in the country, Jackson is responsible for setting the district's collective goals and ensuring that the children of Chicago develop into the thinkers, leaders, and innovators of the future. Jackson is focused on providing students in every neighborhood of the city with equitable access to high-quality programming and facilities, and she is committed to developing a pre-K through 14 continuum that is steeped in academic rigor, supports the well-rounded development of the whole child, and provides students with multiple pathways to success.

Register for the Discussion