Academy for Urban School Leadership

What Academy for Urban School Leadership does

AUSL is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2001 by Martin (Mike) Koldyke, Arne Duncan, and Dr. Donald Feinstein, operating the nation's first urban teacher residency program. The organization runs the Chicago Teacher Residency (CTR) and the newly launched Lake County Teacher Residency, both one-year immersive preparation programs in which career changers with bachelor's degrees earn a Master's from DePaul University (at a reduced ~$20,400 tuition) while completing 1,000+ hours of classroom residency and obtaining Illinois Professional Educator Licensure. Residents receive a $22,100 training scholarship plus AmeriCorps Segal Education Award ($7,395), TEACH Grant support (up to $4,000/year), and other aid totaling $34,000+. AUSL also operates AUSL Advisory Services (marketed under the LiberatED Way methodology), which sells teaching induction, instructional coaching, community-design support, and professional development to school systems including Rockford Public Schools, Good Reason Houston, East St. Louis, and others, after exiting direct school management by SY 2023-2024.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: contributions from individual, corporate, and foundation donors (with $400,000+ tier partners including Crown Family Philanthropies and Schreiber Philanthropy); resident tuition routed via DePaul University; and fee-based advisory engagements with school districts and partner organizations. Customer segments are primarily career-changer teaching candidates (persona segment) and Chicago Public Schools (geography segment, primary placement partner), with a secondary national advisory segment of partner schools and districts. The organization is governed by a board chaired by Cardelle Spangler, with Adam Case as Executive Director following the 2024 retirement of founding ED Dr. Donald Feinstein after 23 years. There is no public product API, SDK, or AI/ML capability disclosed; the technology footprint consists of an online application portal (connect.auslchicago.org), a remote coaching system introduced during the 2020-2021 pandemic, and standard digital marketing channels.

Name

Academy for Urban School Leadership

Legal name

Academy for Urban School Leadership

Website

https://auslchicago.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

AUSL is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating urban teacher residency programs and a national school advisory practice. It trains career-changer teachers via the Chicago and Lake County Teacher Residencies and provides school improvement consulting through its LiberatED Way methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Teacher Residency & School Improvement Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Teacher Professional Development & In-Service Training Institutes (EDAHAFAM)

Keywords

• Teacher residency programs
• Urban education services
• School advisory consulting
• Teacher preparation training
• School improvement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropy: The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that generates revenue through donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Major donor categories range from $400,000+ to $1,000-$4,999 levels.
2. Program Revenue (Resident Contributions): Residents pay reduced tuition of approximately $20,400 to DePaul University for their Master's degree program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AUSL operates teacher residency programs (Chicago Teacher Residency and Lake County Teacher Residency) that prepare career changers to become licensed urban school teachers through a one-year, 1,000+ hour classroom immersion combined with a Master's degree from DePaul University. It also delivers AUSL Advisory Services — a national school-improvement consulting practice (anchored in the LiberatED Way methodology) that provides instructional coaching, leadership development, and community-design support to schools and districts.

Product overview

The Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) is a nonprofit organization offering two primary programs: the Chicago Teacher Residency and Lake County Teacher Residency (core teacher training programs), and AUSL Advisory Services (national school consulting). The Chicago Teacher Residency provides a one-year immersive teacher preparation program where participants earn a master's degree from DePaul University while gaining 1000+ hours of classroom experience. The Advisory Services division offers instructional coaching, community design support, and professional development to schools and districts through its LiberatED Way methodology. The organization previously managed schools directly (2006-2023) but now focuses exclusively on teacher training and advisory services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chicago Teacher Residency
• Lake County Teacher Residency
• AUSL Advisory Services
• LiberatED Way

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of residency graduates remain teaching after 4 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Chicago Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary district partner for teacher placement. The Chicago Teacher Residency places graduates as full-time teachers in CPS schools, particularly in underserved communities and hard-to-staff content areas.
• State of IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level partnership supporting teacher certification and education programs across Illinois.
• DePaul UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing Master's degree programs for residents at reduced tuition rate (approximately $20,400). Residents earn Master's degrees in education disciplines including Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, and High School specializations.
• AmeriCorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational service partnership providing Segal Education Award ($7,395), healthcare coverage, and childcare assistance for eligible resident teachers. Residents complete 1,700 service hours as part of the program.
• RavenswoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school receiving AUSL Advisory Services for school improvement and whole-child success support.
• Rockford Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner district receiving AUSL Advisory Services including teaching induction, instructional coaching, and community design support.
• Good Reason HoustoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization receiving AUSL Advisory Services for school transformation and improvement initiatives.
• Transformation WacocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization receiving LiberatED Way advisory services for school improvement. CEO Dr. Robin McDurham provided testimonial on impact.
• Carole Robertson Center for LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization receiving AUSL Advisory Services support. VP Dr. Sonja Crum Knight provided testimonial on strategic partnership impact.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KIPP Foundation: National charter school network with its own teacher training and leadership development programs (KIPP NYC Fellow, KIPP Through College). Operates charter schools directly and runs internal talent pipelines analogous to AUSL's pre-2023 model.
• New Leaders: National nonprofit that trains school leaders and develops teacher leaders in underserved schools. Overlaps with AUSL Advisory Services on school leadership coaching and is part of the same ecosystem of school-improvement intermediaries.
• Teach For America: Largest national alternative-pathway program placing recent graduates in low-income schools for multi-year commitments. Competes with AUSL for candidates, district placement slots, and philanthropic funding, but uses a shorter pre-service model.
• TNTP (The New Teacher Project): National nonprofit focused on teacher recruitment, training, and policy that runs multiple teacher preparation programs and works with districts across the country. Larger, more diversified scope than AUSL with similar mission of improving teacher quality in underserved schools.

Emerging players

• Aspire Public Schools: Nonprofit charter management organization with a teacher residency program (Aspire Teacher Residency) operating in California. Smaller and more regionally focused than AUSL, but with the same combined residency + school model.

Direct peers

• Boston Teacher Residency: One of the original urban teacher residencies founded in 2003 with a parallel career-changer pathway and Master's degree partnership model. Operates in another large urban district (Boston) with comparable retention and equity-focused mission.
• Match Education: Boston-based nonprofit that runs a teacher residency program (Match Teacher Residency) alongside a charter school network. Closely comparable combined residency + school management model that AUSL operated until 2023/2024.
• Relay Graduate School of Education: Alternative teacher preparation institution offering graduate-level teacher certification programs in multiple states. Competes for similar career-changer and alternative-certification candidates and pursues university-district partnerships.
• Urban Teacher Residency United (UTRU): National network of urban teacher residency programs with a similar career-changer model and yearlong clinical training. UTRU's member residencies (including AUSL itself) compete for similar funding, university partnerships, and district placement.
• NYC Teaching Fellows: Large-scale alternative certification program placing career changers in New York City public schools. Runs a similar mission of training non-traditional candidates for high-need urban schools, with a comparable financial aid and Master's pathway.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/auslchicago
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCV-DqvlYyMuSQUKhwp8EVBA
• Facebookfacebook.com/auslchicago
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/academy-for-urban-school-leadership
• Instagraminstagram.com/auslchicago

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Academy for Urban School Leadership