Stephanie Banchero, lead education reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has been named senior program officer for education at the Joyce Foundation. Before joining the Journal, she was an education reporter for the Chicago Tribune for 13 years. Banchero’s reporting has garnered many honors including a first place award from the national Education Writers Association. She is a past president of that organization.l
Gabrielle Lyon has become an early learning and education consultant at the Smart Chicago Collaborative, a civic organization devoted to improving lives in Chicago through technology. Lyon is co-chair of Mayor Emanuel’s Technology Industry Diversity Council. She is also the co-founder at Project Exploration, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that low-income students, traditionally overlooked by science education initiatives, have personalized experiences with science and scientists .
Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) has received a $500,000 grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, which awarded 30 organizations nationally that support effective family engagement efforts. Through the grant, parents in seven communities across Illinois will have the opportunity to experience COFI’s leadership training.
Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education is a new grantee with the Woods Fund Chicago. The parent-led coalition mobilizes parents across Chicago and advocates for funding and policies to improve the quality of public education for all children in Chicago.