The following organizations do an outstanding job connecting Chicago high school students globally.  I have worked with all of these organizations for a multitude of years and am grateful for their commitment to improving teaching and learning in Chicago.

Out of Eden Walk Home Stories:  Out of Eden Walk Home Stories is a Pulitzer Center/National Geographic connected nonprofit inspired by Paul Salopek's National Geographic walk around the world wherein he engages in slow journalism to tell the story of home from the everyday people he encounters on his multi-decade journey. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/#section-0  The Out of Eden Walk Home Story Project allows students to reflect on what home means to them and connect with students outside of Chicago to learn about their meaning of home.  This project embodies the local-global connection.

http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/chicago-homestories/about/index.html

The University of Chicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies Educational Outreach:   The need to spread awareness of the Middle East and wider Islamic world grows each day. Through their educational outreach program, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies has served the public interest as a federally funded National Resource Center since 1973. In addition to coordinating teaching and research on this vital world area, the Center provides expertise, resources, and instructional aids to K-12 and post-secondary educators, civic and religious groups, museums and libraries, the public and private sectors, and the news media.  

https://cmes.uchicago.edu/page/outreach-and-public-education

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is an independent, nonpartisan organization that provides insight on critical global issues, advances policy solutions, and fosters dialogue about what is happening in the world and why it matters to people in Chicago, the United States, and around the globe.  They have in-person and virtual events that connect Chicago to the world .  They are very generous toward teachers.  If you ask if you and a group of students can participate in one of their programs, they almost always say yes!

https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/

Chicago Fair Trade:  Chicago Fair Trade cultivates a community dedicated to an economy that values the labor & dignity of all people in every corner of the world.  CFT is a Chicago based grass roots organization that can help you and your students start a Fair Trade Club to promote fair labor practices and responsible consumption at your school.  Katherine at CFT helps me arrange outstanding experiences for my students.

https://chicagofairtrade.org/

The Art Institute is a world renowned museum located in Chicago.  AIC (Art Institute Chicago) recently reopened their student field trip department after being cloased for 2 years due to Covid.  AIC field trips are free to all Illinois students!  AIC's collection is vast and contains work from around the world.  Docent-led tours can help you and your students make local-global connections and better understand the role art plays in our larger society.

https://www.artic.edu/learn-with-us/educators/visit-with-my-students

The Pulitzer Center: The Pulitzer Center's K–12 education programs and resources cultivate a more curious, informed, empathetic, and engaged public by connecting teachers and students with underreported global news stories and the journalists who cover them.   In Chicago, our Pulitzer Center point person is Jaya (pictured below).  She does a phenomenal job connecting classroom teachers with journalists on issues that matter to you and your students.

https://pulitzercenter.org/education

National Geographic offers an educator-specific resource site that is filled with outstanding resources for teachers.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/education-resources/

Generation Global:  Generation Global is the Tony Blair Institute’s global citizenship education program for young people ages 13 to 17 years that enables them to embrace the future, equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to become active and open-minded global citizens. Through Generation Global, Chicago students can authentically engage with students all around the world.

https://generation.global/

NaTakallam: NaTakallam connects students with refugee educators around the world for high quality language learning & cultural exchanges.  This is the only organization on this list that costs money.  There are grants available to offset the cost.  My students better understand what it means to be a refugee after this annual conversation!  They will work with you to connect your students with someone that best fits your classroom discussions.  For example, if you are an Econonics teacher, you could request a session with a refugee that fled the economic collapse of Venezuela that is now living in a neighboring country.  If you recently taught about Afghanistan, you can get paired up with an Afghan refugee that is now in Turkey or Jordan.  Perhaps, your class is learning about current conflict in Ukraine or Sudan, NaTakallam will help you get someone in your classroom from the region that you are interested in.

https://natakallam.com/

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Since we can't always leave our homes and careers to voyage abroad, traveling vicariously by connecting students with students afar is one way to trek from our seats, and get students thinking globally.  Here's a piece that I recently wrote about the cross cultural connection my students made with students in Ukraine using the National Geographic/Pulitzer Out of Eden Walk Home Story project that I mentioned above.