Chalkbeat

New data reveals the depth of the teacher turnover crisis. Join Chalkbeat’s virtual event.

2026-07-17T17:22:57+00:00

Chalkbeat Ideas is a new section featuring reported columns on the big ideas and debates shaping American schools. Sign up for the Ideas newsletter to follow our work.

Teachers are the bedrock of schools, but the state of the profession remains fragile.

Chalkbeat dug into exclusive new data that shows teacher turnover was not just a short-lived disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. In many places, more teachers have been leaving the classroom for the past four to five years, with real consequences for schools, students, and the educators who remain.

RSVP to join our virtual event on July 30, where we’ll share our data analysis for the first time.

The cumulative toll has been substantial: tens of thousands of lost educators above and beyond what was normal prior to the pandemic. When many teachers leave the classroom, the whole school community is affected, and student achievement often declines.

Still, the story is not all bleak. Many teachers who remain say they like their jobs and value their colleagues. In some places, turnover rates are beginning to come down.

So what does the latest data tell us about the teaching profession now? And what might help stabilize the teacher workforce?

Join Chalkbeat for a free virtual event, “A profession under pressure: Unpacking new data on teacher turnover,” on Thursday, July 30, from noon to 1 p.m. ET.

Chalkbeat editor Matt Barnum will share new data on teacher exit rates and lead a conversation with Los Angeles teacher Meghann Seril and Brown University researcher Matthew Kraft about what the numbers reveal, what teachers are experiencing, and what schools can do next.

RSVP to join the conversation and submit your questions for our panelists.

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for growth and community at Chalkbeat. Reach out at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Virtual event: Has the Trump administration returned education to the states?

2026-05-29T15:21:27+00:00

Chalkbeat Ideas is a new section featuring reported columns on the big ideas and debates shaping American schools. Sign up for the Ideas newsletter to follow our work.

President Donald Trump and his Education Secretary Linda McMahon have made returning education to the states — including closing the Education Department — the centerpiece of their education agenda.

What does that actually look like? To find out, Chalkbeat ideas editor Matt Barnum will be in conversation with two state education leaders: Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green and Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner.

RSVP to join us on June 11.

We’ll discuss how they see the convulsive changes at the federal level affecting schools in their states. Does it matter if education programs are run out of the Department of Labor? Should parents and teachers be concerned about cuts to federal programs? What will happen to testing and accountability? How has civil rights enforcement changed? What new opportunities exist for state leaders?

RSVP for this virtual Chalkbeat Ideas conversation from 1-1:45 ET on Thursday. There will be time for audience-submitted questions. Please share yours upon registering.

Our panelists:

Matt Barnum is editor and columnist for Chalkbeat Ideas, a section devoted to explaining and examining the ideas and debates shaping American schools. Before launching this section, he covered K-12 education for the Wall Street Journal.

Katie Jenner, Indiana’s first secretary of education and the state’s top education official, leads a unified, student-centered vision from K-12 to college. Jenner oversees eight state agencies/boards, including leading the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and chairing the State Board of Education.

Angélica Infante-Green has served as Rhode Island’s commissioner of elementary and secondary education since April 2019, leading major statewide efforts to improve PK–12 education. She guided the education system through COVID-19 recovery and school reopening, advanced readiness-based graduation requirements to reimagine high school, earned national recognition for reducing chronic absenteeism, and is overseeing the state intervention in the Providence Public School District to address long-standing challenges.

Catch up on Chalkbeat coverage before the event:

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for growth and community at Chalkbeat. Email her at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Pennsylvania overhauled its graduation requirements. Are graduating high schoolers any better off?

2026-05-04T19:13:13+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s free newsletter to keep up with news on the city’s public school system.

Join Chalkbeat Philadelphia at our virtual event on May 12, 4-5 p.m. EDT, where we’ll dig into Pennsylvania’s new graduation pathways.

RSVP for Chalkbeat's virtual event

In the four years since Pennsylvania overhauled its high school graduation requirements, Philadelphia’s high schoolers have increasingly graduated without passing state exams. Instead, students last year were most likely to graduate by fulfilling alternate requirements.

Chalkbeat journalists found that some educators appreciate that students who may be poor test takers have a path to graduation, unlike in other states, where passing state tests is required. But our reporting also found evidence that the rise of this alternative pathway has led to a troubling new trend: Students are getting low-value credentials to check a box, boosting graduation rates.

Critically, it’s unclear whether students are any better off post-grad. Lawmakers and state officials have published little follow-up that examines whether the shift has left young Pennsylvanians more or less prepared for their futures.

On May 12, we’ll dig into the data and implications with national and local experts. RSVP to save your virtual seat and submit your questions for the panel.

Our panel includes:

Rebecca Redelmeier, moderator, and Chalkbeat Philadelphia journalist.
Monica Hawk, chief executive officer of One Bright Ray Community High School.
Matt Giani, a research associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Sean Vereen, the president and CEO of Heights Philadelphia.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the deputy managing editor for growth and community. She previously reported on school turnaround efforts at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

What teachers want Donald Trump to know about their schools and their jobs

2025-01-19T12:09:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S.

Donald Trump will become the 47th president with his inauguration on Monday. What do America’s educators want from him?

It remains to be seen how his administration will directly affect students and teachers. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education, remove “woke ideology” from public schools, and return to the basics of reading, writing, and math. He’s also called for mass deportations and rolling back rights for transgender students.

Trump has won a second term. Here’s what that means for schools.

After the election, Chalkbeat asked teachers around the nation: What do you want Donald Trump to know about your school, your job, and about your students?

More than 150 educators wrote in. Many said they feared what would happen to their immigrant and transgender students. Others said they disagreed with Biden administration policies that required schools to allow transgender students to access restrooms that aligned with their gender. Some said diversity initiatives at their schools were distractions from their core work.

On Trump’s stated intent to close the federal education department, some said they feared the loss of funding and support. Others said they would welcome an end to red tape.

Trump picks Linda McMahon to lead education department, an agency he wants to abolish

Many said campaign rhetoric about failing schools and politically motivated teachers was deeply hurtful and simply wrong.

“In my school, in my district, we’re not out trying to reculture kids. We don’t have a cultural message; we’re trying to take care of every one of our students,” said Jim Bever, a junior high principal. “When we become ground zero for culture wars, it takes away from the educational work we’re already struggling with.”

But their overwhelming sentiment was a desire that the next administration recognize that teachers care deeply about their students, want to prepare them for success, and are doing a tough job in increasingly challenging circumstances.

And they asked government officials to listen to teachers.

“We tell the government officials that this is what’s happening, and this is what students need, and they don’t listen to us, and these are people that have never stepped foot in a classroom,” elementary school teacher Billie Arthur said. “I wish they would play a more active role to where they can see what it is actually like to be in the classroom.”

Below, we highlight four educators’ requests for Trump as his administration takes shape.

The educators’ answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Make it easier to become a teacher

Laura Patranella, fourth grade English and social studies teacher at Vogel Elementary in Seguin, Texas

We need more creative ways to get more knowledgeable bodies on campus. Our schools need more nerds in them.
Laura Patranella, fourth grade teacher

I want President Trump to know: The basic economics of becoming a teacher really don’t make sense. If you have to pay for your college to become a teacher, you will always take on college debt. And if 20-somethings look up the starting salaries for teachers in my state and compare that to their potential debt, why would you become a teacher? We’re also hearing in the news and on social media, especially over the last few years, about bad behavior in schools, security concerns, and teachers who are overwhelmed. It’s not an attractive look at the profession. And those in classrooms are asked to do too much.

I would ask the new administration to think about creating more flexibility around who can teach. In my 11 years, I have seen many teachers come into the classroom with a lack of content knowledge. If we can get more content experts, schools can provide training on classroom management. I don’t think we should reduce standards, but the certification process can be more flexible for someone with, for example, a bachelor’s degree in history or math. We need more creative ways to get more knowledgeable bodies on campus. Our schools need more nerds in them.

I really see the need for this in my town. We’re a Title I district in a very blue collar community, where manufacturing jobs at the Caterpillar plant are the good jobs. Teaching jobs should be coveted, but I see my school losing educators every year while struggling to recruit new ones.

It’s getting tougher to keep students engaged

Renée O’Brien, high school English teacher in Pinellas County Schools, Florida

I want President Trump to know: My students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They practice many different religions, live in every possible type of economic situation, and many have survived the loss of a relative to gun violence. Other students have suffered violence at the hands of police. Many of them are distrustful of the government and feel invisible. They don’t think their voice matters because things don’t change for them. They need better options for their futures. They need strong, well-funded public education that is consistent across the country. We need the Department of Education if we are going to compete globally.

When I hear Trump and [J.D.] Vance talk about teachers as grooming students and trying to teach them quote-unquote woke ideology, I hear, “You don’t want kids to think critically. You want them to think the way you want them to.” And I have always strived as a teacher to challenge kids to think for themselves.

Many teachers won’t teach the inauguration. That’s a loss for students, this ‘civics nerd’ says.

There are challenges in the curriculum. The state of Florida has adopted this CLT test, which is a test of classic literature, and there’s a lot of mythology on it. My ninth graders are not going to be inspired to read more by reading a lot of Greek mythology. I feel like we could do a lot better to give them things that speak to them, and the state of Florida says no. It makes it much harder for the kids to be interested. They just want to get the right answer, because they don’t have a personal interest in the stories. They fight against critical thinking, and when you tell them, “You have to come up with the answer,” a lot of times, kids will go, “I don’t care. Then give me a zero.”I had not seen that until recently. I think a lot of it has to do with during COVID, we were really pushed to just pass the kids and not hold them to a very high standard. And it’s just kind of snowballed into a fear of being challenged.

Schools need more autonomy, broader measures of student success

Jim Bever, principal at Greenfield Central Junior High School in Greenfield, Indiana

I want President Trump to know: Our kids from working-class backgrounds struggle in the academic worlds created by academic standards and accountability testing. Schools are built on a mass production concept. You start kindergarten at the same age and move through in sync. In Midwest areas like ours, there are a number of our families where college may not be in the picture.

Educational success doesn’t look the same for every child who walks through our door. Standardized testing doesn’t adequately assess the depth of a student’s understanding and potential.

When we have students who need more time to cognitively mature to take in all the material we are moving past them at a high rate, we start alienating those students. I hear parents say that they want their kids to like school, but it’s hard to like school when you are made to feel from constant testing that you are bad at it.

School is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, and there should be greater flexibility with national accountability standards. This is nothing against academic rigor, but clearly, something isn’t working. Schools are working as hard as we can, yet our scores nationally and internationally are lagging.

If we need different outcomes, we need support, equipment and space to do things very differently than in the past. Give us flexibility at the local level to determine school success based on student needs.

For students who’ve experienced trauma, school resources matter

Billie Arthur, first grade teacher at Clarksville Elementary School in Clarksville, Indiana

I want President Trump to know: I teach in a small town with a close knit school system. We have one elementary, one middle, and one high school. Our elementary school is the heart of our community. The teachers pay for school supplies, snacks, clothes, and Christmas gifts out of their own pockets. In many cases, the school is the only safe place for our students. With the stability of our school, many of our students have gone on to have successful careers and have broken the chain of their childhood.

We are a Title I school, so we receive a lot of Title I funding, which gives our students the opportunity to have some experiences that they wouldn’t get otherwise. I’m very passionate about Title I funding. We are able to provide free breakfast and free lunch for every student, regardless of income. We have a high population of special education students, and the federal government helps us with their needs so that they are able to get a fair education. And then we also are able to purchase a lot of materials that the school wouldn’t be able to purchase on their own.

In many cases, the school is the only safe place for our students.
Billie Arthur, first grade teacher

I’d like for [government officials] to know these young children that I teach are human beings, and I’d like for them to know they’re not a statistic, they’re not a number. They are a child who has feelings, has emotions, has gone through trauma. I would like them to see that we’re not cookie cutter, that large, affluent school systems are not the same as a small town, rural school system, and that the needs are different.

I have students who come to me and they don’t know their alphabet, they don’t know how to write their name, they don’t know how to cut, and they’re first graders. Kiddos here at this school, some of them have been through more than I will ever experience in my life, and they’re six and seven.

We love these babies. I would do anything for my students. We elementary teachers go over to the middle school or the high school, and it’s so nice to see your former students perform at a basketball game or on stage in the play. We’re so proud of them. It just means the world to us to see them be successful.

Caroline Bauman is Chalkbeat’s deputy managing editor for engagement. Reach her at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.

What it’s like teaching the 2024 election in classrooms nationwide

2024-11-05T19:51:05+00:00

This story was published in collaboration with Headway, a new initiative at The New York Times. Chalkbeat and Headway have been posing questions about the presidential election to educators and high school students since February. We have heard from nearly 1,000 students and 200 teachers across the nation.

Inside a North Philadelphia high school, a class of 11th graders talked frankly about the most controversial aspects of the 2024 election: abortion, Project 2025, the prospect of the first female president.

Nearly 650 miles away at a middle school in Indianapolis, an eighth grade teacher avoided talk of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, holding a mock debate about cellphones and cafeteria food instead.

As the presidential election took over classroom conversations this fall, Chalkbeat and Headway at The New York Times listened in across the U.S. as students considered the stakes of the race and, for some, their own roles as first-time voters.

What we found was a mosaic of creative approaches from educators like Charlie McGeehan, a social studies teacher at the Academy at Palumbo, a Philadelphia high school. He’s challenged his students to debate one another on whether voting is a right or a privilege — or something altogether different.

The “voting is important” message tends to fall flat, he’s found, “unless you actually have them learn about it and come to that message on their own.”

Here’s a look inside four of the classrooms that Chalkbeat and Headway visited.

Charlie McGeehan, a social studies teacher at the Academy at Palumbo in Philadelphia, challenged his students to debate whether voting is a right or a privilege.

Crosstown High School, Memphis, Tennessee

The AP U.S. Government students were given a simple but unusual assignment: sip Pellegrino, nibble on cheese and crackers, and schmooze.

It was part of teacher Kat McRitchie’s election simulation, her hands-on approach to showing students the inner workings of democracy. This fall, each student took on a fictional role and acted out the pivotal moments in a presidential campaign, from primary speeches all the way to counting votes.

“They get the chance to see the interaction of individuals and institutions and to see how power flows through the process,” said McRitchie, a 21-year educator. “They feel like they have an inside look at how elections work.”

'They feel like they have an inside look at how elections work,' Kat McRitchie said of her class's simulation exercise.

On this September day, her students were acting out a less traditional focus of a campaign lesson: D.C. networking party. But before they could tuck into the snacks, McRitchie challenged the students to consider a few questions. What would their characters — conservative and liberal candidates, campaign managers, media, and representatives of special interest groups — want to talk about? What would they want to get out of the other attendees?

“At this party, you all are going to shmooze and hustle each other,” she said. “At events like these, you can see power moving.”

Her students still track the presidential race, analyzing the real-life debates and stump speeches and conventions. “We’re able to see parallels,” said Carolina Calvo, 18, who chose the role of Democratic campaign manager. “It’s clearer how this works in the real world.”

John Bush, 18, was tasked with playing the liberal presidential candidate, Gov. Chip Rhodes. Bush plans to vote for the first time and credits the simulation with broadening his perspective.

“I think when things are taught in the classroom, it can be from a greater variety of sources than I wouldn’t interact with just by myself,” he said. “And maybe helps against a little bit of polarization.”

Materials viewed by students in Kat McRitchie's class in Memphis.

Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School, Philadelphia

Inside a 7:30 a.m. 11th grade U.S. history class, most students aren’t familiar with the differences between Republicans and Democrats. They don’t know the parties’ symbols, a donkey and an elephant. And only three out of a dozen students who showed up one recent September day said they would vote, if they were old enough.

History teacher John Winters leads a discussion at Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School in Philadelphia.

Enter John Winters, known as Brother John — and, because this is Philadelphia, a lesson involving cheesesteaks.

“Democrats,” he told the students, “tend to generally have a similar point of view of the world, and Republicans have a similar point of view politically as well.” He then projected side-by-side pictures of a cheesesteak and Buffalo wings. “Some people are gonna be cheesesteak people, and some like Buffalo wings,” he said.

To help students understand where they fall, the class drills down into political ideology. Winters gave students a series of statements to rate from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree,” including:

“The government should use taxpayer’ money to provide free day care for all parents.”
“The U.S. government should grant reparations to all Black people for the enslavement of Africans in this country.”
“A woman should be able to have an abortion without anyone else’s permission.”

Winters then rolled out a bulletin board with a chart titled “political spectrum,” and students placed pink sticky notes where their answers landed on the spectrum. (Most fit on the left, with two students leaning conservative.)

Students placed sticky notes on this bulletin board inside Winters' room to show where they fall on the political spectrum.

Winters has taught for five years at Dobbins, an 800-student technical school in the Philadelphia ZIP code with the lowest household income. Its student enrollment is 89% Black, with most of the rest being Hispanic or multi-racial.

While this area is solidly Democratic, its usually reliable voter turnout rates have slumped in recent elections. This is a huge concern for Democrats, as President Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by just one percentage point in 2020.

The 10 most common questions teenagers asked about the election

Young voters are expected to play a pivotal role in the outcome of the race, particularly in some swing states like Pennsylvania. And while Winters’ students may not think they care about politics or feel they align with one of the two major parties, that doesn’t mean they don’t care about the issues. Discussions grew heated at times in Winters’ 11:30 a.m. session of the class, after one young man shrugged off abortion as a 1 or 2 on a scale up to 10. A young woman vehemently objected.

“I don’t put it as 8, 9 or 10. I’d put it higher. Like 15,” she said. “You’re not gonna let anybody be in charge of our country, in charge of a woman’s body, you can’t do that. Men already think they can overpower women.”

Eleventh grader Ra'Niyah Marion works on a questionnaire while classmates engage in a class discussion in Winters' class.

Westlane Middle School, Indianapolis

It was hours before the vice presidential debate inside Kevin Melrose’s eighth grade social studies class. But there would be no talk of J.D. Vance or Tim Walz.

Social studies teachers at the school avoid instruction about national politics in order to remain nonpartisan, said Melrose, per direction from the district. Washington Township, where Westlane is located, is a politically and socioeconomically diverse district, Melrose notes, even though Marion County as a whole is a blue dot inside red Indiana.

And while the state did not pass a divisive concepts law that would have limited teachers’ abilities to discuss race and other topics, the scrutiny and charged rhetoric of the last few years have led teachers to tread carefully. It’s a common stance: Fifty-eight percent of K-12 teachers surveyed by the EdWeek Research Center this summer said they do not plan to talk about the election in their classrooms. Of those respondents, 22% said they were worried about parent complaints, while another 19% didn’t think discussions could be respectful.

Kevin Melrose’s eighth grade social studies class at Westlane Middle School has focused on teaching democracy through student council elections.

Melrose, the chair of the school’s social studies department, has focused on teaching democracy through student council elections. All eighth graders break into groups of four — a president, vice president, and two campaign managers — and hold classroom elections with campaign posters, videos, and in-class debates.

The winning candidates from each classroom face off for the role of eighth grade class president, who effectively leads the student council.

Students created posters for their races in Melrose's eighth grade class.

Despite the moratorium, students are paying attention to state and national politics. Some students even watched the presidential debates to get a sense of what to do as candidates. And Melrose doesn’t stop them from discussing issues that directly affect them.

Many of the students’ presidential platforms include typical school election fare such as promises of better cafeteria food and changes to the dress code. This year, many also promise to convince Westlane to loosen cellphone restrictions. Indiana this year passed a law requiring schools to ban cell phones during instructional time, but Westlane has gone further and required students to put phones in their lockers at the beginning of the day, worrying students who want easier access to their phones in the event of an emergency, like a school shooting.

The winning candidates from each classroom face off for the role of eighth grade class president, who effectively leads the Westlane student council.

“The world has changed,” said one candidate, Travis Smith. “There’s more shootings and stuff like that than at any time before.”

Other students challenged the candidates on how, exactly, they would enact their policies. If the cellphone ban is a state law, they ask, what can an eighth grade class president really do about it?

But, Melrose pointed out later, the student council has had big wins. Members successfully opened up field trips to more students, and a few days after the debates, the eighth graders were due to head to D.C.

East Bronx Academy for the Future, Bronx, N.Y.

In Christine Montera’s 11th grade U.S. History class, the past is used to explain the present.

Montera, social studies department chair at the grades 8-12 school, recently explored with her students elements of the distant past that are still being felt today: the ways regional identities developed in colonial America and the formation of the electoral college in 1787.

“My goal in teaching the election in history class is to help students understand that we truly did not fall out of a coconut tree into a current election cycle,” Montera said, referencing a viral quote from Vice President Kamala Harris, “and that all of it is based on the context and history of our country.”

Teens told us their thoughts on the election. Most expect it to have a big impact on their lives.

This background helped her students answer two urgent questions on Tuesday: Is the electoral college democratic? And does it help or hurt democracy today?

She pulled up an electoral college map of the 2020 presidential election and asked her class, “What do you notice about this map?”

Students chimed in that it looked like the Trump supporters were clustered in the middle of the map, and that there were different numbers around the map. Montera asked what those numbers meant, and students tried to guess before Montera explained that the number of electoral votes a state receives is based on their population size.

Jannatul Urmi, 16, noticed that most of the southern states were red.

“Good, what do you think that says about their regional identity?” Montera asked.

“Maybe they’re more traditional. They’re more religious, so that’s why they’re voting for Donald Trump,” Urmi offered.

The more the students learned about the electoral college through a video and then a worksheet reinforcing what they’d learned, the more questions they had.

“Can the electoral college be corrupted?” asked Arisnoely Vivaldo, 16.

“Why does it still exist if so many people are against it?” Urmi wondered.

“What happens if the elector doesn’t follow the majority?” asked Alexander Cataquet, 16.

“They’d go to jail, right?” Urmi responded to him.

Then the class returned to one of Montera’s guiding questions: Is the electoral college helpful or hurtful to democracy? Many students settled on hurtful, critiquing that individual votes don’t have equal weights in each state and pointing out the possibility of corruption if an elector goes rogue.

Christine Montera's class at East Bronx Academy for the Future strove to answer two questions: Is the electoral college democratic? And does it help or hurt democracy today?

When asked what stuck with them from Tuesday’s lesson, students said they were offered different perspectives, which in turn changed the way they think about the election and the role different people play in it.

“I never realized how much the background of a region affects the way society is now,” said Vivaldo. “Like certain social norms and ideas have passed down throughout the generations.”

Thinking about these regional identities made some students reflect on how they have come to their own political beliefs.

“I feel like I wasn’t too big on political stuff, but I feel like knowing more of the background helped me understand and have my own opinion,” said Emma Alvarado, 16, “and not just listen to what everybody else thinks around me.”

What election issues matter most to young first-time voters? The economy, Gaza, book bans, and more

2024-11-05T19:41:34+00:00

This story was published in collaboration with Headway, a new initiative at The New York Times. Chalkbeat and Headway have been posing questions about the presidential election to educators and high school students since February. We have heard from nearly 1,000 students and 200 teachers across the nation.

When Chalkbeat teamed up with Headway at The New York Times to ask young people how they are thinking about the upcoming presidential election, we received hundreds of responses. First-time voters told us about the issues that will be top of mind when they cast their ballots. What we heard was all over the map, literally — gun violence and housing affordability in their communities, statewide restrictions on abortion access and what books they can read in school, and, at the national level, immigration policy and the future of democracy. Other respondents prioritized global issues, including climate change and the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

In the historically close matchup between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, the youth vote and the extent to which young people turn out on Nov. 5 could help determine the election’s outcome. When the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School polled eligible voters ages 18 to 29, 56% said they “definitely” plan to cast their ballot. Four years ago, according to a Tufts University analysis, 50% of Americans in that age bracket voted, the third-highest turnout since the voting age was lowered to 18, in 1971.

Mock elections, debates, arguments: Here’s how educators are teaching the 2024 presidential election

We wanted to better understand the issues driving young people to the polls this year. So we asked six first-time voters to tell us what issues they’ll be thinking about as they fill out their ballots. Here’s what they told us, edited for length and clarity.

Will you be a first-time voter this year? We want to hear from you at community@chalkbeat.org and DearHeadway@nytimes.com. Tell us the issue most influencing your ballot.

The issue driving my vote: Gun violence

Anabelle Sanchez, 18, graduated from Jones College Prep in Chicago and now attends Michigan State University in East Lansing. She plans to study political theory, constitutional democracy, and economics and hopes to pursue a career in politics, spurred on by her experiences growing up as a Latina. “As a minority, I often felt I didn’t have leadership that looked like me. That’s why I want to go into politics,” Anabelle said. For now, though, she’s “ thankful to have the power to vote.”

Anabelle Sanchez graduated from Jones College Prep in Chicago and now attends Michigan State University in East Lansing. Gun violence is top of mind for her this election season.

My junior year of high school, I went to a mall. I was looking through the clothing racks, and all of a sudden, I saw a store manager quickly run to the front to shut the doors.

I had never experienced something like this, but I instantly knew what was happening. Because I live in America. People started yelling to just run to the back of the store. There were dozens of us packed in a back room, like sardines. It was the most horrific 30 minutes of my life because we knew someone out there had a gun.

Thankfully, no one was harmed. A SWAT team evacuated us, but just the idea of facing death was very frightening. It hit me even more because not long before, there was a [deadly] shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas.

Now, at Michigan State, I have two classes in the building where the campus shooting occurred last year, and three students lost their lives. In one of my classes, I have to walk right past the area of the shooting.

Whether you live in a neighborhood where hearing gunshots is common or, quite frankly, whether you leave your house and just go shopping or go to school, we’re forced to think about gun violence and how the issue impacts us and others.

The issue driving my vote: The economy

Owen Riesenberg, 18, is a recent graduate of Woods Cross High School near Salt Lake City and an automotive technician at a Ford dealership. Owen plans to vote in next month’s presidential election “even though there’s an almost guaranteed outcome here,” since Utah has thrown its support behind the Republican candidate for president in every election for more than 50 years. “I still want to make my voice heard,” he said.

Owen Riesenberg is a recent graduate of Woods Cross High School near Salt Lake City and an automotive technician. His No. 1 election issue is the economy.

If you watch Fox News or Newsmax, they’ll talk about how Kamala is going to destroy the economy. In left-wing media, they talk about how Trump is a monster going to destroy democracy. I think most of what has America polarized is just how fervently the media on both sides of the aisle are fighting each other.

I like to stick to podcasts and more long-form news. I usually have one earbud in and listen to the radio as I’m working on my vehicles for the day. My routine, every morning, is to listen to something like Joe Rogan’s podcast, and then, later in the day, to listen to Ben Shapiro on The Daily Wire.

The No. 1 issue for me is definitely the economy. I pay so much for gas. I pay so much for food. I can’t move out of my parents’ house because rent here is a minimum of $1,500, typically.

I’d like the tax on gas heavily reduced. I’d like regulations for small businesses just starting up to be less hefty. I think that interest rates should be brought down.

I want the government to be as uninvolved in my life as possible. I don’t want any handouts. I don’t want checks for disasters. I don’t want a widespread government health care plan. I want to be able to work for myself and not be taxed so much to pay for government programs that somehow benefit me. I’d rather just keep that money and decide where it goes.

The issue driving my vote: Book bans

Emily Muñoz, 18, graduated from Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx and is a first-year student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She’s always loved to read and, growing up, enjoyed books in which she felt represented and those in which she got to learn about different cultures, backgrounds, and gender identities. “I genuinely believe that reading is how you discover more about the world and yourself,” she said.

Emily Muñoz graduated from Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx and is now a student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. This year's election has her thinking about book bans.

Something that’s really personal for me as a Black woman is book banning, the banning of African-American courses, and just this erasure of Black history. AP African-American Studies classes have already been banned in Florida, and that’s deeply concerning.

I have it a lot easier because, in New York City, banned books are celebrated. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to grow up like this. But then, I worked as a teen reading ambassador at the New York Public Library. We held a Freedom to Read contest, and as I was scoring the submissions, I heard from a lot of students in conservative states where they can’t read certain books in their classes. Most of the books were about race or LGBTQ issues. That’s when it really became clear to me.

One banned book that comes to mind is “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. It’s this story about a young Black boy who gets assaulted by the police. It’s told from the boy’s perspective and also from the perspective of a white boy who [witnesses the beating]. Reading it, I was wondering: Why would someone want to ban this book? It is a genuinely good book.

Honestly, teachers don’t get paid enough to deal with all of this. I think they should have the opportunity to teach freely and without as much restriction.

The issue driving my vote: the Israel-Hamas War

Samantha Sandhaus, 18, graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia and attends Lehigh University, where she is pursuing an integrated degree in engineering, arts, and sciences. In high school, she led a nonprofit called Feeding Philly that fights food insecurity, an experience that “was important in making malnutrition a vital issue to me.”

Samantha Sandhaus, third from left, graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia and attends Lehigh University. What is happening in Gaza is driving her vote this election.

In high school, I got to help with work addressing food insecurity in Philadelphia. I’ve seen the effect of malnutrition, especially on young children, and it made me want to do all I can to get involved civically and make sure we have policies that center on social justice.

This past year, I’ve seen a lot on social media on global health inequities, especially around nutrition, and the photos of children in Gaza who are hungry and hurting due to the Israel-Hamas war have really affected me. That’s motivating me to research the presidential candidates’ stances on the issues and whether or not they are putting forth ideas that could actually help bring the conflict to an end and provide for families in the horrors of war.

I know this is a very contentious issue for Americans to speak about, but I’ve been to a fair amount of different peaceful protests and marches, and a lot of young people I hear speak are saying that this is an issue that weighs heavily on their minds and will affect their votes.

In a swing state like the one I’m in, I know how much my vote matters. And I feel like America’s role in the Middle East is going to continue to be crucial. I really want to hear the candidates talk about this as something they will prioritize, that they have a path toward ending this conflict, saving lives, and aiding the humanitarian crisis that is happening right now.

The issue driving my vote: Abortion access

Torrance Johnson, 18, graduated from Clarenceville High School in Livonia, Michigan, and is a first-year student at Wayne State University in Detroit. As a child, he dreamed of growing up to become president of the United States. These days, he’s more interested in pursuing a career in music production. He’s casting his first vote in part to affirm his belief in abortion rights. “I always tell people: If that’s what you’re against, you don’t have to do it,” Torrance said. “The choice should be left up to the person it directly affects.”

Torrance Johnson graduated from Clarenceville High School in Livonia, Michigan, and is now a student at Wayne State University in Detroit. Abortion access is an important election issue to him.

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it got me thinking: If this is what our government is doing, do I want new people in government or not?

I’m very pro-choice, but it’s not just about pro-life, pro-choice, or about abortion, no abortion. It’s about having options. I’m pro having options. It has to do directly with my disability and not always having options.

I’ve been using a wheelchair for 14 or 15 years. And throughout my life, I’ve found struggles getting into some places because they only have stairs. If it’s on the second floor, I can’t go. One time, my school had a field trip, and because I couldn’t participate in the activities they were doing, they excluded me — rather than saying, you can join, but since you can’t do this, maybe you can do that instead.

The thing about America that people try to copy or mimic is the idea that it’s the land of opportunity. Do we want more opportunities or less opportunities, more options or less options? It all starts with Roe v. Wade.

Let the people have their choices — it’s none of my business.

Ever since I was a child, I couldn’t wait to turn 18 so I could vote. My American government professor recently took a poll, and in a class of about 50 people, nearly everyone said they were voting in the upcoming election. If that’s any sign of what 18-24-year-olds will be doing, it will be a good turnout. We have to be the change we wish to see, and we do that by voting.

The issue driving my vote: U.S. foreign policy

Alexander Cisneros, 18, a Colorado native, graduated from Denver East High School and attends the University of Colorado Boulder, where he is studying history. His family would often spend time visiting relatives abroad when he was growing up, and he credits that travel with widening his view of the world and his place in it. Alexander said that people often assume that younger people like him “only care about the issues at home that clearly impact our daily lives,” but it’s foreign policy that “I’ll most have in mind in November.”

I have family all over the world — in Greece, Mexico, and Canada. I grew up experiencing those different cultures, and when I was at home a lot during COVID, I got really into watching history documentaries.

That led me to love learning about World War II and the Cold War. One of the big things with World War II was that the United States wasn’t involved in international affairs as much as it should have been. If it had been more involved, then perhaps we wouldn’t have had as devastating a conflict during that time. So, I think anything to try and prevent another conflict or end conflicts more quickly while making sure that autocratic countries don’t continue to expand is something pretty important to me.

I want to see the U.S. stay a part of the United Nations and NATO. I think it is really important that the United States continues to support Ukraine. If we were to abandon Ukraine, then that would send a signal to the world that, yes, autocratic powers can expand, which would be particularly worrying when it comes to China and Iran.

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for engagement at Chalkbeat. Reach her at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Gabrielle Birkner is Chalkbeat’s features editor and fellowship director. Reach her at gbirkner@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s how teens are preparing for a minefield of election misinformation

2024-11-05T17:14:42+00:00

This story was published in collaboration with Headway, a new initiative at The New York Times. Chalkbeat and Headway have been posing questions about the presidential election to educators and high school students since February. We have heard from more than 1,000 students and 200 teachers across the nation.

This presidential election year, young Americans are navigating a chaotic world of information, often with limited tools to distinguish what’s credible, what’s questionable, and what’s downright false.

A recent survey of more than 1,000 teenagers conducted by the News Literacy Project found that while many young people can detect images generated by artificial intelligence with ease, they struggle to differentiate news from commentary and advertisements and regularly encounter conspiracy theories on social media. Eight in 10 respondents said they believed at least one of those conspiracy theories.

Young, first-time voters and their peers told us that they regularly encountered false information online about the historically close election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump. Some teachers have dedicated entire lesson plans this fall to helping students better understand media literacy and fact-checking.

What election issues matter most to young first-time voters? The economy, Gaza, book bans, and more

And many students have told us they have gained confidence in spotting falsehoods. We asked more than 1,000 students about what tips them off that a piece of information might be false or misleading, what’s their approach to verifying information, and what advice they have for other teenagers. Here’s what we heard.

Responses have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

How teens know if information is sketchy, made up or manipulated

“If the content I’m seeing is triggering an extreme emotional reaction in me — rage, fear or joy, to name a few — without offering nuanced context, it leads me to think that it might be designed to mislead. When I encounter something that seems absolutely certain about morally and politically complex topics, such as the Israel-Hamas war, without acknowledging alternative views or uncertainties, I suspect it’s oversimplifying reality to push an agenda.”

— Sena Chang, 18

College freshman at Princeton University in New Jersey

“Articles that sound sketchy, made up, or manipulated are a red flag. Some media sources get rid of the bits and pieces of context that make a situation understandable. And media outlets sometimes contradict each other. Check and cross-check media. When a true piece of media spreads like wildfire, some media outlets will try and get attention from the situation and end up spreading lies about the situation. That’s why I find most articles about popular controversies annoyingly eye-rolling.”

— Antonette Davis, 14

Freshman at Central High School in Philadelphia

A single source doesn’t cut it for verifying what’s true

“I verify my information by getting it from multiple sources, not just people online who are crediting the original article I read. I also look at the information presented in the article from the perspective of a person who doesn’t know anything about the topic and see if the article and the ideas presented still make sense.”

— Yoni Zacks, 17

Senior at the Blake School in Minneapolis.

“More often than not I look it up on Google and read about it on a more reliable website. For example, if an article makes a claim about a piece of legislation, I try to find the full text of the cited legislation to better understand what it’s saying.”

— Olivia Garrison, 17

Graduated in 2023 from Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada

“There’s a tool called Google Reverse Image Search that I use to check the origins of viral images or memes to see where they first appeared and if they’ve been repurposed out of context. During events like the presidential debate, I also looked at multiple websites offering real-time fact-checking like The New York Times to help contextualize what I was hearing and identify when what the candidates were saying was misinformation.”

— Sena Chang

“To verify information, I try to listen directly to candidates or their campaigns. I find this is the easiest way to understand the candidate’s policy plans, opinions on certain issues, and overall decorum. While commentary can be helpful, it often includes opinions that make me perceive certain things a certain way. Therefore, I find it important to directly hear from a political candidate first. Afterward, I listen to and watch video media with commentary. It helps me compare my understanding to someone else’s and clarify things I might not have fully understood.”

— Meghan Pierce, 18

Freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois

How young people navigate a world of misinformation

“As a teenager, I get a lot of my information from social media. I know many other teenagers get their information this way, too, so my word of advice is to be aware of the algorithm and how you’re fed information usually from one side. You’re not getting the complete story, so do your research instead of trusting one source!”

— Emma Luu, 17

Junior at Pine Creek High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado

“Check anything you think is misleading with a quick search and cross-check if it’s legitimate or not.”

— Arnav Goyal, 14

Freshman at Olentangy Liberty High School in Powell, Ohio

“Become aware of media bias, and do your best to consider different perspectives and stay open-minded while being aware of media bias.”

— Lucas Robbins, 17

Senior at Mandela International Magnet School in Santa Fe, New Mexico

“My (unpopular) take is that fact-checking is easier than it seems. … Social media serves as an integral egalitarian news source where anyone can create and share primary source information no matter where they live in the world. However, using social media as a sole source of information can be dangerous. Sometimes even recognizing satirical news sources is hard — I have been a victim of thinking The Onion was a real news source. You don’t have to research every single headline you ever see. The internet can be an overload of information at times, and choosing to disconnect is a skill young people need. However, if you see something that raises eyebrows, understanding the context is just a Google search away.”

— Kush Kaur, 17

Freshman at Collin College in McKinney, Texas

Teenagers are inundated daily with a mix of credible information and fake news. Out of necessity, they’re sharpening their instincts to identify misinformation and building skills to verify or debunk it. Their advice is clear: Stay mindful of algorithmic influence, avoid relying on a single source, and remember that it’s OK to step back when it all feels overwhelming.

Need more insights? Explore the resources below.

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for engagement at Chalkbeat. Reach her at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Erica Meltzer is the national editor at Chalkbeat, where she covers education policy and politics. Reach her at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org

RSVP to attend our candidate forum for Detroit Public Schools Community District board

2024-10-02T21:51:09+00:00

Nearly two dozen people are vying for three seats on the Detroit Public Schools Community District board. On Oct. 15, you’ll have a chance to get to know them ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Chalkbeat Detroit — along with BridgeDetroit, Detroit Documenters, Detroit Free Press, Outlier Media, and WDET — is hosting a candidate’s forum at the Eastside Community Network.

RSVP here to attend the DPSCD school board candidate forum.

Students and Chalkbeat journalists will ask candidates about how and why they want to guide the school district for the next four years. We will center most questions on the issue of chronic absenteeism. Under Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, the district has invested resources in improving attendance. Those efforts have contributed to declines in the rate of chronic absenteeism in the last two school years, but the rate is still well over 60%. We will discuss other issues, including questions submitted by attendees.

Below, you’ll see a list of the candidates whose names will appear on the ballot. They are running at a pivotal time for the Detroit school district, which in addition to high rates of chronic absenteeism among students is also struggling with low academic achievement, enrollment declines, and issues of climate and culture within school buildings.

Our Oct. 15 candidate forum is a free event, but please register to let us know you are coming as space is limited. We will also be livestreaming the event as a virtual option.

Food will be served.

Detroit school board candidates are:

Monique Bryant
Sherisse Butler
Richard Clement
Nicole Conaway
Sherry Gay-Dagnogo
Victor Gibson
Marie Hill-Nixon
Tabrian Joe
Christopher Johnson
Toson Knight
Eugene Lewis
Jason Malone (he has indicated he isn’t running due to an injury)
Aliya Moore
Jennifer Nixon
Faustine Amara Onwuneme
Benjamin Royal
Ida Simmons Short
R. Amir Short
Tawanna Simpson
Kenneth Snapp
Jeremiah Steen
Boyd White III

RSVP for the Detroit school board forum:

RSVP: Candidate forum for Detroit Public Schools Community District board

When: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 5:30 to 8 p.m. ET

Where: In-person at Eastside Community Network, 4401 Conner St., Detroit, MI

Protein bars, paper, a rabbit: What teachers buy for their classrooms with their own cash

2024-10-01T12:49:33+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S.

Jamie Epps did not expect to spend a lot of her own money on school supplies when she decided to take a teaching job for the fall of 2023.

Her mother convinced her to teach as a source of income while Epps attended nursing school. A retired teacher herself, Epps’ mom also gave her some advice.

“She told me I probably would have to buy classroom decorations with my money, like bulletin boards and posters,” Epps said. “But that is not what happened.”

Epps was surprised when she first stepped into her Florida classroom and found there were no supplies available: no paper, no staplers, not even dry-erase markers. In the following months, she spent over $6,000 to stock basic supplies and materials to teach science.

Epps’s experience on her first days as a teacher is an extreme but generally familiar version of what almost every American teacher goes through. The National Teacher and Principal Survey reported that 95% of public school teachers reported spending their own money to buy supplies for the classroom in the most recent data available — without getting reimbursed.

Many teachers can deduct up to $300 in classroom expenses from their taxes, but they often spend way more than that. In a survey conducted by the crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose of 2,500 teachers who used the platform, educators reported spending $610 on average for this school year.

Like Epps, most teachers spend most of their money on essential materials such as paper, pencils, and markers. Chalkbeat asked educators to share how much they spend on school supplies and what they spend it on. More than 120 teachers across the country responded.

They reported spending anywhere from $65 to $6,000. Their purchases included items to make students more comfortable and learning more enjoyable. Many said they expected to spend more on students this year than last.

Below, some of these teachers share in their own words how and why they spend money out of their own pockets on their classrooms.

A comfortable place for students is teacher’s goal

Judy Hall is an English teacher at Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey

I’ve been teaching for 25 years and am used to spending my own money. Part of my expenses are resources for teaching: I subscribe to some newspapers since I use articles to teach English, and I buy books for my classroom’s library.

Judy Hall stocks food and other personal-use products her teen students might need.

I also buy décor items: It is important that the classroom is comfortable and cozy for the students and for myself, since I spend most of my day there. Many of my students are food insecure, so I try to keep snacks and protein bars with me. I also keep menstrual products, a sewing kit, a full body mirror, and first aid supplies.

Last year, I paid around $1,500, and I expect to spend the same amount this year. It is more than I was used to, mainly because the price of food has increased so much.

I like that kids feel like they can drop by for additional help. I am a very strict teacher. In my class, everyone has to follow the rules and do their work. Having this kind of homey experience helps build a stronger connection.

Students with disabilities need appropriate equipment

Ellen Brody-Kirmss is a special education teacher at Clara Barton High School, in Brooklyn, New York

I have been teaching for 19 years and, in the beginning, I spent much more money than I do now. I didn’t have lesson plans, or a curriculum, or even my own classroom. Because of that, I had to buy a rolling cart that I could bring from one place to another.

I am a special education teacher, and both my parents were, too. Back in their day, which is ancient history now, the materials that would help the students they were teaching weren’t available: They had to be inventive. I am part of that tradition.

This year, I am teaching a course to students with intellectual disabilities who are part of the ACES [Academics, Career, and Essential Skills] Program. In high school, there’s nothing in ready-made equipment appropriate for them, and each student has specific needs. I bought calculators, headphones, different writing instruments, and tools to help kids read. I got a lot of pictures and word games for students too, because they struggle with discourse. I expect to spend up to $800 from my own pocket this year.

I’m trying to get the school to buy a particular online curriculum for math. If they don’t and it’s cheap enough, I’ll buy it, but I don’t want to have to do that.

Teacher wants classroom to be ‘best place on Earth’

Mindy Gunderson is a first grade teacher at Hayden Canyon Charter in Hayden, Idaho

Mindy Gunderson spends money on supplies that allow her to bring more play into her students' learning experience.

This year, I spent about $2,000 to get started. My biggest expense was in supplies for an independent workstation and classroom decorations. When kids finish their work, they can pick an activity from a chart where I list the independent workstations: There are building pieces, sensory boards, STEM toys, math manipulatives, and so on.

I don’t know if everybody agrees with me, but these items are essential to me. I wholeheartedly believe that learning takes place through play. So, in a first-grade classroom, I want to incorporate as much play as possible. Through this, kids also develop a sense of community because they get together to play, build things, and do work at the stations.

Books and items for organization and decoration are also part of Gunderson's expenses.

I want students to love coming to school. When I incorporate things they enjoy, they want to go to school and learn. Once that happens, I can teach them anything. And if that means I have to invest a little bit of my money, I’m OK with that because I want the relationship and my classroom to be the best place on Earth.

‘I don’t ever want to go back to teaching’

Jamie Epps is a science teacher at Hialeah Senior High School in Hialeah, Florida

On my first day as a teacher, I didn’t bring anything because I heard teachers are given a little starter pack. My mom, who had been a teacher for over 20 years, also told me that I would probably have to buy classroom decorations, like a bulletin board.

That’s not the situation I lived in when I walked into the classroom: there were no pencils, paper, or markers. I had to buy everything, from staplers to printer ink. Over the 2023-2024 school year, I spent over $6,000, including materials for science experiments. I bought a class pet, a rabbit, and a fish tank so that we could study marine science.

This year, the district provided a little kit with a dry-erase marker, some hall passes, and a package of post-its. I am finishing nursing school, and I don’t ever want to go back to teaching after this experience.

Teacher salary raises headed back into classroom costs

Polly Franklin is a Spanish teacher at Lowell Senior High School in Lowell, Indiana

As a Spanish teacher, most of what I spend out of my own money goes to subscriptions to technology that give my students the best chance of learning and save me an abundance of time. These subscriptions can add up — I spent about $300 last year and am thinking I’ll spend closer to $500 this school year.

There’s a lot on the Internet for Spanish educators, but I don’t have time to sift through all the materials in the world to find ones appropriate to my class. The ones I pay for on my own include Zambombazo, a website [specifically] for Spanish teachers, that gives me games and authentic songs and lyrics to bring into my classroom.

