Ashley Leonard & Jennifer Ciok

Ashley Leonard is the Associate Director of the To&Through Middle Grades Network (MGN), a group of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) dedicated to creating more equitable and responsive learning environments where middle schoolers thrive. Prior to joining the MGN, she was the Executive Director for Spark in Chicago, a career exploration and self-discovery program. Ashley’s diverse experience in education includes special projects roles at the Chicago Public Education Fund and CPS. She holds a Master's of Education in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Vassar College. Ashley is a proud alumna of the 2017 Surge Institute Fellowship and is eager to see how her newest role as mom deepens her commitment to the field. As the Middle Grades Network Coach for the University of Chicago’s To&Through Middle Grades Network, Jennifer works closely with schools, partners, and the To&Through Project team to create more equitable and supportive educational environments where middle grades students thrive. In this role, she supports six middle schools in CPS to help build these systems using both qualitative and quantitative data and research to define problems of practice and implement change ideas to better support students. Prior to her work at To&Through, Jennifer was a middle school social studies and English teacher for 15 years and a Social-Emotional Learning Manager at the high school level for five. Jennifer went to Ohio University where she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Education and her Master's in Reading Education. She also has her credentials in College and Career Advising and Gifted Education.