On March 29, 2019 Catalyst Circle Rock and the new Kehrein Center for the Arts hosted a historic Chicago mayoral forum that was attended by ~450 members of the West Side. The event was sponsored by the NAACP, Austin Coming Together, and co-hosted by Catalyst Schools, the Kehrein Center for the Arts, and a coalition of West Side organizations and leaders. The event was attended by mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot as well as Alderman Chris Taliaferro, Willie Wilson, major television/print media, and hundreds of West Side residents who expressed their hopes for Chicago’s next mayor.
Catalyst is seeking passionate and dynamic educators to join our elementary and high school teams for the 2019-2020 school year. On April 4, 2019 Catalyst Maria will provide interested educators with an overview of the Catalyst mission and educational philosophy as well as details on the unique programming provided at our schools from 5:30-7:00 pm. Driven by a mission of teaching minds and touching hearts, Catalyst offers educators a collaborative school community grounded in leadership and growth coupled with exceptional salary and benefit offerings. To register for the April 4th event, please contact Catalyst Maria Executive Director Ms. Dawn Sandoval at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To learn more our schools and apply online, please visit Join Our Team section on the Catalyst website.
Dr. Frank Hribar, Vice President of Enrollment & Student Affairs at Adrian College, visited Catalyst Maria on Thursday to meet with the 9 scholars who applied for the Project Intersect scholarship. Four seniors were selected to receive 95% tuition scholarships, and Adrian College awarded $1,970,936 in scholarships to Catalyst seniors overall! The four winners of the 95% scholarships (pictured below with Dr. Hribar) are Chris A., Cyrus M., Clarence (CJ) W., and Joanna M.- CONGRATULATIONS to all of the scholars receiving scholarships and THANK YOU to Dr. Hribar and Adrian College!
Catalyst Maria is now a part of the Presidential Award for Excellence program! CMHS has 14 recipients in the first year (10 are pictured below) who achieved a cumulative unweighted GPA of a 3.5 or higher and met both English/Writing and Math benchmarks on the PSAT or SAT for their grade level. Congratulations to all scholars and the CMHS staff that propelled them to this achievement!
The Catalyst school communities are celebrating Black History Month throughout February 2019! On Friday February 22nd, Catalyst Circle Rock held their annual Black History Bowl- pictured below are several winners!
Catalyst Maria HS engaged a joyful Black History Month throughout February! Grade level teams incorporated intentional cross-curricular activities for scholars to learn about black history through multiple lenses, and College Seminars each adopted an African country to research and celebrate through a heritage project. Black History Month culminated in an amazing assembly on February 27th featuring both scholar and teacher singers, dancers, poets, and presenters to exemplify the theme of “Black Girl Magic and Black Boy Joy” (pictured below). Thank you to all of the CMHS staff made this possible!
The Catalyst Board of Directors' will have their third scheduled meeting of the 2018-2019 school year on Monday February 25, 2019. This meeting will be held at Catalyst Circle Rock Charter School, located at 5608 W. Washington Blvd. Chicago, IL 60644 and will be from 3:00-5:30 PM.
All Catalyst Board meetings are open to the public. In accordance with OMA, the agenda for this meeting is below:
*3:00 – 3:25 Auditorium walk through with Circle Rock Sistema Ravinia students, parents, and staff
*3:25 – 3:30 Reconvene and welcome.
Review of agenda.
Review and vote for approval of November 18, 2018 Board of Directors’ meeting minutes; January 17, 2019 and February 20, 2019 Finance Committee’s meeting minutes; and February 7, 2019 Academic Committee’s meeting minutes.
*3:30 – 3:40 Opportunity for public comment, if requested (2 mins max per speaker)
*3:40 – 4:30 Guest presentation and discussion with Alison Jack of INCS
*4:30 – 4:50 Academic Committee
Vote of approval to confirm Dr. Colleen Reardon to a two-year term as Chair of the Board
Vote of approval to confirm Dr. Catherine Burns as Chair of the Academic Committee
Presentation of new Academic Committee Chair Dr. Catherine Burns
Update on SY18-19 academic strategic plans
Vote to approve/reject Catalyst Circle Rock CIWP
*4:50 – 5:05 Finance Committee
FY19 Financial year to date review
FY19 private fundraising year to date review
Update on auditorium campaign
*5:05 – 5:20 Development Committee
Discussion on purpose and leadership of committee moving forward
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.
