Christopher Allen (Zizumbo) and Courtney Mix-Binish (Casas) were recently selected to participate in the 12-month Chicago Principals Fellowship Program. Sponsored by the Chicago Public Education Fund, this rigorous leadership program helps cultivate leaders who can drive student achievement. 

“Strong principal leadership is essential to our mission of transforming minds through academic empowerment and success,” said Joel Pollack, chief education officer for Acero Schools. “I am thrilled that Courtney and Chris will take part in this program and confident they will make a meaningful contribution to the education community in our city.”

Participants are chosen based on their school’s high performance and community involvement. During the fellowship, principals are provided with coaching and leadership development through a partnership with Northwestern University. Mr. Allen and Ms. Mix-Binish will also represent Chicago at regional and national education conferences.

Christopher Allen is starting his tenth year with Acero Schools, having joined as a Master Teacher at Fuentes in 2007. Courtney Mix-Binish will begin her fourth year as principal at Casas in the fall.

This is the second consecutive year that Acero principals have been selected for this prestigious fellowship. Joanne Tanner of Fuentes and Melissa Sweazy of Santiago were part of the 2016-17 cohort.