Looking beyond employment, our Center for Working Families understands why a parent's employment is not just about the critical income it creates for a family, but also and most importantly, the unseen effect it has on a child's capacity to set goals, plan for the future, and push for his/ her own academic success.  In support of this goal, our center works in tandem with a variety of community-based organizations which provide outreach and resources at the local elementary school, Reavis, to ensure the parents know the employment, income support and other opportunities available to them in the community.   We do this as part of the larger Elev8 initiative, a multi-year initiative funded by Atlantic Philanthropies through which five Chicago middle schools are serving as models of an entirely new approach to education. 

On May 19, 2010, Reavis had the honor of hosting Mayor Daley for a visit to better understand this initiative and how a concerted, community-wide focus on the intersection of education, health and family can have tremendous impact on a child's capacity to grow.  "We know that there is a critical connection between education and health. If a child is hungry or tired or chronically ill, how can we expect them to perform well in school?" Mayor Daley said.  To read more about the Mayor's visit and lessons learned, please click here.