Jennifer Ciok is the Manager of Coaching & Improvement for the University of Chicago’s To&Through Middle Grades Network. She works closely with schools, partners, and the To&Through team to create more equitable and supportive educational environments where middle grade students thrive. In this role, she supports middle schools across multiple cohorts in Chicago Public Schools to help build these systems using both qualitative and quantitative data and research to define problems of practice and implement change ideas to better support students. She has also written a book, The Meaningful Middle School Classroom, where she shares stories, ideas, and research to help educators create the sparks for engagement that lead to deeper learning. Prior to her work at To&Through, Jennifer was a middle school social studies and English teacher for 15 years and a Social Emotional Learning Manager at the high school level for five years. Jennifer went to Ohio University where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a Masters in Reading Education. She also has credentials in College and Career Advising and Gifted Education.