John Barker joined CPS in January 2013 having learned the challenges of an urban school district through his work in Memphis as both Chief of Staff to the district’s superintendent, and as head of Research, Evaluation, Assessment, and Student Information for five years. In Memphis, Dr. Barker oversaw the district’s Data Dashboard, which measures progress against the district’s strategic goals. In Chicago, Dr. Barker has developed a comprehensive accountability strategy and the departmental team to support the new work. Barker holds a PhD in Education and Human Development, masters’ degree in Public Policy, and joined Dr. Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s team as a nationally recognized thought leader in public education. He has served on the graduate faculty of the College of Education at the University of Memphis and brings nearly 20 years of professional experience in education to Chicago Public Schools.

Barbara Byrd-Bennett is the CEO of Chicago Public Schools and has led transformational reform efforts in major urban districts across the country.

Aarti Dhupelia is the Chief Officer for the Office of College and Career Success in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).  In this capacity, she is responsible for ensuring that every student at every grade level is engaged, on-track and accelerating toward success in college, career and life – this includes driving strategies around attendance and truancy, drop-out re-engagement, out-of-school time, social and emotional learning, college and career planning, and early college and career acceleration coursework.  Prior to assuming this role in September 2013, Ms. Dhupelia served as Deputy Chief of Staff for CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, where she focused on developing the district’s 5-year strategic and execution plans as well as district-wide performance management systems.  In 2012, Ms. Dhupelia served as Executive Director of the CPS Office of School Improvement (OSI), where she worked to transform the district’s most struggling schools.  Prior to this role, she served as the CPS Director of Career and Technical Education and subsequently the Director of Early College and Career Education, where her goal was to provide students access to college credit, industry certifications, and employment while in high school.  Ms. Dhupelia’s work on transforming Career and Technical Education in CPS has received recognition from Harvard University and the US Department of Education as a model for urban districts nationwide.

Annette Gurley, another of Chicago's finest principals, is the Chief Teaching and Learning Officer for the district.

Denise Little, former school and network-level leader is the Chief of Schools for CPS.