Like all teachers, my time outside of school is stretched thin during the school year. I am a full-time caretaker of a family member and I’m getting a master’s degree. Even though I spend my own money reluctantly, I know it’s worth it for the kids’ enjoyment of lessons and also for my own sanity. It is sad to me that, for a lot of us, any small salary raise we get seems to just go right back into the classroom.

Classroom supplies take priority over helping student clubs

Ceretta Morris is a Language Arts and social studies teacher at John D. Shoop Academy in Chicago

This year has been particularly challenging. In the past, I taught only one grade level; now, I teach three. This has led to me needing a wider variety of materials and resources. I teach four classes of 25 kids daily, so I buy a lot of stuff. I ordered a box of 500 pre-sharpened pencils, heavy-duty pencil sharpeners, folders, and boxes of copy paper.

I’m the queen of taking advantage of all available donations: Donor Choose, AdoptAClassroom, GoFundMe … I do all of those, but I still spent about $600 out of my pocket. I also tried to put some of the material in a supply list, but getting middle school parents to shop for school supplies is hard.

If I didn’t have to spend money on essential supplies, I would love to support the funding for our school clubs. I co-sponsor our school’s Junior Beta Club, which [gathers] high achieving students to perform services to the community, and I see how much funding they still need.

Wellington Soares is Chalkbeat’s national education reporting intern based in New York City. Contact Wellington at wsoares@chalkbeat.org.

Caroline Bauman is Chalkbeat’s deputy managing editor for engagement.

Students and teachers: Follow the presidential election with Chalkbeat and The New York Times

2024-09-09T13:40:42+00:00

This fall, the 2024 presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will dominate headlines and social media feeds — but also school hallway conversations, lunch table debates, and teachers’ lesson plans. Many recent graduates and current students will cast a vote for the first time in their lives.

In collaboration with Headway, a new initiative at The New York Times, Chalkbeat has been posing questions about the presidential election to educators and high school students since February. We have heard from nearly 1,000 students and 200 teachers across the nation.

We will take you into a few educators’ classrooms this fall. Teachers shared stories of feeling overwhelmed by the amount of misinformation brought into their schools, particularly from what students hear and see on social media. While some shared frustration with a lack of interest from their students in elections, many expressed admiration for how engaged young people are at this moment.

We heard students who live in diverse school communities ranging from rural Tennessee and Indiana to urban Chicago and New York City. Many young people who wrote in are now high school graduates and can cast a vote in a presidential election for the first time. Some expressed feeling disillusioned by the voting system or said they’re too busy to pay much attention. But many told Chalkbeat and the Headway that they are highly interested in this election and want to see more of their peers engaged and represented in the outcome.

Over the next eight weeks, Headway and Chalkbeat will ask students and recent graduates a series of questions about how they are relating to the election and share their responses. We will publish stories from recent graduates and current students who will vote in a presidential election for the first time, and we’ll tell you which issues are having the greatest impact on how they cast their ballots. We’ll also take you inside schools, where the election cycle will shape classroom discussions in real time, and share stories from educators navigating this pivotal moment with their students.

Students: If you’re ready to participate, the challenge starts here.

We’re excited to hear what you have to say. Educators, please feel free to share the questions with students you know. If you have any questions or thoughts, reach out to DearHeadway@nytimes.com and community@chalkbeat.org.

Read more about the 2024 presidential election from Chalkbeat:

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for engagement at Chalkbeat.

Teachers: Are you buying school supplies with your own money?

2024-07-17T16:16:18+00:00

As educators across America prepare to welcome students for the 2024-25 school year, a common practice often goes unseen: Teachers spending their own money on classroom supplies.

While this practice is long-standing, the amount teachers spend has risen sharply in recent years, as many school supplies have jumped in price. More than 90% of teachers spend their own money on school supplies, according to the National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the country. Before the pandemic, teachers spent an average of $500 out of pocket per year. The union estimated that number would jump past $800 for the 2023-24 school year.

Teachers told Chalkbeat in 2018 that they dug into their bank accounts for pencils, snacks, and even an air conditioning unit. Some school districts provide educators stipends for school supplies, but not all do. Fundraising sites like GoFundMe have become increasingly popular for teachers, and for parents raising money for their students’ educators, with the site even publishing tips for classroom fundraising.

As the new school year approaches, Chalkbeat wants to hear from educators: What are you spending on school supplies? What do you wish your school communities knew about this issue? Fill out the survey below to weigh in.

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Caroline Bauman is the deputy editor for engagement at Chalkbeat. Owen Berg is Chalkbeat’s 2024 audience and engagement intern.

Educators: How are you planning to teach about the 2024 presidential election?

2024-02-22T19:00:00+00:00

Dear high school teachers,

In schools across America, the 2024 presidential election will likely become increasingly dominant in hallway conversations, lunch table debates, and teacher-led lessons — planned and unplanned. This fall, American citizens will once again cast their votes, and the two leading contenders are poised to be the same ones from four years ago. 2024 might feel eerily similar to the tumultuous 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.

You all have the important task of teaching history at the very moment it’s being made.

High schoolers: How important is this year’s election? Tell us.

As the presidential election cycle ramps up, The New York Times’ Headway team and Chalkbeat want to hear from you. How are your students thinking about this election? How are you planning to teach it? What questions do you have?

Let us know in the quick questionnaire below, and we’ll be in touch. (We’re particularly interested in learning from educators of current juniors and seniors in high school, but please don’t let that stop you from filling out our form. We want to hear from other types of educators as well!)

Do you have students we should talk to? We also have a questionnaire we are sharing directly with high schoolers. Do you know current juniors and seniors who would want to participate in this project? Please share the student questionnaire here.

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High schoolers: How important is this year’s election? Tell us.

2024-02-22T19:00:00+00:00

Dear high schoolers,

This year’s U.S. presidential election will dominate conversations worldwide. This fall, American citizens will once again cast their votes, and the two leading contenders are poised to be the same ones from four years ago. 2024 might feel eerily similar to the tumultuous 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.

Once again, inside your classrooms, history is being taught at the very moment it’s being made.

Educators: How are you planning to teach about the 2024 presidential election?

Since this could be the first election you’ll have a chance to vote in, we’re eager to know how important this moment feels in your classes and to you and your friends. Are you closely following the campaign? Or does it feel not that connected to your life?

The New York Times’ Headway team and Chalkbeat want to hear directly from you. Take a moment to complete our questionnaire below, and we’ll be in touch with you soon.

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Sign up for Chalkbeat’s monthly text updates on the Philadelphia Board of Education

2024-01-23T14:57:46+00:00

Want to stay up to date on the latest news from the Philadelphia Board of Education and be able to text all your school board questions to Chalkbeat’s journalists? Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s free texting service.

Our bureau sifts through agendas and documents, attends board meetings, and interviews Philly leaders, educators, and community members before and after the meetings. We report the important school board votes and decisions and tell the stories of the people affected by those decisions.

And with our texting service, you’ll always stay in the loop on the latest Philadelphia school board news.

This is one more way our team works to keep you informed, spark conversation, and inspire you to take action. Our team wants to hold district officials accountable for doing right by their students while also sharing what’s important to students, parents, and teachers.

Here’s how it works:

Sign up by texting SCHOOL to 215-709-9650 or enter your phone number into the box below.

Once you sign up, you’ll get a reminder text before each meeting plus a text after the meeting with the relevant news, and an occasional text when there is additional school board news.

Plus, the texts are a direct line to our journalists. If you have questions you don’t see the answers to, you can text back and ask us.

The Philadelphia school board typically meets the last Thursday of every month at 440 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, 19130. You can learn more about the board, view its meeting schedule, and learn about public comment here.

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor of engagement at Chalkbeat. Reach her at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Nine education stories that defined 2023

2023-12-22T13:00:00+00:00

Three years after the COVID pandemic began, schools across America are still finding their new normal.

School communities are desperately trying to reduce chronically absent students, struggling with how to spend waning federal COVID relief dollars, implementing new “science of reading” laws, and waffling on how ChatGPT should (or should not) be a part of classrooms.

Below are nine storylines from Chalkbeat reporters across the country that dove into those topics. What education stories mattered most to you this year? We would love to hear from you at community@chalkbeat.org.

Jan. 3: NYC education department blocks ChatGPT, but later reverses course

AI is here to stay, so how will America’s schools respond? At the beginning of 2023, New York City opted to run far away, blocking access to the program and citing “negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.” But a few months later, the city reversed course, with schools Chancellor David Banks proclaiming the city’s schools were “determined to embrace its potential.”

Now, just over a year after the tech group OpenAI introduced ChatGPT to the public, some students at New York City high schools report widespread use of AI-powered chatbots among their peers. The same patterns appear elsewhere. In one national survey from July, 44% of teenagers said they were likely to use AI-powered tools to complete their schoolwork, even though a majority considered it cheating.

March 10: Tutoring help reaches few students despite nationwide push

As America’s schools confront dramatic learning setbacks caused by the pandemic, experts have held up intensive tutoring as the single best antidote. Yet even as schools wield billions of dollars in federal COVID relief, only a small fraction of students have received school tutoring, according to a survey of the nation’s largest districts by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press.

In eight of 12 school systems that provided data, less than 10% of students received any type of district tutoring this fall. The startlingly low tutoring figures point to several problems. Some parents said they didn’t know tutoring was available or didn’t think their children needed it. Some school systems have struggled to hire tutors. Other school systems said the small tutoring programs were intentional, part of an effort to focus on students with the greatest needs.

Library at Southport Elementary School in Perry Township in Southport, In. Indiana has joined a growing number of states that require schools to use curriculum materials that emphasize phonetic instruction when teaching children how to read.

May 25: Indiana’s new ‘science of reading’ law requires districts to adopt research-backed curriculum

Indiana joined a growing number of states that require schools to use curriculum materials that emphasize phonetic instruction when teaching children how to read. The new law came amid concern from lawmakers and education officials in Indiana and nationwide about elementary school students’ reading ability — an issue exacerbated by the pandemic.

Yet new state reading laws have almost entirely omitted attention to another critical component of reading: background knowledge, or the idea that students are better able to comprehend what they read when they start with some understanding of the topic they’re reading about. In other words, building background knowledge is an idea supported by science that has not fully caught on to the science of reading movement.

June 16: The ‘Tennessee 3′ created a historic teachable moment. Will schools be allowed to teach it?

Tennessee is at the front of a conservative-driven wave of censorship about what can and cannot be taught in K-12 schools. A 2021 state law restricts classroom discussions about systemic racism, white privilege, and slavery’s ongoing legacy.

This had real effects in Tennessee classrooms, students and teachers said, when two young Black Democrats were ousted by the House’s all-white GOP supermajority for staging a protest on the House floor urging gun reforms after a mass school shooting in Nashville. Rep. Justin Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones were later reinstated.

“We definitely have noticed that a silencing is happening in our schools,” said Ava Buxton, also a senior at Hume-Fogg, when asked whether the expulsions of Jones and Pearson had been discussed in her classes.

Emerging state data compiled by Chalkbeat suggests rises in students missing school did not come close to returning to pre-pandemic levels last school year.

August 31: One Detroit school’s multilayered effort to get absent students back to school

At one elementary-middle school in Detroit, a staggering 82% of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more days. So, school leadership started a mentorship program, dispatched staff to students’ homes to help families solve problems contributing to absenteeism, and used data to track attendance patterns.

This school isn’t alone in battling poor student attendance. Emerging state data compiled by Chalkbeat suggests that the stunning rise in students missing school did not come close to returning to pre-pandemic levels last school year.

September 20: The pandemic is over. But American schools still aren’t the same.

Many students and educators say school is feeling more normal than it has in over three years. COVID health precautions have all but vanished. There’s less social awkwardness. Students say they’re over the novelty of seeing their classmates in person.

But beneath the surface, profound pandemic-era consequences persist. More students are missing school, and educators are scrambling to keep kids engaged in class. Nationally, many students remain far behind in math and reading where they would have been if not for the pandemic. There have been especially steep learning drops at schools that taught virtually for most of the 2020-21 school year. Learning loss is even more pressing for older students, who have less time to fill in those holes.

September 27: Roxborough High remembers Nicolas Elizalde, killed one year ago

One Philadelphia high school planted crocuses on the first anniversary of one of the most devastating events in the history of Roxborough High: a brutal shooting mere steps from the school that took the life of 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde as he walked home from a football scrimmage at the field nearby.

During the last school year, 199 Philadelphia students were shot, and 33 of those died, district officials said. Nationwide, data confirms that school gun violence is pervasive — and spreading. The number of guns seized in schools and fired on school property has skyrocketed since before the pandemic, according to gun violence databases.

Nov. 21: Students want to talk about Israel and Gaza. Schools are struggling to keep up.

Both Muslim and Jewish students told Chalkbeat they’ve noticed an uptick in hurtful and derogatory comments from classmates at school or over social media, echoing a recent New York state review that found Islamophobic and antisemitic rhetoric have each jumped by more than 400% on social media since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliation.

Classrooms can feel like one of the few safe places to make sense of the Israel-Hamas war, learn about the historical underpinnings of the crisis, and try in some small way to take action, teens said. But schools are taking divergent approaches to navigating conversations about the war and in some cases largely avoiding it, according to interviews with educators and students at six high schools.

Graduates line up to receive their degrees during the graduation from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Dec. 15: Is college worth it? A Colorado report aims to answer that question.

Is college worth it? It can be, but students need to have better information about what a college education can lead to. According to a recent Colorado report, residents who complete college fare much better than their counterparts. In fact, those who finish a bachelor’s degree greatly outearn residents with only a high school diploma by several hundred dollars a week.

The information in the report is crucial to help students make a decision about whether they should go to college, advocates said. They also say the state can go a step further by displaying more information that students can use, including which college programs benefit them the most.

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for engagement at Chalkbeat.

What advice do you have for new teachers?

2023-09-28T13:00:00+00:00

As students settle into a new school year across the nation, Chalkbeat wants to hear from educators: What do you wish you knew before you started teaching?

The back-to-school season can be an exciting but daunting time, even for veteran teachers. The last few years of pandemic learning have carried immense stress for school communities. More educators have left the profession than normal, according to the best available data, cementing predictions that the pandemic led to more teacher turnover.

Teachers who have remained are still feeling the lingering effects of pandemic pains: Chronic absenteeism, dipping student test scores, and dwindling federal aid money for recovery programs. But the turn of the calendar year springs new hope for a better season.

Whether you are a recent or veteran teacher, Chalkbeat wants to know your advice for new educators. What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started teaching? What gives you hope right now?

Tell us in the form below, or click here to access the form directly. We look forward to hearing from you.

Caroline Bauman is the deputy managing editor for engagement at Chalkbeat.

Tell us: How has your relationship to school changed since the pandemic started?

2023-01-25T21:45:59+00:00

To say it’s been a long three years feels like an understatement. Much has changed for many New Yorkers since the COVID pandemic started, particularly when it comes to their relationship to school and education.

Where does that leave parents, students, and educators? What kind of support do families and schools need?

It’s still a trying time for many New York City schools.

The nation’s largest school system continues to lose students, resulting in budget cuts. But in many cases, having fewer teachers meant they had to do more with less, often with class sizes ballooning. Compared to the year before, elementary and middle school classes increased this year, according to city data. And the privately run but publicly funded prekindergarten centers that are the backbone of the city’s free pre-K program for 3- and 4-year-olds has been rife with funding and other problems.

Meanwhile students are still healing from prolonged isolation, but are once again going on field trips and are back in their classrooms — except when they don’t show up, as chronic absenteeism rates remain high, and educators have seen an increasing number of students who feel like school is optional, in a way.

Some children are trying to self-medicate with marijuana, experts have said, and schools are reporting an uptick in student marijuana use, particularly in younger grades. On top of social emotional needs, many students still need academic help. The city has also been grappling with how to better serve a rising number of homeless students, particularly from migrant families sent here on buses from Texas.

Please fill out our brief survey to let us know how things have changed for you:

What education stories do you want to see more of in 2023?

2023-01-05T15:36:48+00:00

Efforts to recover from COVID’s lingering toll. New restrictions on teaching about race, gender and sexuality. Gun violence. New efforts to boost reading. Teacher turnover. Intensified focus on student mental health.

These were just some of the issues defining school communities across America last year. We turned to Chalkbeat readers dozens of times for help with our journalism — and your ideas and stories influenced hundreds of articles. Now, as a new school semester launches, we want to know: What’s the biggest education issue facing your school community in 2023?

Our journalists want to start the year from a place of listening, and your voice will help us determine what stories and questions matter most to you. Fill out our brief survey below, or go here.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

You’re invited: Chalkbeat’s 2023 Legislative Preview

2022-12-20T23:08:53+00:00

Join Chalkbeat Colorado for our annual discussion of key education topics likely to surface during the upcoming legislative session. This year’s conversation will be held virtually on Zoom Webinar from noon - 1:30 MT on Thursday, Jan. 5.

Last year, our conversation with lawmakers ranged from school funding to student mental health and child care challenges to higher education access. The 2022 session saw big investments in K-12 education and career education training, plus the signing of a historic universal preschool bill. There were lost opportunities as well.

This year, we’ll discuss a potential rewrite of the school funding formula, student discipline and school safety, the state of math instruction, the future of the accountability system, the impending launch of universal preschool, and how to make higher education pay off.

We’re excited to be joined by:

Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument
Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora
House Education Committee Chair Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango
Joint Budget Committee Chair Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada
House Education Vice Chair Rep. Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista

A special thanks to our event sponsor, the Colorado Education Association. And thank you to our event partner, the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver.

Please RSVP for this event so we’re able to provide the webinar information and can hear your ideas for questions. Chalkbeat Colorado is a nonprofit organization, and tickets are priced at a suggested donation of $25 to support our journalism and events such as this one. Please note that price shouldn’t be a barrier to anyone who wants to attend, and we encourage you to give as you are able.

Caroline Bauman is the community engagement manager at Chalkbeat.

Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat Colorado’s bureau chief.

The Comeback: Memphis students and teachers share stories of resilience after pandemic

2022-11-14T22:46:06+00:00

Shreya Ganesh had been struggling with motivation as a Memphis high school freshman when one day, the district superintendent tweeted that all students were getting a half day off.

It was spring 2020, right before spring break and right as the COVID pandemic was beginning to take the nation and world hostage. Memphis-Shelby County Schools would eventually announce that in-person learning was over for the school year.

“And I didn’t even know what to do with myself,” said Shreya, now a senior at White Station High School, at a Chalkbeat and New Memphis-hosted storytelling night. “OK, I thought, this is just a really, really long spring break.”

Shreya said that the pandemic disruption and online learning, while incredibly challenging, helped her take a mental break from a taxing school schedule and forced her to ask herself, “What do I really want to do?” The time she spent doing schoolwork alongside her sister, a college student also learning from home, heavily influenced new passions and goals. And Shreya said she developed more intentional friendships, even if she couldn’t see her peers in person. After a year of online learning, she returned to in-person classes as a junior.

“My first day of junior year, I felt like I was finally stepping into the shoes I’d been making for the last two years,” Shreya said, adding that she finally got to connect with friends she had made during online learning, and that her anxiety around tests and college had plummeted during the pandemic. “I’m really proud of how I grew during all of this. This is my comeback story.”

Right before the school year began, Chalkbeat Tennessee partnered with New Memphis for an evening of stories from students and educators. New Memphis also announced its news class of Educators of Excellence.

You can watch the stories, including Shreya’s, in full below. Special thanks to additional event partners, Spillit, and the Daily Memphian.

Storytellers hit on the theme of “The Comeback,” which is what the last school year was supposed to be as students returned to classrooms after months of remote or hybrid learning, disconnection, and uncertainty. And for many schools, it was a comeback year for a while, as schools returned to in-person and vaccines were widely available. But as Shreya’s story illustrates, students and teachers are forever changed — in some good and in many incredibly challenging ways.

Watch Shreya’s story in full below, as well as stories from four other Memphis educators and students.

Shreya Ganesh, senior at White Station High School and Bank of America student leader

Curley Harris, dean of students at Promise Academy Spring Hill

Natalie Nixon, senior at Houston High School and student leader with BRIDGES

Athumuni (Arthur) Niyokwizigigwa, sophomore at Central High School and student leader with the Refugee Empowerment Program

Josh Czupryk, director of academic operations at University Schools

Caroline Bauman is the community engagement manager at Chalkbeat.

You’re invited: Detroit school board virtual candidate forum

2022-10-07T19:19:27+00:00

Two former board presidents, a few former educators, four incumbents, parents, and a recent graduate are among the 18 candidates running for four seats on the Detroit school board in what could be a consequential election for the city school district.

The seven-member board oversees and sets policy for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, which educates nearly 49,000 students. With more than half of the four-year seats up for election on Nov. 8, any new board members could affect Superintendent Nikolai Vitti’s plan to address pandemic-related enrollment losses, chronic absenteeism, and poor academic achievement.

Chalkbeat Detroit and WDET are hosting a virtual school board candidate forum Thursday, Oct. 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

RSVP to join us as we hear from candidates vying to lead Detroit public schools.

The forum will be held over Zoom and split into two panels with a short intermission. This event is free to attend, but you must RSVP to receive the Zoom information. You can also let us know what questions you have for the candidates when you sign up.

Panel 1

Corletta Vaughn (incumbent)
Deborah Hunter-Harvill (incumbent)
Jamaal Muhammad
John Telford
Patrice Douglas
Richard Clement
LaMar Lemmons
Ida Simmons Short

Panel 2

Angelique Peterson-Mayberry (incumbent)
Monique Bryant
Regina Ann Campbell
Bessie Harris
Aliya Moore
Ridgeley Hudson
Iris Taylor
Latrice McClendon

Incumbent Georgia Lemmons and candidate Reba Neely have not yet responded to an invitation to attend.

Caroline Bauman is the community engagement manager at Chalkbeat.

IPS school board forum: RSVP to hear from candidates

2022-09-30T18:02:35+00:00

Four candidates are vying for three open seats on the Indianapolis Public Schools board of school commissioners — and the winners will oversee huge changes for the state’s largest district.

Get to know the candidates and their stances on important education issues at Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI’s school board candidate forum on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Indianapolis Public Library, Central Branch.

RSVP to save your seat.

Reporters from Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI will interview the candidates, and community members can submit questions ahead of time for the Q&A portion of the evening.

Want to learn more about the candidates ahead of time? Check out our in-depth voter guide.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

NYC: What’s the No. 1 thing you’d like your school to provide this year?

2022-09-01T18:25:44+00:00

New York City public schools plan to welcome back roughly 900,000 students next week, marking the start of yet another critical year.

Many children continue to feel the academic and emotional toll from prolonged classroom closures and interruptions during the coronavirus pandemic. And the nation’s largest school system as a whole is continuing to grapple with declining enrollment, though it is also seeing an influx of thousands of asylum seekers, who may need intensive support.

Chalkbeat wants to hear from students, parents, and educators: What are you looking forward to this year? Are you concerned about the city’s budget cuts affecting your school? Do you think your school is offering enough mental health support?

This summer’s battle over school funding cuts, along with an ongoing lawsuit challenging the education department’s budget process, made planning more complicated for many principals — though perhaps not as difficult as the previous two years when they had to reconfigure so much of what teaching and learning looked like because of COVID guidance. Schools will drop most of the city’s COVID mitigations this year, ditching the daily health screeners and onsite PCR testing, along with previously dropped layers such as masking and quarantines.

The city is still planning to spend more than $1 billion in stimulus funding this year, but it remains to be seen how much of that will go directly to help students with tutoring programs or other ways to catch them up academically and socially. The education department already said it plans to scale back special education recovery services this fall.

In response to the plummeting math and reading scores — especially for the lowest performing students — from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, whose test is known as “the nation’s report card,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said that schools should use their federal aid “even more effectively and expeditiously.” He cited strategies like high-dosage tutoring, after-school programs, and hiring more staff.

Meanwhile, budget cuts forced many New York City schools to excess educators, sending them to find positions elsewhere in the system.

Having trouble viewing this form? Go here.

The Comeback: An evening of stories from Memphis educators and students

2022-08-16T19:54:02+00:00

Time: Aug. 24, 6-8:30 p.m. CT

Location: 409 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103

A new school year is starting following what was meant to be a comeback year for America’s schools — a return to classrooms and rebuilding of communities after months of remote or hybrid learning, disconnection, and uncertainty.

And for many schools, it was a comeback year, at least for a while. Schools fully reopened for in-person learning. Vaccines were available for teens and would soon be for children over 5. Districts mapped out how to spend an unprecedented amount of federal COVID relief money.

But the buildings that swung open their doors to students in the fall of 2021 were changed — as were the students and educators who filled them.

Join New Memphis, Chalkbeat Tennessee, and Spillit for an evening of stories from students and educators that speak to the theme “The Comeback,” on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 6-8:30 p.m. at 409 S. Main Street in Memphis. New Memphis will also announce its new class of Educators of Excellence. Special thanks to our editorial partner for this event, The Daily Memphian.

Doors open at 6 p.m., and light refreshments and drinks will be provided. This event is free to attend, but RSVP so we know you are coming. Celebrate the start of a new school year with us by listening to these powerful stories.

Storytellers include:

Omolola Ajayi, seventh grade teacher at Wooddale Middle School
Shreya Ganesh, senior at White Station High School and Bank of America student leader
Athumuni (Arthur) Niyokwizigigwa, sophomore at Central High School and student leader with the Refugee Empowerment Program
Curley Harris, dean of students at Promise Academy Spring Hill
Natalie Nixon, senior at Houston High School and student leader with BRIDGES
Josh Czupryk, director of academic operations at University Schools

Event: NYC is promising to revamp how students learn to read. What will it take?

2022-07-28T18:01:00+00:00

This fall, changes are coming to New York City classrooms. Education department officials say they will require all elementary schools to adopt a phonics-based reading program — a potentially seismic shift in how tens of thousands of public school students are taught to read.

Before the coronavirus hit, less than half of the city’s students in grades 3-8 were considered proficient readers, according to state tests. The pandemic has only multiplied concerns that students have been knocked off track.

The shift to recommended phonics-based curricula for kindergarten through second grade is part of a $7.4 million plan from Mayor Eric Adams to address literacy. Adams also has announced new efforts to identify and support students with dyslexia or other reading challenges, including screening students from kindergarten through high school and creating targeted programs at 160 of the city’s 1,600 schools.

What should parents, students, and educators know about the changes to reading instruction that officials are promising this fall? What do experts recommend when it comes to teaching young learners how to read? How can parents know if their children are getting solid reading instruction, and how can they advocate if they’re not?

Join Chalkbeat New York as we tackle these questions and more in a live virtual panel discussion on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 4:30-5:30 p.m. EDT. This event is free to attend, but register to save your virtual seat and to let us know your questions. Panelists will be announced closer to the event. Thanks to our event partner, THE CITY.

And special thanks to our exclusive sponsor for this event, Lexia Learning.

Chalkbeat New York is a nonprofit news organization covering one of the city’s most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children, especially those who have historically lacked access to a quality education.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Forum: Who is running for the Memphis Shelby County Schools board?

2022-07-11T21:19:30+00:00

Get to know candidates running for the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board before the August elections. Chalkbeat, MICAH, and partners are hosting a forum for candidates on July 21. Students and Chalkbeat journalists will ask candidates about their stances on how Tennessee’s largest school district should help children recover from pandemic learning loss, how the board could create safer, more equitable school environments, and how to address millions of dollars of deferred maintenance and aging school buildings, among other issues.

This is a free event, but please RSVP to let us know you are coming. Food will be provided. Childcare will be provided, and you can sign up for it in the registration form. We will also be live streaming the event as a virtual option. Need translation services? Please let us know in the registration form.

When: July 21, 6-8 p.m.

Where:

In person at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, 1750 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
Virtually on Facebook Live

Need to figure out what district you live in? Go here. Want to weigh in on what we should ask the candidates? Let us know here.

Chalkbeat Tennessee is a nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of the state’s most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children, especially those who have historically lacked access to a quality education.

Special thanks to our candidate forum partners: MICAH, MICAH Youth Council, Memphis Education Fund, CHOICE, Stand for Children, Urban Child Institute, Refugee Empowerment Program, Memphis Lift, Shelby County Youth Council, and Center for Transforming Communities.

Un Foro: ¿Quién se postula para la junta escolar del condado de Memphis-Shelby?

Conozca a los candidatos que se postulan para la junta escolar del condado de Memphis-Shelby antes de las elecciones de agosto. Chalkbeat, MICAH y otros socios organizarán un foro para candidatos el jueves 21 de julio. Unos estudiantes de Memphis-Shelby y los periodistas de Chalkbeat preguntarán a los candidatos sobre sus posturas sobre

cómo el distrito escolar más grande de Tennessee debería ayudar a los niños a recuperarse de la pérdida de aprendizaje por la pandemia,
cómo la junta escolar podría crear ambientes escolares más seguros y equitativos,
cómo abordar millones de dólares en mantenimiento diferido y edificios escolares envejecidos,
y mas temas.

Este es un evento gratuito, pero se le pide que confirme su asistencia de antemano. Se proporcionará comida ligera. Ademas, puede inscribirse para usar los servicios de cuidado de niños en el formulario de registro. También estaremos transmitiendo el evento en vivo como una opción virtual. ¿Necesita servicios de traducción? Por favor, háganoslo saber en el formulario de registro.

Cuándo: jueves 21 de julio, de 6 a 8 p. m.

Dónde: En persona en Idlewild Presbyterian Church, 1750 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38104

Virtualmente en Zoom y Facebook Live

We’re launching a free tool for journalists to track source diversity

2022-06-14T19:31:21+00:00

Chalkbeat and the Reynolds Journalism Institute are preparing to launch a free source diversity tracking tool, and now other journalists can sign up to be trained on it here.

About a year ago, Chalkbeat and RJI joined forces to help small to medium-size newsrooms that want to track the diversity of their sources. We had conversations with 58 journalists involved in this work and wove together best practices from what they shared. We also interviewed journalists in depth on their survey language choices and published recommendations on building an inclusive survey.

Some of our key learnings from the research stage were that continuous audits are better than occasional or retroactive ones, but that the work of constantly tracking sources can put a large burden on already busy reporters. We sought a developer to help us build a tool with some automation, and found a partner in 10up.

Now, we’re gearing up to launch a tool that draws from all of our research and lessons learned. Journalists will be able to log in to the tool, and enter the name and email address of a source. The source will get an automated email to fill out the survey, and after they complete it, journalists will be able to view and export the data. We found in our research that letting sources fill out the surveys on their own time and in their own words increased participation and generated more consistent data.

Individual journalists will be able to access the responses from the sources they sent the survey to, and newsroom leaders can look at the aggregate numbers and diversity breakdowns. RJI and Chalkbeat, as admins, will be able to view any newsroom templates, surveys or responses to help users with issues or questions.

The tool uses a simple interface to send a survey to the source.

We created this tool for newsrooms and journalists to use free — so we hope you reach out to us to learn more about it, whether you’re an individual reporter or a decision maker for your newsroom.

We also learned in our discovery stage that auditing is really only one of the first steps in the diversity effort. We want to empower journalists to use this tool within the workflow of their newsroom so the data collected spurs real, measurable progress in source diversity. We also want to encourage newsroom leaders to fit source auditing into broader diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging efforts.

We tried to make this tool as easy to use as possible for reporters and editors, but the real work of changing habits and inequitable newsroom systems takes time and effort. That’s why we’re partnering with 2021 RJI fellows Emma Carew Grovum and Sisi Wei to create a DEIB best practices and learning module for users on how to incorporate source auditing into your overarching equity work. It’ll include scripts, templates, best practices on language — and even some guidance on how to assess whether your newsroom is ready to start source auditing, or whether there’s some culture work to be done internally first. This will launch with the tool this summer.

For now, we want to hear from newsrooms and journalists interested in learning more about the tool. We’ll show you a demo and answer questions, and you’ll get a chance to be a part of the first group of newsrooms with access to the tool when it’s ready. We plan to continue to add newsrooms and journalists on a rolling basis, so don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Reading list: How Colorado could improve college access for students

2022-05-18T18:31:30+00:00

Chalkbeat Colorado and Young Invincibles are hosting a conversation on May 18, 4 p.m. MT to talk about what’s getting in the way of Colorado students going to college and graduating — and what’s working to get them across the finish line. RSVP to hear from:

Jason Gonzales, the higher education and legislative matters reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado
Nicole Cappellino, a first-generation Colombian student studying criminal justice at the University of Colorado Denver
Nathan Cadena, Denver Scholarship Foundation’s chief operating officer
Cecilia M. Orphan, an associate professor of higher education at the University of Denver and director of partnerships for the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges
Malcom Lovejoy, a senior at Campo High School who is preparing to attend Rice University this fall after graduation
Will Simpkins, vice president for student affairs at Metropolitan State University of Denver
Luis Borrego-Castaneda, graduating student from Colorado School of Mines

Colorado is a highly educated state but doesn’t send enough of its own high school graduates to college. And fewer students of color and those from rural communities hold advanced degrees.

Chalkbeat Colorado launched its higher education coverage in 2020. Building off our reporting, we want to host a conversation about the “two Colorados.” What are the barriers preventing students, especially students of color or those from rural backgrounds, from getting to and through higher education? What do students and educators want to see change? What are the success stories that Colorado can learn from?

During a May 17 discussion hosted by Chalkbeat Colorado and Young Invincibles, students, experts, and educators will speak about their suggestions for bettering access to Colorado higher education. Read on for Chalkbeat’s reading list for event attendees and anyone who wants to better understand how these issues are playing out in Colorado schools and beyond.

We hope you find these compiled stories helpful. Do you have any remaining questions? Or story ideas for us? Reach out at co.tips@chalkbeat.org. And want to stay up-to-date on all of the most important higher education news? Sign up for our Beyond High School newsletter.

Rural Colorado students go to college at low rates. One tiny school goes against the trend.

A train passes a small brick station in Fowler, Colorado.

Fewer than half of rural Colorado’s high school graduates go to college, a rate that’s about five percentage points below the state average.

The reasons are complex. College can feel far away, geographically and culturally. Colleges sometimes haven’t done enough to make degrees feel relevant to the interests and experiences of rural Coloradans. The cost can deter students unsure if college will improve their earnings. College recruiters don’t often stop at rural high schools.

Tiny Fowler, with its lone high school of about 110 students, shows how rural communities can use a partnership among educators, parents, and the broader community to foster the idea that college degrees will contribute to success — whether graduates return to Fowler or move to a bigger city.

Read more in our story.

Two Hispanic brothers wanted to go to college in Colorado. Here’s why only one made it.

Jimy Hernandez and his younger brother, Luis relax at the dinner table at their home in Denver.

Jimy and Luis Hernandez are two brothers who both aspired to attend college one day. Only one of them pursued higher education after high school. The brothers’ divergent paths highlight how Colorado’s, and the nation’s, college system produces unequal results — even within the same family.

And even if they do get to campus, Hispanic men may find not many people share their experiences and understand their challenges. Fewer than one in 10 tenured professors are Hispanic, which is important in making students feel welcome and in helping them connect with mentors who can guide them.

Read more in our story.

Colorado graduates Hispanic men at low rates — but it can improve

Schools like Adams State University, Colorado State University of Pueblo, the University of Colorado Denver, and MSU Denver have been designated Hispanic Serving Institutions.

Hispanic men go to college at the lowest rates of any student group in Colorado, and all the factors that make it hard for them to get to campus — tight budgets, family obligations, unclear pathways, and few mentors — follow them through college.

These outcomes are not inevitable. Around the country, a few institutions have nearly eliminated these gaps by developing systems that catch students before they stumble, rewarding professors for doing more to connect with students, and creating communities that embrace students on campus. The efforts start with a clear message from leaders that this work is a priority and not an afterthought or an extra.

Read more in our story.

A Denver scholarship foundation wanted to know how to help Hispanic men get to college. Here’s what it found

Students sit during a class at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

What barriers do Hispanic men face getting to and graduating from college?

That’s the question Denver Scholarship Foundation leaders asked Hispanic men about their challenges. They variously listed a lack of funds, information, support, and individual attention, plus family responsibilities.

Hispanic men who did graduate reported having family support. Or they decided to continue with college despite the costs, and had teachers or mentors who saw their potential. They benefited from encouragement from an early age.

Read more in our story.

How Colorado could get more students to complete FAFSA

Yvvonne Burrell and Sir Martin look at scholarship information in the Future Center during a school day at Manual High School. The Future Center provides the students a place to receive information about financial aid, scholarships and colleges.

FAFSA opens up the possibility for students to gain scholarships and federal grants to pay for the cost of college, and every year Colorado students leave about $30 million in federal financial aid unclaimed. A report by 20 experts calls for nearly doubling the FAFSA completion rate to 80%, from 45% — or to at least move into the top 10% of all states in the measure.

The report recommends the state offer grants for student aid counselors, beef up marketing to spread the message about the benefits of FAFSA, partner with organizations to help students complete the FAFSA, incorporate FAFSA into student academic plans, and eventually add FAFSA completion as a graduation requirement.

Colorado lawmakers took up some of these recommendations in House Bill 1366, which passed with bipartisan support. The bill calls for online tools to make filling out the financial aid form easier and ensures students know about the financial aid form as part of their individualized career and academic plan.

Read more in our story.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Event: How we can get more Colorado students to — and through — college

2022-05-12T15:45:29+00:00

When it comes to getting a college degree, there are two Colorados.

Colorado is a highly educated state, yet there are wide disparities in degree attainment among Coloradans. The gaps are greatest for students of color and those from rural communities.

Join Chalkbeat Colorado and Young Invincibles for a panel discussion with students and teachers. Please RSVP for this event so we’re able to provide the webinar information and hear your ideas for questions. This event is free to attend, but any optional donations will go to support Chalkbeat’s nonprofit journalism and events such as these.

The panel features:

Jason Gonzales, the higher education and legislative matters reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado
Nicole Cappellino, a first-generation Colombian student studying criminal justice at the University of Colorado Denver
Nathan Cadena, Denver Scholarship Foundation’s chief operating officer
Cecilia M. Orphan, an associate professor of higher education at the University of Denver and director of partnerships for the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges
Malcom Lovejoy, a senior at Campo High School who is preparing to attend Rice University this fall after graduation
Will Simpkins, vice president for student affairs at Metropolitan State University of Denver
Luis Borrego-Castaneda, graduating student from Colorado School of Mines

Did you quit teaching this school year? Chalkbeat wants to talk to you.

2022-05-05T17:02:08+00:00

Following this post, Chalkbeat heard from 80 educators who quit teaching last school year. Read their words on why they quit and what could have kept them in the classroom here.

Teaching, like many professions, has undergone significant shifts during the pandemic.

To better understand this new reality for teachers, Chalkbeat is looking to speak with people across the country who quit teaching — or have given notice — during the 2021-22 school year.

Did you leave the classroom this year? We’d love to hear your story.

To be clear, we don’t want to overstate what the data on teachers leaving the profession shows. As Chalkbeat reported in February, “claims of a coming — or ongoing — teacher exodus warrant considerable skepticism. That’s both because we don’t yet have data to support strong assertions and because recent history suggests that an exodus is unlikely.”

But recent surveys and polls offer hints that more teachers have considered leaving the field. New data from Texas, South Carolina, Philadelphia, and Clark County, Nevada, show a jump in teachers leaving in the middle of the school year. A 2021 poll of the nation’s largest teachers union found that 55% of its members reported an increased likelihood that they would quit teaching earlier than expected. And stories of teachers who’ve recently quit are increasingly common on social media platforms.

Are you a new teacher or a soon-to-be teacher? Don’t worry — we also want to talk with you. Be on the lookout for another callout in the coming months.

We know this is a delicate and complicated topic. Please note that this form is confidential and nothing shared in the form will be published without a Chalkbeat journalist reaching out to you and getting your consent.

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Eba Hamid-Rivera is Chalkbeat’s first-ever director of audience. They have more than 15 years of experience as a journalist, news editor, and digital strategist. Connect with Eba at ehamid-rivera@chalkbeat.org

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Reading list: How Philadelphia schools are grappling with gun violence

2022-04-20T14:50:07+00:00

Amid rising gun violence in Philadelphia, educators and students are calling for greater support, including more funding for trauma-responsive programming, grief counseling, recreational support, and summer programming.

Violence in Philadelphia has reached historic levels, with the city surpassing 500 homicides last year, the highest number since 1990. Teenagers and children have been swept up in this surge. This reality is taking a toll on schools, which are already reeling from the disruption of the pandemic and now struggle to meet the mental health needs of students who have been shot, lost loved ones, or fear for their own safety.

As Philadelphia officials outline steps to stem violence in and around schools, Chalkbeat wants to hear directly from students, educators, and school leaders on how schools can better support students experiencing community trauma. How can schools best spend precious resources? What do students feel has made a difference in their own lives? What resources can help equip educators? (Have you been affected by gun violence in Philadelphia? We want to hear from you here.)

During an April 20 discussion hosted by Chalkbeat Philadelphia and Resolve Philly, students, experts, and educators spoke about their suggestions for the Philadelphia school district. Read on for Chalkbeat’s reading list for event attendees and anyone who wants to better understand how these issues are playing out in Philadelphia schools and beyond.

Mental health resources for students, educators, and parents

Professional counseling: The Anti-Violence Partnership offers free, professional counseling to adult and child co-victims of homicide and those who have been traumatized by other forms of violence. These services are provided at their offices in the Art Museum area and in West Philadelphia. Fill out this form to learn more or call 215-567-6776.

Gun violence resource guide: Dozens of organizations across Philadelphia are dedicated to helping those affected by gun violence. Up the Block has a searchable guide, in Spanish and English, available online. This project was created and is maintained by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering gun violence. Read more about the project here.

Mentorship programs: Philadelphia has dozens of programs seeking to provide supportive mentorship environments for youth. Learn more about the programs and how to get in touch with organizers from the Fun Times.

For emergencies: Contact the Philadelphia Mobile Emergency Team at 215-685-6440, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or for all other emergencies, call 911.

We hope you find these compiled stories and list of resources helpful. Do you have any remaining questions? Or story ideas for us? Reach out at philly.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Behind bars: School inside Philly’s juvenile center feels brunt of city’s gun violence

A student at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Center School Program shares their thoughts on the city’s gun violence during an interview.

The spike in Philadelphia youth involved in gun violence has staff at the school district’s Juvenile Justice Services Center School calling for help.

The goal of the center’s school is to keep students on track with their education and help them transition back to a traditional school after their arrest. But Principal Deana Ramsey said the rise in gun violence has not been met with an increase in staffing or mental health supports, leading her and others to worry the center isn’t fulfilling its mission to students.

The city’s gun violence crisis, coming amid the coronavirus pandemic, has put pressure on the West Philadelphia center, whose students accounted for 12.7% of all shooting victims enrolled in city schools through April of last school year, according to school district data.

Read the full story.

Some kids ‘don’t come back’: One Philly school grapples with gun violence

Principal Keisha Wilkins walks through the auditorium of Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia as the school’s cheerleading squad practices on the stage.

In more than six years as principal of Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia, Keisha Wilkins has developed a ritual of sending students off in the afternoon with the same parting words: “I love you, be safe, see you tomorrow.”

But twice in the past year at the 551-student school in Philadelphia’s West Oak Lane neighborhood, students haven’t returned. A junior was found shot to death while attending a vigil for another shooting victim last October. And a junior was found shot in the head on Mother’s Day, sitting in a car around the corner from his grandmother’s house.

“There are some kids that don’t come back the next day,” she said, “and it’s not because they don’t want to come back, but it’s because their life is taken prematurely because they had to make adult decisions as children. It’s very hard for us as a school.”

School leaders find themselves balancing these students’ academic and personal needs. For Wilkins, this means developing a relationship with local police officers, offering weekly grief counseling, and searching for programming to keep students on the right track. But she knows she is facing an uphill battle — she estimates 30 teens and young adults with ties to the school have been murdered during her tenure.

“You can’t normalize violence, can’t normalize grief, but you can at least give some outlet,” she said.

Read the full story.

‘Our schools are a safe place’: Philadelphia officials outline steps to stem violence in and around schools

Student art lines a hallway as staff enter a room at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Center School Program.

Amid a troubling wave of gun violence impacting the lives of Philadelphia students, the district’s director of school safety declared that city leaders are mobilizing resources and cementing collaborations to keep children out of harm’s way.

“Our schools are a safe place,” said Kevin Bethel, a former deputy police commissioner who spent 30 years with the department before joining the district two years ago. “They’ve always been a safe place. They continue to be one of the safest places in the city of Philadelphia regardless of the incidents we’ve had recently. Our schools are safe.”

Bethel’s declaration came during a press conference where he and Superintendent William Hite announced that, as part of their strategy to keep students safe, the district plans to pay community members to help patrol areas around school buildings during arrival and dismissal.

Read the full story.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Reading list: CRT and book bans in Tennessee schools

2022-03-31T20:10:11+00:00

Across the country, new laws targeting critical race theory and debated books are influencing the small but pivotal decisions educators make every day: how to answer a student’s question, what texts to read as a class, and how to prepare for a lesson.

Eight states, including Tennessee, now have widely varying laws restricting how schools teach about racism and sexism. And recently, several state legislatures have passed or proposed curriculum opt-out laws and measures that would make it easier to ban books.

This comes during schools’ efforts to provide social and emotional support for all students. A renewed urgency to help students navigate their mental health has been amplified by absenteeism, behavioral issues, and quieter signs of distress as many students grapple with the lingering pandemic and social unrest.

Chalkbeat Tennessee wants to hear directly from students and educators about how these contentious conversations have affected school culture and classroom dialogue. How do students and teachers of color show up as their full selves at school? What are the actual implications of the bill in Tennessee classrooms? How can schools discuss race and other difficult issues in a way that’s safe, empathetic, and empowering?

During a March 31 discussion hosted by Chalkbeat Tennessee and Education Trust, students, experts, and educators will talk about their ideas on how CRT debates and proposed book bans are impacting them and their peers.

Read on for Chalkbeat’s reading list for event attendees and anyone who wants to better understand how these issues are playing out in Tennessee schools and beyond.

