Press Release: CHITECH RECEIVES $10K GRANT FROM THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

Chicago, IL, January 17, 2017 –Chicago Tech Academy, an organization committed to inspiring, educating, and connecting the next generation of tech and entrepreneur leaders announced today that it has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  The grant will be used to provide resources including software and building materials to support the school’s wall-to-wall project-based learning and STEM curriculum.

“ChiTech’s mission is to answer the tech industry’s call for a sorely needed pipeline of qualified, diverse tech talent,” said Kelly Jones, Executive Director, Corporate Engagement of Chicago Tech Academy. “A grant of this size is significant for our school community and will help us continue providing an innovative curriculum through project-based learning, STEM education, entrepreneurial principals, and real-world learning experiences.”

The grant was made possible thanks to the Knight Foundation’s support of innovative technology approaches that lead to sustainable change and engaged communities. Chicago Tech Academy is providing transformational education by offering its students, most for the first time in their lives, access to a 21st century curriculum. Other ways that ChiTech is transforming students’ lives with supportive partners like the Knight Foundation include:

  • Requiring rigorous tech/entrepreneurship courses daily for every student including engineering, web design, computer programming, video editing and graphic design  
  • Implementing Project-Based Learning- Three times per year, students complete a project across multiple content areas to serve as evidence of a deeper level of learning, beyond just receiving a letter grade.  All projects are then curated and placed on display for the community.
  • Offering Real-World Learning programs, which include a weekly power lunch speakers’ series, field trips and a month-long internship for all seniors at a tech start-up or company.

ABOUT CHICAGO TECH ACADEMY

Chicago Tech Academy (ChiTech), a non-profit, 4-year contract school located in University Village, was founded to inspire, educate and connect a diverse next generation of technology leaders. ChiTech seeks to increase the number of minority and low-income students that pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in college and careers. Visit us: www.chitech.org.

ABOUT THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy.

CONTACT:
Chicago Tech Academy
Ms. Kelly Jones – kjones@chicagotechacademy.org

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