CPSalumni.org would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their contributions, support and guidance. We are grateful for their generosity.
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Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Funding for the development and two-year operation of the site is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and managed through the Department of External Resources and Partnerships of the Chicago Public Schools. A main objective of the site is to establish a new model for organizing a large body of alumni, primarily relying on the community building aspects of the internet and user generated content.
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The Helen M. Harrison Foundation
Much of the biographical and school history found on this site was compiled in a program generously funded by the Helen M. Harrison Foundation for use in this and other CPS programs like Principal For A Day.
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Duo Consulting
Duo Consulting was the natural choice to design and build the website because of the size and scope of the undertaking and because of their experience and success working on similar projects for other organizations. Their collaborative approach made it easy to move CPSalumni.org from the drawing board to the internet.
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Chicago Board of Education
Support from the Chicago Board of Education for this website has been an important component of our success.
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The Mayor's Office
Mayor Daley's challenge to reach out the community, and in particular CPS alumni, was an important impetus for creating CPSalumni.org. Similarly, his enthusiasm for the website in its infancy encouraged all who worked on it.
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The Chicago History Musuem
Before there was CPSalumni.org, there was a pilot website built in collaboration with The Chicago History Museum. We are grateful for their many contributions to both the former and latter incarnations of this site. Many of the historic photos found on this site were generously provided by the Chicago History Museum, and ongoing conversations have elucidated our mission and approach.
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CPS Archives
Preserving and organizing 150 years of public education for one of the largest school districts in the country is a monumental undertaking. Add to that a big fire in 1871 that destroyed decades of records and many and moves by the central office where important were lost and you begin to understand the challenges Richard Seidel, CPS archivist, deals with every day. This site would not be possible without his work both directly and indirectly on our behalf. If you have items of a historic nature that pertain to CPS, Richard welcomes your calls and emails.
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Michael A. Silver, Silver Chicago
Michael Silver lent his expertise to CPSalumni.org while still in its infancy and was instrumental in guiding the concept from the drawing board to the Internet.
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Robert Lipman, LipmanHearne
Robert Lipman, CPS grad, served as an important sounding board during our design and building phases and made several important introductions for us during the launch phase.
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The History Makers
Chicago history is often communicated through the impressive infrastructure of the city, however, the real story is its people. The History Makers website provides a compelling and often overlooked view of many of Chicago's most influential citizens. It was an important tool for reconnecting many distinguished alumni back to CPS.
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The Newberry Library
Discussions with the Newberry Library provided many new and interesting avenues for us to pursue in spreading the word about our website, including coordination with their one of a kind website, ChicagoAncestors.org,
which provides, among other things, an interactive map of historic Chicago locations and a guide to yearbooks from Chicago schools. -
DTKindler Communications
DTKindler Communications provided valuable assistance in shaping our communication tools and spearheaded our effort to connect with our audience over a wide range of traditional and non-traditional media. Our thanks in particular to David Kindler and Holly Birnbaum Sherman.
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Andrew Gill of WBEZ.org
Andrew is an interactive media producer for WBEZ.org and oversees their Flickr photo group. Andrew lent his expertise to CPSalumni.org in our Flickr infancy, sharing best practices and general advise. If you have Chicago centric photos you'd like to share, check out WBEZ's Flickr Group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/chicagopublicradio/
And a special thanks to those people who are helping us spread the word on the WWW.
Internet Genealogy Magazine - Featured in the August edition.
Chi-Town Daily News - Online newspaper covering Chicago. Article written by Paul D. Bowker, who covers CPS for CTDN. Read article.
Who's Talking About CPSalumni.org
The Windy Citizen - An open source newspaper.
LSNA.net - The Logan Square Neighborhood Association's website
Not For Tourists.com - A great guide to Chicago for the people who live and work here.
Duo Consulting - Tecnological force behind CPSalumni.org
District 299.com - By Alexander Russo, this blog covers all things CPS
Chicagoist - Everything Chicago
The Noon Show - WGN Radio's noon program with Bob Sirott
Chicago Genealogical Society - Devoted to collecting, preserving and perpetuating the records of our ancestors
Newberry Library - One of the worlds leading research libraries
The Beachwood Reporter - An International news gathering operation run by Steve Rhodes
Joe Soto - The V103 Radio Personality and CPS alum has stepped up big time for CPSalumni.org
WOMMA.org - The Word of Mouth Marketing Association