The Chicago Public Education Fund

The Chicago Public Education Fund (“The Fund”), a private venture capital fund dedicated to transforming public education in Chicago, announced today that Janet Knupp, the organization’s founding president and chief executive officer, intends to leave her position this summer. As the organization works to complete its third fund, Knupp believes the time is right for her to embark on the next phase of her professional career and pursue other interests. Meanwhile, she has committed to staying with The Fund to steward its current strategic initiatives through completion and to support the organization’s leadership transition process.

“It will be 12 years this summer that I will have had the extraordinary privilege of leading this tremendous organization. I decided that now is the right time to embark on the next phase of my professional career,” said Knupp. “I’m proud of all that my talented staff and I have achieved during my tenure as CEO, and I feel privileged to have worked hand-in-hand with The Fund’s Board of Directors, some of the brightest and most committed corporate and civic leaders in Chicago.”

“While we are sad to see Janet leave, we are grateful for her years of service and ongoing leadership," said Penny Pritzker, chairman and CEO of Pritzker Realty Group and chairman of The Fund's Board of Directors. "Together, we’ve made critical advancements in improving public education in Chicago, including: overhauling how CPS identifies and compensates its top teachers, improving the district’s talent-sourcing strategy, and launching three cutting-edge principal-preparation programs. The Fund's Board of Directors remains committed to ensuring that all our city’s children have access to the best education possible. We look forward to having a meaningful role in public education for years to come.”

Under Knupp’s leadership and with the support of The Fund’s Board of Directors, the organization has successfully raised $50 million, including $20 million in a 12- month period. Leveraging this capital, The Fund invested in a portfolio of programs that have raised the bar of principal and teacher talent across Chicago’s traditional and charter schools, while also improving student learning gains. This has included making the first investments nearly a decade ago in programs that have now become mainstays in Chicago education: Teach for America, New Leaders for New Schools, The New Teacher Project, Academy for Urban School Leadership teacher residency program, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and the University of Illinois at Chicago’s nationally-acclaimed principal preparation program. This new pipeline of leaders built by The Fund positively impacts more than 200,000 students annually in four out of every five CPS charter and traditional schools.

"At a time when school districts across America are looking for effective ways to strengthen the teaching profession and ensure that the best teachers are getting to the schools and students most in need, Janet Knupp and The Chicago Public Education Fund have developed a great public-private model that has empowered teachers in their classrooms and made a real difference in the lives of students,” said Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. “Every school district should have someone like her -- helping and pushing from the outside to support and empower teachers."

“Janet and The Fund were some of Teach For America’s earliest supporters in Chicago. They provided critical seed capital in 2000 to allow us to open our Chicago office and continued to support and work closely with us so that our teachers now reach thousands of Chicago’s children, and our alumni are deeply engaged in the city's efforts to effect fundamental change in education,” said Wendy Kopp, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Teach For America. “Janet was one of our first board members in Chicago and has remained an invaluable member ever since. I wish her continued success and know our paths will continue to cross because of our shared commitment to providing all children access to a quality education.”

Knupp will continue on as CEO to lead The Fund’s current strategic initiatives to completion, which includes managing programs invested through Fund III. These core initiatives include:

• Redesigning CPS’ teacher hiring process to ensure all Chicago children have access to high-quality teachers;
• Developing a best-in-class teacher evaluation framework that uses a combination of measures to assess teacher performance rigorously and fairly while supporting their continuous improvement, and;
• Developing an expanded learning strategy to increase instructional time and to fully tap the potential of online learning to extend the reach of great teachers.

A former teacher and a proven and accomplished leader, Knupp has spent her entire career as a passionate advocate for underserved children. Prior to her role as CEO of The Fund, Knupp launched and turned-around a series of nonprofit organizations including Communities In Schools of Chicago. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the field of education and philanthropy and is a board member on several cultural and education institutions.

While no immediate successor to Knupp has been named, The Fund’s Board of Directors is actively working to determine the next phase of leadership for the organization.