The Rochelle Lee Teacher Award

Named in honor of Rochelle Lee, a beloved Chicago Public School (CPS) educator and librarian who inspired generations of students to develop a passion for reading, the Rochelle Lee Teacher Award (RLTA) recognizes CPS teachers who share her commitment to cultivating lifelong learners. This competitive, essay-based application process is open to CPS teachers across all subject areas, from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Awardees are selected in June and receive a $500 grant to purchase brand-new books for their classroom libraries, ensuring students have access to diverse and engaging reading materials throughout the school year.

Please read the eligibility requirements and the WITS anti-racist commitment before applying.

If you need assistance with your application or have questions, please email Daphne Robinson at daphner@witschicago.org or call 708-943-7582.

The application period for the Rochelle Lee Teacher Award is now closed.

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RLTA Resources: WITS Library Materials

Professional texts available to use in the WITS library (select "professional texts" from drop-down menu). This resource is for RLTA awardees only.
Booksource’s Classroom Organizer is a free, online tool to catalog your classroom library books, create class check-out rosters, manage usage reports, and more. This resource is available for all teachers.

RLTA Resources: WITS Lending Library

The WITS Lending Library contains more than 350 sets of children and young adult books. Titles are available in whole class sets and smaller group sets. Current and former WITS educators may borrow books from our lending library. This resource is for RLTA awardees only.
View the Rochelle Lee Lending Library catalog and availability online via LibraryThing.
WITS Lending Library/LibraryThing reference guide.
Contact Daphne Robinson in advance to borrow books from the lending library for your students. This will ensure that the desired books are available, and that a specific time can be scheduled to pick up the books.

Get Involved

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program facilitators

Daphne Robinson

Daphne Robinson

Teacher Program Director

daphner@witschicago.org
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Sarah Hoppe Knight

Chief Program & Strategy Officer