Penny Bender Sebring is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Chicago and Co-Founder of the UChicago Consortium. Most of her research has centered on school organization, i.e., the five essential supports. She is an author of the book Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago. In addition, she has worked to grow and sustain the UChicago Consortium. Previously, Sebring was a Peace Corps volunteer and high school teacher. She serves on the Policy Advisory Board for Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy and the board of directors for the Chicago Public Education Fund. Sebring has received an Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern, the John J. Dugan Award from OneGoal, the Stanley C. Golder Community Service Award from the Golden Apple Foundation, and an honorary doctorate from Grinnell College. It has been gratifying to see the dramatic progress that CPS has made. Robust evidence, extensive collaborations across the city, and the hard work of teachers, principals, parents, and students have led to students learning and attaining much more than in the past.
