Meet Principal Venus DeLoach
After serving as assistant principal for 12 years at Du Bois Elementary, Venus DeLoach became the principal of Carver Elementary School in 2021. Located in the Altgeld Gardens community, Carver serves students on Chicago’s Far South Side. Venus brings more than 16 years of leadership experience and a strong belief that every child deserves the best. She leads with empathy and high expectations, building strong partnerships with families to create a culture where students thrive academically and socially.
Principal Venus DeLoach of Carver Elementary, 2025
Reengaging Families as Partners in Learning
Stepping into the principalship, Venus saw that student attendance had plummeted to 78% and chronic absenteeism was impeding academic progress. Rather than act on assumptions, Venus gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to understand the root causes of absenteeism and student and community disengagement. She reviewed school-wide attendance trends, analyzed participation rates at events like report card pickup (which stood at just 24%), and conducted one-on-one interviews and surveys with staff and families. These data sources revealed a pattern: many parents felt alienated from the school due to prior negative interactions and inconsistent leadership. The data also showed that parents wanted more transparent communication and a stronger voice in their children’s education.
Venus saw this as an opportunity to build a foundation of trust, shared accountability, and collaboration. Firmly believing in listening to all stakeholders — including students, staff, and families — she prioritized family engagement as a key strategy for improving attendance and accelerating learning. Her vision centered on creating a school culture where parents felt respected, informed, and empowered as true partners in their children’s success. This commitment would eventually lay the groundwork for Carver’s Very Important Parent (VIP) initiative, an effort to formalize and celebrate family partnership.
Implementation and Impact
In 2021-22, Venus launched a series of family engagement initiatives designed to strengthen trust and improve attendance, beginning with Parent Appreciation Day and the creation of the VIP Program. She set clear expectations for attendance, shared student data regularly, and incentivized families by connecting high attendance to promotion ceremonies, celebrations, and special school events.
Venus also implemented consistent communication strategies, including biweekly behavior, attendance, and grades (BAG) reports and multiple parent meetings throughout the year. These sessions gave parents real-time insights into their child’s progress and created space for collaboration on academic and behavioral goals.
To rebuild confidence in the school community, Venus introduced celebratory recognition for parents, such as distributing VIP-branded items and hosting themed events, including a Boots on the Ground celebration for families of students with 95% attendance or higher. These efforts signaled that parents were true partners in student success and set a new tone for school culture.
The impact was significant: Parent participation in report card pickup rose from 24% to nearly 70%, and kindergarten attendance increased from the lowest in the school to 94.7%, surpassing the schoolwide goal. Overall attendance improved dramatically, and trust between parents and staff strengthened. As Venus explains, “I can’t do this work without them. When parents know they’re valued, everything changes.”
Looking ahead, Venus plans to expand family engagement initiatives and sustain strong attendance by deepening data transparency and co-designing solutions with parents, ensuring Carver continues to grow as a school where students and families thrive.
Apply This Learning
1. Redesign parent-teacher conferences to increase trust and turnout.
When Venus arrived at Carver, only 24% of parents were attending report card pickup. She renamed the event “Parent Appreciation Day” and reframed it as a celebration of partnership. Parents now receive VIP swag bags, shirts, and cups that brand them as “Very Important Parents of Carver.” This small shift led to a big change where parent turnout increased to nearly 70%, and the school saw stronger family engagement in student learning. These events occur twice annually during first- and third-quarter report card pickups.
2. Incentivize attendance through celebration and accountability.
Venus tied key events to attendance benchmarks. Kindergarteners needed 93% attendance to participate in promotion ceremonies, resulting in a jump to 94.7%. Eighth graders had to meet the same threshold for field trips and luncheons. Schoolwide incentives like the Sneaker Ball and “Beyoncé-style Boots on the Ground” celebrated students and families with 95%+ attendance, creating a culture that rewarded showing up.
3. Create open access and safe spaces for parents.
To rebuild trust, Venus prioritized transparency and accessibility. She maintains an open-door policy; visitors can enter her office from the main office or the hallway, and if she’s in, the door is open. She hosts quarterly parent meetings to review attendance, assessments, and expectations, creating consistent opportunities for dialogue. Her approach has helped shift Carver’s culture toward one of mutual respect, safety, and support.