Seven Schools Receive $2M In 'Breakthrough' Grants To Transform Learning

IRVING PARK — Thursday was a big day for big checks at seven Chicago schools, each of which received a $280,000 grant to transform the way students learn.

Disney II Magnet and Patrick Henry Elementary were among the recipients of the grants as part of Leap Innovation's Breakthrough Schools Chicago program, which aims to help schools reinvent the education system.

Lindblom Math and Science Academy, for example, is developing a "proficiency-based learning" model in which students will advance when they've mastered material, not when they've completed a mandatory number of weeks studying a given subject. 

The Breakthrough grant process began in 2015, when a cohort of schools was chosen to design and plan a model for personalized learning, with the help of $30,000 in seed money. Schools then became eligible for the $280,000 launch grants, which will help them put their plans into practice.

The 2016 grant recipients:

• CICS Irving Park, 3820 N. Spaulding Ave.

• Disney II Magnet School, 3900 N. Lawndale Ave.

• Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep, 250 E. 111th St.

• Joseph Lovett Elementary, 6333 W. Bloomingdale Ave.

• Lindblom Math and Science Academy, 6130 S. Wolcott Ave.

• Patrick Henry Elementary, 4250 N. St Louis Ave.

• University of Chicago Charter School — Donoghue campus, 707 E. 37th St.

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