After serving as assistant principal for 12 years at Du Bois Elementary, Venus DeLoach became the principal of Carver Elementary School in 2021. Located in the Altgeld Gardens community, Carver serves students on Chicago鈥檚 Far South Side. Venus brings more than 16 years of leadership experience and a strong belief that every child deserves the best. She leads with empathy and high expectations, building strong partnerships with families to create a culture where students thrive academically and socially.

Principal Venus DeLoach of Carver Elementary, 2025

Reengaging Families as Partners in Learning听

Stepping into the principalship, Venus saw that student attendance had plummeted to 78% and chronic absenteeism was impeding academic progress. Rather than act on assumptions, Venus gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to understand the root causes of absenteeism and student and community disengagement. She reviewed school-wide attendance trends, analyzed participation rates at events like report card pickup (which stood at just 24%), and conducted one-on-one interviews and surveys with staff and families. These data sources revealed a pattern: many parents felt alienated from the school due to prior negative interactions and inconsistent leadership. The data also showed that parents wanted more transparent communication and a stronger voice in their children鈥檚 education.

Venus saw this as an opportunity to build a foundation of trust, shared accountability, and collaboration. Firmly believing in listening to all stakeholders 鈥� including students, staff, and families 鈥� she prioritized family engagement as a key strategy for improving attendance and accelerating learning. Her vision centered on creating a school culture where parents felt respected, informed, and empowered as true partners in their children鈥檚 success. This commitment would eventually lay the groundwork for Carver鈥檚 Very Important Parent (VIP) initiative, an effort to formalize and celebrate family partnership.

Implementation and Impact

In 2021-22, Venus launched a series of family engagement initiatives designed to strengthen trust and improve attendance, beginning with Parent Appreciation Day and the creation of the VIP Program. She set clear expectations for attendance, shared student data regularly, and incentivized families by connecting high attendance to promotion ceremonies, celebrations, and special school events.听

Venus also implemented consistent communication strategies, including biweekly behavior, attendance, and grades (BAG) reports and multiple parent meetings throughout the year. These sessions gave parents real-time insights into their child鈥檚 progress and created space for collaboration on academic and behavioral goals.听

To rebuild confidence in the school community, Venus introduced celebratory recognition for parents, such as distributing VIP-branded items and hosting themed events, including a Boots on the Ground celebration for families of students with 95% attendance or higher. These efforts signaled that parents were true partners in student success and set a new tone for school culture.听

The impact was significant: Parent participation in report card pickup rose from 24% to nearly 70%, and kindergarten attendance increased from the lowest in the school to 94.7%, surpassing the schoolwide goal. Overall attendance improved dramatically, and trust between parents and staff strengthened. As Venus explains, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 do this work without them. When parents know they鈥檙e valued, everything changes.鈥澨�

Looking ahead, Venus plans to expand family engagement initiatives and sustain strong attendance by deepening data transparency and co-designing solutions with parents, ensuring Carver continues to grow as a school where students and families thrive.听

Apply This Learning

1. Redesign parent-teacher conferences to increase trust and turnout.

When Venus arrived at Carver, only 24% of parents were attending report card pickup. She renamed the event 鈥淧arent Appreciation Day鈥� and reframed it as a celebration of partnership. Parents now receive VIP swag bags, shirts, and cups that brand them as 鈥淰ery Important Parents of Carver.鈥� This small shift led to a big change where parent turnout increased to nearly 70%, and the school saw stronger family engagement in student learning. These events occur twice annually during first- and third-quarter report card pickups.

2. Incentivize attendance through celebration and accountability.

Venus tied key events to attendance benchmarks. Kindergarteners needed 93% attendance to participate in promotion ceremonies, resulting in a jump to 94.7%. Eighth graders had to meet the same threshold for field trips and luncheons. Schoolwide incentives like the Sneaker Ball and 鈥淏eyonc茅-style Boots on the Ground鈥� celebrated students and families with 95%+ attendance, creating a culture that rewarded showing up.

