Hope Chicago, an economic mobility program led by former CPS superintendent Janice K. Jackson, has launched its second cohort of students at five schools on the West and South sides whom they plan to help have a debt-free education.
The schools that Hope Chicago has partnered with so far include Garfield Park’s Al Raby School for Community and Environment, Morgan Park High School, Englewood’s Noble Johnson College Prep, Pilsen’s Benito Juárez Community Academy and Little Village’s Farragut Career Academy.
In 2022, the program pledged to help 4,000 families get their high school students through college debt-free for students and their parents.
Hope Chicago is collaborating with 23 secondary education partners for teens where students have tuition, room and board covered, as well as a yearly stipend.
During the first year, the stipend will be $1,000 and $750 for all subsequent years. The stipend will be given directly to the student, not the school. The program does not require students to choose a specific field of study.
However, Hope Chicago does more than just pay for the student’s education; it continues to support them. During their time at one of the partner schools, Hope Chicago has a representative on campus to assist the student and also organizes events for other students from the program.
What sets Hope Chicago apart is its two-generational program model, which allows parents of the students, who are part of Hope Chicago, to continue or start their higher education and special workforce debt-free.
“We don’t believe that a seventeen or eighteen-year-old who goes to college can change the trajectory for the entire family,” said Michele Howard, chief program officer. “But if we do that with the eighteen-year-old and a parent, then the families are more likely to be successful.”
Adults can either continue their education or further their career with two or four-year education, a trade, or workforce options with Hope Chicago.
Howard said that the majority of Hope Chicago’s families are Black and Latino. To reflect that, they collaborated with local community anchors Chicago Urban League and Instituto del Progreso Latino for their intake process. These organizations work directly with the parents to understand which resources the family might need and navigate the next step in their education.
“It was really important for us to make sure that we got partners who were anchored to the city and had a history serving both African American and Latino population,” Howard said.
For parents, there are seven higher education options and 10 workforce program partners. According to Howard, Hope Chicago provides flexible options for parents like in-person, hybrid, and online education, and currently, 90 parents are taking advantage of this program.
“We really want to be able to give parents an opportunity to really lift as they climb,” Howard said. “Because so many parents have their dreams deferred or their dreams are deterred, and what we really want to do is give them an option to get back on track.”
For parents whose child is in the Hope Chicago program and want to learn more about their education, the organization provides handbooks in both English and Spanish.
This year, Hope Chicago will introduce five more partners, one for parents and four for the teens.
