鈥淚n September 2010, I opened with 600 students, Pre-K to 8th grade. I hired every staff member and we started with ten empty classrooms,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s of June 2015, we had 925 students and that鈥檚 with every classroom filled.鈥�

Beyond populating the school with brilliant teachers and hardworking students, July has also taken steps to pull Lorca into the 21st Century of education, drawing back to her roots in 海角直播to inspire her work.

Lorca itself is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. July has been principal at the school for several years聽now after working in the private sector and the CPS system.

This year, Lorca is part of the Breakthrough Schools Initiative, a program supported by The Fund. 鈥淭he Breakthrough Schools Initiative [provides] that access to 21st Century learning skills 鈥� we are going to delve into our personalized learning model and understand how to implement and develop personalized learning,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n terms of technology, it鈥檚 using what we have now. We have laptops and chromebooks and iPads and interactive whiteboards in every classroom. It鈥檚 not just displayed; the kids are actually interacting with it as a tool to advance personal growth.鈥�

Beyond her work with Breakthrough Schools, July finds her work as a principal truly enjoyable because of the chance to interact with her students. 鈥淭his is probably the best position I have had. I worked in the private sector as an office manager, an HR administrative assistant in a hotel,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here is something about hearing children鈥檚 voices and seeing their faces. I want to be in the school every day. I love every day here.鈥�

July said that ultimately, her inspiration for being a CPS principal is the chance to give back to the city that raised her. 鈥淚鈥檝e been here for 20 years because I love Chicago. My own children attend school here,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 believe in this great city and this is what inspires me. Here, every day, I am giving back to my students, parents and the greater community that I serve.鈥�

His聽team used the SDP to rethink professional development within the school to include virtual instruction and collaboration for teachers. The professional development addressed teachers鈥� ability to use technology聽to more effectively differentiate instruction for students. It started as a small program, but soon produced much more.

鈥淭he SDP has had a major impact on me and the entire CICS West Belden community,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淢y team has adopted the design-thinking model and we put it into action for every idea we have in our building. Our first question for everything we do is this: Why are we doing this, is there a problem, and how will聽it affect students, teachers and families?鈥�

Scott leveraged his experience with the SDP to propose the adoption of a whole-school blended model at CICS West Belden, and聽his team submitted a winning application聽to .

Thanks to the SDP, Scott is confident as he undertakes this work. 鈥淚 personally learned so much about transformational leadership and how to implement a school-wide initiative with a full-team approach,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 learned how to think through the design process, which has helped me focus my leadership on our school needs for overall success.鈥�

Note from The Fund team: We’ll be launching applications for SDP 2016 later this month. Stay tuned for details and more success stories!聽

In 2013, after Ginger鈥檚 first year as Principal of , she learned of The Fund鈥檚 Under Ginger鈥檚 thoughtful leadership, the Haines team used the SDP to design a program to differentiate instruction for its students by employing technology. As a result, teachers delivered targeted instruction in small groups, while other students were able to learn new topics independently and engage in online materials.

After successfully implementing this pilot in 2013, Ginger saw an opportunity to deliver a truly personalized education for every student at Haines. She expanded the pilot created during the SDP and submitted a winning application to .

鈥淚 applied to Breakthrough Schools so that, through shared leadership, we might employ innovative ways to address student achievement while making learning more personal and individualized for our students,鈥� Ginger said. 鈥淲e will make this possible through the use of instructional practices such as the rotational model, small group work, whole-class instruction and interdisciplinary, project-based learning. Above all, I want students to find joy in learning for the sake of learning.鈥�

For Ginger, a focus on excellence, humanity and advocacy for students has been, and remains, at the foundation of her life鈥檚 work.

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骋颈苍驳别谤听颈蝉听补 听补苍诲听.聽She also participated on s聽at The Fund鈥檚 Fall Meeting and School Site Visit on October 7, 2014. The panel聽addressed the question: 鈥淲hat supports do principals need to lead their team toward whole-school innovation?鈥