Learn About Charters

About Us

We are a coalition of civic organizations with the shared goal of providing Chicago families with quality public school options for their children. We believe that when children learn in a strong educational environment, they can excel regardless of where they live, the color of their skin or their socioeconomic circumstances.

Charter public schools offer such an educational environment. They are open to the public without the requirement of entrance testing, and yet have delivered greater student achievement than traditional neighborhood schools serving the same students. Charter public schools offer more personalized learning environments for their students and more instructional time devoted to core subject areas. They empower teachers to develop more innovative programs and encourage parents to play a greater role in their children’s education.

We want to spread the word about charter public schools and their successes. We want to help interested parents enroll their children in these schools. And we want to give more families across Chicago access to the strong learning environment offered by charter schools.

The Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago is comprised of senior executives from leading Chicago-area companies, firms and not-for-profits. We are dedicated to helping make Chicago a better place to live, work and conduct business by pursuing initiatives to improve the public schools, enhance ground and air transportation and improve the operations of government.

The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) is the membership coalition of Illinois' charter public schools and their families. As the collective voice of charter public schools in Illinois, INCS guides and informs public policy relating to charter public schools, increases public awareness of charter public schools, helps families find the best charter public school to suit their needs, and provides a variety of services to charter public schools to increase their cost-effectiveness and help them grow.

The Renaissance Schools Fund (RSF) was established by Chicago’s business community as the independent fundraiser and strategic partner to CPS’ Renaissance 2010. Operating on a venture philanthropy model, RSF has raised $47 million, helped to launch 54 new public schools and has created capacity building programs to develop a pipeline of new school entrepreneurs, support the growth of strong schools and inform parents of their options.