Zuckerberg group gives $14 million grant to Chicago schools

A philanthropic group founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, is giving $14 million to Chicago Public Schools and a local nonprofit to bolster so-called personalized learning.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announced a grant on Tuesday for public schools in the city and LEAP Innovations, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works to bring personalized learning to local schools.

The practice emphasizes providing education based on an individual’s needs and interests, as opposed to utilizing a one-size-fits-all set of standards and benchmarks, according to LEAP’s website.

{mosads}The grant will allow more than 100 schools throughout the Chicago area to pilot, implement or expand personalized learning strategies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative said in a statement.

The funding will go toward training teachers and administrators in personalized learning strategies, as well as providing resources for educators in the nation’s third-largest school district, which comprises roughly 371,000 students in 646 schools.

“Personalized learning is about valuing each student, no matter where they’re coming from,” Phyllis Lockett, the founder and CEO of LEAP, said in a statement.

“By developing exciting learning experiences that respect students and inspire them to take agency over their own learning, we’re able to better prepare them for an increasingly complex world.”

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 by the Facebook chief and his physician wife. At the time, the couple pledged to donate 99 percent of their Facebook earnings to the group.