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 including in a rural colegio (Spanish public elementary school) in Castilla-La Mancha. Following his return to the United States he landed in Chicago and has worked at CPS since.

Over his career, Isaiah has served in the full gamut of instructional roles. From delivering pull-out ESL services, to teaching 6-8th grade home economics/farming, to subbing, and working as a special education classroom assistant taking care of kids with disabilities. Isaiah understands what it takes to provide a high quality education and he’s dedicated to ensuring Chicago’s kids have access to universal academic excellence. Isaiah has particularly enjoyed working with Chicago’s recently arrived refugee students, some of the most underserved members of our community.

Isaiah has deep first-hand experiences with the successes and failures of government. As a former foster youth, 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 efficient 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 volunteered with the River North Residents’ Association as their Family Committee Volunteer Coordinator. The committee organized seasonal events that help make River North a great place for kids to grow. When he’s not teaching, campaigning, or volunteering, he bikes and does ceramics at the Park District.