Chicago Annenberg Challenge
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The Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) was a Chicago public school reform project from 1995 to 2001 that worked with half of Chicago's public schools and was funded by a $49.2 million, 2-to-1 matching challenge grant over five years from the
Annenberg Foundation The Annenberg Foundation is a foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations. Overview The Annenberg Foundation was established by Walter H. Annenberg in 1989 with $1.2 billion, one-third of the assets from the sale o ...
. The grant was contingent on being matched by $49.2 million in private donations and $49.2 million in public money. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge was one of 18 locally designed Annenberg Challenge project sites that received $387 million over five years as part of
Walter Annenberg Walter Hubert Annenberg (March 13, 1908 – October 1, 2002) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat. Annenberg owned and operated Triangle Publications, which included ownership of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer' ...
's gift of $500 million over five years to support public school reform. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge helped create a successor organization, the Chicago Public Education Fund (CPEF), committing $2 million in June 1998 as the first donor to Chicago's first community foundation for education.


Annenberg Challenge

In the 1990s, billionaire Walter Annenberg, former ambassador to the
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under President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, was the United States' most generous living philanthropist. By 1998, Annenberg had given away more than $2 billion and the assets of the Annenberg Foundation he had established in June 1989 with $1 billion had grown to $3 billion and ranked as the 12th largest in the U.S. Every weekday from May through November, Annenberg was driven from his home in
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, D ...
to his Annenberg Foundation headquarters in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, where, as its sole director, he reserved virtually every decision for himself when making grants. In June 1993, Annenberg announced he was making the largest individual gift to private education in history—$365 million to four schools: $120 million each to the communication programs at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
and the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
, $25 million to
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
, and $100 million to his alma mater, the
Peddie School The Peddie School is a non-denominational, coeducational college preparatory school located on a campus in Hightstown, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA that serves boarding and day students in the ninth through twelfth grades, as well as po ...
in
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. In October 1993, Annenberg announced an unrestricted $25 million gift to
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
bringing his total donations to Northwestern to $55 million, his last major gift to higher education for five years as he shifted the focus of his philanthropy to public K–12 education. Annenberg told
Newton Minow Newton Norman Minow (January 17, 1926 – May 6, 2023) was an American attorney who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He is famous for his 1961 speech referring to television as a " vast wasteland". While still maintai ...
, senior counsel of
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, chairman of the
Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...
(1993–1997), Annenberg Professor of Communications Law and Policy at Northwestern University (1987–2003) and director of its Annenberg Washington Program (1987–1996): "Everybody around the world wants to send their kids to our universities. South America, Asia, Europe, all of them. But nobody wants to send their kids here to public school. Who would, especially in a big city? Nobody. So we've got to do something. If we don't, our civilization will collapse." Annenberg sought recommendations on making a large gift to American public schools from his ''pro bono'' education advisors: #
Vartan Gregorian Vartan Gregorian (April 8, 1934 – April 15, 2021) was an Armenian-American academic, educator, and historian. He served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1997 to 2021. Gregorian moved to the United States from Iran at age 22. H ...
, president of
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
(1989–1997); president of the Carnegie Corporation (1997– ); former president of the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
; former professor of
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n history, dean, and provost of the University of Pennsylvania #
Ted Sizer Theodore Ryland Sizer (June 23, 1932 – October 21, 2009) was a leader of educational reform in the United States, the founder (and eventually President Emeritus) of the Coalition of Essential Schools, Essential school movement and was known for ...
, founding chairman of the
Coalition of Essential Schools The Coalition of Essential Schools is a US organization created to further a type of whole-school reform originally envisioned by founder Ted Sizer in his book, ''Horace's Compromise.'' The group began in 1984 with twelve schools and grew to 600 ...
(CES) (1984–1997); professor of education at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
(1983–1997); former headmaster of
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(1972–1981); former dean of the
Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...
(1964–1972) #
David Kearns David Todd Kearns (August 11, 1930February 25, 2011) was an American businessman who was chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation and served as the first United States Deputy Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993. Early life and education Kearns ...
, chairman of the
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
-based New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC)—a 1991 school reform initiative of President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
; former Deputy Secretary of Education (1991–1993) under Secretary of Education
Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...
in the George H. W. Bush administration; former president, CEO and chairman of
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On December 17, 1993, the 85-year-old Annenberg announced his five-year $500 million "Challenge to the Nation" at a ceremony in the
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of the
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with President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, Secretary of Education
Richard Riley Richard Wilson Riley (born January 2, 1933) is an American politician who served as the sixth United States secretary of education from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton and as the 111th governor of South Carolina from 1979 to 1987. He ...
, Gregorian, Sizer, Kearns, and Frank Newman, Illinois Governor
Jim Edgar James Robert Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. A Moderate Republican (modern United States), moderate Republican Party (United States), Republican, he previously s ...
and Colorado Governor
Roy Romer Roy Rudolf Romer (born October 31, 1928) is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Colorado from 1987 to 1999, and subsequently as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2000 to 2006. Romer was a ...
(the president, outgoing and incoming chairman, respectively, of the
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-based bipartisan
Education Commission of the States The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a nonprofit that tracks educational policy. It is led by over 300 appointed commissioners from across the United States. ECS was founded as a result of the creation of the Compact for Education, an i ...
(ECS). Annenberg announced that he was giving $113 million over five years to three national school reform organizations:

