Brenda Cora

As Chief Schools Officer, Brenda Cora is tasked with working alongside multiple stakeholders to ensure that Noble fulfills its mission, where all students have equitable and positive school experiences that equip them to succeed on the path of their choice, leading to 75% of alumni completing college. Brenda began her career in East Garfield Park/West Humboldt Park at Noble’s Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy, where she eventually served as principal for six years. As principal, Brenda managed her leadership team and utilized continuous-improvement frameworks based on cultural responsiveness to engage in data-based problem solving and decision making. During her tenure, she was able to improve student retention and academic growth significantly and pushed Rowe-Clark’s CPS School Quality Rating to a Level 1. In 2017-2018, under Brenda’s leadership, Rowe-Clark achieved citywide recognition for attaining the 10th highest overall SAT growth and the 3rd highest for African-American students in CPS. Brenda is a proud alum of Noble Street College Prep’s founding class, where she graduated at the top of her class and went on to earn a B.A. in economics with a concentration in gender and women’s studies at Grinnell College.