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Founding Co-Director
University of Chicago Consortium on School Research
773-702-8047

Penny Bender Sebring is a senior research associate at the University of Chicago and co-founder of the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. She is one of the authors of Teens, Digital Media, and the Chicago Public Library and the book Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from ChicagoThe research underlying Organizing Schools is the empirical foundation for the 5Essentials Survey, a school improvement survey that provides a comprehensive picture of schools’ strengths and weaknesses as organizations. The 5Essentials Survey is now being used by over 5,400 schools in Illinois and other states and districts.

Dr. Sebring earned her BA from Grinnell College and subsequently served as a Peace Corps volunteer and high school teacher. She received her PhD in education and social policy from Northwestern University.

She is currently a Life Trustee of Grinnell; the chair of the Policy Advisory Board for Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy; and a member of the board of directors for the Chicago Public Education Fund. Dr. Sebring has received an Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern; the John J. Dugan Award from OneGoal; the Stanley C. Golder Community Service Award from the Golden Apple Foundation; and a Community Service award  from the Associated Colleges of Illinois.