We hope you find these compiled stories helpful. Do you have any remaining questions? Or story ideas for us? Reach out at tn.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Bill to bolster school library book bans advances in Tennessee legislature

Tennessee lawmakers gather in the Tennessee State Senate chamber.

Days after Gov. Bill Lee signed a law requiring school libraries to screen their materials for “age appropriateness,” Tennessee lawmakers advanced a harsher bill that could slap school librarians with criminal penalties over books some might label obscene.

The bill under consideration also would require districts or charter schools to pull books from library shelves if a parent or guardian complains the content is obscene or harmful to minors. A local school board or charter school governing body would have 30 days to decide whether to permanently remove the material based on local community standards. And the state could withhold funds from schools that don’t comply.

With book challenges and bans on the rise in Tennessee and across the nation, supporters say the legislation is necessary to create processes for addressing complaints from parents. But critics worry school leaders will feel pressure to pull titles from shelves to avoid controversy. They’re also concerned how local officials would define obscenity.

CRT Map: Efforts to restrict teaching racism and bias have multiplied across the U.S.

Chalkbeat is tracking efforts to restrict — and expand — education on racism, bias, the contributions of specific racial or ethnic groups to U.S. history, or related topics. This is a screenshot of one of the maps on Feb. 1, 2022. If we have no information available on a state, its icon is gray.

Officials nationwide have raced to enact new laws and introduce new policies meant to shape how students discuss the nation’s past — and its present. Many of these efforts have attempted to ban critical race theory, an academic framework that examines how policies and the law perpetuate systemic racism.

In some states, lawmakers have tried to restrict antiracism training or the teaching of what they call “divisive concepts.” But on the opposite end, other states are adding ethnic studies courses or incorporating more about people of color into their learning standards.

Chalkbeat’s map depicts the depth and breadth of these ongoing efforts to both restrict and expand how a core aspect of American life is taught in our classrooms. So far, at least 36 states have adopted or introduced laws or policies that restrict teaching about race and racism. With 2022 state legislative sessions underway, new legislation is in the pipeline.

Not getting into it: How critical race theory laws are cutting short classroom conversations

Students head to class at a Memphis middle school.

Across the country, new laws targeting critical race theory are influencing the small but pivotal decisions educators make every day: how to answer a student’s question, what articles to read as a class, how to prepare for a lesson.

Plenty of teachers say they haven’t changed their approach, and there is little evidence that these laws have led to wholesale curriculum overhauls. But in several states with new legislation, teachers say the ambiguity of the laws, plus new scrutiny from parents and administrators, together are chipping away at discussions of racism and inequality.

As states place new limits on class discussions of race, research suggests such talks benefit students

A page from the book “The Story of Ruby Bridges”.

A handful of recent studies have found that students are more engaged in school after taking classes that frankly discuss racism and bigotry — just as some educators fear such discussions could be threatened by a wave of broad state laws governing classroom conversations.

The laws purport to limit discussion of critical race theory, a concept taught at the university level, but take aim at any curriculum that covers racism, diversity, and inclusion.

Each of these studies on discussions of race focuses on a relatively small program. Still, the findings are increasingly relevant because there appears to have been a meaningful uptick in efforts to acknowledge race and racism in schools.

Tennessee nails down rules for disciplining teachers, withholding money from schools that teach banned concepts about racism

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn talks with a student at Dodson Branch Elementary School in Cookeville, Tenn., on May 12, 2021.

Tennessee has bolstered the financial penalties against large school districts that violate the state’s new law regulating discussions on race and gender in the classroom.

The state also lengthened the amount of time allowed for filing a complaint against a teacher who has allegedly crossed the line, while it stuck with plans to accept complaints only from students, parents, or staff in the impacted district or charter school.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn signed off in November 2021 on emergency rules regulating the teaching of prohibited topics. The state enacted the law this spring amid national fury from conservatives about critical race theory.

Event: How the CRT debate and book bans impact Tennessee students

2022-03-24T16:40:01+00:00

Eight states now have widely varying laws restricting how schools can teach about racism and sexism. And recently, several state legislators have passed or proposed curriculum opt-out laws and book bans. Tennessee teachers who cross the line could lose their teaching licenses, and school systems that look the other way risk losing some state funding.

Plenty of teachers say they haven’t changed their approach, and there is little evidence that these laws have led to wholesale curriculum overhauls. But some teachers say the ambiguity of the laws, plus new scrutiny from parents and administrators, are chipping away at discussions of racism and inequality. And some students say the laws have the potential to stifle students and their knowledge of historical race relations.

This comes during schools’ efforts to better social and emotional support for all students. A renewed urgency to better help students navigate their mental health has been amplified by absenteeism, behavioral issues, and quieter signs of distress as many students grapple with the lingering pandemic and social unrest.

We want to hold a space to hear directly from students and educators about how these contentious conversations have affected school culture and classroom dialogue. How do students and teachers of color show up as their full selves at school? What are the actual implications of the bill in Tennessee classrooms? How can schools dialogue about race and other difficult issues in a way that’s safe, empathetic, and empowering?

Join Chalkbeat Tennessee and the Education Trust in Tennessee for a panel discussion with students and educators. Please RSVP for this event so we’re able to provide the webinar information and can hear your ideas for questions. This event is free to attend, but any optional donations will go to support Chalkbeat’s nonprofit journalism and events like these.

This event is the second in a four-part national Chalkbeat series titled COVID and Mental Health, which seeks to amplify efforts to better support the wellness of students and school staff during this challenging comeback year.

A resource guide for mental health in Michigan schools

2022-03-16T21:48:36+00:00

Two years of frustration, disruption, and loss have taken their toll on Michigan students, exacerbating a youth mental health crisis that has been building for more than a decade. Michiganders want schools to take action, with educators stepping up to the challenge. And Michigan schools have no shortage of funds on hand to dedicate to solutions.

Yet it’s not clear how far that money will go. Students’ needs are immense, and the pandemic-roiled labor market is limiting districts’ efforts to hire additional staff. At stake is the post-pandemic recovery of Michigan’s youngest residents, not just emotionally but academically.

Interested in learning more? During a March 16 discussion hosted by Chalkbeat Detroit, the Detroit Free Press, and Bridge Michigan, students and educators will discuss their ideas for how Michigan should use funding to better support students.

Read on for the Chalkbeat resource guide for event attendees and anyone who wants to better understand how Michigan school districts are responding to the student mental health crisis. To watch our event in full, go here, or scroll to the bottom of this article.

We hope you find these compiled resources helpful. Do you have any remaining questions? Or story ideas for us? Reach out at det.tips@chalkbeat.org.

What stories should I read about Michigan students and mental health?

How COVID cash could help Michigan schools tackle a mental health crisis Chalkbeat, March 14, 2022
How dogs help ease Michigan’s student mental health crisis Chalkbeat, March 14, 2022
Mental health crisis: Children at breaking point during COVID Michigan Health Watch, Bridge Michigan, June 30, 2021
A child mental-health fix takes early action, more help. Here are 7 ideas. Michigan Health Watch, Bridge Michigan, July 2, 2021
Poll: Michigan should use COVID money first for tutoring, mental health Chalkbeat, Jan 28, 2022

Parents: Resources if your child is having a mental health crisis

Mental illness or distress can be scary and confusing to parents. But there is no shortage of resources for parents worried that their children are not well.

In the Detroit area, parents can find help from organizations such as the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, Caleb’s Kids, and Central City Integrated Health.
Parents anywhere in Michigan can reach out to health officials in their county for help with mental health. Find a list of mental health services by county here.
The Stay Well Project at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services offers free, 24/7 mental health counseling during the pandemic. Just dial 1-888-535-6136 and press 8.
TRAILS to Wellness offers tips for maintaining students’ mental health during the pandemic. TRAILS also has a self-care guide to help teens cope with COVID.
The Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a national group, has a list of coping tips and other resources, and a 24-hour hotline that families can call if a child is expressing suicidal thoughts at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). There is also a guide for youth struggling with mental health challenges.
Some schools also offer mental well-being training to students and parents, and school social workers are trained to support children in distress.

How are school districts across Michigan using COVID funds to better support student mental wellbeing?

(For more context, read our story in full.)

In response to the pandemic, the federal government poured a record amount of money into schools — $6 billion in Michigan alone. Chalkbeat, the Detroit Free Press, and Bridge Michigan are collaborating to track where the money is going and how it is helping students.

To report on how schools are using the money to support student mental health, we analyzed state records showing how districts planned to spend their share.

Lansing Public Schools is creating mental health programs with TRAILS to Wellness, a school-based program based at the University of Michigan. TRAILS provides brief lessons on mental health designed to be delivered to entire classes, student well-being surveys, mental health activities for staff, and suicide protocols.
In Grand Blanc, a suburb of Flint, the school district plans to hire seven new staffers to work one-on-one with students on social and emotional issues — one for every two elementary buildings, one for each middle school, and one for the high school. Students will be selected to work with the new staffers based on a mental health assessment or referrals by an adult.
The Kalamazoo district plans to pay 100 teachers an annual stipend to meet with small groups of students in advisory sessions that will focus on the challenges students are facing in life.
In Grand Rapids, the district plans to cover the cost of additional social workers and therapists.
Detroit Public Schools Community District will spend $10 million to contract with five organizations to provide mental health services, including therapy and diagnosis, to 3,700 Detroit students with the most severe mental health needs. The district expanded its full-time counseling staff in recent years, but demand for their services became overwhelming during the pandemic.
In Battle Creek, the district plans to hire a student support coordinator, an administrator who will help schools develop plans to address severe mental health issues among students and work with community agencies to connect students to mental health services outside of school.
In Flint, the city district contracted with a behavior specialist to address student trauma when classrooms reopened. When classes were virtual, the district hired a social-emotional learning coordinator to work with 9-12 graders who were learning online during the 2020-21 school year.
In Plainwell, near Kalamazoo, teachers, social workers, and other staffers are set to review district curriculums to bring social-emotional learning into academic lessons. For instance, a math teacher might include instruction on coping with frustration or working with partners to solve challenging problems.
Chatfield School, in rural southeast Michigan, hired an outside firm to provide mental health workshops to parents, students, and staff.
North Huron Schools, a small rural district in eastern Michigan, purchased a therapy dog named Chipper who lives with a teacher and spends his days at school. Teachers can refer distressed students to spend time with Chipper.

Who are the panelists at Chalkbeat’s March 16 event, and what resources do they suggest for parents, educators, and students?

The panel will feature:

Moderators: Koby Levin, Chalkbeat Detroit, and Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press
Thyaba Mymuna, a junior at Cousino Senior High School in Warren Consolidated Schools
Brittyn Benjamin-Kelley, a senior at Cass Technical High School
Elizabeth Koschmann, executive director of TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students)
Amanda Holiday, Detroit parent and Congress of Communities early childhood program director

Our panelists recommended the following resources:

Information on youth resources and student-led healing circles from Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan (link).
Resources on student social and emotional learning for parents and teachers from Dearborn Public Schools (link).
TRAILS programming for school leaders: Tier 1: Universal education and awareness; Tier 2: Early intervention for students with symptoms of anxiety and depression; Tier 3: Suicide risk management for students in crisis.
TRAILS sample lessons for classroom teachers. There are 20 lessons across four grade bands: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12.
For parents and students: A TRAILS student video series that provides an overview of the coping skills for students.

Watch our event in full:

This event is the first in a four-part national Chalkbeat series titled COVID and Mental Health, which seeks to amplify efforts to better support the wellness of students and school staff during this challenging comeback year.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Koby Levin is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering K-12 schools and early childhood education. Contact Koby at klevin@Chalkbeat.org.

Federal funding and mental health: What’s working in Michigan schools

2022-03-08T21:40:48+00:00

Student mental health has suffered through the pandemic. Michigan districts are using federal COVID funds to implement new curriculums and programs focused on well-being, and are hiring social workers and counselors.

School leaders across Michigan have $6 billion to spend, the largest single influx of federal education dollars in state history. In some districts, new hires are already driving a big expansion of mental health services.

But other places are struggling to find trained workers to fill the open slots. Michigan parents overwhelmingly support increased mental health resources, according to a recent poll, and families are also looking for transparency about how their schools will spend this money.

As districts across the state work to better support their students’ mental health and hire more staff, we’d like to find out what’s working and what’s not. What supports have proven effective over time, and are schools investing in them? What do students and educators say they need?

Join Chalkbeat Detroit, the Detroit Free Press, and Bridge Michigan on March 16, 4-5 p.m. ET, for a panel discussion on these important questions. Please RSVP for this event so we’re able to provide the webinar information and can hear your ideas for questions. This event is free to attend, but any optional donations will go to support Chalkbeat’s nonprofit journalism and events like these.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

We asked, you answered: Chalkbeat readers share priorities for NYC schools Chancellor David Banks

2022-02-09T22:53:31+00:00

On his first day as the chancellor of New York City schools, David Banks jumped into a crisis: surging COVID rates, staffing shortages and dwindling student attendance.

Now, more than a month into his term, coronavirus rates are declining, staffing seems less dire, and attendance is rebounding.

As Banks comes up for air, what should the new chancellor focus on?

Chalkbeat asked readers to weigh in, and roughly 200 of you from across the five boroughs responded.

Some common themes emerged, including calls for decreasing class size, finding an avenue for remote learning to continue, adding literacy coaches, and providing after-school tutoring. Many readers called for the continuation for gifted and talented programs as well as the Specialized High School Admissions Test; many called for the elimination of both. Other concerns: insufficient support for students with disabilities, and a lack of teacher diversity.

Though Banks has promised to shake things up, calling the nation’s largest school system “fundamentally flawed,” he has yet to share an overarching vision for how he would reform it.

Some changes he has promised: rethinking the role of central administration, starting a school for students with dyslexia, overhauling literacy instruction, focusing on career and technical education with an eye toward real-world work experience, and expanding the city’s community school model, which provides wraparound support like health and social services to families on campus. He has also hinted that he’s open to a more robust remote learning option this year, and is interested in using technology to find alternative ways of educating students beyond the traditional school day.

Banks takes the helm at a particularly fraught moment: It’s the third school year profoundly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and he inherited a previous administration’s blueprint for grappling with the myriad academic and social challenges students face. He has said little about those plans, which involve assessing students on English and math multiple times a year as well as having teachers rate their students’ social skills.

But those issues often cropped up in reader responses. Many called for more social workers and mental health support in schools. Many also complained about spending too much time on academic assessments.

Q: What is one issue you are facing at your school that you want Banks to prioritize addressing in his first year, and why?

“Longer school day and free after-school for all schools. Kids need to catch up, and kids who excel need more advanced work…As a parent, I am on the edge of leaving NYC all together and go to Florida where schools are open and kids are not missing school days because of this unnecessary quarantine policy,” — Y. Chan, parent from Queens, P.S./I.S. 499

“I want to know why remote learning is not an option, not everyone has the same situation. I prefer my son stay home; he actually did better at home. With this virus rising I don’t feel safe sending him to school. As a parent we should be able to have a say over our children’s safety,” — Gloria Rivera, parent from the Bronx, St Helena School

“We have 22 DOE schools within our network and the range of available resources amongst them is quite striking. Teaching is already hard enough, but securing basic resources and materials that we know other public schools have access to is exhausting and is undoubtedly seen and internalized by our Black and brown students. In order to improve learning for students across schools, teachers indeed need adequate time to plan and receive professional development,” — David Lavallee, school support specialist from Manhattan, CUNY Affinity Network

Rashid Johnson is a parent and school leader from Brooklyn, District 15.

“Banks needs to deploy people to schools who are there to support leaders, teachers, students, and families. And those people need to have a track record of moving the academic needle and coaching people to success. Too many people who are deployed to support schools are only showing up to evaluate schools, and oftentimes, their priorities need to be narrowed down to the highest leverage thing that needs to change: teacher practice and student outcomes,” — Rashid Johnson, parent and school leader from Brooklyn, District 15

“We are just tired and need more help. Maybe some more breaks in between classes so we don’t get as overwhelmed,” — Elian Debira, a student from Brooklyn, Park Slope Collegiate

“Between the Acadience screeners, SEL screeners, and New York State testing, it feels like we are testing year-round, and in ways that get us very little useful information. There is lots of talk about ‘learning loss’ and students being ‘behind.’ And, a lot of acknowledgement of the importance of paying attention to kids’ social emotional needs. How are we supposed to ‘catch kids up’ and attend to their emotional needs when we’re spending so much time on these mandates? We believe in assessing kids and have administered the assessments we have always used that give us important information. We’re wasting time on flawed DOE-mandated tests that give us very little data. This is very frustrating and in many ways demeaning,” — Kyla MacDonald, a teacher from Brooklyn, P.S. 321

“We always need more time and opportunity to collaborate with each other in order to develop and align curriculum within and across grade levels. As a parent, I want more options for kids who have emotional disabilities but who are able to work at or above grade level, these options really do not seem to exist in the public system. As a teacher, I want support so I can create and share innovative curriculum,” — Miriam S., parent and educator from Brooklyn

Q: What is one action Banks could take as leader of NYC schools that would improve learning for you and/or students?

“So many of the challenges that our schools face, health/safety, tailoring curriculum to suit our brightest to those who struggle the most, and addressing behavior issues, could be mitigated with smaller class sizes. Build the teacher pipeline to ensure a much better teacher-child ratio. I don’t see how Brilliant NYC can be rolled out without smaller classes. If the District 3, in particular, wants to stem the outflow of families from its schools, offering smaller classes is a potential way out,” — Gwen K. parent from Manhattan, P.S. 452, District 3

Anne Hanger is a parent from Manhattan.

“We need smaller class sizes so individual kids’ needs can be met. High fliers can get individualized instruction as well as kids who are struggling. Lower the class-size cap for all grades and make a plan to open new schools in the coming years to accommodate smaller class sizes,” — Anne Hager, parent from Manhattan, District 2

“We need full Involvement in SLT [School Leadership Teams]. Parents serving on PA /PTA/ SLT /CECs [Community Education Councils] should be given college credits for their community service roles. Schools should be required to have teachers representation that looks like the community in which children lives,” — Rose Marie Gulston, parent and school leader from Queens

Michelle Bugay is a parent and educator from Queens.

“Smaller class sizes should be seriously prioritized. Both my son’s high school in Queens and the Bronx middle school where I teach need to reduce class size to provide the support students need, especially during this time when we’re still dealing with COVID protocols. Money has to be spent for building space and hiring highly qualified teachers and staff to make this possible,” — Michelle Bugay, parent and educator from Queens

“Metal detectors. Get them out. Most safety incidents in schools have nothing to do with objects brought into the building, regardless of whether a building has metal detectors or not. End the obsession with treating our kids like widgets — too much money is spent on testing and assessing and that takes away from time for instruction,” — Johanna Bjorken, parent from Brooklyn, Park Slope Collegiate

“I would like to see less cases of multiple different schools being packed into one building,” — Arthur Visscher, a student from the Bronx, The Brooklyn Latin School

Margarita Soto is a parent from Queens, District 30.

“Please add appropriately trained literacy coaches to all schools K-3. I have a dyslexic child in fifth grade at a private school for [students with dyslexia]. I wish I could keep her at her local schools, but they do not offer anything reasonable for her dyslexia support. We need to stop deciding that one-fifth of the kids in NYC are throw-away kids. They are pushed through the education system and made to feel like they are flawed because they struggle to read. NYC can and should lead the nation on what a robust special education looks like. Families of means, who can afford to sue the DOE, should not be the only ones who can get an appropriate education for [students with dyslexia].” — Margarita Soto, parent from Queens, District 30

“The system needs both equity and dedicated opportunities for rigor. ...G&T stakeholders believe it is possible to reimagine the program to increase equitable access to these schools and programs, while NONE of the decisions made in the De Blasio administration regarding G&Ts were made in consultation with the stakeholders,” — Jennifer Fox, parent from Bronx, Nest+M

“Please stop gifted and talented programs. Give all students access to rigorous curriculum. G&T programs are tools for segregation. Adopt a “no homework” policy in grades third through fifth. All students should have access to high-quality music and art instruction. They should not have to go to a specialized high school or middle school to be able to play an instrument in a school ensemble,” — Katie Mark, parent from Brooklyn, District 17 and District 21

Tell us what you want to read about higher education in Indiana

2022-01-11T16:55:07+00:00

What’s the value of a college degree in Indiana? What challenges stand in the way of earning one?

Roughly 60% of Hoosier adults don’t have a degree or certificate beyond a high school diploma. That used to not matter as much in Indiana’s old manufacturing economy. But today, state officials and experts alike say those without a higher education are struggling to compete for decent jobs and a livable wage.

This year, Chalkbeat Indiana is expanding its coverage of higher education in partnership with Open Campus — and we need your help.

Our reporting will continue to focus on educational equity, examining how Indiana’s higher education systems serve students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. We will also cover Indiana’s push to offer job training through credentials and certificates, as well as the connection between postsecondary education and workforce development.

Tell us what you’re interested in reading in our higher education coverage by filling out the form below.

Having trouble viewing the survey? Go here.

Stephanie Wang covers higher education for Chalkbeat Indiana, which partners with Open Campus.

Students, parents, educators: What should David Banks, NYC’s new schools chancellor, know about your school?

2021-12-09T21:19:32+00:00

David Banks, New York City’s next school chancellor, has a message to families of the nation’s largest school system: “They will be seen... They will be respected.”

This is your chance to start speaking out. Chalkbeat would like to hear from students, parents and educators. What do you want Banks to know about your school and what schools need?

The longtime educator — a one-time school safety agent, teacher, principal and founder of a network of public schools primarily serving boys of color — talked on Thursday about the importance of engaging communities in school decision-making and how schools should be an engine of community change.

He stood outside of P.S. 161, his childhood elementary school in Crown Heights, as Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced his appointment, flanked by his own community, including his parents, other relatives and many students and staff from the Eagle Academy network of schools that Banks founded, where he made family engagement a top priority.

As chancellor, Banks vowed to engage families on all major decisions.

“That doesn’t mean that all the parents agree with each other. But they will be heard,” Banks said. “There’s a reason why parents don’t trust the system. Because they feel at its core, they’re not respected. If you really respect the parents, you seek out their opinion before you make a decision.”

He also wants to hear from students: “These young people themselves, they will give us the way forward for the schools they’re experiencing every day.”

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

NYC parents, students, and educators: How is the school year going? Chalkbeat wants to hear from you.

2021-12-07T16:52:04+00:00

We’re nearly three months into New York City’s school year, and there are hopeful signs of a return to normalcy.

The vast majority of public school students are now eligible for the vaccine, and in the month since they’ve been eligible, 20% of children ages 5 to 11 have gotten one dose.

And yet so much of this school year remains far from normal. COVID cases are inching up again after falling since September, according to city data, and the uncertainty of the omicron variant looms. Students remain masked. More than 3,000 classrooms have closed at some point this year while twice as many have seen partial closures. And teachers — all of whom are required to be vaccinated — can now request school-based COVID testing.

We at Chalkbeat want to check in with our readers at this moment, when the joy of reopening might be turning to weariness over another irregular school year, when the relief of vaccines hasn’t completely erased fears of COVID. We hope to explore the evolving landscape of learning loss, physical safety, and mental health issues.

Across the city, students and teachers are getting back into routines, but some are having challenges with the readjustment. Some teachers have said they’ve seen more conflicts among students, more school avoidance, and an increasing caseload for school social workers and counselors. Even with the city’s promise to ensure that all schools have a full-time social worker, many educators say that students need more mental health support — as do some teachers who are suffering from burnout.

Classes may have an even wider range of abilities, after more than half of the city’s students learned remotely last year, and many children faced a host of barriers to learning, from tech access to economic hardship or illness, and even death of loved ones.

To help children catch up — both socially and emotionally — the city has tapped some of its federal relief money for assessments. Schools are assessing children three times this year to gauge their academic progress, and they’re also having teachers fill out a social emotional questionnaire, with the aim of flagging children who need more support. But many educators have said they aren’t clear on how to determine the kinds of extra resources that are needed, and their schools don’t get additional funding to provide those supports.

How is the school year shaping up so far for you? Please let us know.

If you’re having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

Una guía de recursos para la educación en las escuelas de Montbello y Denver

2021-11-11T19:17:00+00:00

Read in English.

Existe una creciente urgencia por lograr que más estudiantes de Colorado lean al nivel de su grado, pero a menudo hay poca información para los padres sobre lo que hace que la instrucción en la educación sea excelente y las prácticas que siguen sus escuelas.

Durante un panel de discusión presentado por Chalkbeat Colorado y los defensores de Montbello Power, los padres, maestros y expertos opinarán sobre cómo las escuelas pueden enseñar mejor a los estudiantes a leer. La conversación del 11 de noviembre sigue las investigaciones de Chalkbeat Colorado durante el último año revelan una gran variedad de planes de estudio de lectura en uso, a menudo diferentes programas en escuelas a pocas millas de distancia. Líderes en un distrito metropolitano de Denver dijeron que no sabían qué estaban usando las escuelas para enseñar a leer porque nunca habían compilado una lista de ese tipo hasta que Chalkbeat la solicitó.

A continuación, Chalkbeat publica una guía de recursos para los asistentes al evento y otras personas que desean comprender mejor el estado de la instrucción de lectura en las escuelas públicas de Denver en general y en el vecindario noreste de Montbello específicamente.

Montbello tiene 11 escuelas primarias o K-8, y solo dos de ellas, ambas escuelas autónomas, utilizan planes de estudio de lectura en todos los grados aprobados por el estado. Los desafíos para los lectores jóvenes en Montbello reflejan un problema en todo el estado. Antes de la pandemia, seis de cada 10 estudiantes de tercer grado en Colorado no podían leer con soltura y esos problemas se han agravado durante el último año. En una escuela de Colorado, la pandemia torpedeó muchos de los avances recientes en materia de educación y provocó un desgarro especialmente perturbador en la educación de los estudiantes.

Mira la grabación del video aquí con subtítulos en español.

Las escuelas de Montbello	Planes de estudio de lectura	Estado de aprobación status	Información adicional
John Amesse Elementary	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-2) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades K-2) EL Education (grade 3)	No	Esta escuela utiliza EL Education para el grado 3. No está aprobado por el estado para el grado 3, pero está aprobado para K-2, y generalmente se considera como un buen plan de estudios.
McGlone K-8	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-2) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grade K) EL Education (grade 3)	No	Esta escuela utiliza EL Education para el grado 3. No está aprobado por el estado para el grado 3, pero está aprobado para K-2, y generalmente se considera como un buen plan de estudios.
Farrell B. Howell K-8	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-2) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades K-2) EL Education (grade 3)	No	Esta escuela utiliza EL Education para el grado 3. No está aprobado por el estado para el grado 3, pero está aprobado para K-2, y generalmente se considera como un buen plan de estudios.
Maxwell Elementary	Units of Study for Teaching Reading	No
Oakland Elementary	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-3) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades K-3)	No
Marie L. Greenwood K-8	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-3) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grade K)	No
DCIS at Ford Elementary	95% Group	Aprobado como programa suplementario o de intervención	Esta escuela utiliza Life Long Readers, un plan de estudios no revisado por el estado. Esta escuela también utiliza EL Education para el grado 3. No está aprobado por el estado para el grado 3, pero está aprobado para K-2, y generalmente se considera como un buen plan de estudios.
Academy 360 (charter school)	EL Education (grades K-3)	Sí	Esta escuela utiliza EL Education para el grado 3. No está aprobado por el estado para el grado 3, pero está aprobado para K-2, y generalmente se considera como un buen plan de estudios.
Monarch Montessori (charter school)	Open Court (K-3) Maravillas 2020 (K-3)	Sí
Lena Archuleta Elementary	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades 1-3) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades 1-3)	No
Escalante Biggs Academy	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grade K) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grade K)	No

¿Qué planes de estudio de educación se utilizan en las escuelas primarias e intermedias de Montbello?

¿Cómo busco el plan de estudios de educación de mi escuela? A propósito, ¿qué es la educación estructurada?

Puede utilizar nuestra herramienta de búsqueda al final de este artículo para encontrar el plan de estudios de su escuela de Denver y saber si está aprobado por el estado o no.

Y aquí hay algunas definiciones útiles sobre palabras clave y diferentes enfoques para la instrucción de la educación:

Fonética sistemática: Enseñar a los niños de forma directa y metódica la conexión entre combinaciones de letras y sonidos.
Educación equilibrada: Si bien las definiciones varían, generalmente se lo ve como un enfoque que mezcla algo de fonética en la instrucción de todo el idioma, una filosofía ahora desacreditada basada en la idea de que la lectura es un proceso natural y no requiere instrucción directa sobre la decodificación de palabras. Los métodos de educación equilibrados a menudo enfatizan la motivación y la elección de los estudiantes y se puede motivar a los niños a adivinar palabras que no conocen mediante el uso de imágenes, contexto u otras pistas.
Fonética sistemática explícita: Un método en el que los maestros enseñan directamente las relaciones entre letras y sonidos en un orden claro y bien definido para ayudar a los estudiantes a leer y deletrear palabras. La instrucción comienza con las habilidades más fáciles y pasa a las más difíciles.
Educación estructurada: La Asociación Internacional de Dislexia acuñó el término en 2016 para describir los muchos enfoques similares para la enseñanza de la lectura que se adhieren a sus estándares. La fonética sistemática explícita es un componente clave de la educación estructurada. El concepto detrás de la educación estructurada es que los maestros enseñan directamente las habilidades fundamentales de lectura en un orden lógico. En contraste con la lectoescritura equilibrada o el lenguaje completo, no se espera que los estudiantes adquieran habilidades a través de la exposición o la inferencia.

¿Cómo puedo hacer preguntas sobre educación en mi escuela?

Los siguientes documentos guían a los padres a través de las preguntas que deben hacer sobre cómo las escuelas abordan la instrucción de la educación en los primeros grados, incluido lo que deben buscar y lo que debe generar señales de alerta. Las herramientas fueron creadas por COKID, un grupo de defensa para niños con dislexia y una empresa consultora de mejora escolar llamada Schools Cubed.

Herramienta de diálogo de educación en español de Colorado, traducida al español (Enlace)
Herramienta de diálogo de educación de Colorado (enlace)

El Departamento de Educación de Colorado ofrece dos preguntas frecuentes sobre la dislexia:

Preguntas frecuentes sobre dislexia 101 (enlace)
Preguntas frecuentes sobre la evaluación e identificación de la dislexia (enlace)

¿Qué artículos debo leer sobre la educación en las escuelas de Denver y Colorado?

Colorado adopta una prueba de lectura más rigurosa para futuros maestros (enlace) 9 de junio de 2021
Examen de detección de dislexia: los esfuerzos de Colorado tienen como objetivo identificar a los estudiantes temprano (enlace) 15 de marzo de 2021
Denver dice que este plan de estudios de lectura apoya a los estudiantes de inglés. Pero el estado dice que no se basa en la ciencia y tiene que hacerlo (enlace) 14 de diciembre de 2020
El énfasis de Colorado en la fonética en la lectura podría perjudicar a los estudiantes del idioma inglés, dicen los defensores (enlace) 15 de diciembre de 2020

¿Quiénes son los panelistas del evento, de Chalkbeat del 11 de noviembre y qué recursos sugieren para padres, educadores y estudiantes?

El panel contará con:

Ann Schimke, reportera y moderadora de Chalkbeat
Sonia Cabell, profesora asociada del Centro de Investigación de Lectura de Florida en la Universidad Estatal de Florida
Kelly Okoye, educadora y cofundadora de la escuela de Montbello desde hace mucho tiempo
Priscila Ramirez, madre de Montbello y activista comunitaria
Holly Baker Hill, especialista en dislexia y educación en las Escuelas Públicas de Denver
Meredith Stolte, directora de humanidades en las Escuelas Públicas de Denver

Nuestras panelistas recomendaron los siguientes recursos:

La base de datos de investigación del Florida Center for Reading Research para padres y educadores (enlace).
Una introducción a la educación estructurada de la Asociación Internacional de Dislexia. (enlace).
Herramientas para acceder a la dislexia, encontrar proveedores cerca de usted y rastrear la legislación sobre dislexia en su estado de la Asociación Internacional de Dislexia (enlace).
La lista del Departamento de Educación de Colorado de programas de lectura aprobados para K-3 (enlace).
Recursos para familias sobre cómo lidiar con el TDAH y la dislexia de Understood, disponibles en inglés y español. (enlace).

A resource guide for literacy in Montbello and Denver schools

2021-11-11T00:17:34+00:00

Leer en español.

There is mounting urgency over getting more Colorado students reading on grade level, yet parents often can’t find information on what makes great literacy instruction and what practices their schools follow.

Interested in learning more? During a panel discussion hosted by Chalkbeat Colorado and the Montbello Power Advocates, parents, teachers, and experts will weigh in on how schools can better teach students how to read. The Nov. 11 conversation follows Chalkbeat Colorado investigations over the last year that reveal a huge variety of reading curriculums in use, often different programs at schools a few miles apart. Leaders in one metro Denver district said they didn’t know what schools were using to teach reading because they had never compiled such a list until Chalkbeat requested it.

Read on for the Chalkbeat resource guide for event attendees and anyone who wants to better understand how reading is being taught in Denver Public Schools generally and in the northeast neighborhood of Montbello specifically.

Montbello has 11 elementary or K-8 schools and only two of them, both charter schools, use state-approved reading curriculums in kindergarten through third grade. The challenges for young readers in Montbello mirror a statewide issue. Before the pandemic, six in 10 third graders across Colorado couldn’t read proficiently, and those issues have been exacerbated over the last year. At one Colorado school, the pandemic torpedoed many of recent literacy gains and threw an especially disruptive wrench into students’ educations.

You can watch the full conversation at the bottom of this article.

Montbello school name	Core reading curriculums	Approval status	Notes
John Amesse Elementary	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-2) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades K-2) EL Education (grade 3)	No	This school uses EL Education for grade 3. While it's not approved by the state for grade 3, it's approved for K-2, and is generally thought of as a strong curriculum
McGlone K-8	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-2) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grade K) EL Education (grade 3)	No	This school uses EL Education for grade 3. While it's not approved by the state for grade 3, it's approved for K-2, and is generally thought of as a strong curriculum
Farrell B. Howell K-8	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-2) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades K-2) EL Education (grade 3)	No	This school uses EL Education for grade 3. While it's not approved by the state for grade 3, it's approved for K-2, and is generally thought of as a strong curriculum
Maxwell Elementary	Units of Study for Teaching Reading	No
Oakland Elementary	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-3) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades K-3)	No
Marie L. Greenwood K-8	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades K-3) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grade K)	No
DCIS at Ford Elementary	95% Group	Approved as supplemental or intervention program	The school also uses Life Long Readers, which has not been reviewed by the state. Also, the school uses EL Education for grade 3. While it's not approved by the state for grade 3, it's approved for K-2, and is generally thought of as a strong curriculum.
Academy 360 (charter school)	EL Education (grades K-3)	Yes	This school uses EL Education for grade 3. While it's not approved by the state for grade 3, it's approved for K-2, and is generally thought of as a strong curriculum
Monarch Montessori (charter school)	Open Court (K-3) Maravillas 2020 (K-3)	Yes
Lena Archuleta Elementary	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grades 1-3) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grades 1-3)	No
Escalante Biggs Academy	Benchmark Advance 2018 (grade K) Benchmark Adelante 2018 (grade K)	No

What literacy curriculums are used in Montbello elementary and K-8 schools?

How do I search for my school’s literacy curriculum? What is structured literacy, anyway?

You can use our search tool at the bottom of this 2020 Chalkbeat Colorado article to find your Denver school’s curriculum and whether or not it’s state approved.

How can I ask questions about literacy at my school?

Essential literacy terms

Systematic phonics: Directly and methodically teaching children the connection between letter combinations and sounds.
Balanced literacy: While definitions vary, it’s generally seen as an approach that mixes some phonics into whole-language instruction, a now-debunked philosophy based on the idea that reading is a natural process and doesn’t require direct instruction on decoding words. Balanced literacy methods often emphasize student motivation and choice and kids may be encouraged to guess at words they don’t know by using pictures, context, or other clues.
Explicit systematic phonics: A method in which teachers directly teach letter-sound relationships in a clear and well-defined order to help students read and spell words. Instruction starts with the easiest skills and moves to more difficult ones.
Structured literacy: The International Dyslexia Association coined the term in 2016 to describe the many similar approaches to reading instruction that adhere to its standards. Explicit systematic phonics is a key component of structured literacy. The concept behind structured literacy is that teachers directly teach foundational reading skills in a logical order. In contrast to balanced literacy or whole language, students are not expected to pick up skills through exposure or inference.

These documents will walk you through the questions you should ask about how schools approach literacy instruction in the early grades, including what to look for and potential red flags. The tools were created by COKID, an advocacy group for children with dyslexia, and a school improvement consulting firm called Schools Cubed.

Colorado Literacy Dialogue Tool (link)
Spanish Colorado Literacy Dialogue Tool, translated into Spanish (link)

The Colorado Department of Education offers two FAQs about dyslexia:

Dyslexia 101 FAQ (link)
Dyslexia Evaluation and Identification FAQ (link)

What articles should I read on literacy in Denver and Colorado schools?

“Colorado adopts more rigorous reading test for prospective teachers”(link) June 9, 2021
“Dyslexia screening: Colorado efforts aim to identify students early” (link) March 15, 2021
“Denver says this reading curriculum supports English learners. But the state says it’s not based on science and has to go” (link) Dec. 14, 2020
“Colorado’s emphasis on phonics in reading could hurt English language learners, advocates say” (link) Dec. 15, 2020

Who are the panelists at Chalkbeat’s Nov. 11 event, and what resources do they suggest for parents, educators, and students?

The panel will feature:

Ann Schimke, Chalkbeat reporter and moderator
Sonia Cabell, associate professor at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University
Kelly Okoye, longtime Montbello educator and school co-founder
Priscila Ramirez, Montbello parent and community activist
Holly Baker Hill, dyslexia and literacy specialist at Denver Public Schools
Meredith Stolte, director of humanities at Denver Public Schools

Our panelists recommended the following resources:

The Florida Center for Reading Research research database for parents and educators (link).
A primer on structured literacy from the International Dyslexia Association (link).
Tools for accessing dyslexia resources, finding providers near you, and tracking dyslexia legislation in your state from the International Dyslexia Association (link).
Fact sheets from the International Dyslexia Association, available in English and Spanish (link).
The Colorado Department of Education list of approved K-3 reading programs (link).
Resources for families on navigating ADHD and dyslexia from Understood, available in English and Spanish (link).

Watch our conversation in full:

Note: To view the comments of Spanish-speaking panelists in English, read below.

Spanish-to-English captions:

Minute 6-7:23

Blanca Madrid: Hello, good afternoon, my name is Blanca Madrid. I am co-founder of an early childhood program called the Piñata of Learning, in this program, we serve families who have children ages 0-5 years old around the Denver metro area, including Montbello. I have lived here in Montbello for over 10 years. I am passionate about community work. I believe that creating solutions to the needs of our neighborhood is very important. It’s very important, that’s why I’m here proudly on the NPA team. And who are we? Well, we are immigrants or we are children of immigrants with a large part of... a large part of the United States. We are many cultures together, a diverse and resilient community. We are extremely local, but we are also very international. We are simple dreamers who come to build a future for our families, we are parents, students, teachers, and organizers. We are a group that fights racism, violence, ignorance, gangs, and most of all, we are a group that promotes equity. I would love to introduce each one of my colleagues and have them introduce themselves individually, thank you Dede, and especially one of our panelists who is here today, Priscila Ramirez. Thank you.

Minute 9-13:21

Priscila Ramirez: Hi, good evening Ann, good evening everyone and thank you for being here with us tonight. Specifically, on my son’s education...it’s been a very difficult road to deal with so far. Because since we started, we started identifying that he had a communication problem, he didn’t speak what other kids his age were speaking. He didn’t have that flow of language. So this led us down a totally unknown path because there was no one to guide us to know what special education was. One of the things that has worked well is that, thanks to the system from the beginning of his school years, he began to have speech therapy intervention. Unfortunately, after many years and different schools we saw that he wasn’t learning, he wasn’t learning because the learning system or the curriculum that is followed in most schools is not functional for children with dyslexia. We found that last year he was diagnosed with dyslexia because, after years and years of struggling with the fact that he wasn’t learning, that he was behind, that he wasn’t at grade level, that he wasn’t reading at grade level; I decided to start doing more research and look at what options my son had, not just what the school was offering me. Through that, we got him evaluated by Children’s Hospital and that’s where we found out that he has dyslexia. Obviously, the curriculum that is taught in regular schools, which is based on balanced literacy education doesn’t work for a dyslexic brain. So, what we’ve done since then is we’ve been able to get a person, a therapist to come in and do therapies at home and he has the support of the school as far as speech therapy. So far it’s worked, but unfortunately in the Denver Public Schools and in the charter schools... we don’t have specific therapy or we don’t have the equity that every child needs to be educated. Equality is practiced for everyone and they are served, but they don’t equitably receive the services that they really need. So, as a parent, it’s been one of the biggest concerns for me because I know that my child is not the only one that has special needs and they’re not being met by the school. I think functionally we’ve learned a lot and through the experience, we’ve been able to guide other parents. But unfortunately, I know that he’s already at a grade level that the next grade level he’s going to have to read to learn and he’s still at a disadvantage that he’s not reading at grade level yet. And it’s concerning to me as a parent because I know that under statistics most prison systems are based on the reading levels that second and third graders have. So, thinking ahead, I want to see my son fulfilled and practicing what he likes to do with a good education. I don’t want to visualize my son getting into trouble in the prison system just because he didn’t have the support to learn to read.

Minute 27:59-29:50

My only advice would be: You know your children better than anyone else. Culturally we are used to teachers or professors having more knowledge than we do academically. But, as their parents, we know them and we know more about them than anyone. If we have any doubt that something is not right with our kids and then we go to school, they will usually tell you that everything is fine, he’s going to catch up, everything is going to get better; I say that’s a bad sign. Because if a child is already behind, it’s going to be very difficult for him next year to catch up. So my only advice is: Look for yourselves. Search for yourselves, try to search for all the resources that are available. If the language barrier makes it difficult for you, look for someone for help, whether it’s the school, a teacher, a neighbor, someone who does community work. Because unfortunately in the district, we don’t have advocates who can help. Sadly, I think it’s one of the districts that doesn’t have people who are dedicated to advocating for the special needs of children. So, if there is no one to do it, let’s do it ourselves. As parents let’s be the best advocates for our children, let’s not let someone else come in and do our job.

Minute 51:35-54:09

I don’t think anything has been done. Unfortunately, with the pandemic, it just exacerbated the problems that already existed. Personally, with parents who were close to me, I was able to give them some direction as to where or what they could do. But the children that don’t have the opportunity or don’t have the facility to... not for lack of interest, but maybe because their parents don’t know how to do it, they don’t have any possibility. I don’t know, they don’t have any help. They keep going and going from year to year, having the same problem and it gets even worse each time. Unfortunately, this is one of the situations that Montbello is going through. As I said before, we don’t have a regularized advocacy system to help the child that may or may not have a family member to advocate for them, and there is definitely someone to advocate for them. But maybe it’s not because the family doesn’t want to, it’s because they don’t know how to do it. Because it’s a very difficult path for all families. There is no guide to identify from the moment you start to realize that there are problems in the linguistic development of your child. There is no guidance that tells you after such-and-such a step and such-and-such a step follows such-and-such a step. There’s no guidance from the district, there’s no guidance from the teachers, you’re thrown into the ring. So sadly, it was one of the things that we realized is happening here in Montbello that was more acute with the pandemic. And it’s something that we want to recognize so that, by recognizing it, change can be made. We can no longer go through the blindfold of saying, “It’s not happening because we don’t know”. Now we know it exists. Now, whether or not the child has family representation, I think it would be very important so that the child can be given the help that is needed.

Lunch woes? Staff shortages? Quarantines? Tell us how Michigan’s school year is going.

2021-10-29T16:51:18+00:00

When Michigan schools reopened this fall, the new semester was hailed as an opportunity for academic and social recovery after a COVID-scrambled school year.

So far, the results have been mixed.

Most students are back to learning in person, a welcome change after a challenging year in virtual school. But COVID remains a major obstacle to education.

Just ask the students in lengthy quarantines, parents concerned about shortages of special education aides and security guards, and families that had to scramble after their child’s school was closed due to a COVID outbreak.

As we continue to cover this challenging, hopeful year, we’re asking parents to guide us.

Please tell us about your concerns and priorities by filling out the survey below. If you have trouble viewing the survey, go here.

Durante el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, los estudiantes y educadores reflexionaron sobre su identidad y resiliencia.

2021-10-15T17:24:29+00:00

Read in English.

Durante este Mes de la Herencia Hispana, los salones de clase de Alicia Jones-Lumbuz en Houston se avivaron con canciones folklóricas de Nicaragua y canciones del musical In the Heights, cuya historia gira en torno a una comunidad Dominicana en el barrio Washington Heights de Nueva York.

Las interpretaciones en persona y con mascarilla fueron más dulces, aunque un poco más tranquilas, que las interpretaciones en Zoom en los últimos dos años.

“Todavía estamos aprendiendo a hablar más fuerte,” Jones-Lumbuz le dijo a Chalkbeat. “Esta ha sido una temporada muy difícil para todos, y en especial para los niños. Ellos están ahora regresando a la escuela más callados y con más inseguridad. Yo quiero que ellos canten fuerte y se sientan orgullosos de quienes son. Quiero que se vean representados en nuestras canciones.”

Chalkbeat habló este mes con maestros y estudiantes hispanos y latinos de todo el país acerca de cómo están celebrando sus culturas y navegando esta época de pérdida. Las poblaciones hispanas y latinas de todo el país representan una cifra desproporcionada de muertes por COVID-19, y la pandemia exacerbó las desigualdades ya existentes para los estudiantes hispanos y latinos — ampliando las brechas en educación y causando bajas drásticas en la matrícula universitaria.

Para estudiantes como Inés Adriana Martínez, la pandemia puso su carrera universitaria de cabeza por tener nuevas responsabilidades en el hogar.

