About FoNTA

Friends of National Teachers Academy (FoNTA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the students and educators at National Teachers Academy.

FoNTA fundraises throughout the school year to ensure that our NTA classrooms, programs, and community have the resources needed for our students to thrive. Our all-volunteer team is made up of members of the NTA community, including parents and family members of students and alumni, school staff, and others.

Located in Chicago’s South Loop, National Teachers Academy is a uniquely designed neighborhood school serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. NTA provides a curriculum that is responsive to students’ interests, background, and individual education needs. Our community is led by the values of courage, commitment, integrity, awareness, and empathy–also known as “The NTA Way.”

Four young girls with their arms around each other on the track during Jog-a-Thon
Students gathered around a raised bed in the school garden
Parent volunteers and staff smile together in a selfie
NTA school sign seen from Cermak Ave
A young student in an astronaut costume next to her project about Dr. Mae Jemison
Students hugging Principal Brooks
Students on stage during Museum Walk, NTA's year-end multidisciplinary performance
8th graders at a fundraising event
Parents and students walking the track during FoNTA's 2024 Jog-a-Thon
NTA students with Chance the Rapper
NTA's A Step Ahead Chess team, the Stormers, after a tournament holding trophies
Middle school students pose together after Jog-a-Thon
Young students on stage during a winter performance with parents watching
Enthusiastic young runners during Jog-a-Thon
Members of NTA admin staff dressed up for Halloween
NTA volleyball team and coaches hold up a plaque
NTA students and families during the Jog-a-Thon
A group of 5th graders after a tree-planting activity in the school's front yard
NTA wrestlers and coaches

Our Impact

Learn about how your support for FoNTA is making a difference in NTA classrooms.

Our Team

Get to know the leaders of FoNTA’s all-volunteer board.

Documents

Explore past FoNTA newsletters, financial reports, and other documents.

The Fight to Save NTA

In 2017, NTA was among the highest performing elementary schools in Chicago. The student population, which was 80% Black and more than 70% low-income, was thriving. Despite this, Chicago Public Schools announced a plan to close NTA. The proposal included dispersing students and converting the building to a high school serving a growing population of affluent South Loop families. 

The NTA community, however, would not go quietly. With a curriculum already grounded in social justice, students and families committed to saving their school. The community spoke out at countless community forums, protested at school board meetings, engaging in civil disobedience, and gathered support from influential voices across Chicago. 

NTA families and community groups filed a lawsuit to stop the closure and on December 3, 2018, were granted an injunction to halt the district’s plan–the first time in U.S. history that a school closure was blocked on racial discrimination grounds. Later that night, CPS dropped their proposal and NTA was officially “here to stay”!

We celebrate NTA Day each December 3 to honor the tireless efforts of the NTA community in the fight to save our school and remind students to continue to speak truth to power.

We highly recommend the award-winning documentary film Let the Little Light Shine, which chronicles the fight to save NTA. You can also learn more about the campaign on the We Are NTA website.

Let the Little Light Shine movie poster