CME Group Foundation Grants $3.6 Million to Support Math Education for Illinois Children

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Jul 18, 2016, 10:30 ET

CHICAGO, July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group Foundation today announced the launch of the second phase of its Early Math Education Initiative and $3.6 million in new grants for the program. The initiative, first established in October 2010, is a multi-year effort to enable young children from low income communities to develop proficiency in math.

CME Group Foundation announced the new grants at an annual meeting with more than 40 representatives from nearly 24 organizations involved in the initiative. Each organization shared their accomplishments from the first phase of funding. Kathleen Sheridan, an associate professor at the University of Illinois, spoke of how the grant enables UIC to research the impact of online early math professional development on the child care providers' teaching practice. According to Sheridan, the findings will enable UIC to provide guidance and information to states about effective professional development in early math.

"In launching the Early Math Education Initiative, CME Group Foundation developed a theory of change with the goal of helping Illinois children become proficient at their grade level and prepared for success in mathematics later in their education," said Jim Oliff, Chairman of CME Group Foundation.

The new grants, which CME Group Foundation will contribute over three years, will be allocated to scaling up programs for professional development and family engagement in early math education, as well as pilot investments in pre-service teacher preparation and influencers of early math policy. The grants will serve young children ranging from infants to fifth graders within public, charter and parochial schools, childcare centers and home-based providers among others. CME Group Foundation's grants will benefit research, educational conferences, teacher training and professional development programs.

"CME Group Foundation's support of Teach For America's early math work in Chicago will allow more than 100 Teach For America teachers to provide more than 2,200 low-income CPS students with high-quality early math instruction in the 2016-2017 school year," said Ben Chrischilles, senior manager of Development & Government Affairs, Teach For America. "We're very grateful for the community of organizations CME Group Foundation has brought together to focus on this issue, and look forward to working together to increase early math outcomes for CPS students."

More information on the initiative can be found at www.cmegroupfoundation.org/early_math.html. The complete list of beneficiaries follows:

Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL)
Bank Street College
Big Shoulders Fund
Chicago Children's Museum
Chicago Public Schools
Christopher House
Council for a Strong America – ReadyNation
Decatur Public Schools
DePaul University
DuPage Children's Museum
Editorial Projects in Education
Erikson Institute - Biennial National Conference
Erikson Institute with Ounce of Prevention Fund
Golden Apple Foundation
Governor's State University
Kohl Children's Museum
Ounce of Prevention Fund
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Teach For America
University of Illinois – Chicago
University of Chicago – Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab
University of Chicago – STEM Education
Voices for Illinois Children

About CME Group Foundation
CME Group Foundation works to advance the economy by supporting education from cradle to career. The Foundation partners with universities, school districts, charter networks and nonprofit organizations that work to ensure at risk young children are prepared for kindergarten; provide effective K-12 education that prepares disadvantaged students for success in college and career; prepare university students for careers in financial services and risk management; and conduct academic research in areas that advance derivatives knowledge and best practices. The Foundation was created in 2008 and endowed with a gift of $16 million from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Trust, which was established by CME in 1969 under the direction of its then chairman, Leo Melamed, to provide financial protection to customers in the event a CME member firm became insolvent or unable to meet its obligations to its customers.

About CME Group
As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. Around the world, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its exchanges based in Chicago, New York and London. CME Group also operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe, which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives. CME Group's products and services ensure that businesses around the world can effectively manage risk and achieve growth.

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