# $50 million to a new Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) at Brown University that would incorporate the CES and be chaired by Sizer # $57 million to the NASDC, chaired by Kearns # $6 million to the ECS (chaired by Edgar and then Romer, with president Newman) to disseminate NASDC models for restructuring schools The remaining $387 million was for: school reform in the largest urban school systems, attended by a third of the 47 million public school students in the U.S.; for school reform in rural schools which make up a quarter of all public schools, attended by 1 in 8 public school students in the U.S.; and for arts education. Annenberg delegated how to spend the $387 million to his closest professional friend, Vartan Gregorian, whom he had known for twenty years—since Gregorian's tenure at the University of Pennsylvania where Annenberg was a trustee and its largest donor. Annenberg called Gregorian: "The best all-around executive I know. A man of great character and absolute integrity. The most outstanding human being I know." Gregorian oversaw everything involved in the Challenge and ensured that it was nonpartisan. Reflecting Annenberg's vision of the Challenge as a catalyst—not a yardstick—he did not require Gregorian to meet specific benchmarks, such as dispensing funds on the basis of the schools' raising their reading or math scores by certain percentage points. Gregorian recruited university presidents and business leaders to assemble civic teams in various cities to pursue Challenge grants, and awarded grants to 18 locally designed projects: * Nine grants were awarded to major urban areas. These awards included matching grants ranging in size from $10 million to $53 million: New York City and Los Angeles in 1994; Chicago,











Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995; South Florida, Boston and Detroit in 1996; and Houston in 1997. * Five smaller special opportunity grants ranging from $1 million to $4 million were awarded to Atlanta, Chattanooga, Chelsea, Salt Lake City, and West Baltimore. * $50 million was awarded to set up the national Rural Challenge that involved over 700 schools across the U.S. * Three arts education grants ranging from $3 million to $12 million were awarded to New York City, Minneapolis, and a national arts education program.


Beginnings

The three co-authors of Chicago's winning Annenberg Challenge $49.2 million grant proposal were: #
William Ayers William Charles Ayers (; born December 26, 1944) is an American retired professor and former militant organizer. In 1969, Ayers co-founded the far-left militant organization the Weather Underground, a revolutionary group that sought to overthr ...
, associate professor of education at the
University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...
; co-director of the
Small Schools Workshop Small means of insignificant size. Small may also refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text Arts and ...
; co-director of the Chicago Forum for School Change—an affiliate of the
Coalition of Essential Schools The Coalition of Essential Schools is a US organization created to further a type of whole-school reform originally envisioned by founder Ted Sizer in his book, ''Horace's Compromise.'' The group began in 1984 with twelve schools and grew to 600 ...
;