3. Create open access and safe spaces for parents.

To rebuild trust, Venus prioritized transparency and accessibility. She maintains an open-door policy; visitors can enter her office from the main office or the hallway, and if she鈥檚 in, the door is open. She hosts quarterly parent meetings to review attendance, assessments, and expectations, creating consistent opportunities for dialogue. Her approach has helped shift Carver鈥檚 culture toward one of mutual respect, safety, and support.

鈥淓veryone is going to soar this year,鈥� John C. Haines Elementary School Principal Catherine 鈥淎my鈥� Moy-Davis said when we interviewed her prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year. She wears her passion and excitement for her community on her sleeve. 鈥淚鈥檓 using the word 鈥榮oar.鈥� I used to say everyone was 鈥榞oing to make it.鈥� But I think the students at Haines soar.鈥�

Born and raised in Chinatown, Amy attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and knew early on that she wanted to pursue a career in education. With less than 10 Asian principals working in the 海角直播 (CPS) system, she stresses the significance of being a role model for kids that look like and can relate to her; 84% of Haines students identify as Asian American.

This school has borne the brunt of some unique challenges in recent years. Just 10% of students returned to Haines in fall 2020, one of the lowest return rates in CPS. In response, Amy modified the school environment, prioritizing safety measures and accessibility to address parental concerns. This included regular virtual meetings to help parents with technical issues as classrooms incorporated new technology. Additionally, she ensured that all relevant documents were on the school鈥檚 website 鈥� and that all updates were translated in Chinese for the sake of bilingual and immigrant families 鈥� in order to more easily handle the confusion of the ever-adapting curriculum.

At the same time, Haines鈥� school community experienced xenophobia and racism, mirroring national trends amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For Amy, anti-Asian sentiment was not just an out-of-school issue. To support the community, she hosted monthly virtual chats with Haines families to hear their concerns and to coach them through the uncertain times. These included discussions of the unique trauma that Haines students were being put through and how parents could navigate those conversations with their children.

Prioritizing the mental health of her students and teachers alike, Amy is also partnering with the Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA), Project Vision, and Communities in Schools of 海角直播in the 2022-23 academic year. These organizations are facilitating dialogues, providing resources, and creating a system of mental support at Haines for all those affected by the past few tumultuous years.

Attendance at Haines has increased this school year, and Amy attributes that in part to these investments in student and family mental health. She said that she hopes this will increase parental awareness and trust, in addition to academic performance as students learn more emotional self-regulation, empathy, coping strategies, and problem-solving skills.

鈥淸The school] is really an extension of who I am and who I want to be,鈥� she said. 鈥淩ight down to every brick and mortar on the building, as well as with each child that walks through the building.鈥�

As a result of her dedication to Marquette, LaTarsha has taken strides to fostering a sense of empowerment inside and outside of her building, focusing particularly on parents, whom she sees as invaluable partners in the field of education.

Marquette itself is located in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the South Side of 海角直播and maintains an enrollment of about 1,300 students in grades K-8. LaTarsha has been principal at the school for several听years now, in addition to being a proud graduate of the 海角直播 system herself.

When asked what motivates her work, LaTarsha pointed to her experience attending Spelman College in Atlanta. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel prepared for the rigor of college. [This sparked my interest] in equity and access to education,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 started to understand who I am as a learner and I wanted to pass that on.鈥�

In addition to sharing this love of learning with her students, LaTarsha has worked to involve parents in the educational process as well. Through the support of , Marquette has launched a series of Saturday Academy workshops on topics including health and wellness, culinary arts, sculpture, pottery, and more, which are aimed at getting parents engaged.

鈥淧arents are vital in a child鈥檚 life, so we want to encourage them.鈥� she said. 鈥淸We saw] broad accomplishment this year: 23听to听43 parents are enrolled and there are now 150-250 applicants throughout the course of the year. Saturday Academy became a robust part of the school.鈥�

In addition to the Saturday Academy, LaTarsha has worked to implement several other methods of parent engagement within her school, such as a parent mentor program, a whole-school volunteering initiative, and a number of workshops aimed at helping parents stay involved.

Ultimately, LaTarsha believes the success of these endeavors are crucial in bridging the inequality placed on children without strong family involvement in their education.

鈥淸There are] families who don鈥檛 know how to advocate for themselves and their children,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur main focus has been on educating parents and including them in their child鈥檚 educational journey.