Guiding Priniciples

Three Guiding Principles
UNITE's approach to training and support is directed by Three Guiding Principles.

Mission-Based Teaching
UNITE Corps members are professionals who approach teaching with a purpose and as a driving force for positive change in high needs schools, communities, and populations across Chicago.

The view of teaching, not as a job, but rather as a calling; not as a wage earning chore, but as an opportunity to make a difference; not as a responsibility but as a privilege to be a part of the lives of children, is imperative for the UNITE Corps member. Whatever motivates and grounds the Corps member, be it faith, social justice, a commitment to equity and quality in education or a love of learning and a desire to impart knowledge, the UNITE Corps member must hold this personal value as driving force behind his or her service as a teacher.

Community of Support
UNITE Corps members belong to several communities that support them during their participation in the program.

The UNITE experience provides holistic support for professional development and personal growth in seminars, classroom visits, monthly dinners and retreats. Beyond ICTC and Northwestern staff, Support People, who are UNITE Alumni and current classroom teachers, facilitate discussion and foster reflection where UNITE Corps members can find support with others who are experiencing similar challenges.

Challenges in Change 
UNITE Corps members will acquire new definitions of success and failure found in working within changing and imperfect schools, systems, and communities.

UNITE Corps members will face the challenge of recalibrating individual definitions of success and failure during the first years of teaching. Urban classrooms require different rules and strategies, different planning mechanisms and have a different pace and feel than corporate offices and boardrooms. UNITE Corps members will re-learn much of what they thought they knew about education and children as they evolve into skilled practitioners. The transferable skills and leadership they bring from their previous careers will permit them to contribute earlier and innovate more during this environmental transition to education. They will, as a result, have significant impact on the children they serve, their schools and community.