chairman of the Alliance for Better Chicago Schools (ABCs) coalition; former Chicago assistant deputy mayor for education (1989–1990); brother of John Ayers, executive director (1994–2004) of Leadership for Quality Education (an affiliate of the Civic Committee of the
Commercial Club of Chicago The Commercial Club of Chicago is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded in 1877 with a mission to promote the social and economic vitality of the metropolitan area of Chicago. History The Commercial Club was founded in 187 ...
) and former associate director (1987–1994) of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago; son of
Thomas Ayers Thomas G. Ayers (February 16, 1915, in Detroit, Michigan – June 8, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois) was president (1964–1980), CEO and chairman (1973–1980) of Commonwealth Edison. Ayers served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Northwe ...
, former president (1964–1980), chairman and CEO (1973–1980) of
Commonwealth Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the primary electric provider in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquoi ...
and former vice president (1980) of the Chicago School Board # Anne Hallett, executive director and founder of the Cross-City Campaign for Urban School Reform; former executive director of the Wieboldt Foundation (1986–1993); former executive director of the Citizens Education Center in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
(1983–1986); former executive director and founder of the Chicago Panel on School Policy (1982–1983); former chair, founder, and chief lobbyist for Citizens for Fair School Funding in Seattle (1976–1982)
The roundtable discussion was sponsored by the Woods Charitable Fund and moderated by a trustee of the Wieboldt Foundation, with participants that included
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, Anne Hallett, Sokoni Karanja, and the assistant director of special grants programs at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and with guests that included Ken Rolling. The first person mentioned by Obama in the discussion was Peter Martinez.
Describes the leadership roles of Ken Rolling of the Woods Charitable Fund with Anne Hallett of the Wieboldt Foundation in fostering collaboration on school reform among foundations and nonprofit organizations from 1987 to 1993. # Warren Chapman, senior program officer for education at the
Joyce Foundation The Joyce Foundation is a non-operating private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2025, it had assets of approximately $1.24 billion. Former U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through ...
; former state coordinator at the
Illinois State Board of Education The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. Board members serve four-year terms, wit ...
for the Illinois Alliance of Essential Schools—a regional center of the
Coalition of Essential Schools The Coalition of Essential Schools is a US organization created to further a type of whole-school reform originally envisioned by founder Ted Sizer in his book, ''Horace's Compromise.'' The group began in 1984 with twelve schools and grew to 600 ...
(1986–1992) On December 17, 1993, Ayers, Hallet and Chapman met to discuss how to win an Annenberg Challenge grant for Chicago. Hallett and Chapman were already informal ''pro bono'' advisors to the national Annenberg Challenge, and over the course of the following year they met repeatedly at Brown University with other Annenberg advisors and worked to ensure that Chicago would be one of the first cities selected to receive a grant. In Chicago, Ayers, Hallett and Chapman gathered a 73-member Chicago School Reform Collaborative Working Group from organizations involved in school reform to help them draft a proposal, with Hallett's Cross-City Campaign for Urban School Reform donating its headquarters and providing staff support to the Working Group. In June 1994, Ayers and Hallett submitted a draft proposal to Gregorian on behalf of the Working Group. The presidents of the three largest independent foundations active in Chicago school reform: # Adele Smith Simmons, president of the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...
(1989–1999); vice chair and senior executive of Chicago Metropolis 2020—a project of the Commercial Club of Chicago (1999– ); senior associate at the Center for International Studies at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
(1999–2005); former president of
Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...
(1977–1989); former assistant professor of
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n history at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
(1972–1977) and
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
(1969–1972); former dean of students at Princeton University (1972–1977); former dean of
Jackson College for Women The School of Arts and Sciences (A&S) is a school of Tufts University, a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is the largest of the eight schools and colleges that comprise the university. Together with the Sc ...
of Tufts University (1970–1972); Ph.D. 1969,
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
; B.A. 1963,
Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...
# Deborah Leff, president of the
Joyce Foundation The Joyce Foundation is a non-operating private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2025, it had assets of approximately $1.24 billion. Former U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through ...
(1992–1999); president and CEO of America's Second Harvest (1999–2001); director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (2001–2006); president of Public Welfare Foundation (2006– ); former senior producer at
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
(1983–1989); former producer at WLS-TV ABC 7 News in Chicago (1981–1983); former director of public affairs at the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
(1980–1981); former civil rights attorney at the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
(1977–1979); J.D. 1977,
University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...
; A.B. 1973,
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
# Patricia Albjerg Graham, president of the
Spencer Foundation The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 by Lyle M. Spencer. This foundation makes grants to support research in areas of education that are widely construed. It is currently led by Na'ilah Suad Nasir. Founder Lyle M. Spencer was the f ...
(1991–2000); professor of the history of education (1977–2006) and former dean of the
Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...
(1982–1991); former dean of the
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(1974–1977) and vice president of
Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...
(1976–1977); former assistant professor (1965–1968), associate professor (1968–1972), professor (1972–1974) of the history of education at
Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
and
Teachers College Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...
,
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
; former assistant professor of the history of education at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
(1964–1966); former high school teacher, Norfolk, Virginia (1955–1956, 1957–1958), New York City (1958–1960); Ph.D. 1964,
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
; B.S. 1955, M.S. 1957,
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
supported the Working Group's proposal, helped negotiate its approval by Gregorian, agreed in advance to provide matching funds, and smoothed negotiations with
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's administration, the
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
administration and the
Chicago Teachers Union The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has advocated for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, and it has ...
, which had each submitted competing Annenberg Challenge grant proposals. In November 1994, Ayers and Hallett submitted a final proposal to Gregorian on behalf of the Working Group. On January 23, 1995, in a ceremony attended by Mayor Daley, Governor Edgar, and other dignitaries at Washington Irving Elementary School (where the 1988 School Reform Act had been signed), Walter Annenberg's daughter, Wallis Annenberg, presented a symbolic $49.2 million check from the Annenberg Foundation to 11-year-old Amanda Morado, who accepted it on behalf of the nearly 410,000 Chicago public school children. The $49.2 million challenge grant over 5 years (a planned $3 million the first year, then $11.55 million per year for the next four years) was contingent on being matched 2-to-1 by $49.2 million in private donations and $49.2 million in public money. In recognition of preexisting strong support by local foundations—which were already spending more than $12 million per year on Chicago school reform (including $4 million per year from the MacArthur Foundation and nearly $3 million per year from the Joyce Foundation)—the Annenberg Foundation agreed that the Chicago Annenberg Challenge could draw upon existing commitments as a source of matching funds. The public match would come from public funds committed to implementation of the 1988 school reform law, including some of the $261 million per year state Chapter 1 antipoverty funds provided to Chicago public schools (an average of $500,000 per elementary school and an average of $800,000 per high school). Supplemental educational programs provided by local and national school reform groups working with networks of schools expanded in Chicago in the six years after the 1988 School Reform Act devolved state Chapter 1 antipoverty discretionary funding from the Chicago Public Schools administration down to individual schools, and foundations increased their school reform funding from $2 million per year to over $12 million per year. These programs provided by existing groups working with networks of schools became models for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge's grants which were to go to external partners—such as the
Coalition of Essential Schools The Coalition of Essential Schools is a US organization created to further a type of whole-school reform originally envisioned by founder Ted Sizer in his book, ''Horace's Compromise.'' The group began in 1984 with twelve schools and grew to 600 ...
or the
Algebra Project The Algebra Project is a national U.S. mathematics literacy program aimed at helping low-income students and students of color achieve the mathematical skills in high school that are a prerequisite for a college preparatory mathematics sequence. F ...





