Chalkbeat now has a new look — and a public health sister site

Three logos, one blue, red and pink on a white background.
Chalkbeat, Votebeat and Healthbeat logos (Civic News Company)

Welcome to the new Chalkbeat!

If you’re a regular reader, you might notice that things look a little different here today. Nothing about our stories or the functionality of our site is changing, but we have a new look that we hope you enjoy: simple, modern, and with the work you know and love front and center.

Why? It’s always nice to feel fresh at the start of a school year. But more importantly, the change comes as we launch a new sibling site. Meet Healthbeat, which is officially launching today to cover public health.

Healthbeat reporters will be digging into issues that shape our collective well-being, from infectious diseases to air and water quality and food safety. And they will be bringing the Chalkbeat (and Votebeat) model of national and local reporting to bear on public health at a time when it’s badly needed. Healthbeat will start with bureaus in New York City and Atlanta as well as national reporting in partnership with the great folks over at KFF Health News.

I hope you will check them out, starting with editor in chief Charlene Pacenti’s introduction to Healthbeat’s work. You can also sign up for Healthbeat’s newsletters here.

— Sarah Darville, Chalkbeat editor in chief

The Latest

Nearly everyone below the director level in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education is set to lose their job, an employee union said.

Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has reignited the debate over gifted and talented in NYC. New data reveals the program is becoming more diverse, but challenges remain.

Easier admissions policies have started to grow in popularity in Colorado.

Without state funding, preschool providers say they’ve been forced to take out loans and drain personal savings

The hope is that acceptance at a major university will build students’ confidence and they will enroll there or at another college, said DPSCD Deputy Superintendent Alycia Meriweather.

Advocates with Stand for Children Indiana, the IPS school board, RISE Indy, the IPS Parent Council, and the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America have suggested changes in governance, accountability, and funding for the city’s public schools.