October 18, 2021
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., (312) 343-2515
CHICAGO – Chicago International Charter School (CICS), a network of 13 public charter schools serving 7,400 students, is excited to announce that Kris Cheung will begin as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2021. Following an extensive national search, Cheung was selected due to his deep experience as a leader in education, his relational leadership style and ability to drive student outcomes while maintaining a well-run organization.
“Kris is a seasoned leader who we are confident has the experience and capabilities to lead CICS into our next phase,” said Evan Sharp, member of CICS’ Board of Directors and chair of the CEO Search Committee. “What stood out to us about Kris was his ability to ask thoughtful questions and listen intently, surround himself with experts, and galvanize people around a common goal. Our Board is deeply grateful to the entire CICS team for providing stability and continuity for our students, families and staff while we found the right person for the role.”
Cheung comes to CICS with more than a decade of leadership at two of the nation’s highly regarded charter networks: Success Academy in New York and KIPP Texas. As the Chief Operating Officer at Success Academy, he helped the organization grow from seven schools serving 2,400 students to 46 schools serving more than 16,000 students. At KIPP Texas, he led the consolidation of four KIPP regions across Texas, now serving 34,000 students at 59 schools statewide. In both roles, Kris brought stakeholders together across departments and regions, while navigating significant complexity, to create more high-quality opportunities for students.
“CICS has been an education leader in Chicago for more than 24 years and I’m eager to build upon the amazing work of our students, families and staff in the years to come,” said Cheung. “I know the last 18 months have been challenging for everyone and I’m excited to lead a team that has demonstrated resilience, perseverance and a relentless focus on students in the face of significant obstacles. I look forward to building relationships with everyone who is committed to the success of Chicago’s children.”
About Chicago International Charter School
Chicago International Charter School is a vibrant network of diverse Chicago charter schools that enable students to thrive every day, put them on a path to success in college and life, and empower entrepreneurial educators to pursue excellence through innovation. CICS is serving more than 7,400 students at 13 campuses across Chicago. To learn more, visit www.chicagointl.org.
Rallying around an agenda that supports the advancement of Black and Brown children in his community is what Robert Alexander is all about. Now he’s giving back to the community where it all started for him, as a teacher, at his alma mater, CICS Loomis-Longwood.
National Principals Month honors principals for their significant impact on the success and well-being of our nation’s students.
Join us as we celebrate all CICS principals throughout October!
Check out several of the school principals from our Avalon, Basil, Bucktown, Irving Park, Loomis-Longwood, Lloyd Bond, Northtown Academy, Prairie, Ralph Ellison, Washington Park, West Belden and Wrightwood campuses.
We plan to profile all our principals this week and their journeys to becoming great leaders! We thank them for all they do!
www.principalsmonth.org
www.ChicagoIntl.Org
#ThankAPrincipal #CICSPrincipals #Leaders
Earlier this month, Kris Cheung joined CICS as our new Chief Executive Officer.
Kris is a student-centered leader and we are excited for him to be part of the CICS family serving our teachers, staff and familes in providing excellent, innovative and equitable educational experiences to Chicago’s communities.
Check him out at Crain's Chicago ‘On the Move.’
Meals Fuel Students’ Bodies and Minds
Our Food Services team plays an essential role to all our CICS schools. They are an important part of improving the health and well-being of our students. We would like to share the story of what our food service program does every school day in order to keep students healthy and fed.
A Change in Meals
CICS knows that what a child eats plays a role in their level of creativity, engagement and academic performance. Our food program ensures that students and families have nutritious meal options. Due to the pandemic, the last in-school meals were served to CICS students on Friday, March 13.
With only the weekend to plan, CICS began to offer meals for pickup to our students and their families on the following Monday, March 16. While those first few meals consisted of sandwiches and wraps, CICS quickly realized that families needed items that could be heated at home.
What’s for Lunch?
Changes to Food Service Distribution
Recognizing CICS Food Service Staff
The CICS food service staff are rarely recognized for the important role they play in the lives of our students. At one campus, a mother occasionally cooks lunch for the food service staff and brings it to them on Fridays. This is just an example of how close this community is. They have served 500,000 meals since the middle of March. It is their mission, especially during remote learning, to create high quality meals that students want to eat and to get those meals to every family. Many parents realize that, without food service staff, their children would not have the meals they usually receive while in school. It shows how important they are!
As a school community, our priority is to keep every student fed. Even when school schedules change or holidays come and go, distribution times are adjusted. CICS has also added an additional morning pick-up time to accommodate family schedules.
The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) announced that Lindy Mandel, middle school teacher and instructional coach at Chicago International Charter School Irving Park, has been named Elementary Teacher of the Year!
WTTW Chicago Tonightrecently profiled CICS Loomis-Longwood on their "In Your Neighborhood" segment.
The segment profiled the Washington Heights neighborhood which is surrounded by the Roseland, Auburn Gresham, Beverly and Morgan Park communities.
