Elissa Klein

Elissa Klein served as co-founder and Chief of Staff of ReGeneration Schools, a nonprofit charter management organization ranking #1 in Illinois and the top 4% nationally (Stanford CREDO, 2023). As Chief of Staff, Elissa led all non-instructional work, built the home office, and stewarded the leadership team and organizational strategy.

Elissa began her work in Chicago supporting the turnaround of three Chicago International Charter Schools (CICS): CICS Avalon, CICS Basil, and CICS Washington Park. These schools ranked in the bottom 17% of Illinois in 2012, and in three years, ReGeneration's team increased student achievement to the top 39% of the state. By 2019, all three ranked in the U.S. News' top 10 for Illinois charter elementary schools. During that time, Elissa wrote applications and gained acceptance to Charter School Growth Fund and Charter Network Accelerator. She secured $5.5M in grants for ReGeneration's expansion and successfully authored a charter application.

Elissa developed her passion for education helping to found Uncommon Schools’ Rochester Prep. She has taught with Citizen Schools in Boston, MA, and developed math assessments for Achievement Network. Elissa holds a B.A. from Williams College, an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from the Broad Center, formerly an independent education institution now housed at Yale School of Management.