“Me aceptaron en UC Davis, pero por COVID, decidí matricularme en una universidad comunitaria local para luego transferirme,” dijo Inés, que ahora cursa su segundo año en el Cabrillo College en California. “Debido a la pandemia, ahora soy más responsable financieramente no solo por mí misma, sino también por mi familia. Y me di cuenta de lo poco que sabía. Yo quería saber mucho más.”

Las historias de Inés y de otros estudiantes a continuación están salpicadas con poesía y obras de arte de estudiantes de todo el país. Sus ensayos fueron levemente editados para acortarlos y que fueran más claros.

En Chalkbeat sabemos que las historias de estudiantes y educadores hispanos y latinos se deben contar todo el año, no solamente durante este mes. ¿Tienes una idea de reportaje para nosotros? ¿Algún estudiante o educador que deberíamos entrevistar? Envíanos un email a community@chalkbeat.org.

Alexa Maqueo-Toledo, 21, Maryville, Tennessee

Senior, Maryville College

Alexa Maqueo-Toledo

Nací en la Ciudad de México y me mudé a Tennessee cuando estaba en escuela primaria. Desde que tengo uso de razón, éramos solamente mi mamá y yo. Cuando mi abuelita se enfermó en marzo de 2020, mi mamá era la única que podía fácilmente regresar a México para cuidarla. Sabíamos que iba a ser difícil separarnos — pero no teníamos idea de lo que la pandemia iba a hacer en el mundo. Usamos Zoom todo el tiempo para conversar y reunir a la familia, y estamos tratando de lograr que pueda venir a mi graduación en mayo, pero parece que no será posible.

Gran parte de mi vida y mis decisiones han estado atadas a mi estatus migratorio, ya que soy parte de DACA. Me enteré de mi estatus a los 14 años, cuando traté de conseguir licencia de manejar como el resto de mis amigos. Fue entonces que mi familia me contó. Yo crecí en la comunidad de inmigrantes, mi tía era muy activa y mi mamá daba clases de inglés. Yo fui testigo de familias destrozadas por deportaciones. Siempre quise ir a la universidad, pero al enterarme de mi estatus, el sueño se empañó un poco.

No fue hasta mi último año de secundaria que realmente ‘me cayó el veinte’. Tuve que solicitar a las universidades como estudiante internacional, y no califiqué para programas de becas ni para pagar matrícula de residente del estado. Afortunadamente, tuve un consejero académico excelente que no permitió que me rindiera — y solicité admisión a Maryville, que en ese momento se había unido a Equal Chance for Education [una organización de Tennessee que les brinda becas a los Dreamers].

Cuando llegué a Maryville, que es una pequeña universidad especializada en artes liberales, el primer estudiante abiertamente indocumentado de la universidad ya estaba en su año senior. Él fue mi mentor, y puedo decir orgullosamente que 15 estudiantes nos graduaremos este año. Todos vamos a usar la misma estola en la graduación. Y estamos esforzándonos para que el camino sea más fácil para los próximos estudiantes. Una de las misiones de mi vida es que haya igualdad en el precio de la matrícula. Mi pasión se enfoca en particular en estudiantes inmigrantes e indocumentados, para que puedan pagar el precio de matrícula de un residente del estado y obtener ayudas igual que cualquier otro estudiante de secundaria en Tennessee. Ellos no deberían tener que hacer tantas maromas ni enfrentar los retos que yo tuve, pero que pude navegar gracias a mi orientador académico de secundaria.

Cuando mucha gente piensa en “indocumentados,” la imagen que tienen es de criminales. No piensan en la niña que llevaron a la práctica de fútbol cuando sus hijos eran pequeños. No piensan en la gente con que creció su familia. No piensan en una chica que está moviendo montañas para educarse más, para contribuir a la sociedad. Yo quiero que me vean a mí.

Alicia Jones-Lumbuz, Houston, Texas

Directora de coro y líder de contenido del distrito escolar KIPP Texas Public Schools: Houston

Alicia Jones-Lumbuz es la directora de coro y líder de contenido del distrito escolar KIPP Texas Public Schools.

He sido maestra de coro por más de 23 años — y estoy acostumbrada a que mis estudiantes de quinto a octavo grado entren al salón entusiasmados y listos para cantar, y con frecuencia me dejan exhausta después de haber tenido que contener su fantástica pero caótica energía. Pero este año no fue así. Muchos de mis estudiantes han tenido que sobrellevar esta pandemia desde tercer grado, y su nivel de energía es poco.

Apenas sonríen, hablan y cantan bajito, y cuando trabajamos en coreografías, sus movimientos son letárgicos. Varios estudiantes están contentos de haber regresado en persona — su energía es intensa y es difícil calmarlos después de completar actividades divertidas o cantar. Por supuesto, yo le doy la bienvenida a ese entusiasmo y alegría para contrarrestar el silencio.

Yo sé que mis estudiantes necesitan que mi salón sea un lugar seguro para procesar este año — para procesar el duelo de haber perdido seres queridos durante la pandemia o para estar en persona en ambientes que parecen nuevos o les causan temor. Pero desde antes de la pandemia yo sabía cómo crear en mi salón un ambiente en el que los estudiantes pudieran procesar interrogantes grandes en torno a su identidad. Yo recuerdo cómo se sentía estar en escuela primaria y que otro estudiante me preguntara, “¿Y tú qué eres?” Yo no me veía como los demás niños hispanos en Florida, donde pasé parte de mi niñez, y tampoco me veía suficientemente negra. Y definitivamente no era blanca. Entonces, ¿qué era? Mis padres — de Puerto Rico y Jamaica — me brindaron un espacio sumamente acogedor y de mucho apoyo para que procesara esas preguntas, y ahora yo les ofrezco lo mismo a mis estudiantes.

Nuestros sistemas y líderes escolares necesitan entender que los hispanos no somos un monolito. Yo me siento orgullosa de mis raíces y les transmito lo mismo especialmente a los estudiantes afrolatinos, que quizás no se sientan vistos o aceptados. Para celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana este año, me puse una camiseta que decía: Taína, Africana y Española. Les expliqué a mis estudiantes que los taínos fueron los indígenas de Puerto Rico y el Caribe, que los africanos fueron traídos a Latinoamérica para ser esclavos (igual que ocurrió en Estados Unidos), y cómo España y otros países europeos colonizaron a Latinoamérica. Les dije a mis estudiantes que, sin estas tres culturas, yo no sería quien soy ahora.

De mis ancestros indígenas heredé el carácter para ser humilde, creativa, amorosa, generosa, paciente y sabia, y la habilidad musical. De mis ancestros africanos heredé fuerza, sabiduría espiritual, persistencia, y mi amor por el ritmo. Y de mis ancestros españoles heredé visión y aprendí cómo se puede destruir una vida si permito que la avaricia y el egoísmo me dominen. De mis ancestros españoles también heredé el amor por la melodía. Sin estos ancestros, las culturas hispanas y latinas no existirían. Sin estas culturas, no existiría la infecciosa música latina y tampoco el hip-hop. El objetivo de estas lecciones es que todos mis estudiantes, pero en especial mis estudiantes latinos y negros, se sientan orgullosos de sus raíces y de sus ancestros, y que amen su identidad.

Inés Adriana Martínez, 19, Santa Cruz, California

Estudiante de segundo año de universidad, Cabrillo College

Antes del COVID, yo bailaba muchos bailes folklóricos. Me encantaba aprender más sobre mi herencia, mi trasfondo, y de la historia de México, mi país de procedencia. Me daba una sensación de empoderamiento. Hay un evento local llamado La Guelaguetza, y es una celebración indígena de Oaxaca, México. Con la música y los bailes, es un evento hermoso.

Me aceptaron en UC Davis, pero por COVID, decidí matricularme en una universidad comunitaria local para luego transferirme. Preferí quedarme en la casa y ayudar.

Ines Adriana Martinez es un estudiante de segundo año de universidad.

Soy la mayor de la casa, y tenía que cuidar a mi hermana menor. Eso requirió mucha coordinación. Tanto ella como yo estábamos asistiendo a clases en línea, y tuve que acomodar mis clases alrededor de las de ella. Ella se distraía, y yo tenía que decirle que prestara atención y se asegurara de estar en la cámara. Yo hacía mi tarea en las tardes, y también trataba de sacarla al parque para caminar. La realidad es que todos lo necesitábamos. En la escuela virtual, ella era más sensitiva, se enojaba más, y era más tímida. Buscamos consejería en la escuela, y eso la ayudó.

Cuando yo empecé mis clases virtuales de universidad, me sentí un poco perdida. Descubrí rápidamente que no me gusta estar en una computadora por mucho tiempo. Me cansaba, y no tenía energía para hacer nada. Hubiese sido útil que ellos ofrecieran más recursos de salud mental, como por ejemplo acceso gratuito para hablar con alguien. Eso me hubiese ayudado, porque estaba bien estresada.

Mi mamá trabajó todo el tiempo durante la pandemia; de hecho, creo que trabajó mucho más [de lo normal]. Ella trabaja en una fábrica de té. Mi papá trabaja en construcción y no tuvo trabajo por un tiempo, por lo que todo el sustento provenía de mi mamá. Noté que ella estaba realmente estresada. Cuando se iba en la mañana, mi hermana y yo estábamos todavía durmiendo. Yo hacía todo el trabajo del hogar, como limpiar, cocinar, y cuidar a mi hermana, pero nunca lo hice pensando ‘Ay dios mío, tengo que hacer esto. No quiero, pero lo tengo que hacer’. No fue así. Mi actitud era: ‘Voy a hacerlo porque es mi trabajo nuevo. Estoy ayudando a mi mamá, estoy ayudando a mi papá, y soy miembro de este equipo’.

Creo que hay algo muy bonito en el esfuerzo, ya que uno llega a apreciar más lo que tiene, y también se enfoca más — es como tener un plan para lograr lo que uno quiere. Y no solo eso, sino también tener un plan de respaldo, porque nunca se sabe.

Ahora estoy estudiando administración de empresas. Debido a la pandemia, ahora soy más responsable financieramente no solo por mí misma, sino también por mi familia. Y me di cuenta de lo poco que sabía. Yo quería saber mucho más. Tengo una tía que tiene su propio negocio. Es una guardería, y a mí me parece que es una idea genial. Siempre me ha gustado la idea de ser mi propio jefe, una girl boss.

Dennis Martin, Newark, Nueva Jersey

Maestro de Kinder en la KIPP Spark Academy

Una de las cosas más duras que vi como estudiante de maestro el último año fue cómo los padres con barreras de idioma tenían dificultad para ayudar a sus hijos a entrar a las clases remotas. Hubo frustración, desesperación y preocupación. Todo lo que ellos querían era que sus hijos de Kinder pudieran recibir cada minuto posible de la clase, aunque fuera a través de una pantalla de computadora.

Dennis Martin es un maestro de Kinder en la KIPP Spark Academy.

Como el único maestro que hablaba español en un salón cuya mayoría de los estudiantes eran latinos, con mucho orgullo ayudé a esas familias durante esa época de mucha ansiedad mientras ellos pasaban por los estragos del COVID-19. Ya fuera ayudándolos a entrar a la clase virtual y a desactivar los pop-ups para que sus hijos pudieran tomar un examen, o sirviendo como intérprete durante las conferencias con los maestros, los pude ayudar bastante.

Pero mi apoyo más significativo fue crear un espacio seguro para que los estudiantes se sintieran orgullosos de su identidad y sus culturas.

Ese espacio seguro se puede lograr de diferentes maneras, según las herramientas y recursos disponibles. En las conversaciones en video del año pasado, invité a los estudiantes a hablar conmigo en ambos idiomas si eso les hacía sentir más cómodos al expresarse. Este año, como maestro de Kinder presencial en la KIPP Spark Academy, he incorporado en el salón mi amor por la música de bachata y merengue.

Mostrar estos elementos de mi identidad, y mi orgullo como cubano y nicaragüense nacido y criado en Newark, sirve para crear un ambiente en el que los estudiantes latinos pueden también sentir orgullo por esa herencia que les hace sentir alegría.

Los estudiantes latinos no siempre tienen la oportunidad de verse representados en sus maestros. Nacionalmente, solo un 9% de los maestros de escuela pública son hispanos. Yo sé lo importante que es para estos estudiantes tener un maestro que también abogue por ellos, hable como ellos, y vea las cosas de manera similar.

Ahora que el Mes de la Herencia Hispana se acerca a su fin, he estado alentando a mis estudiantes a mostrar orgullo por sus culturas, aunque no sean si son latinos o hispanos. El 1 de octubre la KIPP Spark Academy tuvo un desfile para celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, y los estudiantes participaron haciendo sus propias maracas, tocándolas, y bailando al son de música. Mientras los observaba, sentí un gran orgullo otra vez mientras ellos reían y bailaban. En ese momento supe que esta también es una experiencia valiosa para mí, porque me veo reflejado en los estudiantes. Verlos expresar su orgullo hispano y latino significó mucho para mí, aunque ellos no lo sepan.

As Hispanic Heritage Month wraps up, students and teachers reflect on resilience

2021-10-15T17:08:26+00:00

Leer en español.

During this Hispanic Heritage Month, Alicia Jones-Lumbuz’s Houston classrooms came alive with folk songs from Nicaragua and renditions from the musical, “In the Heights,” set in Washington Heights, a New York City neighborhood home to many Dominican Americans.

The masked, in-person performances were sweeter, albeit quieter, than the Zoom performances of the previous two years.

“We’re still learning to get loud,” Jones-Lumbuz told Chalkbeat. “This has been such a difficult season for everyone, especially our children. They are coming back into schools now quiet, unsure of themselves. I want them to sing out and be proud of who they are. I want them to see themselves in our songs.”

Oct. 15 marks the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. Chalkbeat spoke to Hispanic and Latino teachers and students around the nation about how they are celebrating their cultures and navigating this season of loss. Hispanic and Latino populations across the nation have made up a disproportionate number of deaths from COVID-19, and the pandemic exacerbated existing inequities for Hispanic and Latino students — widening education gaps and spurring drops in college enrollment.

For students like Ines Adriana Martinez, the pandemic upended college plans due to new caregiving responsibilities.

“I got accepted into UC Davis, but I decided to stay local and do community college, and then transfer,” said Ines, now a sophomore at Cabrillo College in California. “Because of this whole pandemic, I became more financially responsible, not only for myself but also for my family. And I realized how much I knew nothing. I wanted to know more.”

Below, Ines’ story and others’ are interspersed with poetry and artwork from students across the country. These excerpts have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

At Chalkbeat, we know the stories of Hispanic and Latino students and educators should be told all year long, not just during Hispanic Heritage Month. Do you have a story idea for us? A student or educator that should be highlighted? Email us anytime at community@chalkbeat.org.

Alexa Maqueo-Toledo, 21, Maryville, Tennessee

Senior, Maryville College

Alexa Maqueo-Toledo attended a November 2019 support rally for Dreamers in Washington, D.C. She is a Tennessee college student fighting for tuition equality.

I was born in Mexico City and moved to Tennessee when I was in elementary school. For as long as I can remember, it was me and my mom. When my grandmother got sick in March 2020, my mom was the only one who could easily move back to Mexico and care for her. We knew being apart would be difficult — but we didn’t fully understand then what the pandemic was going to do to the world. We use Zoom all the time for conversations and family gatherings, and we’re trying to get her set up to come for my graduation in May, but that feels like slim chances.

So much of my life and my choices have been tied with my [immigration] status as a DACA recipient. I found out about my status when I was 14 and tried to get a driver’s permit with all of my friends. That’s when my family told me. I grew up in the immigrant community, my aunt was involved, my mom taught English classes. I watched firsthand families being torn apart through deportation. I always wanted to go to college, but with the news of my status dimmed that dream.

My senior year of high school is when it really hit. I had to apply to some colleges as an international student, and I didn’t qualify for significant state scholarship programs or in-state tuition. Thankfully, I had a great guidance counselor who didn’t let me give up — and I applied to Maryville, which at the time had recently partnered with [a scholarship organization for Dreamers], Equal Chance for Education.

Alexa Maqueo-Toledo poses with a sign answering the question, “Why did you apply to college?”

When I arrived at Maryville, a small liberal arts college, the school’s first openly undocumented student was in his senior year. He served as a mentor to me, and I’m proud to say 15 of us will be graduating this year. We’re getting matching stoles for graduation. And we’re working hard to make the path easier for those who come after us. Tuition equity is one of my missions in life. My passion lies in immigrant, and undocumented youth, in particular, being able to obtain state tuition and state aid as any other Tennessee high school senior. They shouldn’t have to jump through the hoops that I had to or face the challenges that I was able to navigate thanks to my high school guidance counselor.

When many people picture “undocumented,” they think of criminals. They don’t think of the girl you took to soccer practice when your kids were young. They don’t think it’s the people your family grew up with. They don’t think of a girl moving mountains to try to further her education, to contribute. I want them to see me.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, seventh grade students at SENSE Charter School in Indianapolis did an author study on the writer Sandra Cisneros. The students, who speak English as a second language, used her writings as inspiration for their own. They researched their names and discussed where their names came from. They created collages that included emotions, colors, and metaphors associated with their names.

Alicia Jones-Lumbuz, Houston, Texas

Choir director and district content lead, KIPP Texas Public Schools: Houston

Alicia Jones-Lumbuz says her parents — from Puerto Rico and Jamaica — created a safe space for her to process her own identity. She strives to create that for her students in Texas.

I have taught choir for over 23 years — and I’m used to my fifth through eighth graders bounding into class, ready to sing, and often leaving me exhausted after corralling their incredible, chaotic energy. Not this year. Many of my students have been going through this pandemic since they were in third grade, and their energy is low.

They barely smile, their speaking and singing voices are very soft, and when we work on choreography, their movements are very lethargic. I have a few students who are happy to be in person — their energy is high, and they have difficulty calming down after completing fun activities or singing. I welcome their excitement and joy to surpass the quiet.

I know my students need my classrooms to be a safe place to process this year — to process the grief of losing loved ones during the pandemic or to navigate in-person environments that feel new and scary. But even before the pandemic, I knew how to create an environment in my classroom where students could process big questions around their identity. I remember what it was like to be in elementary school and have other students ask me, “What are you?” I didn’t look like the Hispanic kids in Florida, where I spent part of my childhood, and I didn’t look Black enough. I certainly didn’t look white. So, what was I? My parents — from Puerto Rico and Jamaica — provided a very encouraging space for me to process these questions, and I now offer that same encouragement to my students.

Our school systems and leaders need to understand that Hispanics are not monoliths. I bring the pride of my roots, especially for Afro-Latino students who may not feel seen or accepted. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this year, I wore a shirt that read: Taino, African, and Spanish. I explained to my students that the Taino are the Indigenous people of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, that Africans were taken to Latin America to be slaves, like what happened in the United States, and how Spain and other European countries colonized Latin America. I told my students that without these three cultures, I would not be the person I am today.

Alicia Jones-Lumbuz’s choir of students pose for a photo after a performance, which took place prior to the pandemic.

You see, my Indigenous ancestors gave me the character to be humble, creative, loving, giving, patient, wise, and able to make music. My African ancestors gave me strength, spiritual wisdom, persistence, and a love of rhythm. My Spanish ancestors gave me vision and taught me how I could destroy lives when I let greed and selfish ambitions drive me. My Spanish ancestors also gave me the love of flowing melodies. Without any of these ancestors, the Hispanic and Latino cultures would not exist. Without any of these cultures, infectious Latin American music and hip-hop would not exist. The aim of these lessons was for all of my students, especially my brown and Black students, to stand proud of all their roots, be proud of their ancestors, and love who they are.

Students at Brighton Elementary school in Brighton, Tennessee created a collaborative project to honor artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Riviera.

Ines Adriana Martinez, 19, Santa Cruz, California

Sophomore, Cabrillo College

Ines Adriana Martinez poses for a photo wearing a shirt with her college’s logo.

Before COVID, I used to do a lot of folkloric dancing. It was very exciting to learn more about my heritage, my background, and the history of Mexico, where I’m from. It just felt empowering. There’s one local event called the Guelaguetza; it’s more like a Oaxacan, Indigenous-type of performance. With the music and with the dancing, it all just looked so beautiful.

Because of the pandemic, a lot has changed. I got accepted into UC Davis, but I decided to stay local and do community college, and then transfer. I wanted to stay home and help out.

I’m the oldest and I had to look after my younger sister. That was a lot to balance. Not only was she attending online school, but so was I. I kind of had to make my schedule around hers. She’d get distracted, and I’d have to tell her to pay attention or make sure she was on camera. I would do my homework in the afternoon, and I’d try to take her outside to the park to get a walk. We all kind of needed that. She would just be more sensitive, angrier, shyer in virtual school. We sought counseling from the school for her, and it helped.

When I started college virtually, I felt a little lost. I quickly discovered that I did not like being on a computer for very long. I just felt tired and had no energy to do anything. It would have been very helpful for them to provide more mental health resources, like free access to someone to talk to. That would have helped me because I was very stressed.

My mom worked all throughout the pandemic; in fact, I think she worked a lot more [than usual]. She works at a tea factory. My dad works in construction, and he didn’t work for a while, so my mom was like the full provider. I noticed she was really stressed. She would leave, and my sister and I would still be sleeping. I would do all of the extra work at home, like chores, cook, and look after my sister, but not like in an ‘Ugh, my god, I have to do this. I don’t want to but I have to.’ Not really. It was more like: ‘I’m going to do this because that’s my new job. I’m helping my mom, I’m helping my dad, and I’m a member of this whole team.’

I think that there is a beauty in the struggle because you’re able to appreciate what you have a lot more and also focus — like have a plan to achieve what it is that you want. Not only that but to have backups, because you never know.

Right now, I’m studying business administration. Because of this whole pandemic, I became more financially responsible, not only for myself but also for my family. And I realized how much I knew nothing. I wanted to know more. I have an aunt, and she has her own business. It’s a daycare program that she runs, and I think that’s such an amazing idea. I’ve always liked the idea of being my own boss, a girl boss.

Dennis Martin, Newark, New Jersey

Kindergarten teacher at KIPP Spark Academy

Dennis Martin (left) poses with his brother during his college graduation ceremony.

One of the hardest things I witnessed as a student-teacher last school year was parents with language barriers having a hard time logging on their children for remote learning. There was frustration, desperation, and concern. All they wanted was for their kindergarteners to get every minute of instruction they could, even if it had to be through a screen.

As the only Spanish-speaking teacher in a classroom of mostly Latinx students, I was proud to be there for these families during a time of high anxiety as many of them were experiencing the relentlessness of COVID-19. Whether it was guidance with logging on and disabling pop-up blockers so that their students could take a test, or interpreting during parent-teacher conferences, I was able to help in a big way.

But the most meaningful way I was able to support my students was by creating a safe space for them to embrace their identity and cultural backgrounds.

That safe space comes in different forms, given the tools and resources you have. Last year, through those video conversations, I welcomed students to speak to me with both languages if that was how they felt comfortable expressing themselves. This year, as a first-time kindergarten teacher in person at KIPP Spark Academy, I’ve brought my love of bachata and merengue music and dancing to the classroom.

Showing these elements of my identity and pride in my background as a Cuban and Nicaraguan born and raised in Newark, fosters an environment where Latinx students can also embrace the parts of themselves that bring them joy.

Latinx students don’t often get the chance to see themselves reflected in their teachers. Nationally, only 9% of public school teachers are Hispanic. I know how important it is for these students to have a teacher who’s also their advocate, speaks like them, and sees through a familiar lens.

As we wrap up the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, I’ve been encouraging my students to display pride in their own cultures, even if they are not Hispanic or Latinx. On Oct. 1, KIPP Spark Academy held a parade to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, and students participated by making homemade maracas, shaking them, and dancing to music. As I looked on, I felt a wave of pride all over again as my youngest students laughed and danced along. In that moment, I knew that it’s also a valuable experience for me to see myself reflected in my students. Watching them express this Hispanic and Latinx pride, they may not know it now, but it meant a lot to me.

Memphis school shooting prompts community leaders to speak out on gun violence, community investment

2021-10-01T00:12:22+00:00

When a 13-year-old boy arrived at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital on Thursday morning after being shot in his South Memphis elementary school, his injury wasn’t an anomaly.

The boy is one of more than 100 children the Memphis hospital has treated for gunshot wounds this year, said Barry Gilmore, Le Bonheur’s chief medical officer and a pediatric emergency specialist. The hospital is on pace to exceed last year’s record of 135 such injuries, he said.

“Unfortunately, not only in Memphis but throughout the country, we’ve been facing increasing levels of injuries due to gunshot wounds to children all throughout the last year, and certainly throughout the pandemic,” Gilmore said Thursday afternoon at a news conference.

The injured boy is hospitalized in critical condition and a fellow student is in custody, according to district and police officials. The shooting in a stairwell at Cummings Elementary School Thursday morning left the community reeling, and caused leaders and activists to speak out against soaring gun violence in the city and across the nation.

Roshun Austin — who leads one of the city’s top community development organizations, The Works — said Thursday’s events must be centered in the knowledge that Cummings’ ZIP code of 38106 has one of the lowest life expectancies in the city.

“As bystanders, we start to blame,” she said. “We blame individuals or communities of people instead of systemic issues that cause people to live in poverty, have less than standard housing, and the systemic racism that has existed since our nation’s beginning.”

Her organization, which primarily focuses on South Memphis housing, has expanded in recent years to supporting and strengthening parents in the neighborhood. Austin said that in the days after the shooting, she hopes there’s focus and effort put toward the neighborhood’s blighted houses and general disinvestment, in addition to safety and gun violence.

“I didn’t know the families affected today personally, but know if they live anywhere near Cummings, they have experienced trauma, even if it’s just watching what’s happening to their neighborhood,” Austin said. “I might not know them, but they are a part of me. It might sound cheesy, but we truly love others as our neighbors here. And this hits the people of South Memphis very hard.”

The shooting also led activists to discuss potential solutions to preventing the trauma gun violence causes children and entire communities.

Rev. Michael L.W. More, pastor at Metropolitan Baptist Church, moved his family to the Soulsville neighborhood in January 2020. He recalled the feeling of hearing gunshots almost nightly and said he began thinking about what he could do to make a change.

The entire community should do the same in the wake of Thursday’s school shooting, he said.

“This is not just a problem on the shoulders of the school, but it’s a problem on the shoulders of all of us,” Moore said during Thursday evening’s press conference inside his church, where Cummings students were taken after the shooting.

“While we are trying to figure out what has happened, what we also need to do is try to make sure this never happens again,” he said. “Our students, families, our communities — especially in South Memphis — need more people to step up.”

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray echoed Moore’s call for more neighborhood support. He urged the community to “put the guns down,” adding: “We don’t put guns in students’ backpacks. We don’t sell guns in our schools. But we have to stop them from getting into our community.”

“These are not the plans I want to talk about,” Ray said, referring to the district’s preparations for active shooters on school property. “I want to talk about lesson plans. About literacy. About Reimagining 901. That’s what we should be talking about.”

Thursday’s shooting is another reminder that the community must be intentional about how it addresses violence and trauma, said Charlie Caswell, who knows all too well the trauma gun violence has on children. By the age of 14, Caswell had witnessed a friend shoot another friend, and the killing of his best friend.

The longtime faith leader and community activist said he prays that all the children affected — the child who was shot, the shooter, and classmates — will get the counseling they need to overcome their trauma.

“I carried that anger and trauma in me for a long time because I didn’t have an outlet or a counselor,” said Caswell, executive director of Legacy of Legends CDC, a program focused on mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences and creating trauma-informed and trauma-responsive communities. “I know that’s going to have a long-term ripple effect into adulthood if that trauma isn’t addressed.”

Childhood trauma is a cycle, Caswell said: Limiting traumatic experiences will lead to fewer such experiences in the future. It all comes down to creating a safe, healthy environment free of violence, from children’s homes to their schools and the greater community, Caswell said.

If a child grows up around constant violence, it will traumatize them and “revert to what they know,” Caswell said.

Schools, for example, should more often teach conflict resolution to show kids there are other ways to handle conflict, he said.

Cardell Orrin, executive director of the education advocacy organization Stand for Children Tennessee, also called for more resources and help for all the children touched by the tragedy, including the shooter.

“It’s tragic. I’m praying for the child who was shot, his family, the children who saw it, and the child who fired the shot,” Orrin said. “This entire community is hurting.”

‘My heart aches for our children.’ Memphis student hospitalized, another student in custody after school shooting

2021-09-30T23:21:37+00:00

A shooting in the stairwell of a Memphis school Thursday morning left a 13-year-old boy hospitalized in critical condition, a fellow student in custody, and a community grasping to process a violent outburst in a school year already beset by challenges.

The scene that played out near Cummings Elementary School in South Memphis has become sadly familiar across the U.S.: sirens and flashing blue lights, school staff escorting students to safety, and parents rushing to meet their children and asking questions about what happened.

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray said at a Thursday afternoon news conference that the injured student is expected to make a full recovery. The suspect is a 13-year-old male student at the school who was expected to be charged with attempted first-degree murder, assistant chief of police Don Crowe said. Neither student was identified.

“My heart aches for our children,” said Ray, who visited the injured boy and his family at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. “Gun violence has no place in our schools or communities. Literacy is life, not guns.”

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray speaks with members of the press outside of Metropolitan Baptist Church.

The shooting took place at a difficult time, with educators and students back in school buildings trying to bounce back from a year-and-a-half of pandemic-disrupted learning, high pediatric COVID-19 rates in Shelby County, and a recent uptick in gun violence.

It also took place in a school once called an academic “jewel” by the district for fostering community support in South Memphis. The math-focused school boasts robotics and coding programs. Cummings serves 395 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Police arrive within minutes; active shooter protocol used

Police dispatchers received a call at 9:15 a.m. from inside the school that a student had been shot, Crowe said. A school resource officer at the school placed the call and administered aid to the injured boy, as did a school nurse who calmed the victim and called his father, who was three minutes away, district officials said. Memphis police arrived within two minutes, Crowe said.

Crowe said video evidence indicated the shooter was another student, who was seen fleeing in a vehicle. While a police tactical unit and federal agents conducted another sweep of the school after students had been moved to a nearby church, the suspect turned himself in at a police precinct, he said. Crowe said police “have a real good idea” of a motive but declined to elaborate or provide additional details about the circumstances of the shooting.

Shortly after 9 a.m., when gunfire broke out at Cummings, a tense scene unfolded as the school’s active shooter protocol kicked in. Both police and school officials emphasized that they were prepared for such a situation, and said the emergency plan was executed well on Thursday. Earlier this month, the district had conducted active shooter training and all schools had turned in their own emergency response plans, officials said.

A school leader said at Thursday’s news conference that students and staff had been screened by metal detectors that morning. Neither she nor police officials commented on how a gun could have made it inside the school.

Tennessee took steps to bolster school security after a 2018 shooting that killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Then-Gov. Bill Haslam ordered a comprehensive security review of more than 1,800 public schools across Tennessee. The state also provided districts with $35 million in safety grants, mostly to improve their aging school buildings with upgrades like modern security cameras, beefed up front entrances, and repaired or new locks.

‘Oh my God! What’s going on now?’

After gunfire erupted Thursday, Cummings Elementary went into lockdown. Anxious students lined up as they would for a fire drill and were ushered outside, and school officials dispatched buses to take the students to Metropolitan Baptist Church down the street. There, anxious relatives huddled under umbrellas on a rainy, overcast morning.

Parent Rashard Humphrey, who lives near the school and promptly picked up her son from the church, heard sirens before rushing to the scene. She initially thought that they were headed to a nearby hospital because the school is near the city’s Medical District.

“When I kept hearing sirens, I said, no, let me look out, and when I looked out, there was a sea of blue but nobody could tell me anything,” she said.

She immediately panicked.

“‘Oh my God! Oh my God! What’s going on now?’ That’s basically how I felt.”

Humphrey said she called the school and tried to get answers. She said her son texted her to tell her that the school was on lockdown and that she didn’t receive a message from the district until more than an hour later.

“That’s not putting anybody at ease,” she said, adding that some parents weren’t able to rush to the scene and were unsure if their child had been hurt.

Chantel Douglass waited across the street from the church as relatives retrieved her seven-year-old niece. She said her mind went blank after she got the call that there had been a school shooting.

“Some parents found out through Facebook. And that’s terrible,” she said.

She hadn’t heard from her niece since news of the shooting broke, and at the first sighting of the little girl walking down the sidewalk with her parents, Douglass lit up and rushed over.

“Here she comes,” she said, as the little girl’s parents, aunt, and grandmother all greeted and hugged the seven-year-old.

As students were dismissed from the church, some parents complained about what they considered to be the slow process of reuniting children and families. District spokesperson Jerica Phillips said that the district had to take precautions, double-checking the information management software PowerSchool to ensure that students were released to the right people.

As parent and school board member I breathe a sigh of relief that our student is recovering @LeBonheurChild. Speaking and hugging the parents we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Praying for our Cummings K-8 and @SCSK12Unified family. #nomoregunviolence
— Shante Avant (@ShanteAvant) September 30, 2021

“A lot of parents are frustrated about us doing it one at a time, but we’ve got to check PowerSchool because you have custody issues and you can’t just release students to anybody. That becomes another story,” Phillips said.

District officials said classes will be back in session at Cummings on Friday, and the superintendent emphasized the importance of supporting students emotionally as they heal and refocus on academics.

“We should be talking about reading. We should be talking about math. We should be talking about learning opportunities for students,” Ray said. “This has to stop. No way a child should have a gun. This must stop.”

What does school quarantine in Illinois look like? Tell us your experience.

2021-09-16T20:26:35+00:00

With most Illinois students back in classrooms this fall but children age 11 and under still waiting for vaccines, schools across the state are grappling with yet another new COVID-19 reality: quarantined classrooms.

In Chicago Public Schools, nearly 5,500 students and staff have been identified as close contacts of a confirmed COVID case since the start of school, which would make them candidates for quarantine, according to data made public by the school district on Wednesday.

The state does not publicly post the number of students in quarantine, but in the past 30 days, it has logged school exposures at 1,478 campuses across the state and outbreaks of two or more campus-related cases at 128 schools.

State guidelines say that districts can quarantine certain students, classrooms, or even entire schools in consultation with health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines encourage schools to quarantine only COVID-19 positive students and staff, unvaccinated individuals, and those with symptoms.

We want to know what quarantine looks like for educators and students across the state. Please contribute to our reporting by answering the questions below. Having trouble viewing the form on mobile? Go here.

El virus de COVID devastó a muchas familias latinas. Durante el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, cuéntanos de qué manera la comunidad escolar te brindó apoyo.

2021-09-15T21:28:29+00:00

Read in English.

El 15 de septiembre marca el comienzo del Mes de la Herencia Hispana, y este año coincide con el regreso de muchas escuelas de Estados Unidos a un nuevo año académico después de casi dos años de aprendizaje caótico debido a la pandemia.

El periodo de treinta días de celebración de este año empieza a mitad del mes de septiembre (seleccionado por el Congreso para así rendir tributo a los días de independencia de varios países latinoamericanos), después de una temporada de gran pérdida en las poblaciones latinas e hispanas de todo el país, quienes representaron una porción significativa de la cifra de muertes por COVID-19. El virus ahora es responsable de 1 de cada 5 muertes entre los hispanos, según datos recientes de los Centros para Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) que fueron analizados por el periódico The Washington Post.

La pandemia exacerbó las desigualdades ya existentes para los estudiantes hispanos y latinos, ampliando las brechas en educación y causando bajas drásticas en la matrícula universitaria. Los estudiantes inmigrantes y que están aprendiendo inglés, muchos de los cuales provienen de países que hablan español, enfrentaron barreras aún mayores para tener éxito en la escuela.

En estos momentos, Chalkbeat quiere escuchar específicamente los relatos de estudiantes y maestros hispanos/latinos sobre cómo fue el último año para ellos, y qué esperan que ocurra ahora que las escuelas están regresando a enseñanza en persona. También queremos dar espacio a la celebración de herencia y cultura para escuchar más acerca de qué opinas de tu identidad, cómo le rindes honor, y qué te gustaría que otras personas supieran. Nosotros queremos ver tus obras de arte y poesía, y también escuchar música original tuya.

Dinos lo siguiente: ¿Qué piensas que los estudiantes hispanos/latinos necesitan de sus líderes escolares y comunidades este año escolar para estar sanos y tener éxito? ¿Qué te gustaría que otras personas supieran de lo que significa ser joven e hispano/latino en este momento en la historia?

Esperamos con mucho gusto recibir tus respuestas más adelante, y la fecha límite para contestar es el 25 de octubre a las 11:59, hora del Este de EEUU. ¿Tienes preguntas? En community@chalkbeat.org siempre estamos escuchando.

COVID devastated many Latino families. During Hispanic Heritage Month, tell us how your school community has supported you.

2021-09-15T21:27:43+00:00

Leer en español.

Sept. 15 marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month — and it comes as schools across America settle into a new academic year after nearly two years of chaotic pandemic learning.

This year’s month of celebration — chosen by Congress to begin mid-month to honor national independence days in several Latin American countries — comes after a season of great loss among Hispanics and Latinos populations across the nation, who have made up a significant portion of deaths from COVID-19. The virus is now responsible for 1 of every 5 deaths among Hispanics, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed by The Washington Post.

The pandemic exacerbated existing inequities for Hispanic and Latino students — widening education gaps and spurring drops in college enrollment. Students who are immigrants and English language learners, many coming from Spanish-speaking countries, faced even greater barriers to thriving at school.

Chalkbeat wants to hear from Hispanic/Latino students and teachers about what the last year was like for them, and what they hope happens as schools return en masse to in-person learning. We also want to share stories of the celebration of heritage and culture — to hear more about how you think of your identity, how you honor it, and what you wish others knew. We want to experience your artwork and poetry, and listen to your original music.

Tell us: What do you think Hispanic/Latino students need from their school leaders and communities this school year to be healthy and successful? What do you wish others knew about what it’s like to be young and Hispanic/Latino at this moment in history?

We look forward to your submissions in the callout below; the deadline is 11:59 ET Oct. 1. Questions? We’re always listening at community@chalkbeat.org. Having trouble viewing on mobile? Go here.

How to design your source diversity audit survey with inclusivity in mind

2021-09-15T20:37:57+00:00

Five months ago, Chalkbeat and the Reynolds Journalism Institute launched a project that will make it easier for newsrooms to track the diversity of their sources.

This project is designed to expand Chalkbeat’s existing source audit work, which centers on two of our recurring features: How I Teach and First Person. And we also have the lofty ambition of building a better system of source auditing that newsrooms around the nation can adopt. More on that in the coming months — and if you want to stay connected, let us know here.

We recently published our review of the audits — everything we learned about best practices in source auditing from leading U.S. newsrooms. We wanted to take that work a step further by analyzing the actual surveys and making recommendations for how newsrooms can best structure their survey language with equity in mind. WPR, MPR, KUER, KCBX, KQED, Inewsource, Reframe, and WHYY, the majority of which are public radio stations, graciously shared their auditing processes with us,

Our hope is this explainer, while not exhaustive, will give journalists food for thought on how to design questions that are inclusive and clear. We created this example survey on Google Forms incorporating all of our recommendations for a visual guide on what a potential source auditing survey might look like.

Here’s what we learned, and what we recommend:

Race/Ethnicity

The Question

We saw that when asking about race, newsrooms typically did so in one of three ways:

Race or Race/Ethnicity
What is your race?
How would you best describe your racial identity?

What we recommend: Option No. 3: How would you best describe your racial identity? The use of “best” gives acknowledgment to the fact that there probably won’t be a comprehensive list of every single race/ethnicity on a survey, but it will still encourage responses from sources.

Native American vs. American Indian vs. ...

There isn’t any one term used to describe the Indigenous people who live in the United States. Indian Country Today interviewed six prominent Native Americans, and all had different preferences in terminology. While the term used most broadly in recent decades is Native American, those who grew up with the term American Indian continue to prefer it over all others.

American Indian is the most widely used terminology among the newsrooms we interviewed. The U.S. Census groups the term American Indian with Alaskan Natives, as did three surveys.

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander should be its own choice, because Hawaii is geographically grouped with the Pacific Islands rather than the North American continent.

What we recommend: Create two choices for Native people who live in the United States: American Indian or Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

Asian

While nearly all surveys we looked at used some variation of Asia/Asian to cover the entire region, some broke it down further into different parts of Asia, with options such as South Asian, East Asian, Filipino, etc. Newsrooms could do the latter, being careful not to exclude any part of Asia.

However, we don’t typically see a breakdown of Asia in survey designs, which creates a question of how to analyze this later on when compared to U.S. population data. And it could also create confusion: Central Asia overlaps with the Middle East— should people who are from Afghanistan click both options? Should one be omitted in favor of the other?

What we recommend: The data will be simplest to analyze if newsrooms keep the choice as Asian.

Middle Eastern

The Middle East was listed as a separate option in half of the surveys we analyzed, and all referred to the ethnic identity differently: Middle Eastern/Arab-American, Middle Eastern/Arab, Middle Eastern, and Middle Eastern or North African. While the Middle East includes many Arab countries, it’s also home to non-Arab countries such as Israel and Egypt. The most equitable phrasing narrows down to either Middle Eastern or Arab or Middle Eastern or North African.

What we recommend: Because both are inclusive, we looked at what the U.S. Census does. It uses the term Middle Eastern or North African. We recommend newsrooms follow suit with this phrasing.

Multiracial

For the surveys that did provide multiple-choice options for race and ethnicity, all had some way of incorporating an option for people who described themselves as multiracial: making the choices multi-selectable, having a separate choice to denote multiracial, or a mix of both.

What we recommend: Multiracial can be covered by making the race/ethnicity question multi-selectable. We recommend against solely having an option on the survey that says Multiracial to prevent respondents from feeling like their race doesn’t actually matter. Having an option for multiracial on top of being multi-selectable will help in later analyzing the data, For instance, newsrooms will be able to make an assessment such as, 5% of all who responded as being white also chose multiracial.

Black vs. African American

Only one survey we looked at had Black as the only option. All the others also included the phrase African American. African American isn’t the sole option on any survey, though, which is all the better considering that using only African American omits Black Hispanics and Black people who are not from Africa.

What we recommend: While the term Black seems all-encompassing, newsrooms should be as inclusive as possible and write the option in their surveys as Black or African American.

Hispanic/Latino(a) vs. Latinx

Some newsrooms incorporated Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino Origin as a part of white — White (of Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino Origin) and White (not of Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino Origin). This, however, centers white as the main identity and excludes groups that aren’t white but do identify as being Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino. We decided to solve this by creating a separate choice for Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino, and making the question itself multi-selectable.

This way, those who identify as, say, Black Hispanics will be able to indicate as such by clicking Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino Origin and Black or African American.

Newsrooms also have the option of separating this into a separate question. As for the term Latinx, most Latino adults haven’t heard of it and few use it.

What we recommend: Keeping a separate choice written as “Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin” is standard and inclusive to use in surveys under the question of race/ethnicity.

Gender

The Question

The best practice for asking about gender is taking the same approach when asking about race, “How would you best describe your gender identity?” One newsroom we looked at took it a step further by asking for current gender identity, recognizing that it might be different from the gender a person was assigned at birth. This is an important distinction to be aware of, and we will acknowledge it in our surveys going forward.

Some newsrooms also asked for pronouns, either to supplement the gender question or to replace it altogether. While it is an option for newsrooms, we believe asking solely for gender identity is sufficient when the purpose of the survey is purely for source auditing.

What we recommend: We believe the most inclusive way of asking this question is the following: “How would you best describe your current gender identity?”

Transgender

Overall, newsrooms tend to separate male and female identifiers to Female, Male, Transgender female, and Transgender male when they ask about gender identity.

We found two problems with this: People who identify as transgender want to be identified as the gender they transitioned to. For instance, someone whose current gender identity is female will want to indicate that they are female, rather than transgender or transgender female. Second, putting these options into a question about gender has the additional effect of treating cisgender as the norm.

What we recommend: Newsrooms should omit choices about identifying as a transgender person on the gender identity question. Instead, break it up into two: Ask first about gender identity, and then whether the respondents identify as transgender. (Note: Breaking up the gender identity question has also been supported by multiple universities that post best practices on their site — Vanderbilt and UCLA, just to name a few — as well as the CDC.)

Non-binary, gender-nonconforming, etc.

The key takeaway here is that having male and female as the only options just isn’t enough.

But similar to race/ethnicity, it’s difficult to be inclusive without incorporating a whole list of the various gender identities people can have. Including the most common genders in the U.S. while allowing for a write-in option is likely the most inclusive newsrooms can get in a limited multiple-choice question.

What we recommend: Non-binary should also be included as a choice. Those who identify as a gender outside of these three can use the Other type-in option if using Google Forms or a “prefer to self describe” section to write in their preferred term.

Unsure

While it wasn’t popular to include some variation of Unsure or Questioning for gender identity across the newsrooms interviewed, we felt that it was important to acknowledge that there are some people who still don’t know or are exploring what gender identity they are most comfortable with.

What we recommend: Newsrooms should include an option on the survey for people who are questioning. The choice itself can be written as Unsure, Questioning, or a mixture of both.

Conclusion

In reality, the most inclusive way to write a source auditing survey is by leaving all of the questions open-ended, allowing for complete self-identification by the respondent. For those analyzing the survey, one drawback to this is the time it will take to sort out responses at the end⁠ — the opposite of what we wanted our source auditing survey to do. Standard survey platforms like Google Forms or Typeform also don’t allow for write-in options within each choice, for example:

Which of the following best describes your race/ethnicity?

