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About the Council
The Council of the Great City Schools is a coalition of 68 of the nation’s largest urban school systems. Its Board of Directors is composed of the Superintendent of Schools and one School Board member from each member city. An Executive Committee of 24 individuals, equally divided in number between Superintendents and School Board members, provides oversight of the 501 (c)(3) organization in between Board meetings. The mission of the Council is to advocate for and to assist in the improvement of public education in the nation’s major cities. To meet that mission, the Council provides services to its members in the areas of legislation, research, communications, curriculum and instruction, and management. The group convenes two major conferences each year on promising practices in urban education; conducts studies on urban school conditions and trends; and operates ongoing networks of senior communications, curriculum, research, technology, and other staff groups. The Council was founded in 1956 and incorporated in 1961, and has its headquarters in Washington, DC.