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Mission

The mission of the current Chicago Commons Association is defined in its website:


Chicago Commons’ mission is to empower individuals, families, and communities to overcome poverty and systemic barriers, embrace opportunities, and thrive across generations. To fulfill that mission, we provide high quality early childhood education, family-centered adult education, and senior services to more than 3,000 individuals annually.


It is a private organization that is funded by private and government sources. It originated as one of several "Settlement Houses" that developed in Chicago in association with local universities.




Photo ©  Chicago Commons

History

The movement that came to be known as  "Settlement Houses" developed principally in England and the United States towards the end of the XIX century. They consisted of buildings in poor neighborhoods where social services and training were provided for the purpose of improving the conditions of residents of the neighborhood, frequently with the cooperation of a nearby university. Chicago Commons was founded by Graham Taylor in 1894 with the purpose of serving immigrants in Chicago’s northwest side. It operated initially from an rented old mansion, that had been converted into a boarding house. Taylor was a professor of "applied Christianity" at the Chicago Theological Seminar, and his intention was to provide a center or where his teachings about social assistance could be put into practice in a needy section of the city. Taylor moved into the house with his family and other collaborators. Many of his students became residents of the center.


In 1901, the organization moved into a new building, pictured above, designed for its purpose by the architectural firm of Pond and Pond, that had designed other settlement houses in the area. The new center was built on land owned by the Tabernacle Congregational Church with the proviso that its large auditorium would be available to the church for Sunday service. The auditorium was inspired by New England meetinghouses and to serve the same purpose in community gatherings. In addition to the auditorium, the buildling included a gymnasium, classrooms, clubrooms, parlors, and residents rooms.


Taylor went on to found the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration in 1903, and his students there continued to use the Chicago Commons center for the same purpose. Early childhood care was an important service provided from the beginning of the center. In included education and day care. There were also playgounds and organized activities for older children, and health clinics for the whole family. An important service was the use of the center for meetings of neighborhood associations, often of immigrants. Other centers of the Chicago Commons were gradually opened at other sections of Chicago, and there were some mergers with other similar organizations. The residence component was ended in 1948, but its main community services continued to be provided. The Commons also cooperates with other organizations through its Community Partners Program. Some of the current programs are described below.


Early Education

Chicago Commons provides high-quality, comprehensive early childhood education using the Reggio Emilia approach for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. It operates four accredited year-round early education preschools at different sections of the city. At Chicago Commons, parent and family engagement plays a key role in the success of our program. Parents are considered co-educators with the teacher. They can volunteer in the classroom, and participate in other family activities.


Family Hub

The only way to effectively help children is to help the whole family. The Family Hub program provides parents and primary caregivers with a broad range of supportive services and educational opportunities, including workshops and other programs to help manage finances, improve their physical and mental health and their job-readiness skills.


Pathways for Parents

Pathways for Parents is a that provides steps parents to prepare for careers in early childhood education. This cohort-based program offers college courses and guidance to become qualified as a teacher’s assistant, and help with transportation, meals, and childcare. After earning six college credits in this program, participants are qualified to be hired as a Teacher’s Aide in early education.


Adult Day Service

The Adult Day Service is a professional care program in which seniors and adults with disabilities are transported to our center to receive individualized care in a community-based group setting. The program provides preventive care, health monitoring, and skilled nursing services.


Sources:

Chicago Commons Website

Wikipedia: Chicago Commons

Graham Taylor, Pioneering on Social Frontiers (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1930.

Guy Szuberla, "Three Chicago Settlements Their Architectural Form and Social Meaning" in The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. 70, No. 2 (May, 1977), 114-129.



Adult Day Service
Photo ©  Chicago Commons