(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Gianni Brito, a senior at William Howard Taft High School, has always wanted to be a teacher.
His career choice was solidified by his own his teachers at Chicago Public Schools.
“They impacted my life, changed my life, helped me realize that it's okay to not be okay,” Brito tells WBBM Newsradio. “They helped me really get to the decision that I want to do the same thing and impact kids’ lives the way that they impacted and changed mine.”
That’s why he’s joining the Teach Chicago Tomorrow program, a CPS initiative launched in 2020 to increase diversity within its workforce by building stronger pathways for aspiring educators.
“You go to a City of Chicago community college, and then you transfer over to Illinois State University, or at least that's what I'm doing, and it's basically from classroom to teacher within four years,” Brito explained.
Currently, CPS hires approximately 140 graduates as teachers per year.
Organizers say the goal of Teach Chicago Tomorrow is to triple that number by creating a “pipeline" of in-house talent.
Brito is set to become the first college graduate and educator in his family. More importantly, he said, he’ll have the chance to help future students just like him.
“I've connected with other teachers, of course, that have been from wherever,” he said. “But teachers that I felt like have really understood me, have come from CPS schools.”
About 65 Chicago Public Schools seniors will take part in a signing day and induction ceremony Tuesday evening at the Chicago Cultural Center, surrounded by friends and family.
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