November 2025
Dear Friends and Partners,
At moments when the world around us feels heavy and chaotic, we want to acknowledge and express gratitude to the people who surround us and bolster our work at Kids First Chicago. After all, we are a collective of people coming together to put families and facts first.
In 2025, Kids First Chicago (K1C) delivered powerful results for families within Chicago Public Schools. While we never want to diminish the impact of our past wins (initiatives like Chicago Connected, Annual Regional Analysis, and GoCPS have had a lasting positive impact on Chicago families), this was a year in which the power of K1C parents seemed to be acknowledged and respected in ways we have not seen before.
2025 was a year of demonstrating parent knowledge and power, and the culmination of what we have been building for a decade - the authentic elevation of the people most directly impacted by our education system.
When K1C parents advocate, it doesn’t come from a preset political agenda or talking points we put in their hands - what you hear from them comes from their hearts. We work for parents, and this year they showed up and showed out in more visible ways than we have ever seen. We are as grateful to parents for their courage and leadership as we are to those who have supported them.
While we take a brief pause to celebrate our 2025 wins, we’re also continuing to help parents create a pathway that ultimately leads to their kids’ success, starting with thriving schools and communities. Thank you for your ongoing support – and for your belief in our model and its impact.
Daniel Anello
CEO, Kids First Chicago
Laura Thonn
Board Chair, Kids First Chicago
Office Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Section 01
Activate Families
Kids First Chicago continues to partner with families to advance educational policies benefiting all CPS students.
Living Room / La Sala
Our monthly learning sessions, Living Room / La Sala, continue to be a popular forum where parents can learn about educational topics of interest and stay informed on emerging issues we believe are important. These sessions are a great way to introduce new parents to K1C.
Parent Leadership Fellowship (PLF)
This June, we celebrated the fourth South Side cohort of our Parent Leadership Fellowship (PLF) program for finishing the year-long program where they further defined their leadership, developed their advocacy skills, and formed a community of sharing and learning from one another. This September, we onboarded our fifth cohort of PLF that will focus on our parent leaders from the Southeast Side of the city.
Parent Leadership Team (PLT)
In April, Kids First Chicago held its first Parent Leadership Teams (PLT) Showcase. It was an amazing opportunity for all of our PLT leaders and parents, as well as our K1C community and corporate partners, to learn more about the work and advocacy of the 2024-2025 cohort of 19 teams. At this event, we presented the work that all 19 teams have done in their schools and communities, and many parents leveraged the moment to network and see how their PLT might collaborate with others who are advocating for the same causes. In 2025-2026, K1C is supporting 20 PLTs.
When I first started community work, I wasn't "all in" on solidarity. K1C helped me see regardless of our initial beliefs, one thing connects us – to be heard as parents.
—Parent, Kids First Chicago
Spotlight Story
Parent Advocacy Protects Classrooms
Over the past nine months, Kids First Chicago worked hand in hand with hundreds of parents, civic allies, and partners to champion a student-centered budget and prevent CPS from absorbing a $175 million pension payment owed by the City. Together, we stopped a proposal that would have deepened CPS’s deficit and forced the district to take out a costly $200 million loan. How did we do it? Take a look and see. >>
Section 02
Share the Facts
Data, Democracy, and Digital Equity: Building a Stronger Future for Every CPS Student
The State of Chicago Public Schools | 2025
In March 2025, we debuted a new annual data review that looks at how Chicago Public Schools students are doing academically and socially-emotionally. It unpacks elementary and high school outcomes, including measures like reading and math proficiency, on-track, and post-secondary readiness, and graduation rates. This report reveals startling insights into chronic absenteeism and student mental health and wellness, as well as showing how parental involvement contributes to student and school success. This report will be updated on an annual basis. >>
Released in January 2025 as the new 21-member hybrid Board of Education took office, this report offers practical student- and parent-vetted recommendations to guide this new chapter in school board governance for CPS. The report incorporates the voices of parents and students, as well as lessons learned from other districts, in five core areas: governance, inclusive engagement structures, board training and support, transparency and communication, and relationship building. Ultimately, the community calls for a new system where families and students are authentic, collaborative partners in decisions about education that put kids first. Read the report here>
Updated in October 2024, this analysis shows the impact of the Chicago Connected program four years after its launch. Chicago Connected has provided internet access to more than 200k+ students and families since 2020. The good news is that the city’s digital gap was cut in half, but CPS students and families still face barriers to digital equity. We call for making the Chicago Connected program permanent, re-engaging with community partners, and working to close the device gap to ensure every student has the digital access needed to succeed in school and beyond. Read the report here>
Don’t be afraid. Everyone starts somewhere, even if you don’t feel comfortable. Give K1C a chance - it’s an avenue of information and they will make it accessible to you. I encourage you to participate.