—working with networks of 5 to 10 schools, as opposed to going to system-wide initiatives or going directly to individual schools. The external partner could be anything from a school reform group to a teachers union to a community organization to a university to a local business. An 8-member board of directors made up of representatives of organizations that had no vested interest in Annenberg money was recruited to approve grants, hire an executive director and project staff, and determine which funds could count towards the required $98.4 million match. The board of directors was handpicked by Adele Smith Simmons, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, who was asked by Gregorian to "work with foundation leadership to create a board that would be diverse, including people from the community, business interests and civic leaders, and include no more than nine people." At a meeting with Simmons and Patricia Albjerg Graham, Deborah Leff suggested that Barack Obama would make a good board chairman. After meeting and being impressed by Obama, Graham told Obama that she wanted him to be chairman of the board of directors. Obama said that he would agree to serve as chairman if Graham would be vice chairman, to which Graham agreed. A 23-member group of Chicago parents, teachers, activists, funders, administrators, local school council members and academics who were involved in school reform, called the Chicago School Reform Collaborative, was chosen to design the initial Request for Proposals (RFPs), help publicize the Challenge and hold informational sessions for potential grantees, screen and rate the initial letters of intent, aid the board of directors in selecting an executive director, and work with the project's staff. Twenty of the 23 members of the Collaborative were elected by all Working Group members who had attended two or more of the drafting sessions during the first ten months of 1994 for the winning $49.2 million grant proposal; the other three members of the Collaborative were appointed representatives of the Office of the Mayor, the Chicago Public Schools administration, and the Chicago Teachers Union. On June 22, 1995, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge announced the members of its board of directors and Chicago School Reform Collaborative and said that RFPs had been sent to all 550 Chicago public schools and to numerous community agencies.



Two-page letters of intent from schools were due by August 1; by August 23, schools would receive a letter either asking them to apply next year or inviting them to a meeting for further details on how to prepare a proposal to get funding that year, with proposals due by October 1, and grants announced December 4.


Board of directors

The founding Board of Directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge as announced in 1995 were:Crown and Lindsey were elected to the Board of Directors by its first six members at its fourth meeting on May 11, 1995—the organizational meeting of the CAC after its April 27, 1995 incorporation as a non-profit organization; the 5th meeting of the Board of Directors on June 5, 1995 was the first attended by Crown and Lindsey, who were on the Board of Directors when its membership was announced to the public on June 22, 1995. # Patricia Albjerg Graham #
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, civil rights attorney at Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland; lecturer at the
University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...
; member of the board of directors of the
Joyce Foundation The Joyce Foundation is a non-operating private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2025, it had assets of approximately $1.24 billion. Former U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through ...
and the Woods Fund of Chicago; winner, ''Crain's Chicago Business'' 40 Under 40 award, 1993; former president of the ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...
'' (1990–1991); former executive director of the
Developing Communities Project The Developing Communities Project (DCP) is a faith-based organization in Chicago, Illinois. DCP was organized in 1984 as a branch of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in response to lay-offs and plant closings in Southeast Chicag ...
(June 1985–May 1988);
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
from 2009 to 2017.
#
Stanley O. Ikenberry Stanley O. Ikenberry (March 3, 1935 – April 1, 2025) was an American academic who served as the 14th president of the University of Illinois System from 1979 to 1995 and again as the 17th president on an interim basis in 2010. Ikenberry was r ...
, president of the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
(1979–1995); member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago (1983–1995); former professor of education (1965–1971) and senior vice president (1971–1979) of
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
# Arnold R. Weber, president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago (1995–1999); member of the board of directors of the Arie and Ida Crown Memorial and the
Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
; former president of
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
(1985–1994) and the
University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...
(1980–1985); professor of labor economics and friend and colleague of George P. Shultz at
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
, the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, and in the
Nixon administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, the ...
# Raymond G. Romero, vice president and general counsel of
Ameritech AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and, before that, American Information Technologies Corporation), was an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the ...
; Chicago School Finance Authority board member (appointed in 1992 by Governor
Jim Edgar James Robert Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. A Moderate Republican (modern United States), moderate Republican Party (United States), Republican, he previously s ...
); candidate in the 1996 Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District of Illinois; winner, ''Crain's Chicago Business'' 40 Under 40 award, 1991; former Illinois Commerce Commission commissioner (appointed in 1985 by Governor Jim Thompson); former civil rights attorney as Midwest regional director of
MALDEF The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 by Jack Greenberg to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States."MALDEF" entry in ''Los Angeles A to Z: An ...
where he was lead counsel for Hispanic plaintiffs in the 1985 Chicago ward remap # Wanda White, executive director of the Community Workshop on Economic Development; former policy director of the Women's Self-Employment Project; former deputy commissioner of economic development under Chicago Mayors
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
,
Sawyer *A sawyer (occupation) is someone who saws wood. Places in the United States Communities * Sawyer, Kansas * Sawyer, Kentucky * Sawyer, Michigan * Sawyer, Minnesota * Sawyer, Nebraska * Sawyer, New York * Sawyer, North Dakota * Sawyer, Oklahoma ...
and
Daley Daley, originally an Irish family name derived from the Gaelic Ó Dálaigh, as a surname, may refer to: People Given name * Daley Blind (born 1990), Dutch footballer * Daley Mena (born 1985), Colombian footballer * Daley Ojuederie (born 1985), p ...
# Susan M. Crown, president of the Arie and Ida Crown Memorial; vice president of Henry Crown & Company; daughter of
Lester Crown Lester Crown (born June 7, 1925) is an American businessman and is the son of Chicago financier Henry Crown (died 1990), who created the Material Service Corporation with two brothers in 1919, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. Crown ...
# Handy L. Lindsey, Jr., executive director (1988–1997) then president (1997–2003) of the Field Foundation of Illinois; outgoing chairman of the Donors Forum of Chicago; former associate director of the
Chicago Community Trust The Chicago Community Trust (the Trust) is the community foundation serving Chicago, suburban Cook County, and the Illinois counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Established on May 12, 1915, it is the second largest community foundati ...
(1986–1988) The final Board of Directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge in 2001 were: # Patricia Albjerg Graham # Barack Obama # Edward S. Bottum, managing director of Chase Franklin Corp.; former president and vice chairman of Continental Illinois Bank # Connie C. Evans, founder and president of the Women's Self-Employment Project # Susan Blankenbaker Noyes, former labor attorney at
Sidley & Austin Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. It is one of the largest law firms i ...
; daughter of Republican former Indiana state senator
Virginia Murphy Blankenbaker Virginia Blankenbaker ( Murphy; born March 29, 1933) was an American politician and educator. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Blankenbaker received her bachelor's degree in home economics from Purdue University and her master's degree from Butler ...
; goddaughter of Patricia Albjerg Graham # Scott C. Smith, president, CEO and publisher of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''; former president, CEO and publisher of the ''
South Florida Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, an ...
'' of
Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...
; former chairman of the South Florida Annenberg Challenge # Nancy S. Searle, consultant to the Searle Funds at the
Chicago Community Trust The Chicago Community Trust (the Trust) is the community foundation serving Chicago, suburban Cook County, and the Illinois counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Established on May 12, 1915, it is the second largest community foundati ...
# Victoria J. Chou, dean of the College of Education at the
University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...
# John W. McCarter, Jr., president and CEO of the
Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
# James Reynolds, Jr., co-founder, chairman and CEO of Loop Capital Services
The Board of Directors met monthly for the first six months and quarterly thereafter.

