Isaiah White is a third generation elementary educator; he proudly walks in the footsteps of his mother and grandmother who taught elementary before him. Today, Isaiah is a CPS educator and loves every minute of it.

Isaiah started his career in education as a substitute teacher in rural southeastern Pennsylvania – it was his first experience in the classroom. On his first day of work he came home and told his then partner, now spouse, Alex that he’d found his calling; early childhood education was what he wanted to spend his life doing. Isaiah and Alex then moved to Spain where, for almost three years, Isaiah taught English in elementary schools in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid. Following his return to the United States, he moved to Chicago and has worked at CPS since.

Over his career, Isaiah has served in a large gamut of instructional roles. He’s delivered pull-out ESL services, taught middle school home economics and elementary ESL, he’s subbed, and currently works at CPS as a SECA (Special Education Classroom Assistant) taking care of students with disabilities. Isaiah understands what it takes to provide a high quality education because that’s what he’s spent his career doing. He’s dedicated to ensuring Chicago’s kids have access to universal academic excellence in every school, across every zip code, and at every age. Isaiah has particularly enjoyed working with Chicago’s recently arrived refugee students.

Isaiah has deep first-hand experiences with the successes and failures of government. As a former foster youth, who experienced homelessness, he relied on Medicaid, SNAP, and Social Security Survivors Benefits. He firmly believes in the necessity of a universal social safety net; he believes that the people who rely on these services and, critically, the taxpayers who fund them, deserve programs that are deeply efficient, effective and generous stewards of public dollars. Isaiah endeavors to build a school district that makes our tax dollars go further while delivering a robust, universally excellent education.

Today Isaiah lives in River North with his spouse, Alex, and their kitten, Ford. He loves walking the River Walk, the 606, and the Lakefront. He’s always up for a quick stroll – particularly if there’s a nice view! When he’s not teaching, campaigning, or volunteering, he bikes, explores Chicago’s green spaces, and does ceramics at the Park District. In the near future, he and Alex intend to start their journey together as foster parents; giving to their future child the loving family life that Isaiah was lucky enough to find in his youth.