Catalyst is very grateful for the many contributions to the Catalyst Maria community by Dawn Donati and Jill Castro, and we are excited to announce a new chapter at CM K-12. Mrs. Krystina Henley is the new Catalyst Maria Elementary School Principal, an exceptionally qualified leader who brings a wealth of experience to this position! She has been a valued member of the Catalyst family for 15 years, a Golden Apple Scholar with experience teaching across all of our campuses. Her educational background is impressive, with a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master’s in Educational Leadership, and a principal’s license all building upon her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education.
She will team with Dr. Jacqueline Baker as our new Principal of Catalyst Maria High School! Dr. Jacque Baker has been with Catalyst Schools for over 10 years, first as a contracted Teach For America (TFA) instructional coach for Maria and Circle Rock and then as the Humanities Director of Instruction for Catalyst Maria High School. For the last two years, she has served as a contracted leadership coach for nearly 30 K-12 Catalyst Maria leadership team members and teacher leaders and nearly 40 Catalyst Maria leaders in the last 4 years. Through her various roles in education, she has trained nearly 1,000 teachers, worked with nearly 100 schools in Illinois and Northwest Indiana, and developed over a dozen principals. Dr. Baker holds a Doctorate in education, specializing in curriculum and instruction for child and adult development, as well as organizational and school leadership and improvement. Prior to coming to Catalyst Circle Rock and Catalyst Maria as a TFA instruction coach, Jacque taught in both private Catholic and public schools as a TFA corps member.
Mrs. Henley and Dr. Baker are deeply committed to the success and well-being of our scholars, and we confident that under their leadership with the Director of School Operations Roxanne Salas (the first employee of Catalyst Maria in 2012!) and the rest of the team at CM, Catalyst Maria K-12 will thrive to its highest levels yet!
We hope that you are doing well! Please find the Catalyst Schools' policies for various aspects of the school communities below. Copies are also available in the Catalyst Circle Rock and Catalyst Maria Main Offices and Family Engagement Rooms. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Catalyst Circle Rock, Catalyst Maria or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you and we look forward to a terrific 2024-2025 school year!
All Catalyst Board meetings are open to the public and an agenda will be posted at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. There is a public comment portion of the meeting established for every Board meeting.
Below are the dates and times for the Board of Directors' meetings in SY24-25:
The Catalyst Board of Directors' Academic Committee will hold a meeting on June 18, 2024 from 1:30-3:00 to discuss academic results in SY23-24, items related to charter renewal, and SPED, teacher licensure, ELL, and discipline figures. This meeting will be held by video conference- please contact Catalyst's Director of Administration Michael Kasang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 773-897-5816 for conference call information.
The Catalyst Board of Directors will hold a meeting May 20, 2024 from 3:00-5:00 pm. The agenda and meeting information are below. All Catalyst Board meetings are open to the public, with a public comment portion during the time below.
Location:
Catalyst Circle Rock Charter School
5608 W Washington Blvd
Chicago, Illinois 60644
AGENDA
*3:00-3:20 Welcome: Larry Williams, Chair and Gordon Hannon, CEO
Review of agenda
Review and vote for approval of March 18, 2024, Board of Directors meeting minutes; May 17, 2024 Finance Committee meetings minutes; and May 15, 2024 Academic Committee meeting minutes.
Vote to approve Steven D’Souza for three-year renewal Board of Directors term through June 2027
Vote to approve Andrew Jones Smith for Board of Directors renewal term through May 2025
Moment to honor Steve Brown and Monica Smith for their 15 years and 4 years of service to the Board
*3:20-3:30 – Family and Community Committee: Mitzi Moore, Gordon Hannon, Ed Siderewicz, and Michael Kasang
On-going Board level monitoring of family and community relations and responsiveness
Charter renewal advocacy
*3:30-3:40 - Public comment (limited to 2 minutes per speaker)
*3:40-3:50 – CEO report to Board: Gordon Hannon
*3:50-4:00 - Academic Committee: Dr. Catherine Burns
On-going Board level monitoring of key performance indicators- IAR, SAT, IEP on-time completion percentage, discipline data, ELL, and attendance metrics
Charter renewal timeline
*4:00-4:30 - Finance and Strategic Issues Committee: Yuan-Ying Hsu
YTD FY24
Performance of CPS Finance and Operation Scorecard metrics YTD
FY25 budgeting process
Loan discussion
*4:30-4:45 Catalyst Schools will select operator of food service provider for 2024-2025 school year
Vote for approval of the highest scored food service provider for Catalyst Schools from the following five bids: Quest Foods, Genuine Foods, Gourmet Gorilla, Taher and Organic Life.
*4:45-5:00 – Governance items: Gordon Hannon and Larry Williams
Discussion on Board membership, terms, and recruitment of new Board members
Please join our efforts as a champion for changing lives at The Catalyst Schools. If you would like to speak with a Catalyst staff member about your donation, please call us at 773-295-7001.