The feature showcased CICS Loomis-Longwood and the importance our school serving its student population in the South Side neighborhood. K-5 School Director Lindsey Girard was featured speaking on the reopening of the campus this Fall. For more on this feature and to view one of our campuses, click here.
The end of the school year has come and gone, but reflection looms large over another successful year. Chicago International Charter School (CICS) and its partners—Civitas Education Partners, Distinctive Schools, and ReGeneration Schools—came together to share what they are most proud of this past year and what they’re looking forward to. Although sentiments differed, their pride is all rooted in their commitment to students, families, and staff. Check out some of their reflections and take a quick walk down memory lane as we prepare for the school year ahead!
For 25 years, CICS has always been committed to launching and operating schools with diverse academic models throughout the different neighborhoods we serve, while providing support and resources to help our students achieve strong academic outcomes.
In 2019, CICS made the decision to directly operate CICS Loomis-Longwood and CICS Lloyd Bond and is extremely proud of the progress made during that time in improving staff culture, increasing academic outcomes and addressing campus safety, especially during a pandemic.
As CICS looks into the future, the focus has been on continuing to provide sustainable growth and improvement for the CICS Loomis-Longwood and CICS Lloyd Bond communities. Our focus has been on continuing to ensure sustainable improvement and support for the CICS Loomis-Longwood and CICS Lloyd Bond communities. We believe that this next phase for the CICS Loomis-Longwood and CICS Lloyd Bond communities is best led by an operator other than CICS.
We released a Request For Proposal (RFP) publicly on December 23, 2022 for School Management Organizations (SMO) to submit their proposal to directly operate CICS Loomis-Longwood and CICS Lloyd Bond, beginning July 1, 2023. Our selection team, which consisted of members of the network and your school leadership, carefully reviewed operator applications and made a selection using a robust and transparent rubric.
The goal was to select an SMO that will collaborate with CICS to ensure a smooth transition for its school communities and one that gives its staff and students the support and resources required to exceed academic outcomes. CICS believes that through a partnership with the right SMO, it can accomplish these goals for its staff, students and their families.
CICS leadership presented its recommendations to the CICS Board of Directors on February 16, 2023, and the Board selected Distinctive Schools as the next School Management Organization to directly-operate CICS Loomis-Longwood and CICS Lloyd Bond beginning school year 2023-2024 (July 1, 2023). This change will ensure that as these schools head into a new chapter, their students and families have comprehensive support that aligns with CICS’ organizational values of transformational academic outcomes for our students and strong support for all staff. CICS is confident that partnering with Distinctive Schools will build on the momentum we’ve established while setting up CICS Loomis-Longwood and CICS Lloyd Bond to thrive into the future.
CICS’ partnership and history with Distinctive Schools started in 2011. Distinctive Schools currently manages four CICS campuses, CICS Bucktown, CICS Irving Park, CICS Prairie and CICS West Belden. Their mission is to create diverse, joyful, welcoming communities rooted in social justice and rigorous learning. They support all learners to be engaged, curious and to achieve their full potential. Their academic outcomes are for students to become confident advocates, creative problem-solvers and collaborative leaders. Distinctive Schools leads a collaborative and innovative public education transformation that elevates access, achievement, and belonging for every student so they may thrive throughout their education, career and life.
CICS looks forward to its continued partnership with Distinctive Schools and is energized about what’s to come.
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About Chicago International Charter School
Chicago International Charter School is a vibrant network of diverse Chicago charter schools that enable students to thrive every day, put them on a path to success in college and life, and empower entrepreneurial educators to pursue excellence through innovation. CICS is serving more than 7,400 students at 13 campuses across Chicago. To learn more, visit www.chicagointl.org.
About Distinctive Schools
Distinctive Schools is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and accelerating the work of charter schools serving kids from traditionally underserved backgrounds. The team includes passionate educators and determined leaders who innovate, trailblaze, and collaboratively lead a public education transformation, as well as ensure that each and every one of Distinctive Schools students thrive in college, career, and life.
March 13, 2020
Dear CICS Families,
We have appreciated your support, feedback and patience over the last two weeks as we have worked together to navigate the uncertainty and disruption caused by COVID-19. In alignment with Governor Pritzker’s mandate to close all Illinois schools and under the guidance of public health officials, CICS will close all of our schools beginning on March 16 through at least March 30, with the possibility of a longer closure, depending on the circumstances at the end of the month.
Please know that this is not a decision that we have taken lightly, but one that we have made to put the health and well-being of our students, families, staff and communities at the forefront. We understand that the next two weeks, and possibly longer, will be difficult and, in partnership with Distinctive Schools, Civitas Education Partners and ReGeneration Schools, CICS plans to support our students and families in every way that we can. We recognize the incredible burden this puts on our families, and that, while it helps us mitigate the spread of the virus, it creates other significant challenges. Thank you for understanding that this decision was made to support the well-being of our community.
