Chicago International Charter School Staff

Dr. Beth Purvis came to Chicago International Charter School in March 2003 with more than 15 years experience working with children with disabilities and their families. After completing her doctoral degree in 1997, Dr. Purvis was a member of the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago where her work focused on research and personnel preparation in urban education.

Under the leadership of Dr. Purvis, Chicago International has added seven campuses and over 5,000 students.  In addition, the organization successfully designed and implemented a performance evaluation system that resulted in significantly improved student outcomes and continued financial efficiency.  During the 2008-2009 school year, there was no “achievement gap” between the performance of Chicago International 8th grade students and that of their more privileged peers.  Chicago International high school campuses are among the top performing in the city in terms of student gains, graduation rate, and college placement.

Dr. Purvis currently serves on the boards of the Illinois Network of Charter School and the Illinois State Advisory Council to the Illinois State Board of Education.  Previously she served on Charter Review and Evaluation committees for Chicago Public Schools; was President of the Illinois Division of Early Childhood, 2003-2004; and was an Executive Board Member of the Illinois Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Purvis has served on the editorial review board of two peer-reviewed professional journals, has published and presented numerous papers, and been awarded various grants in her field.  

Dr. Purvis earned her B.S. in educational research from Bucknell University, her M.A. in special education from Teachers College at Columbia University, and her EdD in special education from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.  She resides in Chicago with her husband and two children.

Tom McGrath has been with Chicago International Charter School since October 2007.  Prior to joining CICS, Mr. McGrath earned more than eight years of experience in management consulting. In addition to serving traditional clients in the private sector, he spent a significant amount of time working in the regional education market, including engagements with the Renaissance Schools Fund, IL State Board of Education, Chicago Public Schools, and the Metropolitan Planning Council. Mr. McGrath is responsible for planning and managing CICS's financial performance, capital projects, facilities, and central office operations.

Mr. McGrath earned his M.B.A from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and his B.A. in economics from the University of Illinois.

Erin Lanoue came to Chicago International in October 2002. She earned her Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in political science from Providence College. As Associate Director, Ms. Lanoue oversees the new school application process through CPS' Renaissance 2010 initiative; manages Parent, Student and Teacher satisfaction surveys; and monitors compliance with local, state, and national statutes. Additionally, she coordinates the lottery and campus enrollments, and she oversaw CICS' 5-year charter renewal.

Dr. Andrea Brown-Thirston earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University and her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She joined Chicago International in September 2007 and brings experience most recently from higher education where she was an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Illinois. Dr. Brown-Thirston was also the Project Coordinator of the Teacher Quality Enhancement (TQE) Grant Project, whose main goal was to prepare talented teachers to work in high-need schools.

Dr. Brown-Thirston's background also enables her to consult as a Supplemental Subject Matter Expert with Cardean Learning Group, LLC, a for-profit, educational company that develops online courses for several universities across the country. Additionally, Dr. Brown-Thirston has published several articles and presented at local and national conferences; Rowman & Littlefield Publishers recently accepted her proposal for a co-authored book on mentoring African American and Latina girls. As the Chief Academic Officer at Chicago International, Dr. Brown-Thirston is responsible for collecting data related to student achievement, reviewing and monitoring the curriculum, instructional delivery models, and professional development plans utilized across the network, as well as maintaining and developing relationships with key personnel at the campuses and EMOs.

Christine Poindexter is responsible for measuring student performance and achievement growth. She initially came to CICS in July 2005 as a doctoral intern working with the Chief Education Officer. Ms. Poindexter is currently a doctoral candidate at Loyola University Chicago in applied social psychology with an emphasis on academic achievement motivation among minority students. She also teaches statistics and social psychology courses at the Loyola University.

Previously, Ms. Poindexter was Director of Research for E.L.I.A.S., an educational services provider, evaluating how federal start-up dollars are used in Illinois charter schools. At CYCLE WIZ Factory of Learning, Ms. Poindexter was the Executive Director of Program Evaluation and Research. There she designed applied program evaluation strategies, including quantitatively analyzing academic achievement of students in the program.

Ms. Poindexter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Loyola University New Orleans, and a Master of Arts degree in applied social psychology from Loyola University, Chicago.

Meghan Schmidt joined Chicago International in the summer of 2004. Ms. Schmidt has more than 10 years of experience as an educator in both public and private school settings. Most recently, her responsibilities were focused on middle-school curriculum and assessment. Ms. Schmidt works with the Education Management Organizations (EMO) and CICS campus personnel to coordinate special school programs and monitor needs as they relate to student performance. Currently, she oversees the implementation of tutoring services on 13 Chicago International campuses, coordinates more than 150 after-school and community-based programs across the network and facilitates the CICS Advisory Board. Ms. Schmidt is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Daniel Anello is a Broad Resident working with Chicago International to design and implement the internal and external communications plan and create a holistic marketing and advertising strategy for the Chicago International network. In addition, Mr. Anello is responsible for evaluating long-term strategic planning, identifying new educational management partners (EMOs) and for identifying organizational growth opportunities.

Prior to joining Chicago International and The Broad Residency, Daniel Anello was an associate brand manager for Unilever, where he was responsible for the long-term innovation and strategic planning for the organization’s leading growth brand. Anello led the development of a $30MM innovation, from initial concept through final production, including the development of all key communication assets. Previously, Anello was an associate director of marketing for a medical start-up company.

Mr. Anello received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Williams College, and a Masters in Business Administration degree from Chicago Booth.