About Perspectives

Our Mission

All Perspectives Charter Schools will provide students with a rigorous and relevant education, based on "A Disciplined Life," that prepares them for life in a changing world and helps them further become intellectually reflective, caring and ethical people engaged in a meaningful life.

Perspectives Charter Schools is a growing network of tuition-free, high performing, public charter schools, based on the principles of A Disciplined Life. Chartered in 1997 as one of the first five charter schools in Chicago, Perspectives has earned its national reputation as a model of how a small school with innovative, effective education can transform urban schooling.

We currently serve nearly 1,800 students across five schools: Calumet Middle School, Calumet High School, Calumet High School of Technology, Perspectives/IIT Math & Science Academy and Rodney D. Joslin Campus.

Our guiding principles:

• We teach ethics - A Disciplined Life is the foundation of everything we do at Perspectives, for our students, teachers and staff.
• We are intellectuals - Academic Rigor requires students to engage thoroughly in the academic experience with an expectation of success and a College for Certain environment.
• We connect students to the community - Community Engagement makes the city our classroom through internships, community action projects, field studies and social justice classes.
• We partner with parents - Parent and Family Involvement is an expected and necessary component of a student's success at Perspectives.
• We grow educators - Teachers learn from each other through instructional mentors and ongoing discussions of classroom best practices.