LEAP INNOVATIONS: The Chicago Public Education Fund announced today a $750,000 multi-year investment in LEAP Innovations, a Chicago-based educational technology nonprofit hub currently housed in Chicago's 1871 tech incubator. The money will go towards supporting LEAP's Breakthrough Schools: Chicago initiative, growing the number of educators redesigning their school models with personalized learning.
In response to the funding, Phyllis Lockett, CEO of LEAP Innovations, said in a press release: "This partnership aligns The Fund's expertise in seeding talent and innovation in public education with LEAP's role as the education innovation hub to bring new ideas and technology into classrooms to support teachers, allow parents to be more confident in what their children are learning, and unlock the limitless of potential of each student."
This new investment brings LEAP's funding to a total of $1.75M. Back in 2013, in partnership with The Fund, LEAP Innovations acquired $1 million from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, specifically to launch a regional pilot for the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) program--Breakthrough Schools: Chicago
In April, Breakthrough Schools: Chicago announced that seven Chicago Public Schools had each won $100,000 in planning grants to "develop and launch next-generation schools", including Cesar E. Chávez Multicultural Academic Center and KIPP Chicago Public Charter Schools. In order to develop a pipeline for more blended learning leadership, the Fund and LEAP plan to continue hosting Summer Design Programs (started in the summer of 2013) to support and grow school teams across Chicago, some whom will apply for the next Breakthrough Schools cohort in early 2015.