Barack Obama, elected by the Board of Directors as founding chairman and president of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (1995–1999), resigned as chairman and president in September 1999 to run as a candidate in the 2000 Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District of Illinois, and was succeeded by Edward Bottum (1999–2001).

Patricia Albjerg Graham, elected by the Board of Directors as founding vice chairman and vice president (1995–2000), resigned as vice chairman and vice president in 2000 when she retired as president of the Spencer Foundation and moved back to
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
, was succeeded by John W. McCarter, Jr. (2000–2001).

Ray Romero was initially elected as secretary-treasurer by the Board of Directors, but declined because of other commitments; Wanda White was then elected by the Board of Directors as founding secretary-treasurer (1995–1998), was succeeded by Edward Bottum (1998–1999), and then Victoria Chou (1999–2001).


Chicago School Reform Collaborative

The founding members of Chicago School Reform Collaborative announced in 1995 were: #
William Ayers William Charles Ayers (; born December 26, 1944) is an American retired professor and former militant organizer. In 1969, Ayers co-founded the far-left militant organization the Weather Underground, a revolutionary group that sought to overthr ...
# Warren Chapman # Anne Hallett # Patricia Anderson, principal, Sullivan High School # Sheila Castillo, coordinator, Chicago Association of
Local School Councils Every Chicago public school has a Local School Council (LSC) which consists of parents, community members, teachers, and the principal of the school. Members of the council are elected except in the case of teachers, staff and student represent ...
; LSC member, Inter-American Magnet School # Jessica Clarke, education director, Chicago Urban League # Dolores Cross, president,
Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a Historically black colleges and universities, predominantly black (PBI) public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It includes an honors program for undergraduates and offers bachelor's and master ...
# James Deanes, president, Parent/Community Council; LSC member, Armstrong Elementary School # Lafayette Ford, LSC member, Lucy Flower Vocational High School; former chairman, Chicago School Board Nominating Commission # Adela Coronado-Greeley, teacher and founder, Inter-American Magnet School; 1993–4 Illinois Teacher of the Year # Patricia Harvey, executive assistant to the general superintendent (1993–5), chief accountability officer (1995–7),
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
; former principal, Hefferan Elementary School # Brenda Heffner, director, Chicago office of the
Illinois State Board of Education The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. Board members serve four-year terms, wit ...
; former principal, Haven Middle School in Evanston, and Haugan, Smyser, and Beethoven Elementary Schools in Chicago # Sokoni Karanja, executive director and founder, Centers for New Horizons; 1993
MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals workin ...
; former member of the board of directors, Woods Charitable Fund (1987–1992) # Peter Martinez, senior program officer for education,
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...
(1991–2001); convenor of the Alliance for Better Chicago Schools (ABCs) coalition (Spring 1988) # Coretta McFerren, executive director, West Side Schools and Communities Organizing for Restructuring and Planning (WSCORP); former staff coordinator and chief spokeswoman, People's Coalition for Educational Reform (PCER) # Eric Outten, co-chairman, Schools First; LSC member, Hirsch High School and Burnside Elementary School # Migdalia "Millie" Rivera, executive director, Latino Institute # Joan Jeter-Slay, associate director, Designs for Change; former member, Interim Chicago School Board (1989–1990) # Bernard Spillman, consultant, the Comer Project; former assistant superintendent for academic and vocational instructional support,
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
; former principal, Westinghouse Vocational High School # Lynn St. James, co-director, Chicago Forum for School Change—an affiliate of the
Coalition of Essential Schools The Coalition of Essential Schools is a US organization created to further a type of whole-school reform originally envisioned by founder Ted Sizer in his book, ''Horace's Compromise.'' The group began in 1984 with twelve schools and grew to 600 ...
(1994–5); chief education officer,
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
(1995–7); former principal of Lindblom High School, King High School and Pirie Elementary School # Carol Swinney, policy advisor, Office of the Mayor # Beverly Tunney, president (1993–2003), Chicago Principals & Administrators Association (CPAA); vice president (1993–2003), American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA); principal, Healy Elementary School # Deborah Lynch-Walsh, director,
Chicago Teachers Union The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has advocated for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, and it has ...
Quest Center (1992–5); teacher, Marquette Elementary School (1995–2001); president, Chicago Teachers Union (2001–4)
William Ayers and Warren Chapman were elected by the Collaborative as co-chairmen of the Collaborative in 1995.