Asian: (Please specify here)

Middle Eastern: (Please specify here)

American Indian or Alaskan Native: (Please specify here)

There are, however, several ways to get around these obstacles:

To allow people the chance to specify their identity further, you might consider adding this question at the end of the survey: Is there any other demographic information you would like to share with us?
If you plan to use a platform like Typeform where there’s only one question on the screen at a time, programming in follow-up identifying questions based on what choice respondents pick is worthwhile.
By making choices multi-selectable, respondents don’t feel boxed into any one category and it gives them the liberty to choose the identities that best fit them.
The use of the Other write-in option will allow people to self-describe if the given options for race and gender truly do not describe any part of their identity. If newsrooms want to avoid listing an Other option, which can feel alienating, an alternative would be to create another question asking respondents to self-describe.

At this East Harlem high school, advisory class is focused on student mental health

2021-08-23T23:06:41+00:00

Dyanand Sugrim leads Heritage High School in East Harlem, and like many school leaders around the nation, he’s not only welcoming a new ninth grade class to the school building. Many 10th graders will also be brand new to campus — having learned remotely all last year.

When students take their seats in Heritage classrooms in September, many will bring with them the pain and trauma of living amid a pandemic.

“We know that this year will be challenging, but that doesn’t mean schools can’t really be prepared to welcome students with a space proactively geared toward their mental health and wellbeing,” Sugrim said.

At Heritage, that looks like strengthening a partnership with Counseling in Schools — a nonprofit that places counselors in high-needs schools. Sugrim also added a fourth guidance counselor and is trying to make sure students’ mental health needs are addressed during an advisory period.

This year, Heritage will also feature a new mentoring program that pairs incoming ninth graders with seniors. As Sugrim put it: “We want students brand new to the school to feel known on day one.”

Sugrim spoke with Chalkbeat about his school’s unique advisory model and how his years as a teacher impact him as a leader. He will participate in Chalkbeat’s Aug. 24 panel on how schools can better support students’ mental health.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What led you to a career in education?

My father was an educator, and I witnessed the power of relationships between educators and their students that can span generations and turn education into a cornerstone of a community. I didn’t fully understand this until I served as a science teacher in an alternative high school in East Harlem where the majority of students were over-aged and under-credited. This school was their last opportunity to earn a high school diploma. It was a challenge to raise the reading and writing levels, but my students were curious and interested, and that’s all I needed.

Those meaningful relationships helped them pass exams and gain confidence to enroll in — and graduate from — college. And now, 20 years later, those relationships continue to yield fruits; some of those former students are now parents of children at Heritage.

Has there been anything in your career up to this point that prepared you for this school year?

There is no doubt this school year will be challenging, but I believe in the lessons learned during my years as a teacher, assistant principal, and now principal. At the foundational level, instruction must remain at the core of our work, and we should keep in mind that there is much to be gained from a year and a half of remote learning that we will carry over to the traditional classroom. Secondly, mental health for both students and staff must be at the forefront of our work. This is much more than students having access to mental health clinicians. There must be a structure to support long-term programs that can evolve with the changing times. This also includes prioritizing programming for mental health in advisory classes for all students. It is as important as programming for graduation requirements. Third, teachers must be empowered through teacher teams and professional learning communities. For example, advisory teachers should meet a few times per week to develop advisory lessons with the guidance of mental health clinicians.

How are you helping to guide your staff through this unprecedented time?

We have done much work over the past five years developing our advisory programming to support students. We will need to use that structure of student support and our relationship with Counseling In Schools to do the same for staff. That organization has developed programming to support our staff during both structured professional development sessions and individual and small group staff sessions. We must support the folks who support our students.

After an extended period of upheaval, there’s been a lot of talk about the importance of social-emotional learning. Are you doing anything differently to account for what so many families have been through?

Our advisory program has evolved immensely since we started it five years ago. Advisory periods can be just a filler class for teachers and students. We move advisory up — it’s as important as our graduation programming. We’re not just using advisory to catch up on homework or plan out a student’s coursework. Working with Counseling in Schools, we’ve added mental health clinicians to every single advisory class. That level of support and expertise is a crucial part of how we view advisory.

We have seven core pieces of our advisory program:

1. All students in every grade have an advisory period at least one day a week with a teacher, guidance counselor, and mental health clinician from Counseling in Schools. Students are then identified during advisory sessions for individual, small group, or large group counseling with a mental health clinician.

2. As concerns are raised in advisory — about academics or mental health, for example — they are addressed later by the staff members in the room. Every advisory class is facilitated by a content teacher, a guidance counselor, and a Counseling in Schools mental health clinician.

3. The advisory curriculum is homegrown, developed by Heritage teachers, Counseling in Schools, and our students. Each grade level has a specific grade goal.

4. All advisory classes are rooted in restorative justice practices, delivered in a “circle format” with trained student peer mediators. The student in charge that day will have brought something special to them, like a teddy bear or stress ball, that will act as the “talking piece.” They will then go around the circle and share what’s on their minds, using the talking piece to make sure all students are heard and understood.

5. Students have leadership opportunities to meet with their advisory teacher team to plan lessons and deliver those lessons during the spring semester.

6. We also have a “continuous improvement plan” in partnership with New Visions, which works with high-needs public schools and runs its own charter network — to ensure our students can enroll in and graduate from college in four years.

7. The advisory work does not live in a silo. Rather, it is thoughtfully and structurally connected to our work with our Counseling in Schools and New Visions partners.

All of your incoming ninth graders and many of your 10th graders may never have set foot in your building. What does that mean for your school’s culture? How do you plan to address that?

As a starting point, we will develop surveys to gauge student and parent concerns. We will also create programming, including social events and advisory lessons, that will help address many of our students' and parents’ concerns. We have increased our guidance department to address learning concerns, specifically addressing the shift from online remote learning. We also added a fourth guidance counselor.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

“Cultivating Genius” by Gholdy Muhammad has been impactful in several ways: a). Developing relationships with students is essential to developing a student-centered classroom. This is the practice that I observed from my father and experienced as a teacher. Recognizing our students’ genius opens doors for many great things to happen. b). Dr. Muhammad’s work also helps schools and leaders to facilitate the difficult conversations around race and equity. It is a great starting point for teachers to incorporate student voices and experiences into their daily lessons.

As students return to classrooms, how do you feel about the new school year?

2021-08-19T18:36:00+00:00

Students are headed back into classrooms across the nation — many for the first time in more than a year.

But it’s not just the transition back to daily in-person learning that will prove challenging — there are also contentious debates over masking policies, worries about the more contagious delta variant, and confusing quarantine rules. Teachers are rethinking their own back-to-school routines as they navigate these difficult transitions and conversations.

At yet another crucial moment, Chalkbeat wants to hear directly from students, teachers, and parents. As school buildings reopen, what are you most nervous and most excited about? What should schools provide to students to support them academically and emotionally this school year? How should districts best spend their federal stimulus money? Your input will help steer and inform our reporting.

Let us know your thoughts in the form below or go here if you are on a mobile device. We’re always listening at community@chalkbeat.org.

Colorado: Help Chalkbeat report on colleges and universities this fall

2021-08-18T17:28:33+00:00

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed harsh realities for Colorado colleges and their students.

Fewer students enrolled last year, especially those from low-income areas and communities of color. More students struggled to get federal financial aid. And in the face of enrollment declines, colleges struggled with financial challenges, especially those serving a diverse student population.

During the 2021-22 school year, Chalkbeat will continue to chronicle the story of higher education in Colorado — but we need your help.

We want to hear about the struggles you’ve seen or experienced. What pandemic-related issues impacting colleges and students need to be brought to light? What stories are we missing?

Let us know in the form below (or you can click here if you are on mobile).

Tennessee students can opt out of wearing masks at school, governor says. The Shelby County superintendent disagrees.

2021-08-16T21:50:18+00:00

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive order Monday allowing parents of schoolchildren to opt out of school mask mandates.

Lee said he will not call for a special legislative session, which General Assembly leaders had called for in an effort to prevent mask mandates and other safety measures in schools.

“Local decision-making is very important,” Lee said at a news conference in Nashville. But parents’ ability to make decisions for their kids “is the most important. No one cares more about the health and well-being of a child than that child’s parent.”

The state’s largest school district, Shelby County Schools in Memphis, will for now continue to require masks for all school employees, students, and visitors, Superintendent Joris Ray tweeted Monday evening. Ray said he and board members are consulting with the district’s general counsel to review Lee’s order.

Lee’s move comes as the delta variant drives a resurgence of COVID cases and political fights are raging nationwide over what schools should do to keep safe as they try to find their footing after a year and a half of pandemic disruptions.

Shelby County Schools, which resumed classes last week, announced in early August it would require masks in schools, and at least 13 other school districts followed suit.

Six small school systems in the Memphis suburbs also issued mandates in compliance with an order from Shelby County health officials to require face coverings inside of all school buildings.

Lee’s executive order covers both school districts and local health agencies.

In a statement Monday, the Shelby County Health Department said it would comply with Lee’s order and “make adjustments as necessary.” The department said it continues to support recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics that children age 2 and older, teachers, and staff members at schools, preschools and day cares wear masks in indoor settings, particularly in regions with high transmission of the virus like Tennessee.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the county shifting its stance will mean for Shelby County Schools. Ray referred to the county health order in saying the district’s mask mandate would continue.

Rep. Vincent Dixie, a Nashville Democrat, said going maskless to a school where COVID-19 is spreading freely “is like going into a lion’s den with no armor.”

“The governor gave no solutions on how to protect our kids,” Dixie said, noting kids under 12 are ineligible for any of the vaccines. “You can’t just say what you don’t want and don’t give some sort of solution.”

Lee’s order is similar to one signed last week by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Lee’s order doesn’t go as far as DeSantis’s, which threatens to defund administrators’ and school board members’ salaries if they require masks.

In a statement, Rep. Antonio Parkinson, a Memphis Democrat, said the order was “irresponsible” and won’t help to curb the spread of the virus.

“How do you say decisions on community health should be made locally, and in the very same breath and sentence remove local control in regards to children wearing masks at school?” Parkinson said.

Amanda Bragida, a parent of elementary school students in Shelby County Schools and a school nurse, said she cried when she heard about Lee’s order. Her daughter, who as a kindergartener is too young to be vaccinated, has asthma. Bragida said she and her husband discussed whether she should quit her job to homeschool, but they can’t afford it.

As a school nurse, Bragida said, she has watched masks, social distancing, and other safety measures work wonderfully in schools.

“I tell my children that this is a way we can try to help ourselves and help others, and they understand that,” she said. “I’m trying to educate our students that these tools are effective and it doesn’t go against our freedom. We have to care about others.”

Even with a mask order, Bragida said, she has spent much of the young school year contact-tracing and fielding calls from parents with children who were exposed or tested positive, in large part because community transmission remains high.

“I don’t get a lunch break. I’m like a floor nurse,” she said. “We’re so swamped already, and less masking isn’t going to make this year go better for us or for students.”

Lee’s order comes as the virus is spreading through Tennessee faster than at any time during the pandemic, except for this winter’s surge, while a staffing shortage makes it harder for hospitals to provide care.

The Tennessee Department of Health reported a seven-day rolling average of 3,913 daily cases on Aug. 12, and deaths are at roughly 20 per day. On Monday, according to the health department, the test positivity rate was 17.5%; the World Health Organization recommends restrictions to slow the spread of the virus when the positivity rate is above 5%.

Earlier in the day, Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said the Tennessee National Guard was being deployed to understaffed hospitals. She said more people were hospitalized in the first 15 days of August than there were during any full month of the pandemic.

Many hospitals are full, but not entirely because of COVID. Piercey said they were closer to capacity than usual before this summer’s delta variant spike. Two out of five ICU patients have COVID, Piercey said.

Both Lee and Piercey promoted the use of monoclonal antibodies for people to improve their immune response.

But in addition to the increased number of cases and hospitalizations, more Tennesseans are getting vaccinated. About 41% of Tennesseans are vaccinated, but more people have been getting the shots each week for more than a month.

Nearly all COVID deaths in the past few months — 94% — were among unvaccinated people, Piercey said. Most of the vaccinated people who died were immunocompromised.

Ian Round reported from Nashville and Caroline Bauman reported from Memphis.

Para estos estudiantes, el dolor de la pandemia resultó en activismo. Esto es lo que dicen que debería pasar ahora.

2021-06-28T18:36:01+00:00

Read in English.

Dashawn Sheffield, estudiante de tercer año de escuela superior en Newark, tiene su propio soundtrack para representar los duros meses de pandemia que pasó. Es Mariah Carey.

“La música siempre me ha ayudado a sobrellevar los momentos más importantes”, dijo Dashawn. “Funerales”, “estrés”... pongo una canción de Mariah”. Ella también ha pasado por muchas cosas en su vida personal y profesional — y lo superó todo para luego lograr grandes cosas.”

De hecho, Dashawn estaba escuchando la canción de Mariah Carey “There’s Got to Be a Way” cuando se le ocurrió la idea de crear un nuevo consejo de bienestar en su escuela, la North Star Academy Washington Park High School.

Él vio la necesidad de tener más apoyo para la salud mental de sus amigos tras un año de tanta pérdida. Su comunidad — como muchas otras comunidades negras e hispanas de Newark — fue fuertemente afectada. Hasta este mes de junio, casi 360 de cada 100,000 habitantes de Newark habían muerto por COVID, el doble del promedio nacional.

Dashawn dijo que ha asistido a unos 19 funerales solamente en el último año.

“Fua algo tan triste, a estas personas yo les ayudaba a entrar las compras a la casa”, dijo. “Y lo próximo era ver una ambulancia y una esquela.”

La historia de Dashawn recuerda a tantas otras enviadas a Chalkbeat como parte de un proyecto llamado Pandemia 360, producido en colaboración con Univisión 41. Él fue uno de los más de 275 maestros, padres y estudiantes que se comunicaron con Chalkbeat cuando les pedimos a nuestros lectores de Nueva York y Newark que nos contaran cómo la pandemia afectó a sus comunidades escolares.

Esta serie se ha enfocado bastante en las comunidades de Newark y Nueva York que lograron guiar a los estudiantes a través de retos grandes y pequeños, desde problemas con la señal de Wi-Fi hasta la muerte de sus padres. Ahora quisimos hablar con dos estudiantes, Dashawn y William Diep — estudiante de cuarto año en Nueva York — para que nos digan en sus propias palabras por qué es crucial escuchar a los estudiantes para que las escuelas superen las dificultades de la pandemia.

Dashawn Sheffield: Nosotros creamos un consejo de bienestar estudiantil. Así es como ha cambiado la conversación en torno a la salud mental.

Estudiante de undécimo grado de la North Star Academy Washington Park High School en Newark, N.J.

Cuando llegó la pandemia, pasé de enseñanza presencial a virtual, como innumerables estudiantes de todo el país. De nuestras rutinas, todos pasamos a estar dentro, mirando la pantalla de una computadora durante ocho o nueve horas.

Mis amigos y yo nos sentíamos desconectados, y para aliviar un poco el estrés, empezamos a hablar y a ayudarnos mutuamente con las tareas y la vida. Aunque yo sentía que a mí me iba bien con las clases virtuales, me di cuenta de que a muchos de mis amigos no. Algunos nos sentíamos deprimidos y aislados; otros luchaban por manejar su ADHD (trastorno de déficit de atención e hiperactividad).

Dashawn Sheffield (en el medio) aparece en la foto con dos amigos.

Yo quería saber más sobre cómo les estaba yendo a los otros estudiantes fuera de mi grupo de amigos. Envié una encuesta y me contestaron más o menos 40 estudiantes de cada grado. Una y otra vez mencionaron estrés, duras cargas de trabajo, miedo. Sentí que todos estábamos pasando por las mismas luchas, pero que las estábamos manteniendo embotelladas adentro.

Esto es lo que activó mi ambición y ganas de hacer algo. Antes de la pandemia yo realmente no participaba en la vida estudiantil de mi escuela. Después de COVID, quería ser líder estudiantil. El verano pasado, hablé con los líderes de mi escuela y les propuse la idea de crear un consejo de bienestar estudiantil. Yo quería que los estudiantes tuvieran un espacio entre ellos para procesar lo que están sintiendo, y que nosotros y los maestros recibiéramos más capacitación y asesoría sobre el tema del bienestar mental.

La escuela nos escuchó. Al principio me preocupaba que todo fuera sólo una actuación. Pero en el otoño, nuestra escuela estableció nuestro consejo, y también ofreció una nueva clase sobre salud mental y bienestar.

Ahora tenemos un espacio dirigido por estudiantes para educar a los padres, al personal y a los estudiantes sobre la importancia de la salud mental — creando así mayor conciencia en lo que respecta a las luchas y ayudándonos a fomentar resiliencia. El próximo año escolar los planes son tener días de bienestar mental, es decir, un día cada mes en el que destacaremos la salud mental.

Actualmente vivo con mi madrina — tristemente, muchas personas a nuestro alrededor fallecieron. Nos sentimos enojados y cansados — y no somos los únicos.

Tener sistemas educativos sólidos es esencial para la recuperación de los estudiantes. Una escuela debe estar en el centro de la comunidad y entablar asociaciones profundas con la gente y los negocios del área. Y cada escuela debe trabajar con los estudiantes para establecer un consejo de bienestar estudiantil.

William Diep: Durante la pandemia de COVID, los estudiantes alzaron la voz. Eso no puede detenerse ahora.

Recién graduado de cuarto año de la Brooklyn Latin School de Brooklyn, Nueva York. Muy pronto será estudiante de primer año en la Universidad de Columbia.

Recuerdo el primer día de mi último año — tenía clases virtuales de biología y química. Estaba navegando por Zoom y haciendo las tareas de la clase, y me sentía totalmente estresado. Tenía tanto que hacer — enviar emails a maestros con preguntas que no podía hacer en tiempo real, y tratar de averiguar cómo escribir un ensayo para la universidad.

William Diep

Mi familia trató de ser muy cuidadosa, pero mi papá todavía trabaja en la industria de la construcción. En la primavera nos dio COVID a todos — mis papás primero, y luego yo. Fue bien duro. Pensé en el maestro de mi escuela que falleció por COVID al principio de la pandemia. Fue un momento muy emotivo para todos, y aquí estaba yo con la misma enfermedad. Afortunadamente, mi familia se recuperó.

Mientras seguía la pandemia, muchos de mis amigos y compañeros de descendencia asiática estaban siendo atacados. Uno de mis amigos fue agredido verbalmente mientras se tomaba las fotos del último año. Nuestra escuela tiene un espacio de afinidad asiático-americana que dirigí este último año. Pudimos crear y ser anfitriones de foros y espacios para hablar de cómo el COVID estaba intensificando el racismo contra personas asiáticas.

Y el COVID empeora muchas de esas desigualdades: Desigualdad en tecnología, quién tiene Wi-Fi en el hogar, desigualdad en salud mental y acceso a recibir atención médica, desigualdad económica y pérdida de empleo, desigualdad en la distribución de vacunas en las comunidades de minorías. ¿Adónde pueden acudir las escuelas ante todo esto? ¿Cómo podemos seguir adelante después de un año de tantas dificultades?

Durante esta pandemia, hubo oportunidades como nunca antes para que los estudiantes alzaran la voz. De repente, la gente en el poder nos estaba preguntando cómo estábamos y qué necesitamos para tener éxito. Esto debió haber sucedido antes, es cierto, pero no puede detenerse ahora.

En vez de los estudiantes acercarse a los maestros, los maestros se acercaron a los estudiantes durante la pandemia creando buzones de sugerencias y enviando formularios de opinión anónimos. Y luego usaron nuestros comentarios de forma tangible. Por ejemplo: Después de una encuesta sobre el bienestar, la escuela creó un programa de mentoría entre los estudiantes de grados más altos y los de grados más bajos. Empezaron a organizar eventos de equidad en torno a raza y justicia, porque nosotros lo pedimos.

Nosotros dijimos que el plazo de entrega de los trabajos — que solía ser a las 10 pm — debería extenderse para acomodar a los estudiantes que trabajaban turnos de noche. Alguien inició una petición para cambiar esto, y la escuela escuchó. Ahí es que está el poder de la voz de los estudiantes.

Más allá de la pandemia, espero que esta tendencia a escuchar a los estudiantes y a tomar en serio nuestras sugerencias continúe y se extienda a todas las escuelas. Hay muchos errores en nuestro sistema educativo, y las decisiones de los adultos son las que más afectan a los estudiantes. Nosotros deberíamos tener la voz mayor.

For these students, pandemic pain gave rise to activism. Here’s what they say should happen now.

2021-06-28T15:54:33+00:00

Leer en español.

Dashawn Sheffield, a rising junior in Newark, has a soundtrack for the tough pandemic months he has weathered. It’s Mariah Carey.

“Music has always helped me get past my biggest milestones,” Dashawn said. “Funerals, stress, I turn on Mariah. She’s been through a lot in her personal and professional life — she rose above it and went on to accomplish great things.”

In fact, Dashawn was listening to the Mariah Carey song “There’s Got to Be a Way” when he came up with his idea to launch a new student wellness council at his school, North Star Academy Washington Park High School.

He saw the need for more mental health support for his friends after a year of such loss. His neighborhood - like many Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Newark — was hit especially hard. By this June, nearly 360 out of every 100,000 Newark residents had died from COVID — twice the national average.

Dashawn said he has attended around 19 funerals just in the last year alone.

“It was just so sad, I’d see these people and help them bring in their groceries, ‘’ he said. “Next thing, I’d see an ambulance and their obituaries.”

Dashawn’s story is reminiscent of so many sent to Chalkbeat as part of a project called Pandemic 360, produced in partnership with Univision 41. He was one of more than 275 educators, parents, and students who wrote into Chalkbeat when we asked our readers in New York City and Newark to tell us how the pandemic impacted their schools and neighborhoods.

This series has focused deeply on communities in Newark and New York that managed to shepherd students through challenges big and small — from spotty Wi-Fi to the death of parents. Now, we turn to two students, Dashawn and William Diep — a graduating senior from New York — to tell us how they raised their voices during the pandemic, and why school leaders would be wise to listen to young people during the COVID recovery.

Dashawn Sheffield: We started a student wellness council. Here’s how it has changed the conversation around mental health.

Rising 11th-grader at North Star Academy Washington Park High School in Newark, N.J.

When the pandemic hit, I transitioned from in-person to virtual learning like countless students throughout the nation. We all went from our routines to being inside, staring at computers for eight or nine hours.

Dashawn Sheffield (middle) poses for a selfie with two of his friends.

My friends and I felt disconnected, and to help alleviate some of the stress, we started talking and helping each other with homework and life. While I felt like I was navigating virtual classes OK, I realized many of my friends were not. Some of us felt depressed and isolated; others struggled to manage ADHD.

I wanted to know more about how my peers outside of my friend group were doing. I sent around a survey, and heard from about 40 people in each grade. I heard again and again about stress, the hard workloads, the fear. I felt like we were all going through the same struggles but we were keeping it bottled up inside.

This is what activated my ambition and drive. I wasn’t really active in my school in student life before the pandemic. After COVID, I wanted to be a student leader. Last summer, I went to my school leaders and proposed the idea of a student wellness council. I wanted students to have a space to process with one another, and for us and teachers to get more training and advice on mental wellbeing.

Our school ended up really listening to us on this. At first I was worried it was all just performative. But in the fall, our school offered a new class on mental health and wellness and our council went into effect.

We now have a student-led space to educate parents, staff, and students on the importance of mental health — increasing awareness around struggles and helping us build resilience. This next school year, we plan on having mental wellness days, one day out of every month geared toward mental health.

I currently live with my godmother — a lot of people around us have passed away sadly. We feel angry and fatigued — and we’re not alone.

Strong education systems are essential to the recovery of students. A school should be at the center of the community and form deep partnerships with the people and businesses of the neighborhood. And every school should work with students to launch a student wellness council.

William Diep: During COVID, students raised their voices. That can’t stop now.

Graduating senior from The Brooklyn Latin School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Incoming freshman at Columbia College.

William Diep is a graduating senior from The Brooklyn Latin School.

I remember the first day of my senior year — I had biology and chemistry virtual classes. I was navigating Zoom and the classwork, and feeling totally stressed. I had to do so much on my own — emailing teachers questions that I couldn’t ask in real time and trying to figure out how to write a college essay.

My family tried to be so careful, but my dad still works in the construction industry. We got COVID in the spring in quick succession — my parents and then me. It was a very hard time. I thought about the teacher my school had lost to COVID early in the pandemic. That was such an emotional time for all of us, and here I was with the same illness. Thankfully, my family recovered.

While navigating the pandemic, so many of my friends and fellow Asian Americans are also being attacked. One of my friends was verbally attacked while getting senior photos taken. Our school has an Asian American affinity space that I led this last year. We were able to create and host forums and spaces to talk about how COVID was exacerbating Asian American racism.

And COVID exacerbates so many inequities: Technology disparities, who has Wi-Fi at home, mental health disparities and access to getting healthcare, economic disparities and job loss, vaccine-distribution disparities in Black and brown communities. Where do schools possibly go in the face of all of this? How can we move forward after a year of such hardship?

During this pandemic, there were opportunities like never before for students to raise their voices. Suddenly, people in power were asking us how we were doing and what we needed to succeed. This should have been happening before, but it can’t stop now.

Instead of students reaching out to teachers, teachers reached out to students during the pandemic with suggestion boxes and anonymous feedback forms. They used our feedback in tangible ways. For example: After a survey on wellness, the school created a mentorship program between upperclassmen and underclassmen. They started organizing equity events around race and justice, because we asked for it.

We said that the deadline to submit assignments — which used to be 10 p.m. — should be extended to accommodate students working evening jobs. Someone started a petition to change this, and the school listened. That’s the power of student voice.

Beyond the pandemic, I hope this trend of listening to students and taking our suggestions seriously continues and spreads to every school. There are so many mistakes in our education system, and adult decisions impact students the most. We should be given the most voice.

Esta nativa de Newark vio la necesidad tener maestros de educación especial bilingües. Y regresó a casa para responder al llamado.

2021-06-28T15:49:41+00:00

Read in English.

Cuando Mily Cepeda regresó a Newark para dar clases en 2019, sintió que era un importante regreso a sus raíces.

“Había estado en Florida dando clases, pero seguía sintiendo que tenía que volver a Newark y hacer lo mismo que mis maestros”, dijo Cepeda, original de Newark y graduada de la East Side High School. “Era mi vocación”

Cepeda también vio la necesidad de tener maestros de educación especial bilingües: ella habla español y trabaja con muchos estudiantes de quinto a octavo grado que enfrentan tanto la barrera del idioma el aprendizaje con una discapacidad.

Ella se inició como maestra hace dos décadas, pero estaba en su primer año de trabajo en la escuela elemental Louise A. Spencer de Newark cuando empezó la pandemia. Como en muchos otros lugares de todo el mundo, las comunidades negras e hispanas de Newark se vieron especialmente impactadas. Hasta este mes de junio, casi 360 de cada 100,000 habitantes de Newark habían muerto por COVID, el doble del promedio nacional.

Cepeda fue una de los más de 275 maestros, padres y estudiantes que le escribieron a Chalkbeat cuando, como parte de nuestra colaboración con Univisión llamada Pandemia 360 pedimos que nuestros lectores de la ciudad de Nueva York y de Newark nos contaran cómo la pandemia había afectado a sus comunidades escolares. Ella habló con Chalkbeat sobre su enfoque de enseñanza visual en un mundo virtual, por qué las relaciones con los padres son importantes y por qué todos los maestros deberían recibir capacitación en primeros auxilios de salud mental.

Esta entrevista ha sido levemente editada para acortarla y hacerla más precisa.

¿Por qué decidió volver a Newark para enseñar y cómo fue su primer año de regreso?

Yo nací y me crie en Newark, y asistí a nuestras escuelas públicas. Empecé a dar clases en el año 2000 en Newark antes de mudarme a Florida, donde dejé de dar clases un tiempo para cuidar a mi hijo. Ambos tenemos una condición en la sangre — hemofilia. Sentí que pertenecía a las los salones de clase y decidí volver. Vi que había necesidad de educación especial bilingüe, de maestros que puedan superar la barrera del idioma y también los retos de aprendizaje. Esa era mi vocación. En las escuelas públicas de Newark tuve maestros excelentes, y yo quería hacer lo mismo que mis maestros.

Me contrataron en otoño de 2019 y estaba estableciéndome. Mis estudiantes me estaban conociendo y tenía una estrecha comunicación con los padres, tanto en español como en inglés. Y entonces llegó marzo de 2020. Todavía recuerdo a mi hijo, que está en escuela superior, llamándome frenéticamente un día de marzo para decirme que en su escuela le estaban diciendo a todos que se fueran a casa. La escuela mía hizo lo mismo poco después.

Saqué todo de mi salón de clases y lo empaqué en mi Jeep, después lo tiré en la sala de mi casa y limpié todo. Entonces respiré hondo y me dije: ‘OK, ¿qué voy a hacer ahora? Inmediatamente empecé a imprimir y preparar paquetes para mis estudiantes.

¿Cómo se adaptó a enseñar en un mundo virtual?

Cuando todo esto empezó, yo y otros maestros de la escuela nos pusimos mascarillas y guantes para darles Chromebooks a los estudiantes. También diseñé y entregué paquetes para cada uno de mis estudiantes — paquetes de lectura y escritura, lápices y papel, y otros materiales que sabía que no todos mis estudiantes iban a tener en la casa. Este fue un momento muy frustrante para los estudiantes de mi clase, ya que muchos de ellos aprenden visualmente.

Durante la transición, tuve que reunirme con muchos estudiantes y sus padres por FaceTime para tratar de explicarles por qué era esencial que los niños se conectaran a la clase todos los días. Después de las clases virtuales en vivo, pasaba varias horas al día grabando videos en español y en inglés de las lecciones y explicándoles paso por paso a los estudiantes cómo hacer sus asignaciones. A menudo grababa solamente mis manos llenando las hojas de trabajo — nuevamente, porque mis estudiantes son sumamente visuales. De hecho, en las clases a menudo me sentaba junto a ellos y les mostraba lo que yo quería que hicieran para luego observar cómo trataban de copiarme. Con esos videos, intenté reproducir esa experiencia pero en un salón virtual.

Mencionó que muchos en su comunidad escolar han enfrentado dificultades durante la pandemia — e incluso antes. ¿Qué han experimentado sus estudiantes, y cómo usted ha respondido a sus familias?

Conozco a padres que perdieron el trabajo, que fueron desalojados de sus casas. Algunos estudiantes no tienen suficiente comida. Y sobre todo al principio, era desgarrador ver cómo muchos de mis estudiantes tenían problemas con la tecnología. Hubo que abogar muchísimo para que ellos tuvieran Wi-Fi y se necesitó mucha capacitación para que se sintieran cómodos usando las Chromebooks.

Todos hemos perdido familiares y amigos a causa del COVID. Y los maestros también — sé de muchos maestros que al conectarse a las clases tuvieron que ocultar lo que verdaderamente les estaba ocurriendo. Como maestro hay que estar ahí para los estudiantes y sus familias, hasta cuando uno mismo haya perdido a un ser querido. Creo que muchos maestros se merecen un Oscar después de este año. Todos tuvimos que actuar. Era difícil estar alegre, pero todas las semanas me ponía sombreros tontos y cantaba usando videos de YouTube — lo que fuera para que mis estudiantes sonrieran, no importa lo que estuvieran enfrentando.

¿Cómo siente que la comunidad escolar ha apoyado a los estudiantes que están teniendo dificultades por haber perdido seres queridos o por problemas financieros?

Nuestros consejeros se reúnen con los estudiantes cada mañana. Los maestros realmente han sido coordinadores de la comunidad en muchos sentidos. Nos comunicamos con las familias para avisarles sobre pruebas de COVID, sobre bancos de alimentos, sobre programas de ayuda financiera. Hay muchos recursos, pero la forma de acceder a ellos no siempre llega a las casas.

Para nuestra familia, este ha sido un año difícil. Mi hijo y yo hemos seguido estudiando en casa porque tenemos hemofilia. Hemos pasado gran parte de este año con mucho miedo y cuidándonos. Todos — mi esposo, mi hijo y yo — nos contagiamos con COVID en enero y quedamos destrozados. Estaba bien enojada, pero luchamos durante una semana y media y salimos adelante. Muchos, incluso dentro de mi propia familia y amigos, no sobrevivieron a esta pandemia. Nosotros, como familia escolar, tenemos que reconocer eso y tratarnos los unos a los otros con cuidado y compasión a la vez que intentamos seguir adelante.

Las relaciones entre padres y maestros han sido esenciales para sobrellevar este año en muchas comunidades. ¿Cómo la pandemia ha afectado sus relaciones, y qué aprendió?

Siento que somos los mejores amigos; sé que suena un poco cursi. Desde el principio de la pandemia les dije a los padres: “Todos somos resistentes, y estamos juntos en esto, así que hagamos que funcione.” Este año he pasado mucho tiempo llamando a los padres por teléfono y por FaceTime. Sinceramente, siento que nos hemos acercado mucho. Tenemos que comunicarnos más, porque sus hijos se están adaptando a muchas cosas. Y tienen muchas preguntas.

Cuando recibo un mensaje al azar de un padre, siento una gran alegría porque se sintió lo suficientemente cómodo como para comunicarse conmigo, y ahora podemos mantener una conversación y establecer una relación. Si me conocen y confían en mí, pueden ayudarme a ser mejor maestra de su hijo. Si me preguntaran cuál es el único ingrediente de una buena relación, diría que lo único que se necesita es comunicación.

¿Qué apoyos específicos de salud mental y aprendizaje quiere que las escuelas añadan, teniendo en cuenta las dificultades de este año?

Este año fui testigo de muchas cosas: voces llorosas de padres, niños que hablaban de la pérdida de sus seres queridos. Y decidí que necesitaba encontrar más oportunidades para aprender sobre salud mental y bienestar. Tomé una clase de primeros auxilios para salud mental de la Fundación de la Hemofilia. Creo que los maestros deben reconocer cuándo un estudiante podría estar en crisis y ayudarle a dar ese primer paso, para abrir un diálogo.

Mi esperanza es que las escuelas ofrezcan más oportunidades de consejería para los estudiantes y más actividades enfocadas en la salud mental, pero también quiero de verdad que todos los maestros reciban capacitación sobre primeros auxilios para salud mental. Yo sé que este año voy a compartir lo que aprendí con los compañeros de trabajo.

¿Hay algún elemento de la enseñanza durante una pandemia que espera que continúe cuando la vida vuelva a cierto grado de normalidad?

Estoy haciendo un doctorado y he enfocado mis estudios en los padres de estudiantes con enfermedades crónicas y su capacidad de recuperación. Espero que los distritos sigan ofreciendo el modelo híbrido de aprendizaje, en particular para niños con enfermedades crónicas, que a menudo tienen que faltar a las clases presenciales. También espero que la nueva o renovada atención que la sociedad ha puesto a la salud mental para quedarse.

This Newark native saw a need for bilingual special education teachers. She moved back home to answer the call.

2021-06-28T15:45:52+00:00

Leer en español.

When Mily Cepeda returned to Newark to teach in 2019, she felt like it was a meaningful homecoming.

“I had been in Florida teaching, but I kept feeling like I had to move back to Newark and pay it forward,” said Cepeda, a Newark native and graduate of East Side High School. “It was my calling.”

Cepeda also saw the need for special education teachers who are bilingual — she speaks Spanish and works with many students in fifth to eighth grades who are navigating both a language barrier and learning with a disability.

She started teaching two decades ago but was in her first year at Louise A. Spencer Elementary School in Newark when the pandemic struck. Like in many communities throughout the U.S., Newark’s Black and Hispanic neighborhoods were especially hard hit. By this June, nearly 360 out of every 100,000 Newark residents had died from COVID — twice the national average.

Cepeda was one of more than 275 educators, parents, and students who wrote into Chalkbeat when, as part of our partnership with Univision called Pandemic 360, we asked our readers in New York City and Newark to tell us how the pandemic impacted their school communities. She spoke with Chalkbeat about her approach to visual teaching in a virtual world, the importance of strong parent relationships, and why every teacher should take mental health first aid.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Why did you decide to return to Newark to teach, and what was your first year back like?

I was born and raised in Newark and in our public schools. I started teaching in 2000 before moving to Florida, where I took a break and was caring for my son. We both have a bleeding condition — hemophilia. I felt I belonged in the classroom and decided to come back. I saw the need for bilingual special education, for teachers who can navigate both the language barrier and learning challenges. It was my calling. I had some dynamic teachers when I went through Newark Public Schools, and I wanted to pay it forward.

Mily Cepeda is in her 21st year of teaching.

Newark Public Schools hired me in the fall of 2019 and was getting everything established. My kids were getting to know me, and I had close communication with my parents both in Spanish and English. Then comes March of 2020. I still remember my son, who is in high school, calling me frantically one day in March to say that his school was telling everyone to go home. Our school made the call not long after.

I took everything out of my classroom, packed up my Jeep, dumped everything on my living room floor, and cleaned it all. Then I took a breath and said, ‘OK, what am I going to do now?’ I instantly started printing off and collecting packets for my students.

How did you adjust to teaching your students in a virtual world?

I and other teachers at my school got masked up and gloved up to pass out Chromebooks to our students when all of this started. I also designed and delivered take-home packages for each of my students — literacy packets, pencils, and paper, and other supplies that I knew not all of my kids would have at home. This was a very frustrating time for my kids, many of whom are very visual learners.

I had to get a lot of students and their parents on FaceTime during the transition, trying to tell them why it was crucial that the children signed on to class every day. After live classes, I would spend several hours each day recording videos in Spanish and in English of lessons and telling students how to do their homework step-by-step. I would often videotape just my hands filling out worksheets — again, my students are very visual learners. I would often sit beside them in class and show them what I wanted them to do, then watch as they tried to copy me.

You mentioned that many in your school community have faced hardships during the pandemic — and even before. What have your students experienced and how have you responded to their families?

I know parents who have lost work, who were evicted from their homes. Some students don’t have enough food. And especially at first, it was heartbreaking how many of my kids had problems with technology. It took a lot of advocating to get them set up with Wi-Fi and a lot of coaching to get them comfortable with the Chromebooks.

We’ve all lost people, family and friends, due to COVID. Teachers, too — I know a lot of teachers who had to put on a poker face when they logged onto class every day. You have to be there for your students and families, even when you yourself have lost a loved one. I believe a lot of teachers deserve an Oscar after this year. We’ve all had to act. It was hard to be joyful, but every week I would put on silly hats and do YouTube sing-alongs — whatever I could to get my kids to smile regardless of what they faced.

How do you feel your school community has supported students and educators struggling with the loss of loved ones or financial trials?

Our guidance counseling department meets with students every morning. Teachers have really been community coordinators in many ways. We communicate with families about COVID testing, about food banks, about financial aid programs. There are a lot of resources but how to access them doesn’t always make it into a home.

For our family, this has been a difficult year. My son and I have continued school at home because we have hemophilia. We spent so much of this year so scared and careful. We all — my husband, son, and I — got COVID in January and we were devastated. I was so angry, but we fought it for a week and a half and pulled through. So many, including within my own family and friends, did not survive this pandemic. We as a school family have to acknowledge that and treat one another with such care and compassion as we all try to move forward.

Mily Cepeda said part of the challenge of teaching this year has been figuring out how to create visual lessons.

Parent and teacher relationships have been essential to weathering this year in many communities. How has the pandemic affected your relationships, and what have you learned?

I feel like we’re best friends, I know it sounds a little cheesy. I told my parents from the start of the pandemic that we’re all resilient and we’re here in this together, so let’s make it work. I’ve spent a lot of time calling and FaceTiming parents this year. Honestly, I feel like we’ve become much closer. We have to communicate more because their students are adjusting to so much. And they have so many questions.

When I get a random text from a parent, I feel a sense of joy because they were comfortable enough to reach out to me, and now we can have a conversation and start a relationship. If they know and trust me, they can better help me teach their kid. If you asked me the one ingredient to a good relationship, I would say that communication is all you need.

What specific mental health and learning supports do you want to see schools add, given the hardships of this year?

I witnessed a lot of stuff this year: crying voices from parents, children talking about losing their loved ones. I decided this year that I needed to find more opportunities to learn about mental health and wellness. I took a mental health first aid class from the Hemophilia Foundation. I think educators have a role to recognize when a student might be in crisis and help them take that first step, to open a dialogue.

My hope is that schools provide more counseling opportunities for students and more activities that center on mental health, but I also truly want to see all teachers trained on mental health first aid. I know I’ll be sharing my knowledge with coworkers this year.

Is there any element of teaching during a pandemic that you hope continues after life returns to some sense of normalcy?

I’m getting a doctoral degree (I actually graduate in a few weeks!) and have focused my studies on parents of students with chronic illnesses and their resilience. I hope the hybrid model of learning is something districts continue to offer, especially for kids with chronic illnesses who often have to miss in-person classes. I also hope society’s new or renewed focus on mental health is here to stay.

Here’s everything we learned about source diversity auditing

2021-06-21T21:01:52+00:00

Two years ago, Chalkbeat joined a growing list of newsrooms attempting to track the diversity of our sources so we could better understand whose perspectives we’re elevating in our journalism.

We started with a small swipe — two recurring series — and quickly realized we had work to do. We also learned that many, many newsrooms and individual journalists are doing this auditing work alone in silos. We wanted to learn from one another and to build a better system.

Over the last few months, Chalkbeat and Reynolds Journalism Institute student staffers Tatyana Monnay and Sara Dingmann collected source tracking information from 58 journalists and interviewed 14 of them.

The journalists interviewed represent newsrooms ranging from small startups to legacy radio stations. Some have audited sources for years, some were only a few months into their process, and some were running periodic spot checks every few months.

The majority of interviewees were from public media, which has dominated the field so far in building source audits. All newsrooms were evaluating the representation of the people they were interviewing and comparing those findings with their intended audience and communities.

The collected information will guide Chalkbeat and RJI in building a source diversity tracker that is efficient, sustainable, and replicable. Want to get involved or receive updates on this project? Let us know here.

What we learned:

Lesson 1: Newsrooms need clear direction at the beginning on goals for source tracking, data collection, and how to use the results.

An effective source audit system should fit into a newsroom’s broader plan to diversify its staff and coverage to better reflect the communities it serves. Many newsrooms launched source diversity audits in the past year (10 of the 14 newsrooms surveyed) — and many audits are part of larger newsroom efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, or DEIB.

KUER in Utah, for example, launched its audit this year as part of a larger newsroom culture project. And WHYY in Philadelphia has paired staff training on cultural competency with expanding its source audits over three years.

But many audits lacked that kind of clear direction or tie to broader organizational initiatives, and subsequently, felt like one-off projects that didn’t have a meaningful impact on the newsroom. Source tracking work can be tedious and only matters if it helps us understand our own patterns and blind spots as journalists and helps hold ourselves accountable to more inclusive coverage.

Only a few of the newsrooms interviewed had been tracking sources for more than a year — and most were still struggling with how to benchmark their data. For instance, should newsrooms use Census data to assess findings? What’s the right benchmark?

Many newsrooms also are still developing systems for how to use the results internally and publicly: When do you review data with staff? Do you set goals for individual reporters and hold them to it? Will you share your results publicly?

Key takeaways: Articulating the why and how of any source audit project is critical to its success. Reporters should have input into designing audits or tracking systems and in analyzing the results. Newsrooms that had these conversations with reporters early in the process seemed to get more staff buy-in and support.

At the same time, newsroom leaders should develop a clear plan for how to incorporate findings into the culture and systems. (For example, will results play into reporters’ goal-setting? Who is responsible for driving results? How and when will newsrooms post publicly to inform their audiences?)

Lesson 2: Surveys should be short and auditing should be continuous.

These interviews confirmed that the shorter the survey, the better. Many newsrooms, including those working with America Amplified, started with long surveys then cut down to five to eight key multiple-choice questions. Retroactive audits took more time than did ongoing tracking, and usually provided less reliable data.

Some newsrooms enlisted interns or college journalism programs to design the audit. KQED worked with Impact Architects to establish a baseline, and The Philadelphia Inquirer worked with Temple University to analyze 3,000 pieces of journalism. While enlisting outside or temporary help can make retroactive audits less overwhelming, it can be difficult for newsrooms to continue work started by an outside entity after the initial audit.

Spot checks — or tracking sources for random periods — drew worse participation from reporters and spottier data. Because the checks weren’t baked into the workflow and regularly enforced, reporters would forget. And one news cycle could skew the data.

Key takeaway: A brief survey that tracks name, age, gender identity, race/ethnicity, source title or category, ZIP Code, and an option to opt into a source database provides enough data. (Note: Many newsrooms struggled with sources’ titles, which should be defined before launching a survey. For examples, check out the appendix of this study by the Institute for Nonprofit News.)

Key takeaway: Continuously track and audit as part of the reporting process. If newsrooms believe source diversity is important, they should strive to get the best data.

Lesson 3: Automation saves time (but doesn’t mean reporters are less invested).

There was a clear divide among interviewees of who should be in charge of this work and to what extent newsrooms should invest in automating their diversity tracking systems.

The vast majority of newsrooms interviewed used Google Forms to record survey data. Resolve Philly used Airtable. Most, like Colorado Public Radio, require reporters to collect sources’ demographic information during interviews then record it into the form.

Some interviewees felt strongly that reporters should ask demographic questions and fill out the survey. Rather than just providing email addresses, journalists then can take more ownership in diversifying their sources.

All the newsrooms relying on journalists to fill out Google Forms or separately query sources acknowledged that neither could last long term. Both take time, can be forgotten, and raise data security questions.

Wisconsin Public Radio’s demographic project embeds source data into its content management system. WPR said that doesn’t strain reporters and makes it harder for them to forget. Still, WPR staff spend time every month figuring out which sources have and have not been quoted before. The data comes from emailed surveys that about half of sources fill out.

Both manual and more automated processes raised security questions. Some newsrooms are moving away from Google Forms because they don’t trust Google to keep sensitive information safe. Others reported concerns about whether adding sources’ personal information into a CMS — the system that publishes stories — could allow that information to accidentally be published online.

Key takeaway: Newsrooms that rely on journalists to collect the data reported more issues with buy-in and with data collection — often reporters would forget or put it off. This speaks to the heavy load of reporters and why automation can help.

