Our History

LEARN and its predecessor, Lawndale Community School, have provided a high quality education to children living in low-income communities for nearly 30 years. Lawndale Community School began with 11 students in a small apartment in the North Lawndale community on Chicago’s west side. 

Our founders, Patricia Vockeroth, Margaret Rauls, and Ernestine Rivers were frustrated by the lack of high quality educational opportunities available for students in the community. They were determined to launch a neighborhood school where high academic achievement was expected and encouraged and a culture of mutual respect was promoted as the optimal learning environment for students and their families. The founders were committed to academically and socially preparing its scholars for matriculation to the best high schools in Chicago and eventually to colleges across the country.

Over the past 29 years, much has changed about the school. We have grown from serving 11 students to nearly 1,000 students from
Preschool to Eighth Grade across three schools. In 2001, LEARN transitioned from a private school to a public charter school. In 2008, we opened our second campus, LEARN Excel, also located on the west side of Chicago. Our third campus successfully opened in August 2009 and is located at 212 South Francisco Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.  With this growth, LEARN’s   commitment to providing children in need with an outstanding  elementary education and preparing them for college prep high schools and eventually college, has not changed. In fact, this commitment and passion is as powerful today as it was in 1981.