The Rockford Charter Schools Initiative is a group of community leaders and concerned parents who are interested in expanding the educational options in Rockford.  We know that one important element in improving the public schools in our city is the establishment of public charter schools.  Our role is to inform Rockford area residents, involve as many of them as possible in the initiative, and encourage them to invest resources in bringing public charter schools to our community. 

RCSI operates independently, but is one of the organizations under the umbrella of the Community Education Partnership (CEP) established by the Rockford Mayor's Office. RCSI's strategic goals are to increase community awareness of charter public schools; solicit, identify and articulate the community's aspirations for charter public schooling; promote the development of charter public schools; and facilitate cooperation with the Rockford School Board and District 205 administrators.  RCSI will assist in the development of charter proposals from local groups as well as charter public school operators.

A diverse group of 11 business and community leaders have volunteered their time and expertise as members of the group's Steering Committee to support the achievement of RCSI's goal of getting quality charter public school proposals authorized by the School Board. The Steering Committee members are:

Mr. John R. Anderson, Anderson Enterprises, LLC (Steering Committee Chairman)

Rev. Dr. Kenneth Board, Pastor, Pilgrim Baptist Church

Rev. K. Edward Copeland, Pastor, New Zion Baptist Church

Janyce Fadden, President, Rockford Area Economic Development Council

Patricia Gomez, Executive Director, La Voz Latina

Amanda Hamaker, Manager of Product Sales, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

Dr. Martin Lipsky, Regional Dean, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford

Nathaniel Martin, Rockford Park District Board Member

Laurie Preece, Executive Director, Rockford Charter Schools Initiative

Daniel G. Saavedra, Partner, Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects

Sarah B. Wolf, Executive Director, Discovery Center Museum

We hope you will join us...just fill out the contact form in the Get Involved section.


View the presentation recently given to over 100 community leaders to learn more about the charter public school movement in Rockford, and to see how you can get involved. Click here to download the file.