Venture Capital
The Chicago Public Education Fund is venture capital for public education. Every four years, we raise a series of funds and invest in high-impact programs and outstanding management teams focused on human capital innovations.
Our Venture Capital Model The Chicago Public Education Fund applies principles of venture capital to make systemic improvements in education, with a focus on talent and leadership in our schools. Our approach is further defining a burgeoning field of private sector investment in public education, and is being studied by America’s top business schools as a model of innovation in philanthropy. READ MORE
Human Capital
The Fund values collaboration. Our Board of Directors and management team regularly build and cultivate strategic relationships in order to leverage dollars, effect policy, and create sustainable, systemic impact. From Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Richard M. Daley to our portfolio program partners and advisory councils, The Fund has created a network of individuals and organizations highly invested in what we do and how well we do it.
Penny S. Pritzker Chairman
President & CEO Pritzker Realty Group
Chairman Classic Residence by Hyatt
Chairman, TransUnion Penny Pritzker is founder, chairman and CEO of Classic Residence by Hyatt, the senior living affiliate of Hyatt Corporation. Pritzker also serves as president ... READ MORE


News
The Chicago Public Education Fund congratulates the newest class of National Board Certified Teachers. We’re thrilled that Chicago had the largest class in the Nation. The Fund looks forward to continuing to recognize their tremendous accomplishment.
Scholars Identify 5 Keys to Urban School Success Education Week Offering a counter-narrative to the school improvement prescriptions that dominate national education debates, a new book based on 15 years of data on public elementary schools in Chicago identifies five tried-and-true ingredients that work, in combination with one another, to spur success in urban schools.
Fund Director Co-Authors Book on ‘Organizing Schools for Improvement’ Penny Bender Sebring, The Chicago Public Education Fund director and chairman of The Fund’s Evaluation Advisory Council, took part in a symposium a Thursday, January 14 to release a new book she co-authored with researchers from the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) at the University of Chicago. The book, Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago, provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of why students in 100 public elementary schools in Chicago were able to improve substantially in reading and math over a seven-year period compared to students in another 100 schools who did not show improvement. Using a massive set of longitudinal evidence, the study yields a framework of school culture and practices, dubbed the five “Essential Supports,” that evidence shows promote and sustain improvement, and the absence of these spells stagnation.


Watch
The Fund: Venture Capital for Education The Fund’s officers and investors explain our unique model WATCH VIDEO
The Fund: A Track Record of Results What The Fund has achieved to improve the quality of human capital WATCH VIDEO
The Fund’s Board: Great Power, Great Responsibility A profile of The Fund’s highly engaged and results-focused directors WATCH VIDEO
U.S. Education Secretary Duncan and The Fund U.S. Education Secretary remarks on his previous history and partnership with The Fund WATCH VIDEO
The Chicago Public Education Fund
200 West Adams Street, Suite 2150
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312.558.4500
Fax: 312.558.4506
E-mail: info@thefundchicago.org
About The Fund
As a venture capital fund for public education, The Chicago Public Education Fund invests in well-managed, high-impact programs that improve school leadership and student achievement system wide.
Recent News

The Chicago Public Education Fund congratulates the newest class of National Board Certified Teachers. We’re thrilled that Chicago had the largest class in the Nation. The Fund looks forward to continuing to recognize their tremendous accomplishment.