The History of WITS
WITS (Working in the Schools) began in a single classroom in 1991 when two civic leaders, Joanne Alter and Marion Stone, visited a friend who taught at Byrd Academy. When asked what would benefit her classroom the most, the teacher requested that Joanne and Marion read one-on-one with her students. The Alter-Stone duo soon began recruiting more volunteers from their vast social networks throughout Chicago, intent on deepening their impact on Chicago schools.
Rochelle Lee and the foundation of WITS
Synchronously, Chicago librarian Rochelle Lee was inspiring generations of students and parents through her passion for reading. She inspired a namesake program, the Rochelle Lee Teacher Award, which provides teachers with the resources to encourage students to love reading. These three change agents – Alter, Stone, and Lee – filled an urgent need for community-supported youth literacy programs by promoting a love of reading and learning in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In 2015, these two programs combined under the WITS umbrella to create a holistic approach to literacy in the classroom, setting students on a trajectory for success by building critical literacy skills. They laid the foundation for the WITS we know and love today: creating community through literacy-based mentorship, enabling teachers to build diverse classroom libraries, and promoting book ownership at home.
Where we are now
Since its founding, WITS has grown from a handful of committed Chicagoans to a network of hundreds of students, teachers, volunteers, and over thirty Chicago corporations. WITS is proud to be the largest provider of no-cost literacy enrichment programming and activator of corporate partnerships in Chicago Public Schools. Watch the video and hear firsthand what our stakeholders say about the start of WITS.
