Nora McConnell-Johnson

The one and only Nora :)

I’ve known Nora for several years, first as part of the same department at CPS, and then as a colleague leading incredible work for the district. Recently we have partnered to lead a peer training session on Project Management, an intense and fun activity. Right off the bat, you should know that Nora has plans for 2025 that will take her away from CPS to opening Babe’s, a bar focused on women’s sports - learn all about it here.

I am curious to learn about her early years (honestly hers is such an amazing story, I’d go right back to toddlerhood if I could :)),  and she tells me that her high school in Minnesota was a Montessori school, known for its experimental structure and the opportunity it offered for its students to build it from the ground up.  As she tells me about being part of the founding freshman class of 18 students, I am in awe - I had NO idea that Montessori high schools existed. 

Students had autonomy, with the freedom to build their desks, create their schedules, and make choices in their education. This environment allowed her to take ownership of her learning experience. She tells me as part of this she traveled to a land school at a Wisconsin farm, very different from the field trips of my life at least. 

Sports has always been an integral part of her life: at her high school she wanted to play soccer but there weren’t enough girls for a girls’ only team, so she joined the boy's team. When they still needed more members, they paired up with the local Deaf and Hard of Hearing School. She learned how to sign, and this was her first in-depth exposure to how ableist our society has been and  is. 

Before this, her elementary school years were at a traditional public school. She recalls getting caught up in “mean girl” social dynamics that were upsetting to her, prompting her to look for alternative high schools from her peers. Her non-traditional high school journey was a result of this search - she preferred to be part of the inaugural class at a new school where she knew nobody rather than stay with her old crowd. 

From her coaching days, when her North Shore teammates came to help run a clinic

She was the only one from the graduating class who went out of state for college – many of her classmates were first generation college goers, immigrants, from families below the poverty line. It made her realize firsthand how education could be the system that equalizes or segregates people, and it felt personally offensive to her to see this play out for many of her friends. As a child she had wanted to be a lawyer or judge, an authority in law (“I’ve always loved being in charge,” she says) but then realized that education is one of the main systems to eradicate poverty.

She went to undergrad in Portland, Oregon, with a focus on sociology, and developed an understanding of the concepts of wraparound services in an education system, (pioneered by Geoffrey Canada in Harlem), as well as systems and structures. She played rugby while in undergrad, and formed deep bonds with her team, becoming team captain during her college years.

Rugby had a significant influence on her, and the group of friends she made through the sport became her core support system and continues to be. Her current venture, discussed in more detail below, is done in partnership with her college co-captain, Torra. 

Her thesis was on the concept of Grit, and she corresponded with the author Angela Duckworth while working on it.  Teach for America took her to New Orleans as a teacher of everything, except math, for fourth and fifth graders - the original plan was to be there only two years and then go to grad school, but during her time there she realized that to be a good teacher, she would have to be there, in the school and with the students, longer.  This openness to change from the original plan to go to Harvard was what led her to her life today. She was accepted to the Kennedy School, no mean feat, and went there to visit to get a sense of the place, but realized it was not for her.  She ended up at the Harris School for Public Policy at UChicago, choosing it for their focus on real-world application and the hope that she could find a new home in Chicago. 

Her teaching experience challenged her and the school she taught at, was a place that made you want to give your best.  Her closest friends are from that time, trauma-bonding them for life in a way that comes uniquely from facing complex, challenging situations together. 

Babe’s :)

Nora and her girlfriend Morgan at their beer release party

Nora’s experience playing rugby in New Orleans was centered around community and fun. She continued to play rugby when she moved to Chicago but played more competitively, for both Chicago North Shore and the Lions, and also took on the role of Head Coach for the UChicago Womxn's Rugby Team, which led to the team making not just their first appearance at the Small College National Championship, but bringing home the title. Nora's leadership has been shaped by and extended beyond sports. At the start of her teaching career, she was hired by her then principal because she valued Nora’s background in sports and saw her alignment with core values of the school. This principal, Eileen, became a role model who Nora had worked with for seven years. Under the principal's guidance, Nora became relentless in her mission and service to others, maintaining a balance of fun and hard work.

As Nora progressed in her professional life, she felt a strong need for justice, especially for students and friends who had been failed by the educational system. This is what led her to leave the classroom, pursue her policy degree, and work at the district. In her current district role, she works to address these inequities, though she sometimes reflects on the disconnect between her experience in the classroom and her work in the central office (she reported that not only is Abbott Elementary incredibly accurate to her time in the classroom, down to her school leader named Ava, but she felt extremely connected to Jeanine in the season where she leaves Abbott for the district… and cried when she realized she missed teaching). Her sense of justice was nurtured by her high standards for herself and others.

Nora shares that her identity as a queer woman plays an integral role in her life and has majorly shaped her worldview. The queer community and spaces she was part of gave her grounding and support, helping her see the world in a new light. Navigating this identity alongside the complexities of heteronormativity and societal expectations, she found her community to be essential in understanding herself. Her upbringing was also marked by a feminist influence, especially from her liberal mother. She still finds herself peeling back the layers of what society conditioned her to be versus who she truly is.

Her players cheering her at a game

Looking to the future, Nora’s next step is to commit full-time to working on opening Babe’s Sports Bar. She is currently working on the renovation and licensing of the space (her experience at the district and her policy background have unexpectedly helped her navigate this process), and hopes to have the bar up and running as soon as June of this summer.

Down the line, she has dreams of expanding her work, and perhaps taking on a consultative role in women’s sports, especially in spaces where she can create upward mobility for others. She imagines a future where her projects are successful and largely self-running, allowing her to be less involved day-to-day but still able to make an impact. She envisions expanding her work in New Orleans and beyond, further cementing her leadership and passion for justice.

I, honestly, cannot wait to see all that she does.