Recording Secretary Vicki Kurzydlo’s approach to leadership is grounded in service. It means showing up with love, humility, and a deep commitment to listen and act.
“Whether I’m in the classroom or at a union meeting, my goal is to keep love at the center of everything we do. Love for our students, love for our schools, and love for one another is what gives this union its strength,” she said.
A career of dedication and service
Throughout her 30-year career as a CPS special education teacher, Kurzydlo has stepped into every role where she could to make a difference: school delegate, district organizer, IFT/AFT delegate, CTU Executive Board member, and member of the big bargaining team. In 2024 her lifelong dedication was recognized by the AFT Women’s Rights Committee, which honored her with the Living the Legacy Award.
Born in Melrose Park and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Kurzydlo said she always believed in the transformative power of education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, followed by a master’s in special education and a master’s in instructional technology from Northern Illinois University. She also earned a Type 75 certificate from National Louis University and an ESL endorsement from Dominican University.
Called to special education
Kurzydlo’s journey into teaching was fueled by resilience and determination.
“When I asked my high school counselor about taking the ACT, he told me not to bother — that I was never going to do anything with my life,” she recalled. “I was determined to prove him wrong, and special education called to me.”
She began her CPS career at Holden Elementary as a day-to-day substitute in the library. By November 1993, she accepted a full-time teaching position and spent nine years at Holden before moving to Sauganash Elementary in 2002.
“My heart kept telling me: I want to make a difference, to help children feel loved, cared for, and valued. That’s why I was drawn to special education,” she explained.
A new vision for union power
When Kurzydlo first joined CPS in the early ’90s, CTU felt distant and top-down to her. That changed the day Karen Lewis came to speak at her school.
“It was like a light bulb went off. I realized we could challenge the status quo — that together, we could take back our power,” she said.
From that moment, Kurzydlo threw herself into organizing. At Sauganash, she and her colleagues held regular meetings, organized carpools to rallies and marches, and built alliances with neighboring schools. Their work was part of the momentum that carried into the historic 2012 strike, when teachers across the city stood up to then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s relentless attacks.
“While the 2012 strike was tough, I had never felt more empowered as a worker,” she recalls. “I was energized, lifted by my CTU siblings, and filled with hope for what was possible in our schools and in our city.”
Grounded in service, looking to the future
As CTU recording secretary, Kurzydlo is resolved to lead with service and collaboration — working side by side with members, students, families, and communities to transform our schools into the ones our students truly deserve.
“That means helping educators bring our transformative contract to life in their schools, and making sure members know their rights and feel empowered to use them,” she said.
She believes real leadership is about lifting others up and creating space for new leaders to rise. “A good leader uplifts others, inspires courage, and leads with empathy, trust, and wisdom,” she said.
Kurzydlo is hopeful about the future, especially with Mayor Brandon Johnson at the helm and a transformative new contract in hand. She believes the contract empowers educators to create classrooms and schools that are “loving, liberatory spaces where students and staff thrive.”
After 30 years in CPS, Kurzydlo said she’s not sure what the future holds, but she will never give up the fight for equity and justice.
“One way or another, I know I’ll always be involved in making some good trouble,” she said. That’s welcome news for her colleagues, students and fellow union siblings.