A Brief History of CIESS

CIESS, the Coalition for Improved Education is South Shore, was founded in 1987 to improve pubilc school educational opportunites for students in SouthShore schools.

After an initial concentration on South Shore Community Academy, CIESS focused on school reform isues for children matriculating into the high school.  The organization became actively involved in the passge of school reform legislation and began to provide technical assistance to local schools and their Local School Councils.

When the Chicgo Annenberg Challenge began supporting CIESS in 1995, the organization re-focused on the educational process iwthin the feeder schools.  It has worked with the entire education community to connect the students to the community and to improve their educational performance.

With the introduction of the Neighborhood Clusters of Magnet Programs in 1999, CIESS launched the concept of grouping schools into interactive educational networks.  Within this framework, the organization has rallied principals into collaborative teams;provided leadership and development to teachers; and helped provide cutting-edge resources to the schools.

CIESS's current leadership is the fruition of 15 years of commitment to education in the South Shore community.  As a Chicago Public Schools External Partner, CIESS is developing a Parent Resource Center and supporting the establishment of small schools within South Shore High School