Key takeaway: WPR has come the closest to building an automated system that’s far more effective than manually updating Google Forms. But it isn’t seamless. It could be further automated to lighten the load on staff. Newsrooms also need to better assess the security risks of collecting and storing personal data.

Lesson 4: Newsrooms should design with a living source database in mind.

Very few newsrooms initially developed a source audit with the idea of also building a source database for future stories. Thanks to WPR’s influence, that’s becoming more of a trend. WPR uses Google Sheets for its newsroom Rolodex.

One WPR audit manager oversees the database and helps reporters find sources. The database prioritizes sources that identify in an area underrepresented in WPR’s coverage, but doesn’t include sources’ demographic information to protect privacy.

News organizations designing a lasting source audit might consider how to create a source list that elevates people historically underrepresented in that newsroom. In the same way audits help newsrooms understand who they are amplifying, shared databases will make it easier for journalists to expand beyond their usual sources.

Key takeaway: Newsrooms should consider investing in a source database for the long haul. Having one person or one team manage the source database could make it easier for journalists to use this resource, but editors and reporters would also need training and access to ensure the database is used well.

Want to read more?

Here are helpful field guides from across the industry, and some surveys you can copy: Wisconsin Public Radio, America Amplified, WHYY, KQED, INN - case study

What’s next?

Chalkbeat and RJI are taking all of these learnings into our next phase: Building a long-term system that will work for Chalkbeat’s newsrooms, and hopefully, for any other newsroom interested in this work. Questions? Suggestions? Want to get involved or say hello? Reach us at community@chalkbeat.org.

Despite loss and loneliness, the year was anything but ‘lost’ this NYC math teacher says

2021-06-11T10:00:00+00:00

Over the past year, Nancy Yeh has walked alongside her high school students through the death of loved ones, financial pressures, housing insecurity, and the mental load of their navigating formative years during a pandemic.

“The pandemic has ripped through our community,” said Yeh, an MIT graduate who teaches algebra, calculus, and English as a new language at Bronx Latin in New York City. “[I know] students with abusive or absent parents, students who were homeless, students in foster care, students who had to work illegal 12-hour shifts after school just to help support their family.”

Despite the toll, Yeh wants people to stop calling the period of learning on screens “lost.”

“I’ve had kids tell me that they feel like this school year is a waste because everyone around them says so,” she told Chalkbeat. “We’ve established a nice camaraderie in class, with lots of joking in the Zoom chat and learning on the Zoom screen. My AP Calculus kids are learning as much math as they would be in person.”

Yeh was one of more than 275 educators, parents, and students who wrote into Chalkbeat when we asked our readers in New York City and Newark to tell us how the pandemic impacted their school communities as part of our partnership with Univision called Pandemic 360.

A fourth-year teacher, Yeh spent the past year frantically adjusting to virtual-only learning before switching again to a hybrid of in-person and virtual classes.

Yeh spoke with Chalkbeat about how she fostered community in her virtual classroom, how the pandemic has exacerbated inequities in her school community, and what mental health and learning supports she hopes schools add given the hardships of this year.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

I worked at an educational non-profit while I was in college and loved the experience, but never thought about actually becoming a teacher until I started working full time. I was in investment banking, and while I was really lucky and had a wonderful team, I just found the work a bit dull. I wanted to do something impactful for my community, I’d always adored my teachers and loved school, and I’ve always found kids hilarious and cute, so I joined the New York Teaching Fellows.

When you wrote to Chalkbeat, you mentioned a number of challenges brought on by the pandemic — exhaustion, stress, and having to fundraise for your own protective gear. What has helped you navigate this season both personally and professionally?

I just take each day at a time. I have a really amazing assistant principal running the school in person and other great colleagues in the building who’ve kept me sane. Major shoutouts, by the way, to our school custodial team, our school safety team, our cafeteria workers, and our guidance counselors. My husband has been my rock this entire time, and my best friend is an ICU doctor in Brooklyn. Nothing provides more perspective than hearing about her day at the ICU. My cat is a jerk, but sometimes he’ll let me pet him when I’m having a rough day.

You told Chalkbeat: “Roughly 70% of my students are thriving.” What has made some students thrive with online learning? How did you establish that camaraderie in your classroom?

Nancy Yeh poses with a stray cat that some of her students rescued and her class later helped put up for adoption. She said some of her high school students ran to the nearest bodega to buy some cat food.

I asked my students this exact question, and the general consensus is that being online, in their own rooms, means they can focus on class without distractions. Their friends aren’t whispering to them about the latest drama, the boy they have a crush on isn’t smiling at them from across the classroom. I record my classes, so they can go over the work later and learn at their own pace if they don’t finish something during class time. Online tests are open notes, which helps ease the anxiety over test-taking.

However, they’ve all also reported a lot of loneliness — being at home all day may make it easier to study, but not to make friends. This year, we started a freshman advisory class. We dedicate 45 minutes each Monday and Wednesday to different topics around social-emotional learning and civil activism. We also watch documentaries together (“The Social Dilemma” was a big hit!) with a running chat commentary. We also did a lot of community bonding exercises. I would send the kids into breakout rooms on Zoom and have them type in a Google Document answers to questions like: ‘What makes each person special?’ or ‘Why I’m grateful for ____’. Since everyone got a shoutout, no one felt left out — and since it was typed anonymously, students were less embarrassed to share deeper, more meaningful things.

You mentioned that even before the pandemic your school didn’t have the resources it needed. How have you seen those inequities exacerbated during the past year or so?

The first and most obvious inequity is our school building itself. During my first year of teaching, a portion of the ceiling in my classroom crumbled onto a row of (fortunately) empty desks. We share a building with a charter school and another public school. Our science classrooms don’t have functioning gas burners so we can’t do the fun and informative labs that I did in high school — not that we had the resources for stocks of chemicals and chemistry equipment anyway. We are chronically understaffed and are unable to retain good teachers, who feel overwhelmed having to teach five to six classes of 30-34 students every day. We fundraised for everything — I started a food pantry during the government shutdown in 2019 when families received their February food stamps in mid-January and had to make them stretch until March.

This was just in the school building, of course. Students had their own struggles at home, which we often had to navigate around during the school day. There were students with abusive or absent parents, students who were homeless, students in foster care, students who had to work illegal 12-hour shifts after school just to help support their family (a major issue with my seniors), students who were chronically hungry, gang violence, students who had family members or loved ones who were incarcerated, students who served as child care providers for younger siblings.

All needed different emotional and academic and social support within the classroom and from our counselors and paraprofessionals. Unfortunately, our counselors are also stretched thin — we have two high school counselors servicing nearly 400 students and one middle school counselor servicing over 200 students.

How do you feel your school community has supported students struggling with loss of loved ones or financial trials?

We have wonderful guidance counselors and a parent coordinator who worked harder than ever during this pandemic, making frequent home visits and even dropping off groceries. The cafeteria workers have been here every single day, preparing breakfast and lunch that anyone in the community can pick up after the students have been served. Teachers, like myself, simply provided as much love and support as we could. A lot of students have my phone number and will message me just to chat.

What specific mental health and learning supports do you want to see schools add, given the hardships of this year?

We need smaller class sizes, period. The only way to get smaller class sizes is to hire more teachers and build more schools and classrooms. I understand that this is incredibly costly, so I doubt it’ll happen, but it would make it so much easier for teachers to differentiate learning supports within the content material and also get to know each student on a personal level.

Perhaps more reasonable requests would be to hire more school counselors and psychologists, provide funding for after-school tutoring or Saturday sessions, provide funding for non-academic extracurriculars, and partner with local non-profits to come in and run a cooking club or a gardening club or a photography course. We could also start scheduling a regular advisory session at least twice a week so students can ease back into socializing with each other in a non-academic environment, with an advisory curriculum that focuses on social-emotional skills such as managing strong emotions, staying motivated, and connecting with peers in healthy ways.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I’ve always loved school. I moved to Canada from China as a young child, so English was my second language, but I had the most loving and supportive teachers from elementary through middle school who made me feel welcome and at home. We moved again, from Canada to the United States, for the latter half of middle school and high school. I had a terrific experience there as well. My teachers were brilliant, and I had incredible resources available to me. I thrived academically and went to MIT for college, where I had even more resources at my fingertips and was surrounded by literal geniuses. I’ve also tried to give my students access to the same (or similar) resources that I had access to as a teenager: with my principal, I applied for and received a $20,000 grant to start a robotics club.

My peers, teachers, and professors all inspired me to learn and to love learning, and I bring that love of learning to my classroom every day.

Chalkbeat produced this Pandemic 360 series in partnership with Univision 41.

A pesar de la pérdida y la soledad, el año fue todo menos “perdido”, dice esta maestra de matemáticas de NYC

2021-06-11T10:00:00+00:00

Durante el último año, Nancy Yeh ha acompañado a sus estudiantes de escuela superior durante la muerte de seres queridos, presiones financieras, inseguridad en vivienda y la carga mental de atravesar sus años de formación durante una pandemia mundial.

“La pandemia ha arrasado con nuestra comunidad”, dijo Yeh, graduada de MIT que enseña matemáticas. “[Yo conozco] estudiantes con padres abusivos o ausentes, estudiantes sin hogar, estudiantes en hogares de crianza (foster homes), estudiantes que tenían que trabajar en turnos ilegales de 12 horas después de la escuela simplemente para ayudar a alimentar a su familia”

Aun con todo esto, Yeh quiere que la gente deje de llamar “perdido” al periodo de aprendizaje en computadoras.

“He tenido niños que me han dicho que sienten que este año escolar fue un desperdicio porque todo el mundo a su alrededor lo dice”, dijo a Chalkbeat. “Hemos establecido una agradable camaradería en clase, con muchas bromas en el chat de Zoom y aprendiendo mucho a través del video de Zoom. Mis estudiantes de Cálculo AP están aprendiendo la misma cantidad de matemáticas que hubiesen aprendido en persona”

Yeh fue una de los más de 275 educadores, padres y estudiantes que se comunicaron con Chalkbeat cuando, como parte de nuestra asociación con Univisión 41 (Pandemic 360), les pedimos a nuestros lectores de Nueva York y Newark que nos contaran cómo la pandemia afectó a sus comunidades escolares.

Este es su cuarto año enseñando álgebra, cálculo e inglés como nuevo idioma en la escuela Bronx Latin de la Ciudad de Nueva York. Al igual que los maestros de todo el país, pasó el último año ajustándose al aprendizaje completamente virtual antes de cambiar de nuevo a un híbrido de clases presenciales y virtuales.

Yeh habló con Chalkbeat sobre cómo fomentó comunidad en su salón virtual, cómo la pandemia ha intensificado las desigualdades en su comunidad escolar, y qué tomando en cuenta las dificultades de este año, qué apoyos específicos de salud mental y aprendizaje espera que las escuelas incorporen.

Esta entrevista ha sido levemente editada para acortarla y hacerla más precisa.

¿En qué momento decidió convertirse en maestra?

Durante la universidad trabajé en una organización educativa sin fines de lucro y me encantó la experiencia, pero nunca pensé en convertirme en maestra hasta que empecé a trabajar a tiempo completo. Mi campo era la banca de inversión y, aunque tuve mucha suerte y un equipo de compañeros maravilloso, el trabajo me pareció un poco aburrido. Quería hacer algo que tuviera impacto en mi comunidad, siempre había adorado a mis maestros y me encantaba la escuela, y los niños siempre me han parecido divertidísimos y lindos, así entré al programa de certificación New York Teaching Fellows.

Cuando le escribió a Chalkbeat, mencionó una serie de retos provocados por la pandemia: agotamiento, estrés y tener que recaudar fondos para su propio equipo de protección. ¿Qué le ha ayudado a superar esta temporada tanto en lo personal como en lo profesional?

Vivo la vida un día a la vez. El asistente de principal que dirige mi escuela en persona es increíble, y también hay otros excelentes colegas en el edificio que me han ayudado a mantener la cordura. Por cierto, quiero destacar la labor del equipo de conserjes de la escuela, el equipo de seguridad escolar, el personal de la cafetería y los consejeros académicos. Mi esposo ha sido mi roca todo este tiempo, y mi mejor amiga es médico en una unidad de cuidados intensivos en Brooklyn. Nada me da más perspectiva que escuchar cómo fue su día en el hospital. Mi gato es otro cuento, pero a veces me deja acariciarlo cuando tengo un día difícil.

En sus respuestas a Chalkbeat, usted dijo: “Un 70% de mis estudiantes está prosperando” ¿Qué ha hecho que a algunos estudiantes les vaya bien con el aprendizaje en línea? ¿Cómo estableció esa camaradería en el salón de clases virtual?

Les pregunté lo mismo a mis estudiantes, y el consenso general fue que estar en línea y en sus propias habitaciones significó que podían concentrarse en la clase sin distracciones. No hay amigos tratando de contarles el último drama, y tampoco tienen la distracción de ver al chico o chica que les gusta al otro lado del salón. Además, yo grabo mis clases para que puedan repasar el trabajo más tarde y aprender a su propio ritmo si no terminan algo durante la clase. Los exámenes en línea son notas abiertas, lo que ayuda a aliviar la ansiedad asociada con tomar un examen.

Sin embargo, todos ellos también hablaron de la soledad: estar en casa todo el día puede facilitar el estudio, pero no hace amigos. Este año, comenzamos una clase de asesoría para estudiantes de primer año. Dedicamos 45 minutos cada lunes y miércoles a diferentes temas relacionados con el aprendizaje socio-emocional y el activismo civil. También vemos documentales juntos y vamos comentándolos por el chat (The Social Dilemma fue un gran éxito). También hicimos muchos ejercicios de acercamiento con la comunidad. Yo dividía a los estudiantes en grupos virtuales en Zoom y les pedía que usaran un documento de Google para contestar preguntas como: ‘¿Qué hace que cada persona sea especial?’ o ‘Doy gracias por ____’. Como todos eran mencionados en algún momento, nadie se sintió excluido, y como se escribía de forma anónima, los estudiantes perdían el miedo a compartir cosas más profundas y significativas.

Mencionó que incluso antes de la pandemia su escuela no tenía los recursos que necesitaba. ¿Cómo se intensificaron esas desigualdades durante el último año?

La desigualdad más obvia es el propio edificio escolar. Durante mi primer año de docencia, parte del techo de mi salón se derrumbó sobre una fila de pupitres (afortunadamente) vacíos. Nosotros compartimos el edificio con una escuela chárter y otra escuela pública. Los salones de ciencias no tienen hornillas de gas que funcionen, y por lo tanto no podemos hacer los divertidos e informativos laboratorios que yo hacía cuando estaba en escuela superior. Pero de todos modos, tampoco tenemos recursos suficientes para comprar inventario de químicos y equipos de laboratorio. Tenemos una escasez crónica de personal y no podemos retener a los maestros buenos porque se sienten abrumados al tener que dar cinco o seis clases de 30 a 34 estudiantes todos los días. Recaudamos fondos para todo: yo empecé un banco de alimentos durante el cierre del gobierno en 2019, cuando las familias recibieron los cupones de alimentos de febrero a mediados de enero y tuvieron que hacerlos estirar hasta marzo.

Esto fue solamente en el edificio de la escuela, por supuesto. Los estudiantes tenían sus propias dificultades en casa, que a menudo teníamos que acomodar durante el día escolar. Había estudiantes con padres abusivos o ausentes, estudiantes sin hogar, estudiantes en hogares de crianza (foster homes), estudiantes que tenían que trabajar en turnos ilegales de 12 horas después de la escuela simplemente para ayudar a sostener a la familia (un problema mayor entre mis estudiantes de año senior), estudiantes con hambre crónica, violencia de pandillas, estudiantes que tenían miembros de la familia o seres queridos encarcelados, y estudiantes que cumplían la función de cuidar a los hermanos menores.

Todos necesitaban un apoyo emocional y académico y social diferente dentro del salón de clases y de nuestros consejeros y paraprofesionales. Desgraciadamente, nuestros consejeros tampoco dan abasto: tenemos dos consejeros de escuela superior que atienden a casi 400 estudiantes y un consejero de escuela intermedia que atiende a más de 200 estudiantes.

¿Cómo siente que la comunidad escolar ha apoyado a los estudiantes que están teniendo dificultades por haber perdido seres queridos o por problemas financieros?

Contamos con consejeros maravillosos y un coordinador de padres que se esforzaron más que nunca durante esta pandemia, haciendo visitas frecuentes a los hogares e incluso llevando alimentos. Los trabajadores de la cafetería han estado aquí todos los días preparando desayunos y almuerzos que cualquier persona en la comunidad podía venir a recoger después de haber atendido a todos los estudiantes. Los maestros, como yo, nos limitamos a proporcionar todo el amor y el apoyo que podemos. Muchos estudiantes tienen mi número de teléfono y me envían mensajes solo para charlar.

¿Qué apoyos específicos de salud mental y aprendizaje quiere que las escuelas añadan, teniendo en cuenta las dificultades de este año?

Necesitamos salones de clase más pequeños, punto. La única manera de reducir el tamaño de las clases es contratar más maestros y construir más escuelas y salones. Entiendo que esto es increíblemente costoso, así que dudo que ocurra, pero para los maestros sería mucho más fácil separar los apoyos de aprendizaje dentro del material de contenido y poder conocer a cada estudiante a nivel personal.

Tal vez las peticiones más razonables serían contratar más consejeros y psicólogos en las escuelas, proporcionar fondos para clases particulares después de la escuela o sesiones en los sábados, proporcionar fondos para actividades extracurriculares no académicas, y asociarse con organizaciones locales sin fines de lucro para que ellas vengan y dirijan un club de cocina, o un club de jardinería, o un curso de fotografía. También podríamos empezar a programar una sesión regular de asesoría al menos dos veces a la semana para que los estudiantes puedan volver a socializar entre ellos en un entorno no académico, con un currículo enfocado en habilidades socio-emocionales, por ejemplo cómo manejar emociones fuertes, mantenerse motivado y conectar con los compañeros de manera saludable.

Háblenos de su propia experiencia con la escuela y de cómo afecta su trabajo ahora.

Siempre me ha gustado la escuela. Me mudé a Canadá desde China cuando era pequeña, así que el inglés era mi segundo idioma. Pero también tuve maestros sumamente cariñosos y comprensivos desde primaria hasta intermedia que me hicieron sentir bienvenida y en casa. Volvimos a mudarnos, esta vez de Canadá a Estados Unidos, y acá estudié desde la segunda mitad de intermedia hasta toda la escuela superior. En esos años también tuve una experiencia estupenda. Mis maestros eran brillantes y tenía recursos increíbles a mi disposición. Prosperé académicamente y estudié universidad en MIT, donde tuve aún más recursos a mi alcance y estuve rodeada de absolutos genios. También he tratado de darles a mis estudiantes acceso a los mismos recursos (o similares) que yo tuve cuando era adolescente: con el principal de mi escuela, solicité y recibí un grant de $20,000 para crear un club de robótica.

Mis compañeros, maestros y profesores me inspiraron a aprender y a amar el aprendizaje, y llevo ese amor por el aprendizaje a mi clase todos los días.

Watch: NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams on early education, youth programs

2021-06-10T14:06:39+00:00

Read our voting guide covering all candidates here.

The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Christina Veiga (0:00)

Okay, so thank you again, for agreeing to do this, I know that you care a lot about early childhood issues. So this should all be right up your alley. So first off, I want to start with like a big picture at the federal level, there seems to be a lot more attention to Pre-K, and Early Care, and access and affordability. And there seems to be a lot more resources that are coming with that. And so I’d love to hear from you how you would prioritize that. What parts of the system, you would, for example, strengthen which parts you would build out?

“Unprecedented federal funding is on the way. High-poverty schools are starting to reckon with how to spend it.” by Matt Barnum and Kalyn Belsha

Eric Adams (0:33)

When you look at education, number one, the question we should be asking now that were receiving this large contribution coming from the federal level to look at education. We must go at the root, and look at the historical inequities. And it’s really mind boggling to me, and sort of personally hurtful, when I talk about early childhood education. You know, for many years, I have experienced learning disabilities, and it wasn’t until I got into college, that I started to just drill down on it and then later in life as, actually the borough president. When I looked at our poor definition of early childhood development, we think is from K to 12. And the neurologists and pediatricians are clear. It’s the first 1,000 days of life, and that life is not when the baby’s born, that life is in a mother’s womb. That’s the first classroom. It’s all about nutrition. It’s about support. It’s about ensuring that she’s receiving the information about brain development. And we just don’t do that in poorer communities. So now it’s an opportunity to do just the opposite to use these funds in closing the achievement gap, not K through 12, but pregnancy through profession. And if we don’t do that, we’re setting children on a pathway of really having irreversible learning disabilities, and won’t give them the opportunity to really be productive citizens. I see this over and over again, if you don’t educate, you will incarcerate, and that’s reflected in the incarceration rates, you see, at even Rikers Island with 80% of the men and women that are incarcerated don’t have a high school diploma or equivalency diploma.

Christina Veiga (2:23)

So I want to turn to affordability, and access. The city has definitely made strides expanding Pre-K, but affordable infant and toddler care can still be really hard to access, and really expensive. There’s a backlog of families waiting to receive vouchers to help pay for care. And at the same time providers say that they have seats in their centers that are going empty. So what is your understanding of where the problem lies there? And how would you solve it?

Eric Adams (2:52)

Well it lies, the problems we’re seeing, about putting our babies, and our children, in the seat for healthcare, for childcare, I think it lies in two areas. Number one, information. Number two, the failure to make it affordable and build out the spaces. So this is a great opportunity. As I mentioned, in my UCARE, my universal childcare program, we need to prioritize space in city owned buildings, because that is one of the largest cost, to having infant care and toddler care, is the cost of the space. We can utilize office spaces in city buildings. We can rethink the number of employees who are returning to work. there’s a there’s a large number of employees that could now do their work remotely. We need to be bold enough to move in that direction. And then we need to look at those private owned businesses, and buildings, and give a density bonus to residential building owners, who are willing to bring down give, permanently free, or low rent to providers, by giving them a tax break in the process in private owned businesses. And lastly, we can look at our leases. I strongly believe, based on the analysis of my team, we can save almost $250 million if we look at the leases, of that, we are, you know really, in contract with throughout the entire city. We are a paying a premium price for expensive luxury locations, when we can build this in the outer borough have our office spaces, build that out our outer borough, become anchor tenants to build up communities around, and that money that we save can go into really ensuring we have a universal infant, toddler care, and childcare at the same time.

Christina Veiga (4:58)

So when it comes to specifically to the voucher issue, you think it’s an education issue and that?

Eric Adams (5:04)

Yes, yes, I do. And when I say educational issue, it is communicated in the language, and in the cultures, that people receive information. We do a poor job in communicating in the diverse languages such as Chinese and Urdu. All these different languages of our city. Our failure to communicate in the multiple languages in the city is causing us to leave too much on the table. When it comes down to resources, we need to really re-empower the Census teams. These teams were made up of a coalition of nonprofit organizations and groups, who communicated on the ground, to their various ethnic and cultural groups. We should be using these teams year round to continually push out information. And there’s no information that’s more important to push out than information about access to childcare, access to infant, and toddler care. We don’t do a good enough job in doing that.

Christina Veiga (6:13)

Something else that a lot of working families struggle with is care for after the school day is over. And that is in Pre-K and child care as well as after school care and that sort of thing. So do you and providers say, especially at the Pre-K level, that more extended day, and extended school year slots are needed? I know you have thoughts about how long the school year should be. But do you think especially in Pre-K that there should be universal access to extended school day and school year care?

Eric Adams (6:47)

You know, I’m a big believer in utilizing our school buildings, and other spaces, to have extended care, childcare, even for our students that are in high school, middle school, elementary school. And that’s why I introduced as the borough president, something called the extended use program. Think about this for a moment. 7 a.m. we tell our babies, “welcome to school.” 3 p.m. we say, “get out and don’t come back until tomorrow.” These buildings, they lay empty from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day. That is unacceptable. My extended use plan opened the school buildings, we allocated $2 million. And we opened the school buildings to allow nonprofit local community based organizations (CBOs) to use this space for free. Because when you really think about the cost, rental of space, use of space, that is really some of the largest parts of actually having an overhead. So we were successful in doing so. I think we need to continue to expand this citywide. To allow our schools to be used, not only for educational experiences, but also soft skills, communication, critical thinking, operating groups, dealing with diversity, leaning into educational experience by appreciating the diversity of our city. That’s how we get to the roots of hate crime. And financial literacy, all of these skills that our children need to continue the development of their brains, and to learn those soft skills for the future. And we can do it by opening our schools. We have to properly manage our assets. I think we’re doing a terrible job in doing so. And it’s right in front of us.

Christina Veiga (8:53)

I want to turn to the workforce in early education. There have been strides in achieving something closer to pay parity for those teachers who are in childcare centers and Pre-K centers in New York City, but there’s still a lot of room to go. Pre-K, Special Education teachers, have largely been left out of the equation and there is not a plan yet to catch up teachers who have been teaching in Community Based Organizations (CBOs) for a long time. So, do you have a plan for reaching salary parity? And if so, what is your timeline in which you’d like to see that done?

“Does Biden’s plan for a $15 minimum wage for child care workers go far enough?” by Ann Schimke, Cassie Walker Burke, and Koby Levin

Eric Adams (9:27)

I believe salary parity is crucial for these early childhood educators. You know, there’s a level of hypocrisy when we talk about how important it is for our children to have that early start in life. And I think part of the problem is, we believe and we don’t really respect, the power of those early days. It’s planting a seed. If that seed is not planted in the right soil, then it would actually not turn into the full plant that it should turn into. And nothing is more important than that seed’s development, of those who are responsible for shaping the brain in the minds of our children. And so I’m going to clearly invest in professional development for a new generation of early childhood educators, and a study from the best up-to-date brain science research, we spend a lot of time looking at what children learn, and not how they learn. And I clearly support the calls, especially from experts like Bank Street College, in their pursuit of a living wage as part of its shift toward pay and benefits parity. It is almost humiliating what we are paying of these professionals. And so we have to move in a level of increasing compensation through increasing educational, and credential attainment. So let’s incentivize receiving more credentials, more experience, so that we will get the true benefit of these early childhood years. We focus too much and believe it’s only about K through 12. That is just not true. The research is clear, we now have to build our system around the research, and not build it around what we have always done in the past. Because that is going to continue to produce the failing product that we are seeing day to day, year after year, of graduation after graduation.

Christina Veiga (11:34)

Do you have a timeframe in which you think salary parity would be attainable? And all these additional, you know, additional professional development (PD), all of that, what’s the timeframe?

Eric Adams (11:45)

What we should clearly, when we look at the timeframe of reaching pay parity, building out the infrastructure, nothing is more exciting than now. Because that we were able to receive the monies from a long, hard fought battle, of campaign for fiscal equity. The mayor is going to receive a substantial amount of money coming from the state as well as the monies we’re going to receive from the federal government. So, this is the opportunity to deal with the upfront costs that’s associated with it. And once we deal with the upfront costs, we can ensure in the outer years, that we will continue to just stabilize what we’re doing now. So I believe in the first one and two years, there should be a clear stepped process of assuring pay equity that we’re looking for. And a reinvestment in early childhood development. Because as I stated, I used the term intentionally: investment. Because Archbishop Desmond Tutu states, “we spent a lifetime pulling people out of the river, no one goes upstream, and prevent them from falling in in the first place.” If we don’t go upstream, and invest in our children, we’re going to pay a higher cost in pulling them out of the river. The lack of education, the lack of employment, the lack of mental health services, downstream. So it’s an investment to go upstream. And it’s a good investment for that upfront cost, before we put our children on a pathway of not being a productive citizen, for individuals who need this society to carry them through.

Christina Veiga (13:31)

I want to shift gears a little bit to after school programming and summer programming, which are also crucial for working families. But providers say that every year they’re caught in a “budget dance” where they have to advocate for the budget to do these things. And so would you commit to ending that? Which programs would you like to see, if any, funded on a longer term basis?

“NYC official: Funding for summer jobs program expected to increase, following year of steep cuts?” by Reema Amin

Eric Adams (13:56)

Summer program and an after school program, to me, they both go together. The goal is to really eradicate the summer slide. We seem to ignore that, because the summer slide for the most part impacts, Black and brown immigrant communities. When you go to affluent communities, the entire summer, and even after school, there are clear programs that are laid out, where the children are experiencing everything from the museums, to cultural institutions. You don’t see that in poorer communities, and immigrant communities, and so I’m focused on the summer slide. I’ve stated more than once. We need to use the synner months to expand summer school options. I believe we need to have a universal tutorial program that’s in place where children and families can come together to get the tutorial services that they need. And I also believe we need to use the summer months to really help parents become more knowledgeable, on how they help their children throughout the school year. So I think that our schools must stay open year round, and available for day long activities, and so many different ways, not only to our students, who we’re focusing on in early learning, but also our continuing education of children in the latter years as well. It needs to be a real support system during the summer months. We underutilize our schools during the summer months. And we must be sure that we stop making it too difficult for our local community based organizations (CBOs). To do that jobs because we are delaying payments, making it too challenging to receive your payments, and jumping through too many hoops, to get the resources you need to focus on our children. I’m going to have a person at City Hall, that will be a clear liaison between our community based organizations (CBOs) and all of our agencies to make sure that we can expedite and ensure that payments are on time net 30 or net 60 to ensure that our community based organizations (CBOs) can do the job that we need them to do without worrying about reimbursements.

Christina Veiga (16:19)

So is that a yes to ending the so called budget dance?

Eric Adams (16:24)

That is a two thumbs up, yes.

Christina Veiga (16:30)

I want to zoom out now, looking ahead to the next school year, and reopening. The next mayor will will be in charge sort of halfway through the next school year, but in your perfect world. In the meantime, what do you think the city needs to be doing now to build trust with families so that they return? We’ve seen, especially in Pre-K, major dips in enrollment down about 13% this year. And we’ve seen that families of color have been among the most reluctant to go back. So how do you turn that tide?

“No remote learning option for NYC next school year, de Blasio announces” by Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman

Eric Adams (17:02)

It is so important that we turn the tide to the low enrollments that we’ve seen, and just the lack of trust, and I call it the three C’s: clarity, consistency, and communication. And we need to start that build out over the summer months. You don’t wait until a week, two weeks, before school starts, and then start informing parents of exactly what’s taking place. Let’s build out a real robust communication system using everything from texting, to phone calls, to robo calls, to local stakeholders, to websites that would give clear information on what to expect, and up-to-date information. And then let’s use our local, I like to call them credible messengers. And to really get the information out to all of the diverse groups in the city. And I use this over and over again, the lack of communicating to people in the manner in which they receive information, and the language they receive information is one of the biggest inhibitors of for our entire city to get things done. And so we must have a robust communication network to ensure that our parents receive the clarity, the consistency, and the proper communication throughout the year. And we need to make sure we have strict compliance with robust testing in place. Strict compliance with face mask, and social distancing. Now that the CDC stated three feet is a safe distance, we need to comply with that to make sure that we don’t have another spike in in COVID. And lastly, we need to really invest in a robust, complete overhaul of the remote learning program. Not using it as a foundation to learning, but to compensate for our children to help supplement the current learning system. We didn’t do it this time. There’s an art to remote learning, not only for the students, but also for the educators. So we need to show that we will have one of the best remote learning systems in this entire country.

Watch: NYC mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia on early education, youth programs

2021-06-10T14:06:22+00:00

Read our voting guide covering all candidates here.

The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Kathryn Garcia (0:00)

I’m Kathryn Garcia. I’m a lifelong New Yorker, I love this city. And I’m running for New York City Mayor to make it a more livable place for our families.

Christina Veiga (0:10)

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. We have lots of folks who really care about early education. And so we’re glad to make this a part of the conversation in the race. So diving right into it, were expecting an influx of federal resources, focusing on early education and childcare issues. And so the first question I have for you is: how would you prioritize using more money to build and strengthen the system that we have now? There are lots of decisions to be made about expansion versus maybe quality improvements in what we already have? So how are you thinking about investing those resources?

“Unprecedented federal funding is on the way. High-poverty schools are starting to reckon with how to spend it.” by Matt Barnum and Kalyn Belsha

Kathryn Garcia (0:51)

The American rescue plan is going to be a game changer for Americans across the country, and for families, because one of the hardest thing for any family is having the resources for really strong early childhood care, and education. And my priority has been that we need to ensure that for those who make less than $70,000, that they have free childcare available from zero to three. Because we know these are sort of the most critical times for brain development, and we need every kid ready for school. But it also fundamentally, is about families and being able to go to work. And particularly for women, we know that one-in-four women has stepped back from work, because they couldn’t manage the pandemic, and work and childcare.

Christina Veiga (1:55)

I want to dig in a little deeper into your plan for free childcare for children from now you’re saying birth to three? Right? I think your website says one to three. So that’s good to know. Because currently, I think services start at six weeks. So you would start it as soon as birth?

Kathryn Garcia (2:11)

Yeah. We want to give mom a little bit of a chance to bond but yes.

Christina Veiga (2:17)

Okay, so good to know. Okay, so your plan calls for free childcare, for children from Zero to Three, for families making less than $70,000 a year, how much capacity would be needed for that? And where and how would you add it? We have a system that is very fragmented with, you know, community based organizations, public schools, that sort of thing.

Kathryn Garcia (2:40)

Yes, the early childhood has not been, I’d say a social priority in this country where it is in many other countries. And when you look at this, we have to be able to accommodate what parents choices are going to be. So there are parents who are going to want a more family daycare system, or they are going to want more, DOE like systems or they’re going to want more of a Montessori type system. And we have to build out the plan to make sure that we are accommodating all of that choice. And this means that not only are we going to build capacity, as the government, but also thinking about how do you ensure that there are just vouchers for people to be used at what we already have, and that we are ensuring that those are continuing to strengthen as we move forward. And so it is a plan that is multi pronged and needs to move forward in a way that ensures that we are working with families to get them what they need. And so I know that that this is going to be challenging, it is always challenging, rolling out new programs. But we’re really excited about getting to start that on day one.

Christina Veiga (4:00)

So you mentioned vouchers, there’s a backlog of families waiting to get approval for vouchers, income certification, that sort of thing. And meanwhile, providers say that they have slots that are going empty. So I’d love to hear: what is your diagnosis of what the problem is there? And how would you solve that?

Kathryn Garcia (4:18)

There there is a real challenge with getting vouchers that we currently have into the hands of people who need it, so that they can actually fill up the vacant slots that are available today. This is just government bureaucracy run amok. And I find this over and over again, particularly on the social services side. We don’t think about the person or the family. Like, as like, what is the outcome we want to see? We want that family to be strong. So what do they need? Do they need a voucher? Do they need you know, help finding a job? Do they need a help finding affordable housing? And really putting it all together into a package. So you’re not going agency to agency. But this is just creating barriers to a service that we want people to have.

Christina Veiga (5:16)

And what does removing those barriers look like? Do you have any specific ideas?

Kathryn Garcia (5:22)

So why did you need to get income certified and every single moment when you’re interacting with the government? When we probably already know what your income is. That we should use the information that we already have, to make it so that we can fill in most of what this is, and turn, make it so that you can turn the timing really quickly, to get the work done. And so that we’re not spending our time filling out forms, but spending our time making sure a kid is in that early childhood placement.

Christina Veiga (5:58)

So it sounds like streamlining, not making people answer the same question lots of different times over and over again.

Kathryn Garcia (6:06)

Over and over.

Christina Veiga (6:07)

When it comes to accessibility. A lot of working families rely on programs that go beyond the normal school day and school year. Providers say that there are not enough of these slots, though. So do you have an opinion on whether there are enough extended school day in school year slots, or whether that should be universal? And if we do need to expand, how much, what would that look like?

Kathryn Garcia (6:36)

So in this particular moment of COVID, when we know that there is real educational need. And we have people who are trying to make a living and come back, early childhood, and actually just regular school aged kid, after school programs and summer programs are absolutely critical. Obviously, this changes from a young kid to an older kid, where we might be talking much more about an internship. And this is where the American rescue plan money can actually be helpful. In terms of using it to expand the number of slots, catch people up, we have so many really fabulous nonprofits who do a lot of this work already. But ensuring that it is more universally available, it had been available to all middle school children. But not available to all elementary and then obviously High School is is a sort of different model, I would say. And this is where I really look to places like here to here, which is doing braided learning, and introducing work experience into the high school experience. So that kids really have an idea about what the work world will look like and why they want to make sure that, if that’s what direction you want to go in, that you’re able to pursue your dreams through higher education.

Christina Veiga (8:04)

What about for preschool and, and childcare, specifically? There are programs that offer extended day and extended school year. Do you think those should be universally available?

Kathryn Garcia (8:15)

Oh, no, those need to be available to anyone who who needs it to support them being able to go to work. You know, that is primarily the role of those, and certainly, it is something that I leaned on when I had very young children.

Christina Veiga (8:33)

Turning to the workforce in the early education sector. We know that the early education workforce is predominantly women, predominantly women of color. The city has made strides in raising salaries so that there is something more approaching parity to teachers in the public school system and in the K-12 system. However, teachers in Special Education Programs are still making significantly less, and teachers who have been in community based programs for a long time, there are no longevity or seniority plans to catch those teachers up. So what is your plan to address salary salary equity in early childcare and education space and do you have a timeline for that?

“Does Biden’s plan for a $15 minimum wage for child care workers go far enough?” by Ann Schimke, Cassie Walker Burke, and Koby Levin

Kathryn Garcia (9:20)

So this is this is where you know we have not as a society treated childcare is actually something that was a valuable work experience, and systematically paid, usually women, less for doing that most critical work. And this is where you have to sit down, many of them actually do have union representation, to make it so that there is a pathway towards equity on salary. This is about ensuring also that we are getting the quality we need in early childhood. educators. And so, I am a big believer in making sure that we are creating a more equitable environment for everyone. So that everyone can thrive.

Christina Veiga (10:12)

So it sounds like this is on your radar, and an issue that you want to work on. But do you have the timeline to do that in, or any idea of what it would take to get there.

Kathryn Garcia (10:22)

You have to sit down with the union, and go through, step-by-step what those, how you do that. There are ways to do equity adjustments within the framework of pattern bargaining, but it has to be done at the table.

Christina Veiga 10:42

So we touched a little bit on after school and summer programming, which are really important for working families and have been a lifesaver for a lot of families now with lots of school shutdowns due to COVID cases, that sort of thing. But at the same time, a lot of these services are trapped in what advocates called the “budget dance” where it’s yearly, something that they have to fight for yearly. So are there programs that you think should be permanently funded that are not currently funded? And if so, which ones aren’t they?

“NYC official: Funding for summer jobs program expected to increase, following year of steep cuts?” by Reema Amin

Kathryn Garcia (11:15)

No, I would actually say this. So the question here is permanently funded versus not permanently funded. Nothing to do with whether it’s these or anything else, nothing is ever permanent, unless you actually do it every year. And I have been on the cutting room floor on programs that I thought were permanent. So this is where it is an ongoing commitment that you need to be making. So that we are having a budget that reflects our values. And that we have a budget that we know we need to go upstream and make investments in people, and particularly our children, so that they can thrive in the future. Otherwise, you pay for it in the long term. People don’t do well in their careers, you know, parents have trouble getting to work. So this is where it needs to be something that we fundamentally all agree on, needs to get funded every single year. And this is also about working with the private sector. You know, one thing that often has been, I would sort of a bit of a political football has been summer youth employment. We need to be working with the private sector, as well, to make sure that there are paid internships for high school students.

Christina Veiga (12:42)

I wanted to ask specifically about Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Do you think there are enough seats? And if not, what do we need to get to?

Kathryn Garcia (12:52)

So I think that we need to make sure that it is available to anyone who wants it, but that we also are doing this in a way where we are engaging, not only in the nonprofit sector, but also in the private sector. To get there, we need to make sure there are paid internships so that people have real experience, and particularly for those who are going to actually there have to make their own money to pay for their education or have to make their own money to help their families. We can’t just have it so that internships are something that you need to be able that are free, that you’re you’re using free labor, we need to make sure that these are paid, thoughtful opportunities for our youth.

Christina Veiga (13:39)

I want to ask a kind of big picture question. We’ve seen enrollment in New York City public schools dip. We’ve seen that Pre-K has had an especially big drop, I think it’s around 13% this year, understanding that you’re not going to be the mayor leading up to this next school year: what do you think the city could or should be doing right now to build confidence among families to send their kids back to school?

“No remote learning option for NYC next school year, de Blasio announces” by Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman

Kathryn Garcia (14:13)

The city has seen a significant dip in enrollment for next, for the next school year. You know, my biggest concern is not only people having confidence in the public school system, but also my concern is we’ve lost track of kids that they’re not somewhere else that they haven’t chosen a different school, but they are just not in school at all. And you know, when we think about what has happened to kids over this last year, and parents, oh goodness gracious parents, trying to manage zoom school and openings and closings and the the two positive requirement, and then it is been really so incredibly challenging for them. That is a loss of confidence, they need to know that you will be consistently there to educate their child. And the back and forth between Zoom and not Zoom, or what I find even possibly worse is “Zoom in the room” where you go to school, but you still do Zoom. That is, I find really, really problematic. Schools need to open strongly this Fall. Kids need to be back in their classrooms. There needs to be consistency. There needs to be more clarity, there cannot be this open, close every other second. It just doesn’t work. I mean, as a working mom, it was hard to balance in non-COVID times, school and work, and making sure you got the lunches done in the morning. This is where we need them to be as good as some of the other people who provide education have been better at. I mean, I just, you know, the Catholic schools opened and stayed open, for the entire year. We should have been able to do that.

Christina Veiga (16:20)

Are there things specifically that you think the city needs to communicate or change around, for example, its closure protocols, or its scheduling for next year that parents need to hear now, to know that they’ll have that consistency next year?

Kathryn Garcia (16:37)

They need to have have a very clear plan that shows that they’re going to be open for business as usual. But with additional support for kids coming back from in some cases, perhaps more than a year of remote learning. So that they are going to be in vibrant school communities again, has to be something that we say we are absolutely committed to making that happen. Because otherwise, we will lose so much of these children’s life. What I realize is that, you know, my six-year-old niece has spent more than 20% of her life in a pandemic. That is completely bananas. And there’s so much that she has not had an opportunity to do, and learn. And you know, she’s super smart. She’s, I’m sure she’ll be fine. But, she really needs interaction with other little kids. She needs to be sitting there thinking about how what am I what are the letter sound like? So it is it is she’s got to have a strong first grade year next year. That’s got to happen.

Christina Veiga (18:05)

So my last question is, segregation in the K-12 space is getting a lot of attention in New York City Schools, but Pre-K classrooms are also very starkly segregated. And I’m wondering if you think there’s anything in particular the city could or should be doing to address that in early education?

“Racial, economic gaps are widening among NYC’s free pre-K programs, researchers say” by Christina Veiga

Kathryn Garcia (18:25)

Well, I have said from the beginning that we should not have four-year-olds taking a test for gifted and talented. And we need to make it so that every classroom is available to every kid, and that there shouldn’t, you should be wanting to go to your local elementary school. You know, I didn’t think about where I was going to send my kids, I just sent them up the block. Because I knew that I was like, this is a good school, they’ll be fine. And then I think as you think about it as going into obviously Middle School, things change. But there’s no reason we should have, real segregation at that young a level because it’s also, in many cases, not even geographically focused. You know, they’re big pods of preschool classrooms, like all in one building. Because that’s the way it rolled out. But this is where we need to make sure that we are giving everyone equal access to the preschool of their choice.

Christina Veiga (19:36)

So I want to give you the chance to touch on anything that maybe we haven’t discussed specific in the early education, childcare, aftercare world. Is there anything that you think it’s really important that people know about?

Kathryn Garcia (19:50)

I think this is going to be a really challenging year for all of our kids. And our littlest kids. Need to make sure that they are having an incredibly enriched experience, and that they have art, and music, and theater, and sports, and dance available to them so that we are educating the whole child, and engaging with that whole child across a broad array of interests. Because there’s been so much isolation, that being out in the world and having that social interaction, may end up feeling a little shocking to the system, and we need to do everything as grownups, to support them, moving forward.

Watch: NYC mayoral candidate Maya Wiley on early education, youth programs

2021-06-10T14:06:05+00:00

Read our voting guide covering all candidates here.

The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Christina Veiga (0:00)

Thank you for taking the time to do this. So I want to start with all of the federal attention that has been paid recently to early childhood education and Pre-K. There’s been a lot of talk now with the Biden family plan about the possibilities there. And so I would love to hear from you. And it’s really interesting, because we’re in this time where it looked like the city’s budget situation would look really dire. But now, we have an influx of money coming in. And so I’d love to hear from you how you would prioritize this influx of resources? Where would you build out? Where would you strengthen?

“Unprecedented federal funding is on the way. High-poverty schools are starting to reckon with how to spend it.” by Matt Barnum and Kalyn Belsha

Maya Wiley (0:37)

Yeah, thank you. I’m so thrilled that the Biden Administration has ensured that New York is going to get 6 billion more dollars, including an additional $7 billion for our schools. And that matters a great deal. Because what we need to do, and what I’m going to prioritize, one, is bringing down class sizes. That’s critically important because for far too many of our kids, and we have you know, these numbers, Christina, we’ve got over 618 schools that are grossly overcrowded. That’s a deep impact to educational quality that we can’t afford. That’s also going to enable us to hire teachers that are more representative of our student body, which also helps increase educational opportunities and attainment. But I’m also going to make sure that we are getting a nurse in every school, so I’m gonna commit another $10 million to making sure we have a full time nurse in every single school. And we’re gonna have trauma informed care, because one of the things we should recognize, both about what this COVID pandemic has done to our people, and particularly to our children, is traumatizing. 31,000 folks who’ve lost their lives, but in communities of color, the vast majority of infections and deaths, have been in low income communities of color. Those same communities that have overcrowding, and far too often not enough resources in the schools. So I’m going to pay a lot of attention to that resourcing, but that trauma informed care means that we will bring violence down, and send graduation rates up. Recognizing the supports kids need. And those are three of the big ones.

