Mission

Leap Learning Systems is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to results-driven language and literacy development. Leap Learning Systems’ programs are proven to accelerate self-confidence and fulfillment in children, parents and educators.

History

Catherine Gottfred,
Founder

In 1988, Catherine Gottfred applied her doctoral degree in speech pathology to volunteering with children in Chicago's struggling Cabrini-Green neighborhood. Her work exposed the fact that youth in this community faced a major language gap with significant academic and social consequences. Coming largely from backgrounds that provided limited exposure to communication skills such as verbal dialogue and reading, children and young adults were not properly equipped to start or be successful in school, or to deal with the many emotional challenges presented by their environment.

Leap Learning Systems was soon born to bridge this learning gap and give underserved kids the strong start in life that they deserve. After first working with the children themselves, Dr. Gottfred and her colleague John Lybolt decided to expand Leap's impact by training other teachers, tutors and educators how to engage students in carefully structured lessons and activities that would cultivate oral and written language skills.

Twenty years later, Leap Learning Systems continues to carry out its mission in low-resource classrooms across Chicago. With eight program staff representing decades of collective experience, we have reached tens of thousands of teachers and low-resource students and families through cutting-edge language and literacy development programs that make teachers more effective teachers and children empowered to succeed in school, work and life.

Click here to view Leap Learning Systems’ most recent audit.

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