Executive director and staff

Ken Rolling, the executive director of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from September 1995 through 2001; then executive director of Parents for Public Schools (2003– ); was the former associate director and program officer for community organizing and school reform at the Woods Fund of Chicago (1985–1995). In September 1995, an office administrator was hired. In August 1996, a program director, a grants manager and a financial officer were hired. In 1997, a director of development, a communications director, a communications assistant, a clerical assistant and a data manager were hired, bringing Rolling's staff to nine. The University of Illinois at Chicago provided office space rent-free to the Chicago Annenberg Challenge staff.


Operation

By August 1, 1995, letters of intent were received from 177 networks—representing two-thirds of Chicago public schools—of which 89 networks were invited by the board to submit full proposals. 77 networks—representing almost 300 schools—submitted proposals (32 for implementation grants and 45 for planning grants) by the October 1 deadline. On November 29, the board approved grants for 35 networks—representing 170 schools—and identified and certified over $9 million in matching private donations which enabled the Chicago Annenberg Challenge to receive its first $3 million from the
Annenberg Foundation The Annenberg Foundation is a foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations. Overview The Annenberg Foundation was established by Walter H. Annenberg in 1989 with $1.2 billion, one-third of the assets from the sale o ...
in early December 1995. At a December 20, 1995 reception at First Chicago National Bank, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge presented $2.58 million in grant certificates to the first 35 networks winning grants.

One-year renewable grants of $100,000 to $200,000 were awarded to 13 networks to expand existing programs and 22 other networks received planning grants of $17,000 to $25,000. The number of implementation networks grew from 13 at the beginning of 1996, to 25 in the 1996–7 school year, to 45 in 1999. The number of schools in a network ranged from 3 to 15, with the average network having 4 to 5 schools. In 1996–7, half of the external partners were universities or professional education organizations (e.g.,
Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a Historically black colleges and universities, predominantly black (PBI) public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It includes an honors program for undergraduates and offers bachelor's and master ...
,
Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...
,
DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...
, the
Erikson Institute Erikson Institute is a graduate school in child development in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is named for the noted psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist, Erik Erikson. History and mission The Institute was founded in 1966 by four chi ...
,
Governors State University Governors State University (Governors State, GSU, GovState, or GOVST) is a public university in University Park, Illinois, United States. The campus is located south of Chicago, Illinois. GovState was founded in 1969. It is a public universi ...
,
National-Louis University National Louis University (NLU) is a private university, private nonprofit university with its main campus in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has lo ...
,
Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. NEIU serves approximately 5,000 students in the region and is both a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and Asian American and Nat ...
,
Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...
, the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
). The other external partners represented a diverse mix of neighborhood organizations (e.g., the Logan Square Neighborhood Association), youth organizations (e.g., Youth Guidance—implementing the Comer Process), foundations (e.g., the
Great Books Foundation The Great Books Foundation is an independent nonprofit educational organization in Chicago, Illinois that publishes collections of classic and modern literature as part of reading and discussion programs for children and adults. The foundation ...
), education reform or advocacy groups (e.g., Designs for Change), museums (e.g., the
Chicago Academy of Sciences Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los ...
, the
Chicago Children's Museum The Chicago Children's Museum is located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1982 by The Junior League of Chicago who were responding to programming cutbacks in the Chicago Public Schools. Originally housed in two hall ...
, the
Kohl Children's Museum Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago is a children's museum in Glenview, Illinois that provides a hands-on learning laboratory for children ages birth to 8. It is named for philanthropist Dolores Kohl, daughter of the founder of Kohl’ ...
), parks (e.g., the
Garfield Park Conservatory Garfield Park Conservatory, located in Garfield Park (Chicago), Garfield Park in Chicago, is one of the largest greenhouse conservatory (greenhouse), conservatories in the United States. Often referred to as "landscape art under glass", the Garf ...
and arts organizations (e.g., the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...
, The Suzuki-Orff School of Music for implementation of Clap, Sing and READ!, teaching literacy-through-music in Chicago's underserved communities). Of external partners in the 45 networks funded in 1999: 35% were Chicago-area colleges and universities, 28% were education reform and education services organizations, 23% were arts and cultural institutions, and 14% were neighborhood and community-based organizations. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge received its $49.2 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation over five calendar years from 1995 through 1999, but funded grants to its networks of schools for five and a half years from January 1996 through June 2001. The total funding of implementation grants to networks of schools fell steeply in 2000 and 2001, and since the number of schools in networks receiving implementation grants remained steady at 206 schools, per school funding also fell steeply. The exceptions were 18 "breakthrough schools" that the Chicago Annenberg Challenge identified to receive sustained funding during its last two years to further promote their improvement and encourage them to serve as models and sources of support to other schools. The "breakthrough schools" selected in December 1999 and announced to the public in February 2000, received their grants directly, not through an external partner as part of a network of schools. * The number of schools in networks receiving Chicago Annenberg Challenge implementation grants rose from 138 in 1996, to 177 in 1997, to a peak of 211 in 1998, and then plateaued at 206 in 1999, 2000 and 2001. * The total annual amount of Chicago Annenberg Challenge funds provided in implementation grants to networks of schools rose from $2.1 million in 1996, to $6.8 million in 1997, to $7.8 million in 1988, to a peak of $9.6 million in 1999, and then fell to $5.9 million in 2000 and to $0.5 million in 2001. * The average annual amount per school of Chicago Annenberg Challenge funds provided in implementation grants to networks of schools rose from $15,000 in 1996, to $38,000 in 1997, to $37,000 in 1998, to a peak of $47,000 in 1999, and then fell to $29,000 in 2000 and to $3,000 in 2001—except in the 18 "breakthrough schools" where annual funding per school stayed at $50,000 in 2000 and 2001. By December 31, 1999, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge had identified and certified $110,643,651 in matching funds—$50,655,505 in public matching funds and $59,808,146 in private donations—more than the $98.4 million required to earn the $49.2 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation. Less than $5 million in matching funds went to or through the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, most of the matching funds instead went to support school reform programs consistent with its vision and funding criteria. Thirty-six foundations and corporations provided private matching funds for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, with foundations providing over three-quarters of the private donations. Ten foundations, the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...
, the
Joyce Foundation The Joyce Foundation is a non-operating private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2025, it had assets of approximately $1.24 billion. Former U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through ...
, the Polk Bros. Foundation, the
Chicago Community Trust The Chicago Community Trust (the Trust) is the community foundation serving Chicago, suburban Cook County, and the Illinois counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Established on May 12, 1915, it is the second largest community foundati ...
, the
Spencer Foundation The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 by Lyle M. Spencer. This foundation makes grants to support research in areas of education that are widely construed. It is currently led by Na'ilah Suad Nasir. Founder Lyle M. Spencer was the f ...
, the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund of New York, the McDougal Family Foundation, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Prince Charitable Trusts, and the Woods Fund of Chicago, and two corporations,
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
and
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
(which had acquired Continental Illinois Bank in 1994), contributed more than $1 million each in private matching donations for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. The MacArthur Foundation and the Joyce Foundation were two of seven foundations that contributed over $10 million in private matching donations for the Annenberg Challenge nationwide, and the Polk Bros. Foundation—led by president and CEO Sandra Polk Guthman, a former IBM executive,
was one of a further eight foundations that contributed over $5 million in private matching donations for the Annenberg Challenge nationwide. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge raised $3.5 million in research funds to support the largest urban school reform research project in the United States, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge Research Project by the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR). The CCSR was created in 1990 to perform research on the Chicago Public Schools in the wake of the 1988 Chicago School Reform Act.