Christina Veiga (2:25)

So that was a very Chalkbeat answer. I want to remind you, we’re focusing in on Pre-K, early education and youth services.

Maya Wiley (2:32)

Well, you start with you get about $7 billion. I get happy. Well, yeah, let’s talk first of all, I when we talk about early childhood, and what we need to do as a city. I mean, one, obviously, we have to focus on pay parity and quality. Because as we know, we now have resources. We have had an unfair and unequal pay system for DOE educators versus those who are in community based education facilities. We got to change that. We’ve got to support the resourcing for quality of program as well. I mean, we know that there has been segregation in the system, and some real quality issues, but that’s about supports. That’s about the ability both to make sure that we’re organizing, and structuring early childhood in the best ways, and the best educational ways. As well as being fair, fair to our staff, and to the people who work in early childcare. But I’ve also already laid out a plan even before these resources were coming into the city to take money from the from the New York City Police, bloated New York City Police Department budget, as well as the Department of Corrections, as well as the money that we’ve left on the table in terms of childcare block grants from the federal government to create care grants for families. Because childcare is one of the top costs of living in New York City along with housing, and health care. But for low income people, for the neediest, including people who are undocumented, you know, we haven’t provided enough support for care, including early childhood care. So those $5,000 annual grants are for care, either by supporting family members in the work that is caring for young children that is that is not remunerated, it’s unpaid work, or creating more resources for the families to pay for those children to be in other care have care provided for them. But we’re also going to create community care centers, you know, which will be drop off centers for child care as well as elder care, although that wasn’t the question, but you know, that really recognize the way care and caregiving has become such a tremendous burden. And the folks who will be eligible for the care grants will include undocumented immigrants by the way, as well as to drop off centers in the form of care centers. They will not discriminate based on immigration status. Because every last resident in the city deserves quality care for their family members.

“Racial, economic gaps are widening among NYC’s free pre-K programs, researchers say” by Christina Veiga

Christina Veiga (5:06)

Okay, so I want to dig in to your plan for care grants, and also the community care centers. So your plan, as far as I understand, it calls for 100,000 families to get up to $5,000 in grants that they could use for child care. Can you explain and you mentioned specifically, undocumented workers would be families would be eligible for these grants. But can you tell me a little bit more about how you would determine eligibility? And how would you ensure that families are using these grants on high quality care when they when they spend them?

Maya Wiley (5:40)

So our community care grants, which are $5,000 grants to families that are needy, is going to be needs based. Right, that means that we’re going to come up with a formula that says who the neediest folks in New York City are, who otherwise have no resources available. You know, we’ve got folks who are going hungry, who are out of work. And as we know, with excluded workers, with undocumented immigrants, you know, were not eligible for any of the relief dollars that came from through the federal government through the state. And fortunately, the state budget now has some more resources for that. But you know, they are care grants. I mean, we are giving them to families in order to care for themselves, and their family members. We’re creating the drop off centers as a place where they can get quality care in the community. So these may be supplements that families use, but we’re recognizing that families know best how best to serve the needs of their children, including if a mother wants to stay home with their child. You know, poor women should get to be moms. And that is something that I feel very strongly about as a mother. And that we know in the time of COVID, I talked to women, particularly women who are undocumented immigrants, who were struggling to make sure they could take care of their children because they wanted to keep them safe at home. And being in a position where you have to choose between an ability to eat or care for your child. That’s something no mother, or parent should face. So we trust parents to make the best decisions for their children. But the Community Care Centers, the drop off centers we’re going to create are also going to be a high quality care option available to them.

Caroline Bauman (7:29)

There’s a backlog of families waiting to receive vouchers to help pay for care, even while seats and center and community care centers are going empty. What’s your understanding of what’s causing this problem? And how would you fix it?

Maya Wiley (7:45)

You know, first of all, a big part of fixing problems in government, generally. Well, let me back up because you want me to answer the question. You know, this issue of vouchers for families for care, is critically important. An important thing to know about fixing problems in government, is it starts with having leadership that both understands the programs, and actually works and partners who is working backwards from where it’s getting stuck. I actually don’t know where it’s getting stuck. And it’s important to have anyone who’s in government to acknowledge when they don’t, or else they come up with ideas to fix things, without having any sense of what fixes it for real. And so one is, I think, adequate resourcing that makes it easy to get the vouchers, as well as pay for them. And so often what we do, is we create so many hurdles, and so many different ways that families have to enroll for get access, that are next to impossible for them to manage the process. One of the things we’re going to do with Community Care Centers, in communities that will also have care available in the centers, is we’re going to co-locate them with other community based organizations, service providers, but also government agencies that are client facing. So that it is easier for families to navigate everything they should be getting, from government. From food stamps, to welfare benefits, to Women, Infants & Children Program (WIC), to any kinds of vouchers that they’re entitled to. And it’s a big resource to have a one stop shop center that starts to streamline how that’s done, and makes it easier for families to navigate.

Christina Veiga (9:33)

So, many families with young children rely on programs that provide a longer day during the school day, and also a longer year of care during the summer. Providers say that more of these extended day and extended school year slots are needed. Do you think there should be universal access to extended day, and year round care in preschool?

Maya Wiley (9:55)

You know, I do. Because I’m a mom and I have been there. Right? And what so often happens is you’re finding ways to supplement, if you can, you know what kind of care you need. The problem becomes, so many of our families don’t have the resources to do it. And that either means that folks are foregoing paychecks, they can’t afford to lose because they have no choice, or relying on, if they’re lucky, other family members or neighbors, you know, who can fill that gap. And it’s, it is a deep injustice, not to provide the kind of supports that both enable families to work, or go to see a doctor, or do any of the other things they have to do, and know that children are safe, sound, and also enriched, getting stimulated, and supported, and social emotional learning, and play. And so a big part of what we need to do is also resource the supports, for ensuring, that we’re increasing the quality of care as well. So I don’t think we want to decouple those two things. We want more access to longer hours, more time. But we also want to make sure, it’s really meeting all of the emotional needs of our kids. We’ve got to get play back in there, because it’s actually a critically important part of learning, social, emotional, but also, it’s of educational benefit. And we have to stop denying our kids that.

Christina Veiga (11:27)

So the early childhood workforce is predominantly women of color. They’re among the lowest paid workers in the city. You’ve touched on this a little bit. There has been some headway on salary parity for teachers and community based Pre-K centers. But issues like longevity have yet to be addressed. And also teachers in special education centers are still being paid significantly less. So what is your plan for reaching salary parity? And do you have a timeframe in which you’d like to see that happen?

“Does Biden’s plan for a $15 minimum wage for child care workers go far enough?” by Ann Schimke, Cassie Walker Burke, and Koby Levin

Maya Wiley (11:56)

So salary parity is an extremely important issue for me as a civil rights lawyer, and as a woman, and as a black woman. So we’ve got to get it done. I mean, the truth is that that means we need more resources that we now have an opportunity to recognize that investing in pay parity, is also going to be economically stimulative to a city that needs to recover, because we’re putting more money in the pockets of people who will spend it on supporting themselves and their own families. And so I am going to create a plan for parity. It is something that I want to happen within the first two years of my administration. Quicker, if possible, but within two years, and I will say that it also is going to include partnering with the federal government. Because we do have a real opportunity now with the Biden Administration, and including Headstart to figure out how we’re doing that more successfully. But we will, we will, bring up the pay for all our providers. But the other thing I want to say is, we’ve got to also remember how many childcare providers were small business owners, and who have been decimated in the context of COVID. And so looking at this also from a small business standpoint, for small business services to better support caregiving as small businesses, is also going to be a really important part of our economic recovery, and our racial justice and gender justice and fairness. Because that’s who those business owners are, and that’s who got decimated in this crisis.

Christina Veiga (13:35)

So after school, and summer programming are really important for working families. And they’ve provided really crucial services during shutdowns as well during the pandemic. At the same time, a lot of these services are trapped in what providers call a budget dance where every year they have to fight for their budget. So are there any programs that you think should be funded more permanently beyond these one year allocations? And if so, Which ones?

“NYC official: Funding for summer jobs program expected to increase, following year of steep cuts?” by Reema Amin

Maya Wiley (14:00)

Well, certainly, we might. So let me go back to repeat your question. It is a deep problem that services for young people are so often budgeted annually, making it very difficult for service providers to provide good, strong and quality programming. What I have already committed to do in my gun violence prevention platform is double the number of summer youth employment in communities hard hit by violent crimes, particularly gun violence. These, by the way, are the same communities where the unemployment rates are well above the city and national averages, particularly for young people. And we should remember that we must make it easier to get a job than a gun in our communities for our young people. So that’s my commitment, and that’s going to be a multi year commitment. We also need more after school programs, right, for all our youth. And one of the things I will be looking at is how we do something that Mayor David Dinkins did, right, which is open our school buildings and see them as community centers available for programming all year long. And that means also supporting the community based programs that deliver those kinds of services and programs for young people after school, and throughout the year. So that’s what I’m going to work on as mayor, both with the Department of Education, but also with the Department of Youth Services, because a big part of it is the programming dollars that come out of these different agencies that we need to streamline, and support, and look at in three year budget cycles, in order to ensure that we’re building and growing them appropriately, and in ways that are meeting the needs of our kids.

Christina Veiga (15:51)

So I want to zoom out a little bit since this might be our last question. The city is planning right now to reopen school buildings for the next school year. And the big question is, how many families are going to want to come back? So what do you think the city needs to be doing right now to build trust with families and have more students come back next year?

“No remote learning option for NYC next school year, de Blasio announces” by Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman

Maya Wiley (16:17)

You know, it is critical that that city government build trust with our parents and our students in order to get them back in school. And that is a trust that was eroded. Because we had a city government that was not communicating effectively, and was too often flip flopping on decision making. And what I would do as mayor, one is be very transparent about the information about the safety of schools. And that includes partnering with community based organizations to do that. I’ll give you an a really great example on vaccines, and vaccine penetration. I was in a church in Harlem. And the pastor was a very popular pastor, very important church. And he gave a sermon. And by the end of the sermon, he was actually talking about his own vaccine process, and how he had gotten a second vaccine. And he made a joke of all the fear that people had about getting sick, and making it clear that he was quite well. And in fact, the only side effect he had was he got really hungry and ate all day and all night. And the church laughed, and you just feel the release of stress. But he was a credible messenger, a trusted messenger. And it’s really important that, in addition to communicating clearly and effectively out of the Department of Education, and out of City Hall, is to recognize our partnerships with faith based leaders, community based service providers, all of the people who are so important and trusted in communities that are afraid of coming back. And I do mean communities of color, because as we saw, it was black and Latino communities, most fearful about sending kids back into schools, and no surprise, having had the highest infection rates, and the lowest vaccine penetration originally as the vaccine was being rolled out. But also with, you know, a lot of history of being lied to, frankly, and that’s not the I know, I’m not talking about the, I’m talking historically. So that there the trust factors are real and long term and have been existing for a long time. But that means the city government has to work in partnership. And that’s transparency, both about what the research and science says. It’s transparency about the conditions in the schools, and COVID rates. Its transparency about the vaccine itself and the benefits to getting it I’ve been double vaccine, I’ve made sure to post on Twitter, both my first shot and my second shot, just as a way to model that as a black woman, I trust the vaccine, and I’m fine and well. And that is the kind of leadership that is going to start helping to restore trust, but also because it has to listen to the concerns and fears that people have, in order to better be responsive to it rather than just talking at people saying, tell us more, like, what would make you feel comfortable? What is it that you need to know? What is it that we haven’t told you that might be helpful for you making the decision? Because so much of it is about relationship. That’s how we build trust. And I am someone, as a civil rights attorney, and as a coalition builder, that is always worked that way. And it’s one of the ways I love to work.

Christina Veiga (19:37)

And just want to point out you mentioned that Black and Latino families are the least likely to return to buildings actually Asian families are.

Maya Wiley (19:44)

Well Asian too, for the same reasons though, right? And particularly in terms of how hard COVID hit, and where it hit. I mean just look at what happened in Queens, which had the highest number of COVID rates and the fewest number of hospital beds. So you know, the costs have just been very high. And I appreciate you remind me to say Asian and Pacific Islander, because that’s extremely important. But the costs of this pandemic have fallen disproportionately in infections, in deaths, in job losses, and trauma, on communities of color. While it has traumatized all of us, it has hit certain neighborhoods the hardest, and we should not be surprised. The parents want to protect themselves, and their families, and their kids. And so it’s incumbent upon us to acknowledge those things in order to rebuild trust.

Christina Veiga (20:35)

There, I know, you probably have to run, but I do want to give you the opportunity to touch on anything else that we haven’t been able to talk about in case you think we’ve missed anything. And just for me, personally, I feel like I don’t totally understand the community care centers, and how you’re going to serve everyone from seniors to children. And like well, ages of young people you’d be serving so, I don’t know if you want to talk more about that.

Maya Wiley (20:57)

So thank you for that question. So you know, the Community Care Center model is fundamentally a drop off center model. And it will be community based. And we will start with the neediest families in terms of eligibility, but we will be sure that they are union jobs in good jobs, and that we are partnering with and co-locating with other supports and services. So that, for example, we can expand the number of people who can be served. So that we have a panoply of services. But a big part of the opportunity here is to lean into this opportunity to rethink how we’re doing care, and start to create these particularly in the communities that have the greatest need. So that we’re actually starting to serve the people who need care who’ve been caring for us, and also restore jobs in the care economy. Because remember, it’s also women of color that have been care workers, who’ve had the greatest job losses in COVID. So we’re also creating more employment opportunities for those women in caregiving. But the reality is, we’re going to build it starting in those hard hit communities, and starting based on an eligibility that is needs based. To start to meet the needs of the neediest, and make sure we’re taking care of those who otherwise would not have other opportunities or services.

Watch: NYC mayoral candidate Ray McGuire on early education, youth programs

2021-06-10T14:05:39+00:00

Read our voting guide covering all candidates here.

The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Christina Veiga (0:00)

Okay, thanks again for doing this. Today is going to be on Pre-K, childcare, and youth services like after school programming and summer programming. So I want to kick off with sort of the big picture, which is that there’s a lot of federal attention right now being paid to, especially early childhood education. And with that is coming a lot of resources. And so I would love to hear from you how you would prioritize using more federal funds to build and strengthen what we currently have here in New York City.

“Unprecedented federal funding is on the way. High-poverty schools are starting to reckon with how to spend it.” by Matt Barnum and Kalyn Belsha

Ray McGuire (0:35)

So how would I use federal funds to strengthen what we currently have? I applaud President Biden’s American rescue plan for expanding the Child and Dependent Care tax credit, so that all the families with incomes below $125,000, which is a number of families in New York City, save up to half the cost of their eligible childcare expenses. And for providing what I think is close to $1 billion, $1.1 billion in direct grants for childcare. As part of my plan, my education plan and cradle to career strategy. I will guarantee every parent access to quality early childcare, and education for infants and toddlers, in the program designed to address all aspects of early childhood, which is going to help every kid enter school on a level playing field and ready to succeed. And I’m going to target federal funding to the childcare deserts. These are providers on the verge of closing in areas with the greatest demand.

Christina Veiga (1:30)

The city is making strides to make to make Pre-K more available, but infant and toddler care is still expensive and hard to come by. So with your Affordable Childcare for All plan, who would qualify for that? What ages would you serve? Where would these children be served? Right now we have a combination of, you know, community organizations, and also public schools. So can you give us a little more detail about how you would build out this system? And who would benefit from it?

Ray McGuire (2:01)

Sure. So um, how do I make it available for all those? How do I make it affordable, accessible. One access, we got to provide operating funds and capacity building the existing programs, as well as you know, an urgent grant program to help to train providers and launch new programs, in what are clearly childcare deserts. And then we need to make sure that we have quality of instruction, best in class training, or retraining where necessary to all childcare providers. I’d work with CUNY and all the other early childhood education experts. We’ll develop a standard curriculum and certification for all providers based on best practices. Like we have one great one at CUNY. CUNY QUALITYstarsNY program. And then we got to ensure that that they are affordable childcare slots for every family that needs them. Out of pocket costs for families will be based on income for families at lower levels, including those receiving, so will receive fully subsidized childcare. And to cover the cost. We’re going to leverage existing funding streams such as early headstart and the federal programs, which we outlined from the outset.

Christina Veiga (3:12)

Do you envision this in terms of the family side how they would access these programs? Would it be like a voucher program? Or how would it work?

Ray McGuire (3:19)

Yeah, I think a voucher program would work well, we need to make certain that that we treat these vouchers differently to how the city’s treated many other vouchers is that you got to actually pay on time to the providers to whom the vouchers are given, can actually continue to operate. So yes, I would cut the bureaucracy, extend the vouchers, make sure that they are paid on time, and make sure you can get the best quality childcare, especially in the childcare deserts.

Christina Veiga (3:46)

And when you’re talking about “Affordable Childcare for All,” what age group are we talking about here.

Ray McGuire (3:51)

I want to start early. I want to go my cradle-to-career education strategy has, at its core: I want to start early. Pre-K is good, but as you know, by the time we get to Pre-K, many of our children are already behind. So I want to start the early childcare program at zero, some zero to three, zero to four, to give them the kind of care that’s necessary to make sure we have the appropriate reward for those caregivers as well. So I want to start early.

Christina Veiga (4:22)

So that’s what you hope to do. Our current system, we have a voucher system where there’s currently a backlog for families who want to benefit from this program. And meanwhile, providers say that they have slots in their centers that are going empty. So what’s your diagnosis of where the problem is there, and how would you solve it?

Ray McGuire (4:41)

You know, part of this is to make sure that we advertise that the programs exist. That we have ambassadors, if you will, who can go into the communities and to the faith based organizations and to the community centers. We need to revive the community centers, but part of this is letting community you know that the services exists that there is, in fact, affordable childcare. And so part of this is advertising and getting into the community organizations and funding them, making sure that they’re well run. And once we’ve done that, and given the option for childcare, my confidence is that we will bridge that gap of those people who need it, who don’t know about it, and get those people don’t know about it into the opportunity.

Christina Veiga (5:28)

I want to turn to the workforce, the early childhood education workforce, which is predominantly women and many women of color. They are among the lowest paid workers in the city. And while the city has made progress on salary parity in some areas, there are still things like longevity pay, and also teachers in Special Education Pre-K centers have not seen much movement in terms of salary, salary equity. So what is your plan for addressing salary parity during your administration? And do you have a timeline in which you’d like to see that accomplished?

“Does Biden’s plan for a $15 minimum wage for child care workers go far enough?” by Ann Schimke, Cassie Walker Burke, and Koby Levin

Ray McGuire (6:01)

So what is my plan to address salary parity, it is immediate. My plan is to make sure that is immediate. Given what’s taking place in the school system. Today, we need our child care givers. So my initiatives are support childcare workers in the city, many of whom are small business owners, and were amongst the most impacted by the pandemic. Salary parity is key to supporting them, all childcare providers are going to have a seat at the table. When these initiatives are introduced, ensure they earn fair wages and benefits, investing in childcare for all is going to increase for local providers so they can continue to grow, and create more accessible jobs in our communities. I have a track record of making certain that where we need to make sure that we are equitable, pay equity, we need to do that. And given that this is these are the most precious times for our children, we need to make sure that we have salary equity. So I’ve said Pre-K is good, before Pre-K, and making certain that those child care givers are appropriately compensated.

Christina Veiga (7:03)

So I want to turn to youth services now, after school and center programming are really important for working families. But providers say that every year they’re caught in a budget dance where they have to advocate for this funding to be reallocated. And so I’m wondering, are there specific programs in these areas that you would like to see funded on a more long term basis? And if so, Which ones?

“NYC official: Funding for summer jobs program expected to increase, following year of steep cuts?” by Reema Amin

Ray McGuire (7:27)

Yes. So after school and summer programs are essential, you know, th way I got here, I got here through education. I had a summer job that allowed me to, to one, have that summer job so I could learn about the possibilities, also allowed me to, it was a paid summer internship. My sense, my view, and my education plan addresses this directly, is that: we need to invest in after school and summer programming, which is critical for students to stay engaged, we’ve lost far too many. During the free time they can learn skills in areas that may not be taught in school. I will increase funding and training to the local not-for-profits, so they have the capacity to provide a multitude of afterschool and summer options for the students. They can include programs in theater, in coding, in nutrition, and all the other academic subjects. We need to invest now in our children as we move from an industrial world to a technology world. And for the older students. I’m going to leverage my relationship both big and small in New York City employers to launch what I call my “Comeback Summer Job Program.” I’m going to build an existing Youth Summer Employment Program, which is one of the first things that this administration said it was going to cut. I’m going to build on that, guarantee summer job to every New York City public high school student who watch one. Summer jobs, they help our young people develop skills and relationships. And they allow them get the first job out of high school, have valuable internships during college. They’re fundamental to this city. So whatever it takes public private partnerships of which I would be very supportive to get our kids paid summer internships, so they understand the possibilities of the future, are also part of my cradle to career, core education, where I restructure education here. So it’s not random Pre-K to 12. But it’s transformed to be intentional about how our kids grow and develop and have opportunities.

Christina Veiga (9:13)

Something else that’s really important for working families is to have child care beyond a typical school day or the school year, year round care and extended hours. Providers say that there are not enough of these slots. Do you think that access to extended day and extended school year slots should be universal?

Ray McGuire (9:31)

I do. I think that we should increase given where we are in education when our child’s children’s lives are determined by their zip code. And if I look at the Nation’s Report Card and the state report card, where third to eighth grade students, Black and brown 80% below proficient. Yes, I need I want to extend the school year. I want to extend the school day to take care of that three-to-five or three-to-eight hour where a lot of mischief occurs. Make sure that we have invested in our children during those times in the community centers. Focus on making certain we get the resources that the community center so that we can add summer jobs, clearly summer jobs, and maybe even the year round, as I think about my overall approach to education, so the answer is, yes. We should have it across the city. And we should have it available to all New Yorkers.

Christina Veiga (10:19)

Does that include childcare and Pre-K?

Ray McGuire (10:21)

Yes, it does include childcare and Pre-K. Yes, I want to transform this right. It can’t be the case today that this is sustainable, because we have the systemic inequities that exist in education. Our children are not being educated in the way that they should be. We paid $26,000 a year to educate a child on average, in New York City. We pay $446,000 a year to keep an inmate at Rikers Island. We need to invest now, or pay later. I’d rather invest today.

Christina Veiga (10:49)

So I want to zoom out to the school year to come. The next mayor will will take office about midway through the next school year. But I’d love to hear from you: what you think the city needs to be doing now to build trust with families, so that they actually return to in-person learning. We’ve seen steep drop-offs and enrollment in Pre-K this year. And we’ve seen many families of color decided not to return to building so how can the city turn that tide for the next school year?

“No remote learning option for NYC next school year, de Blasio announces” by Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman

Ray McGuire (11:17)

So the first thing we need to do is, to plan for it better than what we planned for this school year. And that means we need to have those people who provide the tablets available. We need to build the broadband out immediately. So that to the extent that that we do, and I’m saying this to the last alternative. I think kids need to be in school. I think our teachers need to be in school, which means that we need to get vaccination out. We need to have a better a better way of communicating the vaccination, because many of many people, our community are skeptical of vaccination. So we need to make sure that they understand that the fact that that the vaccine is, you know, is efficacious. That the vaccine is not going to harm, we need to do much better job at that. We need to get the vaccine into the healthcare and transportation desert, so that all those who are eligible for the vaccine, and how we’ve reduced the age requirements can get a vaccine. We need to educate on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. We need to get our kids back in school. So I would plan for our kids getting back in school immediately, which is how I’m going to address the COVID vaccine, get them back into school, get the teachers back in school. And then as a insurance, let’s make sure that all of our children have tablets, and or laptops that work, and that we have broadband that is successful. I sat on the board in New York Public Library, where we made sure that we could, where available, get Wi-Fi hotspots into the branches so that kids can go to homework. Our children need to have access to Wi-Fi. It should be a basic right for anybody, but especially our children here,

Christina Veiga (12:47)

There’s a lot of attention paid to segregation in the K-12 space in New York City Schools. But Pre-K is actually more segregated than kindergarten classrooms here. But it’s often left out of the conversation. And so I’m wondering, is integration at the Pre-K level, something that’s important to you? And if so, do you have any ideas for how to address that?

“Racial, economic gaps are widening among NYC’s free pre-K programs, researchers say” by Christina Veiga

Ray McGuire (13:06)

So the answer is, I am looking forward to having quality education in every zip code. It is not possible to integrate so that we can achieve that through integration. So where we can integrate, I’d be for integration. So I want to be clear: only way I got here is education. So I want the highest quality education. in whatever form it comes to the form of integration that comes in the form of district schools, comes in the form of magnet schools, comes in the form of parochial schools, and it comes in the form of charter schools. Parents have a choice, which makes certain we get the highest quality education, so the parents can choose that which is best for their children. And so that means, yes, integration if that’s going to achieve that. But how far are you going to integrate, and how far you’re going to integrate a child in a completely different borough? So that becomes that much more challenging given the all the other challenges that our parents or caregivers have. To take them from one borough, her or him from one borough to the next borough, as a toddler, Pre-K. It’s not so practical that we can do that. But we can do is make sure that we get the best toddler Pre-K programs in our districts, in our zip codes, which is that which I’m going to advocate for at the highest level with the loudest voice.

Christina Veiga (14:24)

I’m going to turn it over to you quickly in case there’s anything that we haven’t addressed in terms of the early education, space, and Youth Services.

Ray McGuire (14:41)

So listen, education is what got me here. We need to make sure to ensure that every child in New York City gets an education, so that they have the opportunity to go on and be productive citizens in this community. Today, we’re not doing that. And today, we need to transform the way we approach education, from the random Pre-K to 12, to something that’s much more intentional, which is my plan for cradle to career, which you can see at Rayformayor.com, focus solely on what’s in the best interests of New York City’s children. We have a triangle, which are the parents, the caregivers, and the child. That parents, caregivers and the teacher, or the parents, teachers all together, and the child. And so we need to focus on that triangle today. We need to bring it together in ways that up to this point, we’ve not done so well. My focus is on again on educating our children.

Watch: NYC mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan on early education, youth programs

2021-06-10T14:05:22+00:00

Read our voting guide covering all candidates here.

The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Christina Veiga (0:00)

So thanks again for doing this. The point, or the thrust of the interview, is early education and youth services, like after school care, center programming, that sort of thing. So, I want to start kind of big picture. There’s a lot of attention now at the federal level, on early education issues and affordability. And so I’d love to ask you, with all of the additional federal attention and resources that are being steered to this area, how would you prioritize that money? Where would you, for example, build out additional capacity versus strengthening what we have?

“Unprecedented federal funding is on the way. High-poverty schools are starting to reckon with how to spend it.” by Matt Barnum and Kalyn Belsha

Shaun Donovan (0:39)

So, in terms of a focus on on early education, Christina, I think the first thing I would say is, we need to make sure at this New Deal moment, where there is, as you said, a once in a lifetime, potential investment in children and families, that we have a mayor at City Hall, who has the relationships, the knowledge, to be able to work incredibly closely with not just the Biden-Harris administration, but also with all of our leaders in Congress to be able to make sure that New York gets a fair share of that of that funding. And you I’m sure, you know, New York sends $23 billion more to Washington each year than we get back in return. And I really, as a former cabinet secretary, for President Obama, as a former budget director, leading the $4 trillion budget, I have unique ability as a mayor to make sure that we get our fair share of that investment, to transform the opportunities, and the lives of children and families in this city. And what I would say is, it is absolutely right, that we need to keep building on the progress that we’ve made on early childhood education. And that means getting not just the universal Pre-K, but universal Three-K. With that investment, but there are also significant areas where we need to do better than we’re currently doing. And one area that I would really point to, is that we very much have a focus, and investment that is different depending on whether those are school based Pre-K and Three-K, or that they are community and family based. And we know that for example, the payment to the teachers in those settings, the benefits, the workspaces, and the classrooms themselves, are quite different across those different groups. And so, we really need to make sure that every seat in Pre-K and Three-K is a quality seat. And I would significantly increase the investment particularly in our family based and community based centers, to bring them up to the level of the school based centers, so that there’s real equity there. And that we’re investing, because right now we see so often, and you know this, you know, folks that are trained at family or community based centers, who end up leaving very quickly. And it’s very hard to make the investments, the training. The other thing is to build the quality workforce that we need unless we’re doing more there. So there’s clearly an expansion that needs to be happened particularly on on Three-K. But there also needs to be a much better equity and investment to make sure that every opportunity for early learning is a quality opportunity. And if we do that, we can fundamentally change the trajectory of children in this city. Right now, the single gate greatest predictor of a child’s life chances, even their life expectancy, is the zip code they grow up in. And that’s fundamentally wrong. We cannot have a city where your zip code determines your future. And so my 15 minute Neighborhood plan is focused on every single element that would give every child a headstart, and ensure that they’re really building the opportunity that they that they need. And that’s something that I would ensure we have centers in every single neighborhood.

Christina Veiga (4:24)

So I want to zero in on, you know, you mentioned zip code being determinant of outcomes. So the city has really made strides making Pre-K and affordable childcare option. Sorry, the city has made strides making Pre-K more available, but infant, toddler care options can be really hard to come by, and really expensive. There’s a backlog of families who are waiting to receive vouchers to help pay for care, even while seats at centers go empty. I would love to hear your understanding of where you think the problem lies there? What’s causing it, and how would you fix it?

Shaun Donovan (5:00)

Well, first of all, and we’ve seen this again and again, that the difference between rhetoric and reality under Mayor de Blasio has been wide. And again, to give him credit for getting to the huge expansion in Pre-K that we did is great. But we see, in so many different areas, this is just one of them, where there are promises made around getting resources to families. And the reality of that the actual management, and competence in delivering that, is a huge problem. And I think fundamentally, what we see so often is a lack of real outreach into communities, into neighborhoods. As somebody who started working 30 years ago, with nonprofits around the city, I know that community based organizations, not just in education and childcare, but also in housing, in social services, can be the best partners to reach families, and make sure that we are signing them up quickly, overcoming language and trust barriers that often stand in the way of families even applying in the first place, to make sure that we have a robust pipeline of applicants, and that we can use the resources that we have. And of course, we have to go beyond that. And that’s why I go back to this is a New Deal moment, we have an opportunity with a huge investment in human infrastructure, not just physical infrastructure. But, rightly President Biden, Vice President Harris, want to make a huge investment in the infrastructure of our families, of our children. And this is an opportunity, not just to make sure that every voucher we currently have is going used, but to dramatically expand the opportunity for childcare and early learning across this entire city. And I would make sure one of the things we need to do is make sure that those immigrants, and those who are undocumented, to have that chance as well.

Christina Veiga (7:10)

So one of the things that the Biden plan calls for or pays attention to is pay in the early childhood workforce. And you’ve already sort of hinted at this, there have been strides in New York City towards more pay parity. But for people who have been working in community based organizations (CBOs), for a long time, and for teachers in Special Education, Pre-K centers, there’s still a long way to go. And so I’d love to hear from you. What is your plan for salary parity? And do you have a timeline in which you’d like to see that accomplished?

“Does Biden’s plan for a $15 minimum wage for child care workers go far enough?” by Ann Schimke, Cassie Walker Burke, and Koby Levin

Shaun Donovan (7:39)

Well, I think, absolutely, I have a clear plan on that. And I would say, more broadly, Christina, The New York Times, The Gotham Gazette, have said that I have the most detailed comprehensive education plan of any of the candidates in the race. We are running the campaign of ideas. And we’ve really laid out I think, the most comprehensive agenda to get to pay parity, ensuring that every seat in Pre-K, Three-K, every opportunity we have for childcare is, we not just have the quantity we need, we have the quality that our children and our families deserve, and pay equity, and equity in benefits, equity in opportunities, is an enormous part of doing that. So, I believe that this is something that we could get done in my first term, particularly with the deep relationships, and ability I have to tap into federal investments on this side. But to do it, I think it’s not just going to take the resources, it’s going to take the partnerships as well. What you often find is and you know this well, is many of these centers are small. They don’t have the technical expertise necessarily to fill out grant writing and paperwork. We need to reduce the red tape. And one of the things that we can really do is create and grow the nonprofit intermediary organizations, that help these centers survive and thrive. So to be very specific, the bookkeeping, the applying for assistance, the payroll and accounting, all of those things need to be things that we help many of these centers with, so that they can focus on our kids. And so, not just investing quickly in the pay and the benefits themselves, and getting to that parity, but ensuring that we’re creating an infrastructure to help those centers survive and thrive, is a critical part of my plan as well.

Christina Veiga (9:53)

Yeah, I know your plan talks about breaking down silos in that area. I want to ask you about extended day, extended school year slots. Many working families with young kids rely on programs that provide care for a longer period of time than the traditional Universal Pre-K (UPK). And also for the entire school year. You know, otherwise they’re left without care. That more of these slots are needed the extended school day, extended school year. So, do you think there should be universal access to extended school day and school year slots? And if so, when might we expect to see that under your administration?

Shaun Donovan (10:33)

So it is absolutely the right goal Christina to try to get to full day, full year, opportunities for every student. We know this is a fundamental difference. And we’ve seen this past year, the profound differences for frontline essential workers who have to be on the job in person, who have full days, so many families working two, three, four jobs to try to make ends meet. This is a central part of equity in our city is to make sure that every family and every child, has the opportunities for their kids to learn. And frankly, not to get drawn into crime, and violence, and other activities that so often happen outside of school hours, when young children, and and later older children, don’t have the opportunities that they need. So this is absolutely central to make an exact commitment on how quickly we could get to universal, I think we need to see what happens with the Jobs Bill. As you know, $2.3 trillion has been proposed, and whether we can get close to that, whether the critical pieces of investment in human infrastructure, as I’ve said, and social infrastructure, are fully funded is going to be critical to determine whether we can get to this full universal access to those extended hours and summer, within my first term. But it’s absolutely something that I’m committed to getting to. What I would also say is, this isn’t something that’s just important for our early learners, our younger children, this is something that I’m very much committed to throughout school. I’m the one candidate who’s made a commitment that every single high schooler should have at least one paid internship, apprenticeship, summer job before they graduate, that I would get to that in my first term. And we need to make sure that those kind of opportunities are available at every age, and that they’re critical. I would also just say, having released the most comprehensive food plan of any of the candidates in the race. I also know that summer meals are a critical part of the infrastructure that schools provide as well. And that’s something as we focus on summer that we have to ensure as part of the plan as well.

Christina Veiga (13:07)

So you mentioned jobs for high schoolers, I want to touch on youth services. So after school and summer programming are really important for working families, and provide support such as food security, mental health supports that sort of thing. But many of the providers who provide these services in the city say that they’re trapped every year in a “budget dance” where they have to advocate every year to get the money reallocated. And so are there programs, youth programs that you think deserve more stable, long term funding? And if so, which ones would you want to see a longer term commitment to?

“NYC official: Funding for summer jobs program expected to increase, following year of steep cuts?” by Reema Amin

Shaun Donovan (13:43)

Well, I absolutely believe there are many youth programs that deserve bigger and more stable funding. And I’m absolutely committed to that. Part of this, Christina, is we don’t treat nonprofits in the city, like the critical partners that they are. I started working with a nonprofit, in my first job out of school 25 years ago. A nonprofit that was rebuilding the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn, so many of the neighborhoods that I had seen crumbling, even burning as a child. And so my perspective is that, those are the critical partners to translate promises into reality, real change in the lives of children and families. And yet, we don’t pay them effectively. We don’t pay them quickly. In fact, during this crisis, when they were most needed, we stopped paying so many of them, and we pay them in a way that we expect, it’s as if the good feelings that they get from helping our children, and families should be enough rather than really compensating them in ways that allow them to pay their employees well, to build working capital, to invest in becoming the institutions that we need. So for me, it’s not just expanding the funding that’s available for programs, but actually treating nonprofits as the incredibly important partners that they are, and starting to do to do justice on that side as well. And I think that’s a critical part of making sure we have the full human infrastructure we need for those kind of programs for young people late in the day, in the summer. Those are all critically important. I’m also especially excited about the programs that start early exposure to potential jobs, we really have to build a cradle to career pipeline for our children. And so for example, on my Five Borough Food tour, I visited in Snug Harbor in Staten Island, the largest working farm in the city, that engages children starting at a very young age in understanding how things grow, how to eat healthy food, and but also exposes them potentially, to an interest that might lead to careers in the future that are really powerful. And those kinds of connections I would make, to my Youth Climate Corps, for example, that I’ve proposed as part of my climate plan, there are many, many areas where we can be doing that early, or early on, and really getting children connected to the food they eat, and to potential future careers.

Christina Veiga (16:30)

Wanna zoom out a bit, so we’re not going to have a new mayor when the new school year starts. But I would love to hear from you how you think the city, or what the city should be doing right now, to build trust with families so that they actually return to classrooms. We’ve seen a huge drop off in Pre-K enrollment in the city during the pandemic. We’ve also seen that Black families, Asian families, are far less likely to be in buildings, than White families. And so if if you were mayor, what would you want the city to be doing, and saying right now, to have those folks come back?

“No remote learning option for NYC next school year, de Blasio announces” by Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman

Shaun Donovan (17:14)

Well, Christina, unfortunately, we’re having this conversation now, when we shouldn’t even have needed to have it. If we’d had a mayor who led in the right way. We could have gotten schools open last September. And we could have done it most importantly, in a way that really emphasized, and focused on, the children who were most likely to be left behind. And to be clear about that. If we’d really responded to what our principals, our educators, our parents were saying, we would have been able to get the ventilation right in our schools, we would have been able to use our communities as classrooms, whether it was outdoors, whether it was our libraries, our YMCA is our gym, gyms, others that were not in use, and could have become part of the learning experience, given that we would have had to reopen with far fewer children per classroom. And so that was a huge missed opportunity. And in particular, if we had done it knowing that there were going to be certain families, as you said, our students of color, our families of color, second language learners, so many others who would be more resistant, who were not getting the vaccines, and the testing that they needed. We could have actually focused on those families and use this moment. President Obama, you say to us, “you cannot let a crisis go to waste.” This could have been a moment actually to close the inequities in our school system, rather than have them widen even further. And that would have required as well a deep investment in devices, and getting to affordable broadband. For so many families, the issue isn’t having devices, it’s their service isn’t fast enough, especially when you’ve got two parents and a whole bunch of kids at home trying to use the same network. And so this was a huge issue that we should have focused on, and needs to be a focus right now. We do need to give families choices. And we need to make sure that their children can learn remotely if that’s the choice they made. But we also need to be doing everything we can to build trust around vaccines, and testing, so that our young people, and our families feel feel safe in doing that. And that’s why I have a most aggressive plan on mobile vaccination teams opening vaccination sites in public housing community rooms, in libraries, in places around the city that are fundamental to getting to those. And then, deep partnerships with nonprofit groups and others, so that we can get to families in their languages. Because often the message doesn’t matter if it’s not through a trusted messenger. And so we need to partner with those trusted messengers. The last thing I would just say is, I would set the tone immediately as mayor with my Chancellor, I would ensure that we were out meeting with parents and families, immediately I would do a five borough listening tour as one of the very first things that I would do as mayor, to start rebuilding that trust, given how much it’s been broken.

Christina Veiga (20:31)

I want to ask one more question and then open it up for you in case there’s anything that we haven’t touched on that you think is really important to include. So there’s a lot of attention paid to segregation in the K-12 system in New York City, but Pre-K classrooms are actually more segregated than kindergarten classrooms. But this often gets left out of the conversation in New York City. And so do you have any ideas for how, and where the city can start addressing racial and economic segregation in its Pre-K classrooms?

“Racial, economic gaps are widening among NYC’s free pre-K programs, researchers say” by Christina Veiga

Shaun Donovan (21:02)

So, I absolutely have ideas. I would say the biggest, boldest idea is about how we address segregation, starting at a very early age. And first of all, it begins with the fact that, we’re never going to truly solve segregation and inequality, unless we focus on our housing. Because the racial segregation in our neighborhoods is a root cause of the segregation that starts at an early age. And that’s why I led, as housing secretary for President Obama, the real, giving it for the first time really, since the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968, real meaning to what the Fair Housing Act intended to do, which is actively promote integration and more equity in our neighborhoods. This is why Christina, when Donald Trump still had a Twitter account, he was attacking my work last year with the racist statement that we were trying to destroy the suburbs by ensuring that Black and brown people could live wherever they choose in our city, in our country. And I would, as mayor make absolutely make sure that every New Yorker can live wherever they choose. And so that’s a root cause, particularly at the earliest ages, because as you know, neighborhood based childcare and early learning opportunities are critical for families across this city. So that that’s one root issue that we need to attack, and nobody would attack it, you know, in a more aggressive way than then I would. Second, what I would say is, especially as we move toward better equalization of centers, that family and neighborhood based centers are improved, in quality, in pay, in benefits. That’s going to have a disproportionately positive impact on families of color to make sure that we have better opportunities. I also think starting at a very young age, we need to be thinking about changing the way we screen kids. I believe testing at four-years-old for gifted and talented, all the the evidence is, that it is not effective way. And so as we’re building out more opportunities for quality early learning in Black and brown neighborhoods across this city through my 15 Minute Neighborhood proposal. At the same time, we have to make sure that we’re building a system that gives access to our youngest learners, to all the special opportunities that our current gifted and talented program provides. And building out more seats in those in those neighborhoods as well. Lastly, I would just say that, it’s going to be critically important that we ensure at our youngest ages, that we’re making investments in things we know work for reading, and others, particularly for students with disabilities. What we know is that the early earliest screening that directs children into those programs, into Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) has real discriminatory elements, and we’ve got to take a hard look at that, to ensure that we’re not tracking Black and brown kids into directions in school at an early age, that are going to fundamentally change their chance at opportunity. And this is something I’m the only candidate who is proposed creating a Chief Equity Officer reporting directly to me as mayor that would have purview over education, and every other agency in the city. And that’s going to be critically important to make sure that we’re measuring, in every single one of these areas, what the different impacts are for communities of color in New York, and ensure that we’re making changes continuously to ensure equity in every area.

Christina Veiga (25:10)

Is there anything that we haven’t touched on in terms of early education, childcare, after school programming, summer programming, to include in this interview?

Shaun Donovan (25:24)

Yeah. So just building on what we’ve talked about, I would say, to two more things. One is really on equity more broadly. This is in early learning, but throughout the system. Building on my Chief Equity Officer, making sure that we create a publicly available equity report card for the entire city, for every school district. That would really allow parents and families to know the truth, and to hold our school system accountable. That’s going to be a critical piece, and establishing a diversity and integration office, within the Department of Education that really coordinates all these efforts. Those are pieces that I think really go to this issue of equity, that I know you’ve been so focused on, and Chalkbeat has been so focused on, that’s going to be critically important. The last thing I would just say, though too is, you know, stepping back, we have to understand that this has been a year of trauma, of pain, of loss, like no other for our children and our families. And and as a lifelong New Yorker who grew up in the 70s and 80s, who was moved to enter public service because of the terrible crisis of homelessness, of abandonment of neighborhoods, that I saw around me, having lived through, and led through 9/11, and [Hurricane] Sandy, and the mortgage crisis. Crisis-after-crisis in the city. None of those, I believe, has done as much damage, has created as much trauma, pain and loss, for our children and our families as this past year has. And so starting at the very earliest ages, we need to make sure that as we’re getting our city back, we are making sure that we’re not just getting children and families back into the classrooms, back into early learning centers. We have to really focus on that trauma. And so for me, in addition to adding 150 social workers to our school system, and also making sure that we’re really creating, I think one of the most innovative proposals in my education plan, the Education Recovery Corps. I would put young people to work, CUNY students, recent graduates, hopefully the teachers of the future in our city, that will increase diversity in our in our classrooms, and then increase our diversity of our teaching corps, that we’re putting those Education Recovery Corps to work, not just to accelerate academic recovery, but to really focus on the social and emotional needs of our children. And as you know, for our young children that may not be verbal. It’s going to take real training to understand through, whether it’s drawing, or other kinds of innovative channels, arts, and dance and movement, helping our youngest children really deal with the trauma, the pain and the loss that they’ve been through. You know, my wife’s a landscape architect, and one of the very first projects she ever worked on was a therapeutic garden, to help young children who’ve been through trauma who couldn’t verbalize it. They are really innovative ways that we could begin to partner with our early learning centers to deal with this trauma and loss, to ensure that our children recover not just academically, but emotionally as well. And unless we do justice to the pain and the loss that our children have have gone through, and our families have gone through, we’re never going to allow them to really fully heal from this year that we’ve all been through.

Watch: NYC mayoral candidate Scott Stringer on early education, youth programs

2021-06-10T14:05:02+00:00

Read our voting guide covering all candidates here.

The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Christina Veiga (0:00)

Okay, so thank you for taking the time to do this. I know that you’ve been talking about these issues for a long time. We’re going to be focusing on on Pre-K, early education, child care, and also after school, and other youth services like summer programming. So I want to start off with a big picture question, which is that, there is a lot more federal attention, and resources being paid to early childhood education and care. So how would you prioritize the funds that are going to be coming into New York City? What parts of the system? Would you, for example, expand and build out? And where would you invest to strengthen and improve what we already have?

“Unprecedented federal funding is on the way. High-poverty schools are starting to reckon with how to spend it.” by Matt Barnum and Kalyn Belsha

Scott Stringer (0:44)

It makes sense that there is now a serious federal discussion about childcare, and early education. Everybody knows the statistics don’t lie. I mean, zero to three is where 80% of brain development occurs in a child. And while the success of Pre-K, Three - K have addressed early education needs, I think New York City should be prepared to lead the nation in implementing the largest universal childcare plan in the country. And the way to do that is to look at how do we get it done in my NYC Under Three plan is about making sure that we have the funds available to do the expansion. And we have that now there’s $2.4 billion coming from the federal government. But we also have other plans, whether it’s to increase the payroll taxes of the wealthiest companies. The point is, we have to generate the financial infrastructure, and then we need to build out to do two things: we either have to create more space, and close the childcare deserts, and we have to make sure that as we triple the number of kids that could receive subsidized childcare, we have to make sure that we fund that as well. I have a five-year plan that would build this out, as you know, and look, we can’t open reopen the same way we closed. Part of the reason why we need childcare. So people, mostly women, mostly women of color can get back into the workforce. The choice of staying home with the child, and not having a career, is just long overdue for change. And we can do that now coming out of this pandemic.