—Minijoie, K1C Parent Advisory Board, 2024-25 Parent Leadership Fellow
Section 03
Shape Policy
Chicago Connected Extension
In late August, the City of Chicago announced that it would fund an extension of the Chicago Connected program for the 2025-2026 school year, ensuring that over 40,000 CPS students will continue to have high-speed internet at home. The new funding will provide up to 1,200 cellular smartphones to students in CPS’ Temporary Living Situations (STLS) program who are listed as “unaccompanied youth.” This population of students, living without parents or guardians, is considered the most at-risk subset of STLS students.
Initiated by a 2020 K1C report on digital access, Chicago Connected has bridged the digital divide for more than 200,000+ CPS students to support learning outside the classroom and has become a national model for promoting equitable access to educational goals.
Ensuring Data & Transparency in CPS
Kids First Chicago enhances data transparency and accountability by supporting CPS’s new Continuous Improvement and Data Transparency (CIDT) framework, ensuring that school performance data is clear, accessible, and actionable. Parents we partner with serve on the CPS Data Transparency Stakeholder Advisory Group (Transparency Committee), where they help vet the indicators included in the CIDT tool and ensure that they reflect community values and priorities. By elevating parent voice in this process, Kids First Chicago is helping build a more trusted and equitable accountability system that enables families, educators, and community members to use data as a tool for school improvement.
Task Forces
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Task Force
Over the past year, K1C’s SEL Task Force has studied CPS policies and tools—including the 5Essentials and Cultivate surveys—to better understand how school climate and classroom learning conditions are measured. Additionally, as CPS rolls out a new, comprehensive Whole School Safety policy, the task force will push for strong parent involvement in the implementation process.
Equitable Funding Task Force
The Equitable Funding Task Force is focused on two key issues in PK–12 education funding: securing adequate state support and stabilizing Chicago Public Schools’ budget to prevent harmful cuts that could further diminish the student experience. The task force continues to advocate for new revenue streams for CPS, greater transparency in how CPS funds schools, to push the state to meet its obligation to better fund high-need districts like CPS, and monitor potential cuts to federal funding.
High Quality Teaching Task Force
Last year, K1C’s High Quality Teaching Task Force completed a learning series (the Curriculum Project) on teacher preparation, curriculum, and accountability. Based on this series, the task force launched a small group of parents, students, and teachers to design accessible resources on quality curriculum for families. The task force and K1C staff continue to support CPS in the distribution of the resources to families across the district. Parents are also active in a state campaign to expand the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship, designed to increase the diversity of the educator workforce in Illinois, particularly in high-need subject areas and underserved schools.
Fair Governance Task Force
Our Fair Governance Task Force has advanced parent priorities and strengthened engagement with elected school board members through several key actions: launching a dual-language informational campaign, co-hosting public town halls and meet-and-greets with Board members, conducting a citywide public opinion poll on the new school board, and releasing a report on parent-identified priorities for the elected school board. With a 21-member hybrid board in place through 2026 and another election cycle ahead, K1C has a vital role in ensuring the board is equipped to meet the moment and respond to the needs of everyday families.
The reality of it is, CPS is a big organization, you can easily get lost in there if you don't know what's going on. Kids First was leading me in this path, and it became something that's much more exciting, because there's more that I didn't know about. I'm getting this information, and I'm understanding more. I can see where I can help out within my own kids’ school.
—Anthony, K1C Parent Advisory Board, 2024-25 Parent Leadership Fellow
People & Operations
Our Leadership & Staff
Kids First Chicago’s nearly 30-person team, guided by a decade of leadership under founding CEO Daniel Anello, brings expertise in community engagement, organizing, policy, data, communications, development, and operations.
The Board of Directors includes 20 active members and 6 Emeritus members, alongside a 35-member Parent Advisory Board led by an elected Executive Committee. The Executive Committee consists of four regional representatives and two at-large members, who also serve on our Board, reflecting our commitment to community connectedness. See our staff and board here>>
Our Impact at a Glance
1,000+
parents in our network in 67 of Chicago's 77 community areas
30+
partners make up the Coalition for Authentic Community Engagement
90+
media hits with many major placements in Tribune, Crain’s, Chalkbeat, Sun-Times, WBEZ, and more
30+
blog posts penned by staff and parent letters, and op-eds published in both English and Spanish
Power the Path Forward!
We cannot do this work alone. We need your support and partnership as we continue to build on this momentum. Join us as we improve outcomes for kids and achieve our collective vision of a world-class Chicago.