2025-26 Program Summary

The Fund’s programs strengthen principal quality and retention by providing rigorous professional learning grounded in school leader needs. We partner with principal supervisors and Local School Councils (LSCs) to ensure school leaders are supported, challenged, and positioned to succeed. Together, these investments help principals cultivate the learning environments that make positive student outcomes possible.

Across 10 programs in fall 2025, we supported 255 principals (40% of the district) and 202 assistant principals (33% of the district) representing 298 schools, and worked directly with 19 principal supervisors to increase their impact on the leaders they manage and support. We will continue engaging with more educators in the spring 2026 semester through these programs and innovative pilots.

Our 2025-26 Program Summary report details our professional development opportunities and highlights school leaders who learn and grow through them.

Here are the data definitions to accompany the report:

Student Demographics Data Definitions

• Disabled Students: Students who receive special education and related services per their individualized education programs.
• Economically Disadvantaged Students: Students from families whose income is within 185% of the federal poverty line. This number reflects the percentage of eligible students for free or reduced-price meals.
• English Language Learners: Students who come from non-English speaking homes and who are learning English.
• Students in Temporary Living Situations: Students who do not have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

School Data Definitions

• 90%+ Black or Latino/a/x Students: Schools where more than 90% of the student population identifies as Black or Latino/a/x.
• Student Mobility Rating: A school’s student mobility rate is the percentage of students who experienced at least one transfer in or out of the school between the first school day of October and the last school day of the year, not including graduates.
• Teacher Retention: The three-year average percentage of full-time teachers returning to the same school year to year as shown on the 2024 ISBE state report card.
• Priority Schools: Schools experiencing high churn or high student mobility, as defined in research from the University of Illinois Chicago, and low culture and climate scores, as measured by the 5Essentials.