Chicago Public Education Fund

In 1997, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge Board of Directors and its fundraising Development Committee began development of Chicago's first community foundation for public education. In June 1998, the Board of Directors committed $2 million as the first donor to the Chicago Public Education Fund, which was incorporated as a non-profit organization on January 29, 1999.



The Chicago Tribune Charities became the second lead donor with a commitment of $500,000, with substantial gifts from the Pritzker Foundation and the Polk Bros. Foundation and a number of smaller donations boosting its funds to almost $4 million by March 2000. In September 1999, the Chicago Public Education Fund hired its first president, Janet M. Knupp, who was previously executive director of Chicago Communities In Schools (where she was a successor of its founding executive director Alice Palmer);


and in the fall of 1999 issued its first RFPs. The Chicago Public Education Fund and its first grants of $1.5 million were announced to the public on March 28, 2000; its 12-member board of directors was chaired by CAC board member Scott C. Smith, president, CEO and publisher of the ''Chicago Tribune'' and chairman of the Chicago Tribune Charities, and included CAC board member John W. McCarter, Jr., as well as Anne Hallett, Adele Smith Simmons,
Penny Pritzker Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American billionaire heiress, businesswoman and lawyer who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97 ...
, Golden Apple Foundation founder and chairman Martin J. Koldyke, and six other members; with a supplemental advisory Leadership Council of dozens of business and civic leaders, including CAC board members Barack Obama, Edward S. Bottum, Susan Blankenbaker Noyes, James Reynolds, Jr., Nancy S. Searle, and CAC executive director Ken Rolling.
Chicago Public Education Fund 22-member Leadership Council in March 2000 included: John Ayers, Thomas G. Ayers, Edward S. Bottum, Sandra Polk Guthman, Iris Krieg, Alfred L. McDougal, Zoe Mikva, Newton Minow, Susan Blankenbaker Noyes, Barack Obama, Jerry Reinsdorf, James Reynolds, Jr., John W. Rogers, Jr., Ken Rolling, and 8 other business and civic leaders; the Leadership Council expanded to 54 members in 2001, including R. Eden Martin, Andrew J. McKenna, Jr. and Nancy S. Searle.
Although the Chicago Public Education Fund grew out of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, it differed in having a broad base of contributors instead of just one contributor, and in making fewer, larger, system-wide grants instead of many smaller grants to small networks of schools. The initial focus of the Chicago Public Education Fund was on improving the recruitment, retention and effectiveness of principals and teachers, with: * The LAUNCH program, led by the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association (CPAA), to develop management and leadership skills of principals through a rigorous program including summer sessions at the
Kellogg School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early ...
of
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. * National Board Certification, to provide a rigorous and consistent standard for assessing and rewarding experienced and accomplished teachers; with the
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
,
Chicago Teachers Union The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has advocated for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, and it has ...
, Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, and
National-Louis University National Louis University (NLU) is a private university, private nonprofit university with its main campus in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has lo ...
working to increase the number of Chicago teachers with this certification. * Alternative Certification, to attract talented individuals in math, science, and other fields into public education: ** The Golden Apple Foundation's GATE program, to bring mid-career math and science professionals into the classroom. **
Teach For America Teach For America (TFA) is an American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational excell ...
, to recruit talented college graduates into some of the neediest schools. ** The Financial Research and Advisory Committee's (FRAC) Teacher Recruitment Initiative, to assess the quality of teachers recruited into the system. Upon its dissolution in 2002, the CAC donated its records (132 boxes containing 947 file folders) to the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago to be made available for public research. The CAC records in the Special Collections department of the Daley Library were briefly closed to public access for two weeks from August 12, 2008, through August 25, 2008 over concerns by the university about their ownership of the records and the confidentiality of some of the information in the records.


