Washington, D.C. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools congratulates Chicago charter school founder and leader, Juan Salgado, for being awarded the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship a five-year grant to individuals who show exceptional creativity in their work. Salgado is the president and CEO of Instituto del Progreso Latino, which helps immigrants overcome barriers to success in the workplace and build human capital in their communities.
In 2010, Mr. Salgado founded, Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy,a charter school located on the Instituto del Progreso Latino campus in Chicago for grades 9-12. The academy prepares students for success in competitive colleges and universities while simultaneously providing job readiness certifications in entry-level positions with higher wages at the healthcare sector.
The charter school community is immensely proud of Juan Salgado and his leadership to improve the lives of the low-income, Latino immigrant communities on Chicago’s southwest side, said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. We are also so pleased that the MacArthur Foundation recognized this phenomenal charter school founder, who had the vision to create a high-quality, innovative charter school that is providing exceptional educational opportunities for students with financial need. The charter school model offers a lot of autonomy, which attracts entrepreneurial leaders who have new ideas on creating outstanding public schools for families who have historically had few options. Mr. Salgado is a fantastic example of how our movement is so dynamic.
Mr. Salgado is one of 24 national winners who have been selected as MacArthur Fellows and will be awarded $625,000 over five years.Read more about Mr. Salgado’s work as a community leader here.
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org
