1917 Born March 19 in Chicago’s South Shore area
Father John was a Chicago Police Officer
1920s Grew up in South Shore and attended O’Keefe Elementary School
1935 Graduated from Parker High School in the Chicago Public Schools
1938 Earned Teaching Certificate, Chicago Teachers College (now Chicago State University)
1939 Began teaching career at O. T. Bright Elementary School
1940-1943 Earned B. A., M. A., and M. S., DePaul University
1940s Teacher at Bright and Throop Elementary; Wells and Englewood High Schools
1952 Principal, Bryant Elementary School
1957 Earned Doctoral Degree, Harvard University (Graduate School of Education)
1961 Principal, Crane High School
1964 Principal, Bowen High School
1965 Superintendent Chicago Public School District 8 (Lawndale & Garfield Park)
1966 CPS General Superintendent Willis asked Dr. Sullivan to address attendance & achievement challenges in District 8
1966 BOE approved Dr. Sullivan’s plan to open 4 Child-Parent Education Centers using Tile I
1967 Cole, Hansberry, Dickens, and Olive CPCs open
1968 Services continue until at least second grade for original cohort
1969 Wheatley and Miller CPCs open
1970 Promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Chicago Public School District
1971 Published “Let us not underestimate the children” (Scott Foresman)
Co-authored Multi-sensory Reading System for Elementary Grades (Scott Foresman)
1970s CPC expansion to 25 sites
1977 Changes instituted in financing—Title I, PreK & K; State Chapter 1/BOE, grades 1-3
1970s CPC expanded to 25 sites
1977 Retired from CPS
1977 Moved full-time to Fontana, WI near Lake Geneva
1978 Principal, St. Francis de Sales Elementary School in Lake Geneva, WI for a decade
1987 Retired from St. Francis
1997 Met Chicago Longitudinal Study Team
1998-2000 Interviewed for CPC History Project
Donates many original documents to Chicago Longitudinal Study
2000 Volume on CPC program published and includes history documents
2007 Moved to Lake Forest, IL
2011 Advisor to University of Minnesota on i3 Project Application to USDE
2012 Midwest CPC PreK to Grade 3 Expansion Project Begins
31 sites implement program including 17 in Chicago
2013 Died on October 3 at age 96. Vision continues.