Evaluation

The Annenberg Challenge was criticized from its outset in 1994 and 1995 by conservative proponents of vouchers for private schools, including James Pierson, executive director of the
John M. Olin Foundation The John M. Olin Foundation was a conservative American grant-making foundation established in 1953 by John M. Olin, president of the Olin Industries chemical and munitions manufacturing businesses. Unlike most other foundations, it was char ...
,
Chester E. Finn, Jr. Chester Evans "Checker" Finn Jr. (born August 3, 1944) is a former professor of education, an educational policy analyst, and a former United States Assistant Secretary of Education. He is currently the president emeritus of the nonprofit Thomas ...
, former Assistant Secretary of Education (1985–1988) under Secretary of Education
William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as the third United States secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of d ...
in the
Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...
administration, founding partner and senior scholar of
Chris Whittle H. Christopher Whittle (born August 24, 1947) is an American entrepreneur who has founded four companies in the fields of education and media, and was the CEO of each. Whittle Communications, a 1,000-person magazine, television, and book-publish ...
's Edison Project new chain of for-profit private schools (1992–1994), then John M. Olin fellow at the
Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...
(1995–1998),


and
Diane Ravitch Diane Silvers Ravitch (born July 1, 1938) is a historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Previously, she was a U.S. ...
, former Assistant Secretary of Education (1991–1993) under Secretary of Education
Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...
in the
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
administration, then senior research scholar at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, nonresident senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...
, adjunct fellow at the
Manhattan Institute The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs.R. Emmett Tyrrell, ...
, and co-founder with Finn in 1981 of the Education Excellence Network housed at the Hudson Institute. Annenberg ignored criticism from conservatives that he was wasting his money on public schools—he believed that government had a responsibility to educate its citizens and that the nation could not walk away from its public schools. Annenberg also ignored criticism from within the education and philanthropic worlds that after five years the Challenge had not produced measurable reform—he hoped that good would come of his gift, but was realistic and doubted he would ever see any concrete, measurable results. For Annenberg that was not the point—his goal was to spur communities and other donors into action—and in that he was not disappointed, with the Challenge raising an additional $600 million from foundations, businesses, universities and individuals. On June 12, 2002, the Annenberg Foundation released its final report on the Annenberg Challenge to the press and an audience of education leaders and policymakers at a luncheon in Washington D.C., a few blocks from the White House, with Annenberg's wife, Leonore, on hand to represent her 94-year-old husband.





The keynote speaker was the
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
administration's Secretary of Education
Rod Paige Roderick Raynor Paige (born June 17, 1933) is an American academic and politician who served as the 7th United States secretary of education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, moved from college football coach and classroom t ...
, who had been
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
superintendent of schools (1994–2001); in 1997, Houston had become the last of nine cities to win a large urban Annenberg Challenge grant over five years. Paige said he had witnessed the good that came from Annenberg's gift and had no doubts about the Annenberg Challenge's accomplishments. The June 2002 final report listed nine lessons learned over the course of the Annenberg Challenge. The first two were: * Lesson 1: Every child benefits from high expectations and standards. ** In Chicago, where the Challenge sought out the most racially isolated and impoverished schools, the elementary students the Challenge worked with went from a half-grade behind the city average to a quarter-grade ahead of peers in other schools. * Lesson 2: Even large gifts like ours are no substitute for adequate, equitable and reliable funding. ** Although the Challenge made multimillion-dollar grants, nearly every site reached out to hundreds of schools. In Chicago, where the Challenge helped more than 300 schools, the typical grant was $39,000 to an elementary school with an annual budget of $3.8 million. An August 2003 final technical report of the Chicago Annenberg Research Project by the Consortium on Chicago School Research said that while "student achievement improved across Annenberg Challenge schools as it did across the Chicago Public School system as a whole, results suggest that among the schools it supported, the Challenge had little impact on school improvement and student outcomes, with no statistically significant differences between Annenberg and non-Annenberg schools in rates of achievement gain, classroom behavior, student self-efficacy, and social competence." "Breakthrough Schools", which received special financial and professional support from the Challenge between 1999 and 2001, a time during which the Challenge began withdrawing funds from other schools, "began to develop in ways that distinguished them from other Annenberg schools and sustained or strengthened aspects of teacher professional community school leadership, and relational trust while other Annenberg schools did not."


See also

* Bill Ayers presidential election controversy * Melissa A McKeever presidential election non controversy


References


External links


The Chicago Annenberg Challenge

The Chicago Annenberg Challenge Records from the Annenberg Foundation
{{Chicago Public Schools Philanthropic organizations based in the United States Annenberg Chicago Public Schools 1995 establishments in Illinois