Alain Locke Charter School, founded in 1999, is an inter-city school focused on providing world-class educational opportunities to children in high-poverty, high-crime areas of Chicago. Even though Alain Locke is nationally recognized, funding is scarce, despite their impressive test results. Charter Schools receive only a fraction of funding compared to Chicago Public Schools and rely heavily on outside support to provide the best education to their students.

Alain Locke is one of the highest performing charter schools in Illinois. The U.S. Department of Education recognized Alain Locke as 1 of 7 schools in the United States most successful at “Closing the Achievement Gap.” Our results prove that all children with access to the best educators and resources can perform at the highest academic level by any measure.
- Patrick Love, Principal of Alain Locke

Making an Impact with Technology

At BDO Digital, we value community outreach and since 2011 our employees have built a strong kinship with the faculty, staff, and students of Alain Locke Charter School. The goal of our partnership is to help Alain Locke stay competitive with today’s scholastic demands and to enhance the lives of the students by providing solutions to progress the school’s educational- technology. As part of this partnership, we continue to donate equipment, software, and technical expertise necessary for the Alain Locke Charter School to continue its mission of "absolute excellence."

It is critical that Alain Locke students keep pace with technology– whether it’s taking placement testing, which is now all computer-based, doing research for a class, or completing high school, college and job applications. Recently, BDO Digital donated over 100 laptops to the school, giving every grade level, PreK-8th, the access to a computer. In addition, each teacher received Microsoft Surface Laptops, which will allow teachers to easily share information with their students and provide an overall better learning experience. BDO Digital has been working towards this laptop donation goal for a while now and we are excited that we finally met this milestone.

Learning Together

We are always excited to talk to the students at Alain Locke, whether it’s about the students’ career aspirations to chatting about the latest technology. The Alain Locke students also teach us a lot too! From new Holiday songs every winter, to the inspiring goals each of the students have, we are always learning something new. BDO Digital’s Women in Technology (WIT) group wanted to take this shared learning experience one step further and are starting a mentorship and Pen Pal program with the students. This is a part of the WIT 2020 initiative and the goal is to further support and enable the students through their education journey. WIT also wants to empower the students outside of technology and provide them with lessons and experiences that will continue with them throughout their education and as they enter their careers. Other programs part of the WIT 2020 initiative includes workshops for the students and their parents on topics such as, How to Create a Resume or Tips and Tricks on O365. More about WIT’s 2020 initiatives are listed below:

About Alain Locke Charter School

Alain Locke Charter School is the #1 performing charter school in Chicago and in the top 10% of all Chicago elementary schools, outperforming most schools across the country in reading and math. Since 2006, the school has been named a Spotlight School by the Illinois State Board of Education, a distinction which his given to schools severing a population of at least 505 low-income students with 85% passing state reading and mathematics tests. The school was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as 1 of 7 schools in the United States “Best Closing the Achievement Gap.”