CICS and our SMO partners are committed to supporting our students’ continued learning throughout the closure. On Monday, school leadership teams and office staff will be at each CICS campus to distribute virtual learning materials to families that did not receive them on Friday. Individual campuses will communicate instructions for the distribution of these materials to their families no later than Sunday at noon. We are actively working with CPS and our food service provider to determine the method for the distribution of meals for our students throughout the closure. Where possible, we sent students home today with breakfast items for Monday morning in case of a potential closure. We are also working with CPS to create a list of community supports for child care, as we know this closure creates a burden on our families. We will follow up no later than the end of day on Monday with more information about these resources.
Throughout the closure, we will communicate with our parents and guardians via email on a weekly basis, or more frequently as needed and we will share updates via the CICS website, www.chicagointl.org.
For the most reliable and up-to-date information, please visit www.chicago.gov/coronavirus or www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the CDPH Coronavirus hotline at 312-746-4835 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You may also reach out to the CICS COVID-19 Response Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or CICS Main Office by phone at 312-651-5000.
Please know that our CICS team is here to provide resources and support to you and your child throughout this challenging situation. During times like these, we commit to coming together to take care of every member of the CICS community.
Warmly,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Shaw
CEO
Chicago International Charter School
Closing All CICS Schools: March 16 through March 30_pdf
Closing All CICS Schools: March 16 through March 30_Spanish_pdf
Congratulations CICS Loomis-Longwood High School Basketball Coach Keyon Smothers!
Nearly 40 years ago, the concept of charter schools was first introduced to encourage new and innovative ways of educating young people. Since then, charters have grown into a national movement serving 3.7 million students in nearly 8,000 schools in 46 states, plus D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam. While public charter schools have seen tremendous growth, success, and public support since their founding, many misconceptions exist about charter schools.
Whether you are curious about public charters or a member of the CICS family, we have put this page together to share the facts behind some of the common misconceptions.
No one said teaching would be easy, but Casie Walls could never have imagined that most of her first two years as a teacher at CICS Loomis-Longwood would be remote. She is a big believer that professional development and mentoring support helped her with teaching her first-grade students. As an educator, Ms. Walls uses every resource possible including the No Nonsense Nurturing toolkit, teacher collaboration and even her own model of joy to make students part of a successful learning environment. This is why Casie was named a LIT teacher! LIT stands for Live Innovative Teaching and Ms. Walls exemplifies those words.
Casie is very familiar with the Loomis-Longwood campus. She attended and graduated from Longwood high school. Her passion for teaching came while a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she earned her Master’s in Instructional Leadership. When she was a student teacher at Longfellow Elementary School in Oak Park, her mentor urged her to apply for multiple teaching positions. Casie’s first choice was Loomis Primary because she longed to give back to the community that gave so much to her. When Casie received the call that she had a position at Loomis, she recalled, “It’s a small world and it was a blessing!”
Her first year at Loomis started in the classroom and transitioned to remote learning in March 2020. Even during remote learning, Ms. Walls has been able to build nurturing relationships with her students. “I try to model my own joy with my voice and my body in the virtual classroom which is easy when you see twentyone faces smiling at you! I start the day with an attention getter and when everybody is looking straight ahead into the screen, at that moment I have them.”
No Nonsense Nurturing in Practice
The NNN process strives to engage scholars by continually learning about them and relating their cultural backgrounds and experiences to classroom learning. In order to make the learning culturally relevant, Ms. Walls will add an example from her own life. “This is especially true when we are doing math. I engage with them and tell them how the problem relates to me. I try to find connections to their family life.” She recognizes that her students are young and so many things charge them emotionally, so she always stays grounded and connected when working with them. “I remind them that I was once in first grade. I reassure them with positive affirmations about how amazing they are and how smart they are. I try to create a safe space and assure them that they belong here. I may ask a question or have them write how they feel today, or if you were a teacher, what subject would you teach? They get so excited when they answer those questions.”
Even though the majority of her kids want to be back in the classroom, the health of her students and families comes first. Remote learning has helped her become much more tech savvy and organized. She has seen the power that using visuals to illustrate a problem has had for many of her students. She will take these new skills back when teachers and students return to the classroom. For Casie, she will always bring the joy of learning to all of her students, whether in person or remote.
Casie Walls is a second year 1st grade teacher at CICS Loomis Primary. Casie earned her Master’s in Journalism from Roosevelt University and a second Master’s in Instructional Leadership Masters in Instructional Leadership from University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to working at CICS Loomis, Ms. Walls worked for 8 years at Chicago Public Schools as a paraprofessional/Special Education Classroom Assistant. Casie Wells aspires to grow into a leadership role in the education sector.
JoeAnn Nash’s career as an educator started at Loomis-Longwood and she has not looked back since. She started teaching second grade students at Loomis-Longwood in 2010 and then returned in 2018 as an instructional coach for second and third grade teachers. Just before the pandemic hit, JoeAnn returned to her current role as the Loomis K-5 Director of Instruction in July of 2020. “In my new role, I was worried that I would be a distraction when I popped into a room because many of the kids remembered me, but it was wonderful to be greeted by them.” Her return during remote learning reinforced a sense of normalcy and continuity for students and teachers. JoeAnn's educational. journey is one of hope and inspiration during this pandemic.
