Jacqueline Edelberg has been the driving force behind the Nettelhorst School’s dramatic turn around, a story that has been featured on Oprah & Friends, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Redbook, NPR, CNN, 60 Minutes, Education Weekly, and in the local Chicago media. Jacqueline blogs about education reform for the Huffington Post and is the author of How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance. She has consulted for school districts, civic groups, foundations, universities and parent organizations on how public schools and reformers can galvanize communities to improve public education. Before devoting herself to art, community organizing, and cutting the crusts off bread, Jacqueline taught political science at the University of Osnabrück in Germany as a Fulbright scholar. She earned her bachelor’s degree and doctorate from the University of Chicago.
Susan Kurland left Nettelhorst to form City Schoolhouse, LLC, a consultancy that advises school communities on best practices. As CEO, she helps principals, parent leaders, and universities develop instructional leadership teams, channel community resources, and formulate health and wellness policies. Currently, Susan is acting as the director of Gallery 37, an organization that provides arts opportunities to Chicago’s youth. She has consulted on behalf of the University of Illinois, the Chicago Public Schools, and the Community Schools’ Initiative for the Chicago Community Trust. Susan earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the City University of New York, and her doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago.
Florence Powdermaker (editor) is one of those moms who took the now-famous Nettelhorst school tour and subsequently joined the revolution. She translated her skills in communications, editing, and writing into various communications projects for Nettelhorst, including the school’s monthly newsletter and its marketing materials. She spends her days working in management at a leading healthcare organization and her “free time” chasing after her three children, Aaron, Collin, and Jamie, and husband, Andrew, while ignoring the never-ending piles of laundry. Originally from the East Coast, Flo moved to the Midwest to attend Illinois State University where she earned her master’s degree.
Fundraising: Ted Ganchiff is a Nettelhorst parent and the school’s fundraising rock star. Ted did not have any experience raising money for schools, per se, but his professional background made him a quick study. Ted had worked in Silicon Valley during the boom, taking a podcast company from conception through funding to rapid growth (and to just as rapid of a demise), and then moved to Chicago to start a consultancy with his wife. Just as the original reformers inspired a community to turn a bad school into a good school, Ted imagined that the community could be inspired to turn a good school into a great school if properly motivated. Ted suspected that Nettelhorst, like any well-chaperoned start-up company, could reach its full potential if reformers changed the way they pitched for money, partnerships, and media attention.
Legal consulting: Cary R. Latimer is a Nettelhorst dad and an attorney at Latimer LeVay Jurasek LLC in Chicago. His Toolkit How to Set-up a 501(c)(3) in the appendix should help send would be school reformers in the right direction.
Public Relations/marketing: Rickey Gold is the diving force behind nettelhorst in the news. She is a Chicago-based marketing strategist and president of Rickey Gold & Associates, which she founded in 1992 as a boutique marcom firm. She’s an avid speaker and networker, and serves on the board of the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce. From the time when eight moms met at the Melrose Diner, Rickey has worked tirelessly (and for free) to get Nettelhorst’s story heard. To learn more, log on to www.rickeygold.com
Andrea Kayne Kaufman (endorsement in front matter) deserves much credit for giving How to Walk School its focus and wings. Andrea is an Associate Professor at Depaul University School of Education, where she serves as the Acting Chair of the department of Leadership in Education, Language and Human Services. She has written extensively about utility and limitations of school law, problems of unequal implementation and enforcement of school law, politics of education with respect to issues of federalism, and racial and ethnic inequality with respect to school quality, school funding, and extracurricular opportunities. Andrea holds a J.D. University of Pennsylvania Law School, an Ed.M. Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. Vassar College. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two adorable children.
Nettelhorst’s sudents make our corner of the world SHINE. Watch Miss T’s great videos of our Amazing Preschoolers, part I... And more in part II… And bigger kids in Chess Wizzards afterschool…
Nettelhorst mom Cat Conrad-Hathaway was a make-up artist and hair stylist to the stars in NYC for twenty years before turning to photography full time. Cat ‘s stunning photographs of Nettelhorst students eating foods from all over the world grace the school’s lunchroom.
Angie’s career as a photographer sprung from her love affair with photography that started as a young girl documenting family vacations. Her work includes people, places and things as she strives to capture the essence of her subject, beyond just what they look like. She serves on the Boards of Directors for the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce and the Chicago Photography Center (CPC). At the CPC, she shares her passion and experience with newcomers to the art through classes and workshops.
Margaret Busk www. www.garboproductions.com
Margaret’s work regularly appears in the Chicago media and her studio has been featured as one of the nation’s best wedding studios in Town & Country magazine. Just for the record, when you see the book jacket, know that the authors aren’t nearly as cute in real life.
In addition to Ron, Rickey, Cat, Angie, and Margaret, several gifted photographers in Nettelhorst School Community always seem to show up at just the right moment—check out their great Nettelhorst pictures on www.flickr.com and www.youtube.com.
Now in kindle and paperback! Available in bookstores and on Amazon now!
Watch a great video of Nettelhort’s Chess Wizards
August 19th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Hello Jacqueline,
I met you last week at Steven’s. What an encounter. You are an amazing person to undertake such a you experience. Both Joe and I really enjoyed our time with you. I look forward to hearing more about your week without Steven. What day will you leaving the ‘compound’ ? My daughter and I plan on another trip to Rochester on Monday or Tuesday. I would love to connect with you. I would also like to discuss your ‘normal’ work. We have a connection. School work. Take Care, and keep in touch,
Monica
October 8th, 2010 at 5:13 am
[...] Jacqueline Edelberg has been the driving force behind the Nettelhorst School’s dramatic turn around, a story that has been featured on Oprah & Friends, NPR, CNN, 60 Minutes, Education Weekly, and in the local Chicago media. A community organizer, writer, and nationally recognized fine artist, Jacqueline has led workshops for the Community Schools Initiative, Northside Parents Network, and Chicago Public Schools on how public schools and reformers can galvanize communities to improve public education. She has consulted with schools and neighborhood groups on issues of strategy and organizational development. Before devoting herself to art, community organizing, and cutting the crusts off bread, Jacqueline taught political science at the University of Osnabrück in Germany as a Fulbright scholar. She earned her bachelor’s degree and doctorate from the University of Chicago, and resides in Chicago with her husband Andrew Slobodien, and her two children, Maya and Zack. [...]