Chicago Public Schools: Driving Performance Management 
 

Recognizing an opportunity to improve the quality of education and impact almost 409,000 children, most socio-economically disadvantaged, in one of the nation’s largest urban school districts, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation awarded two grants totaling over $8.8 million to support the Chicago Public School District.

Enabled by technology, the Chicago Public Schools will reliably measure, collect, track and share timely performance information on students, teachers and schools across the district, and make information user-friendly and easy-to-access through desktop dashboards. The tools will enable administrators and teachers to collaborate and make proactive decisions, instructional and programmatic, based on timely, relevant data to positively influence student performance.

The new tools and processes will put detailed, actionable information quickly and directly into the hands of district administrators, principals and teachers. Using the dashboard, a principal can see when an indicator, such as school attendance, falls below target. A click on the indicator will allow the principal to drill down to identify underperforming grade levels, specific classrooms and individual students so that teachers, students and parents can take immediate steps to remedy the situation.

In addition to the funding, the Michael & Susan Dell foundation is helping to nurture the district’s success. Last spring, the foundation sponsored a national meeting of school districts that are working on performance management to facilitate information sharing and the development of best practices and standards to reform underperforming districts and impact students nationwide. 

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