Chicago Freedom School
(Summer 2007)
CURL in partnership with the Chicago Freedom School conducted an evaluation of the Chicago Freedom School's inaugural 6-week summer institute for Chicago youth during the summer of 2007. The CFS summer institute was a six-week program, where youth (“Freedom Fellows”) participated in courses that made connections between their own interests and social justice issues. The summer institute was designed to allow the Freedom Fellows to have an opportunity to ask questions about their lives, to see the connection between the means and the ends of creating change, and to develop as agents of social change.
The evaluation took place through a series of surveys of the youth involved and the adult leadership that taught and organized the institute. Every step of this evaluation, from the formation of goals and research questions, to the development of instruments, to the data collection and analysis, to the reporting of findings and recommendations was informed and influenced by both the Chicago Freedom School and CURL.
This final report prepared by CURL includes an overview of the CFS 2007 Summer Leadership Institute, the main evaluation activities, highlights of findings from all data collected, and recommendations. In addition to the final report, the CURL team submitted periodic progress reports to CFS. These status reports provide in greater detail the methods and findings from this evaluation.
Research Team:
S. Stawiski, CURL
A. Sharma, CURL
J. Gattuso, Undergraduate fellow
Community Partner: