Noble Schools, Chicago’s largest public charter school network, announced Tuesday that current Chief Schools Officer Brenda Cora will be promoted to lead the organization after the departure of its chief executive of six years.
Cora was a member of the first graduating class of Noble Schools, and has held various leadership positions within the school network over the past two decades. After current CEO Constance Jones, who has led Noble since 2018, announced in July that she planned to step down, the charter’s leadership said it began a search process with an external advisory group, landing on internal candidate Cora as the top pick.
Founded in 1999, the Noble Schools system serves over 12,000 students at 17 high schools across Chicago. The charter network has one of the highest college acceptance rates in the city — about 98% — according to its publicized data, and makes up approximately 13% of the total Chicago Public Schools high school population.
The formal leadership transition over to Cora will occur Jan. 6 with Jones staying on as CEO until then.
“Noble’s not just educating students, we’re empowering them to become leaders in their communities,” Cora said in an interview with the Tribune. “Noble has consistently demonstrated a commitment to high academic standards, character development and preparing our students for college and beyond. And I would say I’m proof of this.”
Starting as a student at Noble Street College Prep after its founding in 1999 as the initial campus of the charter network, Cora said that she “grew alongside the school.” After attending Grinnell College in Iowa, she began working at Noble’s Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy in Humboldt Park, eventually becoming its principal for six years before being promoted to chief schools officer.
Now in her sixth year as chief schools officer, she oversees the “academic and operational performance” of six campuses within Noble’s network.
Cora told the Tribune that her vision for Noble’s future as it reaches its 25th year is one of “continuous improvement.”
“I envision Noble to continue to embrace innovative teaching methods and start to integrate technology meaningfully, and to just continue to prioritize mental health and well-being for our students,” Cora said.
She added that one of the greatest current challenges faced by students within the Noble system is the impact of community violence. As CEO of the system, she said she hopes to “create systems and structures” to make sure that students have access to mental health support in the face of trauma.
Earlier this month, Chicago’s Board of Education unanimously voted to approve Chicago Public Schools’ new five-year strategic plan, which includes a specific focus on supporting disinvested neighborhoods and addressing what the district calls “long-standing issues of equity” in the city’s public schools.
Cora said that her own vision “closely aligns” with that of CPS, adding that both systems are choosing to value “equity, access and excellence in education.”
Yet public charter school networks such as Noble have also faced recent scrutiny, as Mayor Brandon Johnson has advocated for a shifting of resources and investment into neighborhood schools — a mandate embraced by CPS in its new strategic plan.
When asked about the debates regarding charter school funding, Cora said, “My hope is that we continue to find ways to work together to meet the needs of our students.”
“It’s important to recognize that we do better when we are collaborative, and it allows us to just create a more stable and supportive atmosphere for our students, which is what matters most,” Cora said.
