Catholic School Partnerships (CSP)
DePaul's Vision 2018 strategic plan reaffirms the university's commitment to partnerships with K-12 Catholic schools. The Steans Center's Catholic School Partnerships (CSP) is housed in the Egan Office of Urban Education and Community Partnerships (UECP). Working in collaboration with faculty in the College of Education and other areas of DePaul, CSP serves as a catalyst to improve and expand access to DePaul resources - departments, faculty, students, etc.- in respectful and mutually beneficial ways. Our goal is:
Improved access to and coordination of university-wide resources and efforts for Catholic schools. CSP has collaborated with several university departments to achieve its goals. College of Education and CSP have co-sponsored events, the Psychology department assisted CSP with the training DePaul student tutor/mentors and CSP has benefited from collaboration with the Division of Mission and Ministry, Enrollment Management, Social Work, Sociology and many other university units.
Assistance to community organizations, initiatives and partnerships in support of Catholic schools. CSP works to promote a more comprehensive, strengths-based, community-building approach to our work with Catholic schools and the communities in which they are located.
Ongoing dialogue with school partners about their changing needs. The Steans Center is committed to the Catholic schools of Chicago. CSP staff seeks to maintain regular conversations with school partners to discuss how DePaul and the broader university can better support Catholic school partners.
The core of our Catholic School Partnerships are paid interns and tutors/mentors, strategically placed at schools identified by the Big Shoulders Fund.
Public School Partnerships (PSP)
Public School Partnerships (PSP) builds on the important work of the DePaul's College of Education in Chicago Public Schools. Through UECP, the Steans Center draws on resources provided by DePaul students and faculty to partner with targeted public schools. As with CSP, the core of these partnerships are DePaul PSP Tutor/Mentors who receive scholarship funding to work in schools to enhance student learning and to support and build community-school partnerships. PSP tutor/mentors are trained in asset-based approaches to community development and to identify ways in which DePaul and other organizations can support school and student success.
Through PSP, DePaul seeks to develop an integrated and systemic approach to providing academic and cultural enrichment to children and families in economically distressed Chicago neighborhoods. PSP works with teachers and school-based agencies during the school day and after school across five strategically selected public schools. The center not only recruits, trains, and coordinates DePaul student tutors/mentors, but connects other community service resources at to the partner schools. Central to this approach, is connecting students from academic service-learning courses.
Early Education Partnerships (EEP) - Jumpstart
A national AmeriCorps program, Jumpstart trains DePaul students to deliver an innovative early education program via yearlong one-on-one relationships with preschool children from low-income households. Participants work with children on language, literacy, and social and initiative skills for a commitment of at least 300 hours during the academic year.
For more information, contact Monica Ramos mramos37@depaul.edu, Assistant Director for School Partnerships.