About Us

Welcome to the Midtown Educational Foundation!

Midtown Educational Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. At MEF, we seek to impact the future of Chicago education by offering high-quality enrichment opportunities for students and their parents through our unique, holistic approach to after-school and summertime programs at the Midtown Center for boys and Metro Achievement Center for girls.

Today, MEF alumni serve their communities as teachers, attorneys, engineers, accountants and in many more professions. The MEF model is nationally recognized and has been replicated in other cities around the United States.

The Midtown-Metro experience is highlighted by a curriculum that combines academics, character education and enriching extracurricular opportunities in business, technology, the arts and more. MEF also encourages the parents of its students to be actively involved in their child's educational and personal development. Finally, a corps of more than 350 weekly volunteer tutors and mentors helps our Chicago urban youth achieve college enrollment at a rate of nearly five times that of their peers nationwide. See our MEF Fact Sheet.

The proof of our success lies in our longstanding track record and over 46 years of experience, established in 1965. MEF's Senior Class of 2012 became the thirteenth consecutive Senior Class to achieve 100 percent high school graduation and college enrollment. A majority of these students were the first in their families to do so. Read more about Our Impact, Our Mission, and Top 10 Reasons Why MEF. Check out our brief video too!

We invite you to visit more than just our website. Our doors are open to meet you. Whether you are a parent, educator, potential volunteer or partner, our visitors say that experiencing a tour of Midtown or Metro in person truly brings to life that special ‘something'.

Sincerely,
The MEF Community

MEF's approach can be remembered with the help of an acronym that also describes every child it serves: "A V.I.P."

• The "A" stands for ACADEMICS. MEF enables children to compete in college-prep high schools and then enter good colleges.
• The "V" stands for basic VIRTUES. Civic virtue and moral character are taught along with academics.
• The "I" stands for INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION. We believe the best motivation is personal friendship and attribute a large part of the success of our programs to the individual mentoring each student receives.
• The "P" stands for PARENTS. MEF operates on the principle that parents are the primary educators of their children. We provide valuable support through educational seminars on parenting, one-on-one consultations, and more.

Welcome to the Midtown Educational Foundation.
It's a special place, made special by all the VIP's who come through its doors.