Our Stories

Everyone loves a good shout out, right? Especially when it’s for something that makes our community a better place. That’s why I love the special Kindness Shout Outs we have at Beard Elementary on Chicago’s Northwest Side. When a student gets “caught being kind” we recognize them for that wonderful act and put it on […]

With all the news and the disruption we’ve experienced these past 20 months, one simple but powerful thing helped students at Palmer Elementary make it through remote learning and return safely to classrooms: kindness. And while things are getting better, both in our school buildings and in many of our communities, the effects of the […]

“Coming to Wagoner is like coming to a Grand Opening!” When a new student told me they felt that way walking into school each day, it stopped me in my tracks and reaffirmed my commitment to making our school community a kind place. As the principal at Wagoner Elementary, I can say that kindness is […]

With the holidays fast approaching, I thought now was the perfect time for us to highlight something we can all celebrate: kindness. In 2017, Stand and other valued partner organizations launched Teach Kindness, a suite of best-in-class social-emotional learning activities, to help schools teach students the skill of kindness. We knew then that social and emotional […]

As Stand for Children Illinois’ Community & Family Partnerships Director, I am thankful for the connections and relationships I have built in the communities that we serve. Also, I feel very strongly that it is my job to share resources with our communities and families. So, it was both a privilege and honor to lead […]

I recently crossed off an item on my to-do list, and I hope you’ll join me by making sure your voice is heard as CPS gathers community feedback on how they measure school quality. This helps the district know what’s working, find and fix things that aren’t, and be transparent with our Chicago community. Add your voice […]