WITS Media Kit
Download WITS photographs and videos, learn who we are, what we do, and why it matters, and review our mission, outcomes, and impact.
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WITS Mission, Vision, and Outcomes
WITS Mission
WITS believes that literacy is the foundation on which all other learning develops. Our mission is to empower Chicago elementary students to discover themselves through reading while developing foundational literacy skills. We do this by creating community through literacy-based mentorship, enabling teachers to build diverse classroom libraries, and promoting book ownership at home.
WITS Vision
WITS creates opportunities for every student in Chicago to be literate.
Outcomes
According to data from The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), based on testing from 2025, only 41% of students in Chicago Public Schools are proficient in reading.
By the end of the school year, 62% of WITS students met or exceeded the national reading proficiency standard, a significant increase from 40% at the start of the year.
85% of WITS-K teachers reported their students had developed specialized reading interests throughout the year, an increase of more than 36% from the beginning of the school year.
87% of WITS students reported having positive attitudes towards reading at the end of the school year, up from 67% at the beginning of the year.
At the end of the school year, an across-program average of 97% of WITS students reported feeling good or very good about spending time with their mentors.
100% of schools with WITS programs rated WITS partnership as important to their students & school community.
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What We Are About
Who We Are
WITS is the largest provider of literacy enrichment programming and activator of corporate partnerships in Chicago Public Schools. WITS is comprised of over thirty Chicago elementary schools, over thirty Chicago companies, and a network of hundreds of students, teachers, and volunteers.
What We Do
WITS programs help students develop a love of reading that guides them through the critical transition of learning-to-read to reading-to-learn. WITS offers a unique model, providing corporate engagement opportunities for Chicago companies through weekly literacy-based mentorship programs. Annually, WITS provides over 10,600 brand-new, culturally specific books to Chicago students' at-home libraries and Chicago teachers' classroom libraries.
Why We Do It
- Only 41% of students in Chicago Public Schools are proficient in reading.
- Functioning libraries are found in only 18% of CPS elementary schools.
- 71% of CPS students come from low-income families, and 61% of low-income families have no age-appropriate children’s books at home.
- Of employees who volunteer through employer-sponsored programs, 79% are satisfied with their jobs, compared to 55% who don’t volunteer that way.
Our Impact
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Books
Each year, WITS gives 10,600 books to students and teachers to build libraries. This initiative directly addresses the book-ownership gap affecting low-income families.
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Students
WITS impacts the lives of over 4,300 students annually through mentorship and book ownership programs.
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Mentors
WITS activates over 450 mentors annually in our corporate engagement programs and volunteer opportunities.
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Grants
WITS offers 100 grants to Chicago Public School teachers annually, enabling them to purchase books for their classroom libraries that cater to their students' interests.
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Companies
WITS facilitates literacy-based mentorship programs for over thirty Chicago companies, providing meaningful and consistent corporate engagement opportunities.
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Schools
WITS programs are found in over 85 public schools in Chicago.
Why WITS Programs Matter
WITS creates community through literacy-based mentorship, enabling teachers to build diverse classroom libraries, and promoting book ownership at home.
