For over 130 years, Northwestern University Settlement House has been a vibrant force in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, championing the arts, education, and social services. In 2008, a game-changing partnership was forged with Bain & Company, thanks to the Chicago-based Renaissance Schools Fund. Bain & Company, renowned for its commitment to public education reform, collaborated with Northwestern Settlement to design an innovative grammar school campus rooted in cutting-edge research and national best practices.

By 2009, the momentum continued as the John Rowe family and Exelon Corporation came on board, bolstering the financial and operational backbone of what became Rowe Elementary School. Today, Rowe scholars are not just succeeding—they’re thriving at some of Chicago’s top high schools, including Walter Payton, Whitney Young, Lane Tech, Jones, and St. Ignatius.