Executive Director of Advanced Learning & Specialty Programs
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Errika Baker Perkins currently holds the position of Executive Director of Advanced Learning & Specialty Programs for Chicago Public Schools. In this capacity, she is responsible for directing the support, implementation, scale, and sustainability of a diverse portfolio of district-wide programs, including International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Personalized Learning, Magnet, and Gifted programs. Her strategic leadership ensures the effective delivery of these programs across the district. Before transitioning to a central office systems leadership role, Errika served for four years as an elementary school principal, where she led a transformative personalized learning redesign process. This innovative work was recognized with a Breakthrough Schools Award from Next Generation Learning Challenges. Earlier in her career, Errika was instrumental in developing a public Montessori school in Chicago, serving as Program Director, a founding staff member, and a PreK-3rd grade teacher. Errika earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois - Urbana and an M.A. in Elementary Education from Chicago State University. Demonstrating her commitment to ongoing scholarship, she is presently a doctoral candidate at Illinois State University, and anticipates receiving her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Equity, and Inclusion in December 2025. Contact Me
Personalized & Competency-Based Learning Support Specialist
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Ashley Threatt is a Personalized and Competency-Based Education Specialist. She partners with school leaders, coordinators, and educators to design equitable, student-centered learning experiences that honor student voice, provide multiple pathways to proficiency, and use data to inform meaningful instructional decisions. Ashley earned her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Bradley University in 2014, where she co-founded the Multicultural Peer Mentoring Program to promote the retention and success of racially diverse students. She then earned her Master’s in Urban Education from National Louis University in 2015 through the Academy for Urban School Leadership’s teacher residency program. Prior to joining the district team, Ashley taught 6th-8th grade math at Sherman School of Excellence for six years, where she led the creation of school-wide systems and structures, introduced new technology to increase student engagement, and coached teachers in classroom management and instructional strategies—all while centering students' social-emotional needs through strong relationship-building. In 2021, Ashley became a school-based Personalized Learning Coordinator. In 2023, she transitioned into her current districtwide role to expand her impact. Ashley’s work is grounded in her passion for equity, data-driven decision-making to drive meaningful change, and cultivating learning environments where both students and educators can thrive. Contact Me |
Director of Specialty Programs
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Brittany Guy is the Director of Specialty Programs for Chicago Public Schools. Since joining CPS in 2019, she has expanded her support from initially working with the personalized learning program to include schools with a variety of specialty programs. In her current role, she focuses on ensuring program quality across schools with gifted, personalized learning, and magnet programs, including those currently in implementing a federal Magnet Schools Assistance Programs (MSAP) grant. Before her move to Chicago, Brittany served as the Program Manager for Personalized Learning for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina. There, she led the development of a program designed to create differentiated, student-led learning experiences, as well as shifts in early elementary school grading practices. With a background as a middle school math teacher and an instructional coach, she has focused on providing individual support to help every learner grow. She was a contributor to North Carolina's plan for scaling personalized learning, a member of the NC Governor’s Teacher Network for action research on personalized professional learning, and more recently, a working group member for the EdTech Genome Project, focused on professional learning. She is dedicated to fostering high-quality learning experiences for all students across Chicago. Contact Me
Personalized & Competency-Based Learning Support Specialist
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Amanda Porter is a Specialist supporting Personalized Learning and Competency-Based Education in the Department of Advanced Learning and Specialty Programs (ALSP) within the Office of Teaching & Learning at Chicago Public Schools. She works alongside school leaders and teacher teams to create student-centered, equity-driven learning models that support every learner’s growth. Over her 13 years in education, Amanda has been a primary and intermediate classroom teacher in a CPS personalized learning school, as well as a personalized learning coordinator. She holds a BS in Elementary Education from Illinois State University and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction, and is passionate about helping schools build environments where students feel empowered to take charge of their learning and future. Contact Me |
Manager of Personalized & Competency-Based Learning
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Savannah began her career in education as a 4th and 5th grade teacher on the South Side of Chicago. During her time in the classroom, she was also a part of her school’s 4-person team that was charged with reimagining what school could look like as part of Next Generation Learning Challenge’s Breakthrough Schools Competition. The team developed a blueprint for school transformation, and was one of six schools to receive over $300K in grant funding to turn their plan into reality. She then led the coaching & development of the staff in order to facilitate the adoption of personalized, competency based learning from pilot classrooms to a full school model. Savannah is extremely passionate about the adoption of personalized, competency based learning as she believes that it is how we can fulfill our country’s promise of providing a high quality education for ALL children. Savannah holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Cincinnati and an MEd in School Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. In addition to her role as Manager of G&PBL- she has also served as a teacher, school-based coach, resident principal & district personalized learning specialist. Contact Me
Personalized & Competency-Based Learning Support Specialist
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Jessica David joined the Personalized Learning Team as a Specialist in 2023 after 15 years in the classroom. After leaving a career in Public Relations, Jessica joined the world of education and began her Personalized Learning journey with a small cohort of teachers piloting the program at their school. After seeing how Personalized Learning helped close the achievement gap for her students, she became an advocate for how transformational the program can be by mentoring teachers who were new to PL. Since joining Chicago Public Schools in 2019, Jessica has worked on the Curriculum Equity Initiative, created remote learning resources for the Office of Teaching and Learning, and completed a yearlong principal internship in which she served on the Instructional Leadership Team, Continuous Improvement Work Plan Committee, and school Local School Council. Jessica holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching as well as a Masters in Educational Leadership. Contact Me |
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