History and Accomplishments

Since its founding in 1995, COFI has organized hundreds of parents to win improvements in their schools and communities, build parent-run organizations and projects, and change public policies.

COFI accomplishments include:

• Teaching well over 2500 low-income parent leaders — most of them women of color — in 10+ Chicago communities to become community and policy-making leaders.
• Organizing 45 parent action teams in these communities to win tangible community improvements for low-income children and families and to make local schools and community institutions more responsive to parents.
• Parent teams have brought millions of dollars for new resources for families into their communities, including opening new community centers in their schools, winning a new elementary school on Chicago's west side, creating after school programs for children and parents, new adult education classes, and countless other programs for children, parents and families.
• Facilitating the creation of new independent family-focused organizations.
• Developing and disseminating a model of community leadership and organizing that resonates widely around the country, and training over 100 staff organizers and parent leaders in this model.

Six years ago, COFI-trained parent leaders launched a new citywide membership-based organization, controlled and led by parent leaders: Parents Organized to Win, Educate and Renew – Policy Action Council (POWER-PAC). POWER-PAC's purpose is to build power and a strong voice for low-income, immigrant and working families by uniting parents across race and community.  The organization is comprised largely of low-income Latina and African American women, and has already won significant improvements for families.

POWER-PAC victories include:

Winning a commitment from the Chicago Public Schools to fund and support the development of more than 150 new community schools.

Winning a re-write of the Chicago Public School discipline code, now called the Student Code of Conduct, replacing 'zero tolerance' with a philosophy of restorative justice.

Modeling effective restorative justice approaches in the Austin Peace Center and then winning $300,000 in public money to fund pilots in Chicago elementary schools.

Putting the issue of restoring recess on the public agenda, garnering significant media attention and getting action in the State Legislature.

And, most recently, POWER-PAC has reached out to over 4,500 families to understand policy barriers to the enrollment of low-income children in quality preschool programs.

Just as importantly, POWER-PAC continues to grow as a citywide organization, with new members, increasingly skillful leaders, and key strategic alliances with advocates and leaders in community and government.