CPS Leader Announced as Commencement Speaker

Chicago State University is proud to announce that Dr. Janice K. Jackson, Chief Education Officer of Chicago Public Schools and a CSU alum, will serve as the Commencement Speaker on December 17, 2015.
“We are very excited to welcome Dr. Jackson back to the CSU campus, this time as our commencement speaker and a role model for all of our graduates,” Provost Angela Henderson said. “As a highly respected and accomplished leader in education, Dr. Jackson is a living embodiment of what our students can achieve with the knowledge and skills they obtain at CSU. On behalf of the entire CSU family, we are very proud of all of our alumni who are making a significant impact on our city and state.”
Dr. Jackson joined CPS in 1999, teaching History and Economics at South Shore High School before securing a grant to create Al Raby School for Community and Environment in 2004. Under her leadership, Raby HS became one of the District’s most successful neighborhood high schools, with a graduation rate of over 80 percent and stellar college access success. In July of 2015, she was named the Chicago Public School District’s Chief Education Officer where she oversees the academic affairs of the 3rd largest school district in the nation.