Christina Veiga (2:22)

So I want to focus on Pre-K and childcare. So the city has obviously made strides in making Pre-K available to to more children, but affordable infant and toddler care can still be really hard to come by, very expensive. There is currently a backlog of families who are waiting to receive vouchers to help them pay for care. And meanwhile, centers say that they have spots that are empty. So what’s your diagnosis of where the problem lies there? And how would you fix it?

Scott Stringer (2:55)

Look, ask any family, you either can’t find childcare space, or you can’t afford it. The city only has enough licensed childcare slots for about 6% of the New York City infants. So costs, this is very critical to overcome, and access. And we’ve done the analysis in my office about where the childcare deserts are. There are 10 neighborhoods, including Bushwick, and Sunnyside, Woodside. These are neighborhoods that suffered badly for lack of childcare investment. So we have to use the NYC Under Three plan. As a way of building out that infrastructure. I do think our Pre-K and Three - K model works. Because we were able to close those deserts, we were able to bring childcare to, Pre-K to communities, through community based organizations, the Department of Education, the same process must be used again. And one of the things that I think we have to think about is under NYC Under Three, we need to spend $500 million capital commitment to over five years to create more centers, and more renovations for home based care. This is our next challenge because if we can get zero to three, right, we can then ramp up a new education plan for the post-pandemic kids who very much need it.

Christina Veiga (4:14)

Do you have any thoughts about the voucher landscape right now and how to make sure that families are able to access those and that centers are able to enroll children.

Scott Stringer (4:24)

The voucher aspect of this is critical. I think we have to streamline this bureaucracy. I think we have to also identify with those vouchers, and how they can be used. But what I would say to you is the the challenge here right now is to do something much bigger. And so, make sure that we basically commit to every parent who does not have economic means, we have to commit that we will find the child care, zero to three that they need. And so this part of my mayoral platform is, yes, to manage the voucher system well, to identify where those vouchers need to go. But we also know that, under voucher programs, there’s a lot of federal requirements. There’s a lot of challenges to it. A massive expansion of childcare is, how we, I think, satisfy the demand.

Christina Veiga (5:13)

So, while you’re working on that, many working families rely on child care that goes beyond the school day, and beyond the school year, extended day, extended care, especially in Pre-K. But providers say that there are not enough of those seats. So do you think that there should be universal access to extended school day, and extended school year, specifically in the early education space?

Scott Stringer (5:40)

I think right now, we have to have equal aftercare after school and daycare for our kids. And the truth is, the people who get that daycare or after school programs are parents like myself, who have the ability to put down a credit card and look for existing program, find a new program, and pay for it without batting an eye. And so, for a certain segment of the parent population, even in the public schools, the system is working. What I worry about is the kids who come from public housing, don’t have internet access, the kids who are homeless, the kids who come from single family homes. There’s no way that their parents can afford any of this. And we need to bring our community based organizations to the forefront and expand this day camp and other recreational programs. We know that community based organizations (CBOs) are already staffed with social workers. But there’s a pressure point because they can’t expand because of finances, and their own capacity. And we need to leverage different relationships we have in the city, through procurement, through other means, to get them into a place where they can serve more people.

Christina Veiga (6:54)

I want to turn to the workforce, the early childhood education workforce is predominantly women, many of them women of color. And they also tend to be among the lowest paid workers in the city. We have seen some progress on that in Pre-K centers, and community based organizations (CBOs). But there’s still issues like longevity pay, you know, some of these teachers have been working in community based organizations (CBOs) for a long, long time, and aren’t compensated for that experience. And also, Special Education, Pre-K teachers have largely been left out of this conversation. So what is your plan for achieving salary parity? And what’s your timeframe for getting it done?

“Does Biden’s plan for a $15 minimum wage for child care workers go far enough?” by Ann Schimke, Cassie Walker Burke, and Koby Levin

Scott Stringer (7:31)

You know, we, as parents, leave our kids, our children, our babies, with providers, and we ask them to care for them, to nurture them, to literally feed them, to keep them safe. When you leave, when I left my little Max and Miles at the daycare center, the childcare center, I mean, I thought about it all day long. You know, I hoped that the person who will be taking care of them was someone who had credentials, and passion for the work. And I learned very quickly that there’s nothing like childcare workers, because they have a tremendous responsibility. How this city, treats them financially, the way they do, is absolutely unacceptable, and unsustainable. I want to make this profession, the profession it is, by providing the resources and this pay parity that we desperately need to do. We need to continue to attract workers, if we’re going to expand childcare. If we can’t have the workforce, we can’t expand. So for me, one of the top priorities will be as mayor to implement a massive pay parity plan to get the workers the resources they need. Because think about this, they give our children back to us at the end of the day. And then, they go home, and take care of their own kids, and grandkids. And they’re having trouble paying the rent, or providing for their child’s future. This is not sustainable in the greatest city on Earth. Now, how can we do this? Look we won in Georgia. Biden became president. We’re coming out of a pandemic. We have buckets of money. We have childcare money. We have other infrastructure money coming. The next mayor has got to build capacity to get this expansion done. I’m less concerned about how to pay for it as I am about how to implement it. And one of the ways that I’ve learned how to implement is not to do it top down. I’ve had meetings throughout the city with childcare workers, local community based organizations, parents, the people who are in the centers, they know how to do this, and implement it in communities. And as mayor, I will look at all of the childcare deserts, I will look at all the places that we need implementation. There’s 10 neighborhoods that are literally childcare deserts, but there’s a whole lot of communities that would love to act as either home base, or other ways of going into a facility, if there was an opportunity to do that, and that’s going to be my priority as mayor,

Christina Veiga (10:10)

How quickly do you think you might be able to achieve pay parity?

Scott Stringer (10:14)

we’re going to go right in on day one. We’re going to bring everybody to the table, and we’re going to fight in the city budget. I will make it a budget ask in the first budget that I put forth as mayor, and then we’re going to continue to stick to it. We cannot keep the people who are taking care of the most special things in our lives cannot be paid as if they’re, you know, taking care of, you know, someone’s lunch. This is an this is an incredible opportunity, one, to provide quality childcare, to our kids, we now know if they get it, they will be much more ahead in life. But to get quality childcare, you get what you pay for. And on behalf of the children, and the providers, pay parity seems like a weak word to me. Because what we really should be talking about is creating professionalism, creating career advancement, in the biggest expansion of childcare in the city’s history that I will implement, and it’s all written out. You know, we have come to terms with the fact that 24% of childcare workers live in poverty. And when you look at my NYC Under Three plan, parity is actually built into the plan. It’s not an afterthought, you can’t go forward unless you do it.

Christina Veiga (11:32)

And who are we including in this? Because part of the problem here is that the early childhood system is so fragmented. You have community organizations, you have the state helping to pay for Special Education, Pre-K, you have school based centers. So who are we talking about here?

Scott Stringer (11:49)

Well, we have to we have to level the playing field, there is a two-tiered system of early childhood education in the city. And that I think, is unsustainable. We have to look at how Pre-K and Three-K were flawed in the sense that they were built on the backs of providers without providing parity for the contracted workers. So that has to be fixed in our next rollout. And the reality is that contracted programs make up 60% of all the Pre-K seats in New York, but are constantly funded at lower level rates than fully public Pre-K option. So Pre-K is so critical. I commend Mayor de Blasio for it, but we have a guidepost as to how we can bring parity faster and closer to an expansion of childcare.

Christina Veiga (12:36)

So I want to shift to after school and summer programming, which like extended school day, and school year options, are really important for working families. But the providers who provide these services say that every year they’re trapped in a “budget dance” where they have to fight for the funding to do this. So would you want to end this “budget dance” which programs if any, would you like to see have more permanent sustainable funding in the long term?

“NYC official: Funding for summer jobs program expected to increase, following year of steep cuts?” by Reema Amin

Scott Stringer (13:02)

I mentioned this earlier, but I want to go back to this after school is mostly or a lot for the kids whose parents have resources. And as a parent, I have taken advantage of those resources because I can pay for it. My wife and I have the financial means. But it also speaks to the issue of how long the child goes to school. Because whether you’re paying for robotics, or chess, or athletics, it’s part of the learning of your child. And right now, certain parents have a school year, or certain kids have a school year, from 8:40 in the morning, to five o’clock when after school ends. And other kids who do not have financial resources and 2:40 or 2:30, and up on the couch, only because, it’s impossible for some parents to pay the rent, let alone provide the child that they love the most with the things that the kid needs. So this is going to be my mantra as mayor: if my kid gets chess, every kid gets chess, if I my kid gets robotics, every kid gets robotics. After school, and sports, and athletics, everybody has to have one tier of care, and opportunity. I propose $200 million in this budget going forward, to make sure that we have equalized child after school programming, and that we make it available and make the community based organizations available to ramp up, step up, and make sure that no child will be left without a robust after school program. To do anything less is just a disservice, and I think creates an unequal education, especially in communities of color, and we’ve covered it up for too long. And as to the “budget dance,” you know, I know a little bit about this budget dance watching it as comptroller commenting on it, sometimes criticizing it. We’re going to baseline $200 million in the budget every year for after school. So there’s no longer going to be in doubt about who gets what, and who has the best lobbyists, and who has the best connections. It’s just going to be equal. And that’s how the only way to go forward, and you know, have, when you think about our childcare plan, and our after school plan, or teach residency plan, or two teacher plan, I am talking about a massive $1 billion investment into the school system. But I also want you to know, as comptroller, I found the money, I know how we can pay for it. So this is not one of those empty campaign promises, that when you win, activist groups, and advocates come and say, “hey, remember what he said, Let’s go, he wrote it down, we have them on video,” and you can’t get in the front door, because this is going to be paid.

Christina Veiga (15:44)

It sounded like you’re suggesting universal after school care, universal programs is that the case?

Scott Stringer (15:52)

We’re never going to lift up all of our children unless we stop being incrementalist. We are at a moment with the pandemic where we can’t afford to do things the incremental way, the time for change is here with us. And what I’m delivering for, not just the voters, but for advocates, is a detailed plan, a detailed education plan, that speaks to a couple of real goals with money attached. We have to do our childcare expansion, it’s time for universal childcare. It’s time to put two teachers in every classroom in public schools, K to five. Because what we’ve learned in private schools, and charter schools, and in wealthy Parent Association schools, when you put two teachers in the classroom, things happen, magic happens, equal education happens, more tutoring happens. And that’s something that we have to realize as well, that’s $300 million. And we can put pay for that, as well. So you then start thinking about how we get the system to be fundamentally different. When people have asked me as well, if you’re going to expand all this, who’s going to do the teaching, just like we talked about who’s going to do the childcare, and I propose a teacher residency program, the likes we’ve never seen, because we’re losing 40% of our teachers after five years, because there isn’t professional development. They don’t see this as a long term career. But we know from other municipalities is that when you have a residency program, when you give a teacher a stipend in her, let her or him, his, last year of schooling, to work with a mentor teacher, to make that part of the curriculum, that teacher becomes quickly integrated into the system. Otherwise, teachers get two weeks of training. They get thrown into the classroom, and they’re great. But why do we have to treat their profession like this? We would never do that to a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, or any other professions that we have. So a teacher residency program, under our administration would attract 1,000 teachers a year, we would pay the stipend, then we would start building our bench, the next generation of teachers. And that’s what we have to do to make this entire plan work.

Christina Veiga (17:59)

So the next mayor will take office about midway through the next school year. But I would love to hear your thoughts about what the city can and should be doing right now to get buy in from families to make sure that they return. We’ve seen that in Pre-K, there’s been a significant drop in enrollment, we’ve seen that families of colors have been very reluctant to return back to buildings. So what needs to be done now to build that trust for next school year?

“No remote learning option for NYC next school year, de Blasio announces” by Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman

Scott Stringer (18:29)

Well, I know that first and foremost, parents want consistency, and they want certainty. And they also want their questions answered in real time. I believe that the pandemic has showed the cracks in the system. We certainly did not have enough resources to keep teachers and faculty safe. We have to make that massive investment, because the one thing we know is, we just never know what’s going to come our way. But we also need to make sure, that we’re doing the outreach to parents when answering questions. And right now, not when the mayor takes office, the next mayor, we need to prepare our kids for the post pandemic reality of mental health issues, which I feel is really coming. We have a lot of kids who lost their moms and dads, they were frontline workers. Who’s going to be talking to them when they get back to school? I know my own two little kids lost their grandmother. There’s really been no closure. In fact, the person who my son confided in, was his teacher. During the pandemic, he just wanted someone to talk to, my other child who I thought was not as impacted by his grandmother’s death from COVID, just one day he was on a Zoom call, and started to burst into tears, and we rushed to see him said “Miles why are you crying?” and “grandma,” right in the middle of, right in the middle of a Zoom, right? Remote learning. He just, it just hit him, 10 months later, and, but here we have two parents rushing to his side. We have kids who watch their dad, their mom, I mean, we have to do that as well. So I think if we can continue to work on safety issues, and not everything. You know, it’s easy to say to a teacher, “yeah, just walk into the classroom.” You need to show the teacher, and the janitor, and the, you know, the safety officer that the place is safe. We’re doing that in our office facility workers. Second, you must make sure that we have services that our kids are going to need, that perhaps they didn’t need as much as they did. I think we need to put 2,300 social workers into schools, we should start doing that now. This is the only way we’re going to get schools open. But I’m, look, it’s time to open, it’s time to open in a safe way. And when we open we’re going to have new challenges in education for our kids. And lastly, let me say in terms of academics. You know, there are kids who are going to need extra tutoring. Remember, a lot of our children were already behind pre-pandemic because of their difficult family situations. So let’s prioritize those children as well, to make sure they’re getting the extra instruction, as well as the services they need for their families.

Christina Veiga (21:19)

So I think that does it for us. I do want to just open it up for you if you have the time, if there’s anything that we haven’t talked about, that you think is important to include in here. I feel like maybe we didn’t touch too much on summer programming things like internships.

Scott Stringer (21:33)

Well, I you know, I look I want to do address the issue of summer camp. You know, some parents made plans months ago to send the kids to camp. And they made those plans. Others didn’t know that summer camp was open. So what I want to be able to do is partner with community based organizations to expand free day camps and other record recreational activities. And focus on serving communities hit hardest by COVID. Open up street pools, and get creative, and make every street, and every playground a summer camp for our children. We have got to make them believe that this city is back for them as well. I was talking to a parent the other night who has a one-and-a-half-year-old who doesn’t know any anything, but wearing a mask. Did you ever think about that? A one year old has in this life, has been wearing a mask, and having all these safety requirements. That’s how they think the world works. So we’ve got to sort of begin to tell them this world is wide open. You don’t even know the great things that this city has to offer. And I think that’s going to be exciting for city government, and play a role in that.

Tell us: How would limits on teaching about racism and social justice affect your Michigan classroom?

2021-06-01T19:54:50+00:00

Michigan teachers would be limited in what they could teach about how race and racism have shaped American history under Republican-backed legislation that critics worry will have a chilling effect on classroom discussions.

If enacted, districts that teach critical race theory or material from The 1619 Project would lose 5% of their funding. Critical race theory delves into race relations in the U.S. and how racism, bias, and historic inequities influence people and policies. The 1619 Project is a New York Times initiative that puts Black history and the consequences of slavery at the center of the U.S. national narrative.

Schools could also lose funding if students are “directed… to personally affirm” what the bill describes as “anti-American” and “racist” theories, such as that any race is inherently superior or inferior to another race, or that the U.S. is a fundamentally racist country.”

The fate of the legislation remains unclear. The Michigan legislature is controlled by Republicans, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is a Democrat.

Chalkbeat wants to hear from Michigan teachers: How will this legislation affect you? What are your most pressing questions and concerns? Let us know in the survey below.

To read the text of the bill, go here.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

Tennessee educators: How would limits on teaching about racism and social justice affect your classroom?

2021-05-06T21:33:25+00:00

Beginning next school year, Tennessee teachers will have to restrict their instruction on race and racism under newly passed legislation that’s likely to become law.

Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign the bill that passed along partisan lines during the last week of the legislative session for Tennessee’s GOP-controlled General Assembly.

The legislation allows the state education commissioner to withhold funds from schools and districts where teachers promote certain concepts about racism, sexism, bias, and other social issues that are part of the nation’s history.

Among concepts that teachers will be unable to discuss: that one race bears responsibility for the past actions against another; the United States is fundamentally racist; and a person is inherently privileged or oppressive due to their race.

Chalkbeat wants to hear from Tennessee teachers at this moment: How will this legislation affect you? What are your most pressing questions and concerns? Let us know in the survey below.

Having trouble viewing the survey on mobile? Go here.

Students, what do you want the world to know about life as an Asian American? Tell us in a six-word story.

2021-03-30T22:49:05+00:00

The avalanche of pain caused by the tragic spa shootings in the Atlanta area in March was all too familiar to many Asian Americans. The shocking violence — resulting in the deaths of eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent — prompted vigils, marches, and demands to stop the Asian hate.

But we have been here before — moments filled with racism, hate, and fear.

Asian Americans have endured everything from physical attacks and verbal harassment to civil rights violations and online bullying this year, according to a national report released by Stop AAPI Hate, an organization formed in the wake of the escalating bigotry during the coronavirus pandemic. While the 3,795 incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate from March 2020 to Feb. 2021 were troubling, the organization says they reflect only a fraction of the incidents that have taken place, as many go unreported.

We want to hear from Asian American students and allies. How are you and your school community talking about racist violence and the targeting of Asian Americans? What should we be talking more about? What are your most pressing concerns and your deepest wishes? Chalkbeat asked Black students similar questions after the death of George Floyd last spring.

We invite students to answer any (or all) of the survey questions below. This form is confidential. But if you are OK with Chalkbeat publishing your answers, along with your name and the city where you’re from, let us know at the end. We won’t publish your contact information. We just ask for it in case we have a follow-up question or clarification.

We also know that some of you might be interested in writing more on this topic — and we encourage you to read our First Person guidelines and consider pitching a personal essay.

Please submit your thoughts by April 9. Select responses will be published on Chalkbeat’s website and social media channels. We can’t wait to hear from you.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

How this NYC special education teacher creates a supportive ‘village of love’ for students and families

2021-03-29T20:23:11+00:00

Danielle Guggenheim missed her physical classroom so much, she took on a weekend volunteer shift at her neighborhood farmers market in the Bronx.

Every Saturday this past year, weather permitting, Guggenheim has sat outside and read books aloud to any children that wanted to stop and listen while their families shopped. Guggenheim said she is grateful to have the option to work remotely during the COVID-19 crisis, but she misses in-person interactions intensely.

Guggenheim has been an elementary special education teacher at P.S. 200, The James McCune Smith School, in Harlem for six years and an educator in New York City for more than two decades. She describes this pandemic year as “the most difficult in teaching and in mothering” — she shares an at-home workspace with her 12-year-old daughter.

Danielle Guggenheim has taught from home for most of the pandemic.

Still, Guggenheim believes the core of her work hasn’t changed despite the difficult switch to remote learning: To care for students and their parents as if they are family. She spoke with Chalkbeat recently about why she encourages her families to take on the role of “parent coaches,” what she does weekly to keep anxiety at bay, and lessons she hopes education leaders will take with them post-pandemic.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. This is part of an ongoing, collaborative series between Chalkbeat and THE CITY investigating learning differences, special education and other education challenges in city schools.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

My uncle says from the time I was 4 or 5 that I was teaching. Which I guess is not surprising, because I come from a family of educators. My father was a teacher and my mom, a retired principal. I have an aunt who was a professor in the Black Studies program at the City College of New York. I don’t think I decided, I think it was a calling.

What does a typical day look like for you now?

I start every morning with a walk. After months of our country’s pandemic crisis and then George Floyd’s murder — I realized I was experiencing severe anxiety attacks. To alleviate my anxiety, I started to walk around a reservoir in my neighborhood daily, and I immediately realized that it had a calming effect on me. This is how I start every day before logging on for classes and small group check-ins with my students. I’m on the computer all day and then I make calls to parents or help my daughter with her work. It’s difficult — that daily walk is so key to my mental health.

What challenges do you face teaching students with disabilities during this year?

Guggenheim’s students gather at the window in her classroom last school year, before the pandemic.

I’m also learning as we go. I’ve been in a physical classroom for 20 years, I’m great at that. With technology, it’s a steep learning curve to be online. I’m not sure I have been able to replicate that hands-on learning experience that’s key to teaching young students with disabilities. I’m also not able to get them to play with one another or interact with each other online in the same way.

I work with students on the autism spectrum, and one of the challenging behaviors I would work on with the parents is limiting the usage of the devices. Now that we are relying on them so heavily, I’m a bit concerned. What will be the long-term impact of so much screen time?

What’s your advice for great parent relationships?

I have to get to know my kids. And knowing them means that I also have to get to know my families, the caregivers. At the start of every year, I make the time to listen to their stories and find out what their goals are for their children. I was taught that my teachers were extended members of my family. I really feel that children learn best when they are in a village of love. I love my kids, and I come to love their parents as well. We’re family, your kid is mine. I take that seriously.

After I listen to my parents and understand their hopes and concerns, I teach them how to work with their children. I model for them a lesson and explain why I am teaching this way. Parents are their child’s first teacher. I find that in the community I work in, the parents don’t always feel empowered. People don’t appreciate the assets that they have. I feel that it is my job as an educator to teach my students to be gifted learners, yes, but also to teach my families how to work with me as parent coaches, as co-teachers in their home classrooms.

How has this work with students and their families changed during the pandemic?

Relationships are everything, and that hasn’t diminished this past year, despite so much change. I’m still accessible, and I work with parents on certain lessons, so they know how to best help their child. For example, if I’m working on a kindergarten lesson, I explain why it’s important for kids to be able to know the letter sounds, isolate the letter sounds, and blend them. That helps them with decoding, literacy, with fluency. Parents become so invested when they understand the science or philosophy behind a lesson, they see it as something they can help with at home rather than just work we do at school. It’s not just a lesson — it’s setting up their child to read and speak.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your school?

Guggenheim reads aloud to children at her neighborhood farmers market. She told Chalkbeat this experience has made her think more about outdoor learning opportunities.

I live in the Bronx, in an underserved community that things “happen to.” You look up and a building has been torn down, but your community didn’t know that was happening. You’re not at the table where decisions are made about your community. This brings me to why schools, especially in urban areas, need to put community members at the decision-making table.

And we will tell you that the way we view school needs to change, before this pandemic and after. In taking my daily walks for my mental health, I realized that being outdoors helped my state of mind and that my neighborhood and school lack open green spaces. This year, I started doing read-alouds at the farmers market in my neighborhood because I realized children were gathering there.

I did it more for me than anything else, but I realized how much better it was to sit in the sunshine, feel the grass, and learn without having to sit at a desk for hours. I do hope this pandemic has shown us the potential for more outdoor learning, and if we could prioritize this, I believe students like mine would benefit greatly.

This story is part of a collaboration supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

Indiana schools will get nearly $2 billion more in federal stimulus funding. Tell us how your district should spend its share.

2021-03-23T20:38:22+00:00

Indiana schools will receive nearly $2 billion through the third round of federal pandemic stimulus funding, and most of that will go directly to districts and charter networks.

School leaders will have a lot of flexibility to determine how to spend the money, though the federal government has said they must use at least 20% to address learning gaps that have developed during the pandemic.

How would you like to see your district or charter school spend the money? What priorities should school leaders keep in mind? Tell us in the survey below.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

Panel: To educate Michigan’s missing students, districts have to address systemic issues beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

2021-03-22T21:11:01+00:00

Chronic absenteeism isn’t a new issue in Michigan, but it has been greatly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chalkbeat Detroit convened a conversation last week to foster suggestions for how districts could improve attendance, find disengaged students, and prepare them for the fall semester. Enrollment in Michigan public schools plunged last fall by 61,940 students in preschool through 12th grade. That loss underscores the need to provide students with extra academic and emotional support.

“When you look at 2017-18 chronic absence data, we had about 8 million kids nationwide who were chronically absent,” said Hedy Chang, panelist and leader of the non-profit advocacy organization Attendance Works. That makes Michigan eighth highest among states, she said. “In a pandemic, we know that kids are more likely to face challenges in getting to school and the most likely to miss virtual school.”

The Rev. Larry Simmons, a panelist and a longtime education advocate in Detroit, described some students he knew as “disoriented, isolated, and depressed,” because they are out of the daily rhythm of going to school. But he cautioned school leaders from viewing all students who aren’t showing up for class as “missing.”

“Parents know where their children are,” Simmons said. “Children haven’t disappeared from their homes. What we have to do is use our networks to reach out to families to offer them resources to help them get their kids to school.”

Sarah Winchell Lenhoff, an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies in Wayne State University’s College of Education, said during the event that districts have to look at the biggest barriers to getting to school, including transportation, health care, and other factors related to poverty.

Bo Torres agreed that this is especially true for Latino communities and other communities of color, who long have faced barriers in getting to school. “When we start addressing these systemic issues, then we can take a closer look at chronic absence.”

One barrier reinforced by the pandemic is the technological divide preventing families from taking full advantage of virtual learning, said Torres, who created the Padres Fuertes Initiative in Kent County.

Find the full recording of our conversation below. This event is the second in a series of conversations hosted by Chalkbeat Detroit, the Education Trust-Midwest, and the Detroit Free Press.

What to do about Michigan’s missing students
What can decision-makers and school leaders do to find and help Michigan’s missing students? What should school districts be preparing for as school buildings slowly reopen? Join Chalkbeat Detroit now for a moderated conversation with: -Tabitha Bentley, Education Trust -Koby Levin, Chalkbeat -Hedy Chang, Attendance Works -Sarah Lenhoff, Wayne State University -Larry Simmons, Brightmoor Alliance and Every School Day Counts -Bo Torres, Strong Beginnings – Healthy Start
Posted by Chalkbeat Detroit on Thursday, March 18, 2021

The panel included:

Koby Levin, Chalkbeat
Hedy Chang, Attendance Works
Sarah Lenhoff, Wayne State University
Bo Torres, Strong Beginnings – Healthy Start
Larry Simmons, Every School Day Counts and Brightmoor Alliance

How should Illinois spend its share of another $5.1 billion in federal stimulus funding for schools? Tell us.

2021-03-18T15:15:34+00:00

Illinois is set to receive more than $5 billion in federal stimulus funding for schools, and most of that will go directly to districts. Chicago, the state’s largest district, will receive about $1.8 billion of that — money leaders have said will go toward mounting costs of reopening campuses and addressing learning disruptions from the pandemic.

Superintendents and school boards will have a lot of flexibility to determine where to direct the money, though the federal government has said they must use at least 20% to address learning gaps.

How would you like to see your district spend the money? What priorities should superintendents and school boards keep in mind? Tell us in the survey below.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

We’re building a better system for tracking source diversity — and we need your help

2021-03-09T15:49:32+00:00

Every news organization should be able to answer this question: “Does your journalism accurately reflect the communities you serve?”

Historically, we know that disproportionately white newsrooms and the journalism they produce have not been inclusive of Black, Latino, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities, among others. Industry-wide, we must diversify our newsrooms for the sake of our future and our ability to connect with the communities we report with and for. We also know we have to develop better systems to keep track of whose voices and perspectives we’re elevating. We need those systems to hold ourselves accountable.

How we started

Two years ago, our then editor-in-chief and a working group of Chalkbeat’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging committee embarked on a source audit of two popular recurring features: How I Teach, in which reporters interview educators about their best practices and lessons learned, and First Person, essays by parents, students, teachers, and other individuals on the front lines of efforts to improve public education.

We looked for source audit examples from other newsrooms, and we soon realized there was a problem: While many media organizations are trying to do this work, we’ve been doing so in silos and starting from scratch each time.

Some individual journalists, including Ben Casselman of the New York Times, are doing this on their own, while newsrooms such as WHYY, KCUR, Spotlight PA, Wisconsin Public Radio, and North Carolina Health News have made headway with systems ranging from low-tech spreadsheets to building forms into content management systems.

For Chalkbeat’s audit, we set up a Google Sheet and manually tallied the gender and race/ethnicity demographics of First Person authors and of the teachers, administrators, and school workers featured in How I Teach throughout 2018 and into 2019. We found that Chalkbeat was overrepresenting white voices when we compared to the makeup of the school districts we cover. We shared these findings with Gabrielle Birkner, the editor newly overseeing both features, to incorporate race and gender questions into the interviewing and editing process. And in our later analysis of 2020 data, we found that we increased the share of Black and Hispanic/Latina(o) voices. To continue making progress in this area, we need to seek out more voices of Native American and Latino authors and educators, as well as those whose gender identity doesn’t conform to the male-female binary.

While we’d love to expand this kind of audit to the rest of Chalkbeat’s reporting, we realized another problem: Asking our reporters and editors to track this data manually could prove time-consuming and inefficient.

Next steps

We want to create a system where we can efficiently track the diversity of our sources over time, and hold ourselves accountable for representing diverse voices from the communities we serve. We also want to build a comprehensive source database for reporters across our expanding network of bureaus.

We want to solve these problems — and share solutions beyond Chalkbeat. In partnership with the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, this year we’ll work to create a replicable resource that any journalism organization can use to track and improve source diversity.

First, we need your help: We’re starting this project with an audit of the audits, so to speak, to learn what’s worked well and what hasn’t in other newsrooms’ systems for source tracking.

Does your newsroom have lessons to share? Or are you thinking about creating a system of your own? Either way, let us know in the form below. We’d love to reach out and circle back with our findings.

Having trouble viewing this form on mobile? Go here.

How are Chicago’s students? What families said about learning in a tumultuous year

2021-02-25T15:21:46+00:00

Nearly a year after Chicago closed schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, Chalkbeat Chicago asked parents and students for an assessment of how students were faring in a topsy-turvy year.

We received more than 350 responses from families and students citywide. When asked whether the student in their home was on pace academically, families were divided, with some reporting that they believed their learners were behind grade-level standards, some saying they believed their child was on pace or ahead of where they should be academically, and significant numbers unsure how to gauge.

In anecdotal comments, parents and students overwhelmingly expressed concern about negative impacts on mental health and on students’ motivation for academics, more so than mastering particular concepts. Some families expressed these concerns even if they reported feeling positive about the year overall.

There was optimism. Some families felt overwhelmingly encouraged by the experiences of the past school year, suggesting that technological skills children learned during the experience would be useful for future employment.

Some other observations stood out: Regardless of whether they chose the district’s hybrid plan or to stick with remote learning for now, families lamented the instability caused by the district’s terse negotiations with the teachers union. Families consistently wanted more communication from their principals and from the district. Several worried that the vocal pushback from teachers earlier in the year made parents less likely to express their needs. And some fretted that teachers would, knowingly or not, penalize students who returned to classrooms.

Families also shared some of the reasons why they chose to return to in-person learning or stay fully remote. Safety was a major factor, but it wasn’t the only one. Factors influencing those decisions ranged widely and included a lack of after care, temporary resettlement outside the city that would make commuting to schools difficult or impossible, and whether children’s teachers were returning or had sought accommodations to continue to work remotely.

Here’s some of what we learned in the words of parents and students.

Recognizing challenges, some parents and students still felt positive overall about the year.

“Teachers have worked thoughtfully to adapt curriculum, to provide differentiated instruction, and to make remote learning as fun and engaging as it can be. Another disruption in how these teachers are teaching and how students learn is not in the best interest of our students. Children excel when they have a consistent environment with clear expectations. A new learning plan in the middle of the year is not what is best for our young students.” — Cortney Ritsema, parent of three

Cortney Ritsema’s twins, Adelyn and Mila, play dress up. They are 5-year-olds in preschool at New Field Elementary.

“It has been a really good experience. My son’s teacher along with their team works tirelessly with constant parent communication, quarterly assessments, daily active lessons, remote centers. It has actually been a really good experience for him.” — Jaime Queroz, parent of a kindergarten student

“It is taxing but my children are doing fine with our support.” — Danielle Bridges, parent of three and CPS teacher

“It’s not the Kindergarten year I’d have wanted for him, but given what the reality of life is right now, it’s as good as it can be.” — Anne Cooper, parent and social worker with Chicago Public Schools

Anne Cooper’s son, Arthur, sits alongside his learning mates Merlin the cat and Watson the dog.

“They are normally A & B students and have been able to maintain their grades. I understand that remote learning is not ideal, but my kids have been learning and their teachers have been great. I also expect all kids to be a little behind this year and I believe teachers do too, so there will be quite a bit of catching up when they return. At this point, with teachers having to teach in person and remote simultaneously, I have reached the point where I throw my hands up in the air.” — Miriam Santiago, parent of two

“My children are a little behind, but everyone is a little behind. Compared with other districts, my children are at the same level because everyone is suffering. Our lives and health are worth more than what might be lost. My brother died of COVID, and there is no recovering from that, unlike education delays. Despite all the challenges, I feel really fortunate. My children can learn without putting the health and safety of my family at risk. They are managing the school work very well. Their teachers are loving, passionate and enthusiastic, with their classrooms now on Google instead of in school buildings. While we are navigating this new world of learning, I hope we can recognize the deficiencies of our current education system.” — Jose Martinez, father of a fourth-grader

“It’s been good since I get to stay home and do my own thing and just not have to worry about getting the virus.” — Violet Chicho, 10th grader

Violet Chicho is a 10th grader at Solorio Academy High School.

“Remote learning could be better, but we’re in the middle of a pandemic, so I don’t have major complaints. My daughter is healthy, and all of us at home are healthy because we can work from home. This is really hard, but necessary.” — Xóchitl Bada, parent of a seventh grader

“Last school year the transition to remote was abrupt, not well planned, and he had a rough time. This school year, I can tell that remote learning plans were developed over the summer to improve the experience.” — Megan Merrill, parent of a fourth grader

For some families, the school year overall had negatively impacted them.

“Ironically both my kids are getting better grades than ever but I feel like their teachers are going super easy on them (and maybe they should be given the circumstances). I do feel though that the teachers are doing the best they can given the very difficult situation so I honestly was never expecting my kids to be on pace this year. I worry a lot about next year. What will classrooms look like where half the kids are on grade level because they actively participated in remote learning and half are behind because they didn’t have the supports at home to participate? Will the whole class have to slow down? Or will those that are behind get left further behind? CPS notoriously does not have enough staff for those who may not qualify for services but need a little extra help so who will help those kids who are currently falling behind? I feel most sad for the kids that are going to struggle going forward.” — Melissa, parent of a fifth grader and a seventh grader. (Note: Some respondents requested anonymity or that their first name be used. Chalkbeat weighed this on a case-by-case basis).

“Lack of educational content, lack of interaction with teachers and classmates. Not healthy.” — Daisy Gamboa, parent of an eighth grader

“My poor 8th grader with an IEP will never catch up.” — Esther, parent of three who did not want her last name included

“I think my middle school boy aged teens are being challenged, as they are learning as much as they can in this difficult situation. I’m very concerned about their social and mental health because they are experiencing more stress, more homework and they both need less screen time. [There needs to be] more mental health support for children who are suffering with stress, grief, loss and trauma.” — Sadaka Whitehead-Smith, a parent of two, a therapist, and an educator

Sadaka Whitehead-Smith has students in sixth and eighth grade.

“Not even CLOSE. My kids have always been good at school. Straight A students. Now they are struggling to get through assignments. Struggling with grades. Acting out. Depressed and anxious.” — Joellen Daly, parent of two

“Teenagers should be interacting with a wide variety of people on a daily basis — they are in the stage of life where they should be acquiring new relationships and experiences on a consistent basis to learn the “soft skills” needed to be complete and independent adults. They are being deprived of basic social interaction, the ability to collaborate and the experiences needed to develop a sense of self. And, they are receiving a sub-par education at best while their peers in other schools, cities and states are being given those opportunities. The longer this goes on, the more likely that the losses will be insurmountable.” — High school parent who asked to remain anonymous

“I’m failing and y’all ain’t helping.” — Reina Torres, 11th grader

Reina Torres is in 11th grade at Curie Metro High School.

“How is COVID-19 going to impact CPS high school admissions? How are they supporting the CPS juniors and high school students with college entrance processes? Those two sections of the student population are going to be really impacted by this . . . Generally it seems there’s more sympathy to families with younger children — toddlers, preschoolers — but parenting older kids during the pandemic can be just as challenging.” — Trudi, a mother of three who asked that her last name not be used

“It’s harder for me to learn in a virtual environment and I wish I were back in school.” — A sixth grader whose name Chalkbeat withheld to protect his privacy

“I’m so frustrated that they’ve been remote this long and we are still fielding scolding emails and assignment reminders from teachers when remote school blatantly sucks and it is insane to ask parents to be at-home teachers.” — Kate Rockwood, parent of two

“Remote learning is horrible, I get headaches and eye strain from the screen, teachers are way too touchy feely and waste my time often (SEL is fine but this is overkill). And last but not least, there’s no set return date for high school, when clearly large swaths of the population will be vaccinated by April or May. Even if they give us 2 months of school just tell us now.” — Grace Kurtz-Nelson, 12th grader

“My kids are regressing. Not learning is a problem. Losing their special Ed minutes isn’t fair. Some days I’m not sure we can keep doing it.” — Lesby Ortega, parent of four

Lesby Ortega is pictured with her four children, Ashley, 13, Roberto, 9, Zion, 1, Nathan, 8 (left to right).

A notable number of parents and students said they were indifferent, had mixed feelings or weren’t sure how to sum up the year.

“CPS rolled out a “plan” with no sense of what the actual needs are and that ends up hurting remote learners to varying degree and worst of all- in the same inequitable ways they claim they were trying to address. I am angry and anxious everyday. They have started and stopped, announced and changed minds, over and over again for months.” — Single mother of a kindergartner who asked to remain anonymous

“They are ok. I’m sure if school was normal they’d be further along. But this is a City wide and Nationwide issue. (My child) has learned other skills in place. Life skills forever: problem solving, computer, typing, email, etc — Vince DeJulio, father

“Honestly, I don’t really care about some arbitrary line that they should be meeting. The entire world was set off course. They will be okay.” — Becca Blue, parent of three

“My son has an IEP and has special requirements. Our school is doing the absolute best they can to accommodate him. However, his grades have slipped considerably, his interest in learning in front of a computer is non-existent, and his social and emotional well being have been compromised significantly.” — Michelle Piek, parent of a prekindergarten student

“I’m just depressed.” — 12th grade student whose name Chalkbeat withheld for privacy reasons

“It’s not working, but it’s safe.” — Steven Guy, parent of a middle schooler

What would student debt forgiveness mean to you? Tell Chalkbeat.

2021-02-22T18:50:39+00:00

Americans owe more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, a burden that prevents them from buying houses or even starting families.

Calls have mounted to cancel student debt. President Joe Biden has suggested he’s open to canceling up to $10,000 in student debt but balked at canceling larger amounts.

Advocates say canceling the debt will stimulate the economy and allow college graduates more economic freedom, especially during a pandemic that’s upended finances for many Americans.

But what does that really mean to the average borrower? Chalkbeat wants to hear your experiences and questions. We’re especially looking to hear from people who live in or attended school in the state of Colorado. We plan to use the results of the short survey below to inform our coverage. If you are uncomfortable with your name being used, please let us know at the bottom of the survey.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

Nueva York y Newark, cuéntennos, ¿de qué manera afectó la pandemia de COVID-19 a sus comunidades escolares?

2021-01-26T22:54:38+00:00

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha causado grandes estragos en muchos aspectos de la vida en Estados Unidos, pero no todos los hemos experimentado de igual manera. En muchas maneras, el virus agrandó la brecha entre el privilegio y la necesidad. Las comunidades de color han sido las más impactadas; los ciudadanos de raza negra e hispanos tienen más probabilidad de contagiarse y morir por el virus. Al agregar los factores adicionales de estrés en cuanto a vivienda, hambre y trabajos, muchas familias históricamente marginadas están ahora en crisis.

En Chalkbeat nuestro enfoque es la educación, y la pandemia afectó a las comunidades escolares temprano y fuertemente, con efectos devastadores que continuaron después de cerrar los salones de clase. Cuando las escuelas cerraron sus puertas, las familias perdieron acceso no solo al aprendizaje, sino también a entornos seguros para los estudiantes de familias necesitadas.

En los próximos meses, Chalkbeat se unirá a Univisión para hacer un recorrido completo de las comunidades de Nueva York y Newark y documentar el impacto que la crisis ha tenido dentro y fuera del salón de clases.

Estos son algunos de los retos: Los padres de familias en desventaja económica han tenido que luchar para hacer un equilibrio entre ganarse la vida y atender el aprendizaje de sus hijos. La habilidad de los estudiantes para aprender se ha visto afectada por límites de tiempo, ya que muchos necesitan trabajar para ayudar al sustento de la familia o cuidar a sus hermanos menores mientras los padres trabajan. Los maestros y el personal de las escuelas tienen que diariamente cambiar de dirección para satisfacer las necesidades de los estudiantes y las de sus propias familias. Los consejeros saben que se avecina una crisis de salud mental, o que ya nos está tocando la puerta.

Ya sea con clases en persona o virtuales, las comunidades escolares se han visto obligadas a enfrentar estos retos de frente, y en algunos casos, se han convertido en fuentes de innovación, gracia y resiliencia.

Nosotros necesitamos que ustedes nos ayuden a contar estas historias. Con la encuesta a continuación, nuestro deseo es entender mejor cuáles son los retos mayores que enfrentan los residentes de Nueva York y Newark con respecto al tema de educación durante la pandemia. Las preguntas abordan muchos aspectos de la vida, desde el aprendizaje a distancia y las dificultades económicas, hasta la salud física y el bienestar mental.

Nosotros usaremos sus respuestas en nuestros reportajes y contaremos las historias de las comunidades que servimos. Esperamos que nos ayuden en este esfuerzo.

O puede ver la encuesta aquí.

Newark: How has COVID-19 affected your school community? Tell us.

2021-01-26T22:28:07+00:00

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on so many aspects of American life, but not everyone has experienced the fallout equally. The virus has, in many ways, deepened the chasm between privilege and need. Communities of color have been hit hardest, with Black and Hispanic citizens more likely to be infected and killed by the virus. With the additional stressors on housing, hunger, and jobs, many families in historically marginalized communities are in crisis.

At Chalkbeat, our lens is on education, and the pandemic hit school communities early and hard, with devastating effects beyond classroom closures. When school buildings shut their doors, families lost access not just to learning hubs but safety nets for students in need.

In the coming months, in partnership with Univision, Chalkbeat will take a 360-degree look at school communities in New York and Newark to chronicle the toll the crisis has taken inside and outside the classroom.

Some of the challenges: Economically stressed parents have struggled to balance work and their children’s learning. Students’ ability to learn has been hampered by time constraints, with many needing to work to support their families or babysit younger siblings while their parents work. Teachers and school staff must pivot day to day to meet the needs of students and their own families. Counselors see a mental health crisis looming, if it isn’t upon us already.

Whether in-person or virtual, school communities have been forced to face these challenges head on and have become, in some cases, wellsprings of innovation, grace, and resilience.

We need your help to tell these stories. Through the survey below, we hope to gain a better sense of the main challenges New York and Newark residents face with respect to education in the pandemic. The questions touch on many facets of life, from remote learning and economic hardship to physical and mental well being.

We’ll use the responses to help guide our reporting and tell stories for and with the communities we serve. We hope you’ll join our effort.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

Tell us, New York: How has COVID-19 affected your school community?

2021-01-26T22:27:54+00:00

Whether in-person or virtual, school communities have been forced to face these challenges head on and have become, in some cases, wellsprings of innovation, grace, and resilience.

We’ll use the responses to help guide our reporting and tell stories for and with the communities we serve. We hope you’ll join our effort.

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

Encuesta: Mientras el plan de reapertura de Chicago se tambalea, ¿qué piensan los estudiantes y las familias?

2021-01-25T19:59:34+00:00

El enfrentamiento entre los profesores y el distrito escolar, debido a la reapertura, tiene a los estudiantes y las familias de Chicago en un estado de incertidumbre. Queremos saber: ¿Qué decisiones están sopesando ahora mismo? ¿Y qué necesita su hijo en este momento?

Chalkbeat Chicago quiere escuchar a las familias y a los estudiantes. Nuestra breve encuesta servirá para conocer lo que están experimentando las familias y las preguntas que puedan tener. Planeamos utilizar los resultados de la encuesta para informar sobre nuestra cobertura. Si no se siente cómodo con el uso de su nombre, comuníquelo al final de la encuesta.

Si tiene problemas para ver este formulario en su teléfono móvil, visite aquí.

Survey: As Chicago’s reopening plan teeters, what’s on the minds of students and families?

2021-01-25T19:59:34+00:00

A reopening standoff between teachers and the school district has cast Chicago students and families into a period of uncertainty. We want to know: What decisions are you weighing right now? And what does your student need in this moment?

Chalkbeat Chicago wants to hear from families and students. Our short survey will be used to gain insight into what families are experiencing and what questions they may have. We plan to use the results of the survey to inform our coverage. If you are uncomfortable with your name being used, please let us know at the bottom of the survey.

Having trouble viewing the survey on mobile? Go here.

Sign up for monthly updates on the Indianapolis Public Schools board during COVID-19

2021-01-21T18:01:40+00:00

This is an important year for the Indianapolis Public Schools board, as the district welcomes two new board members and its leaders continue to navigate education during a pandemic.

Chalkbeat is launching a text messaging service to keep you updated on important school board decisions every month, so you can stay informed regardless of whether or not you’re able to attend board meetings.

Will declining revenues, because of the recession and falling enrollment, force IPS to make budget reductions? Maybe you would like to know if the district plans to add more innovation schools, which are privately managed schools. Or you might be curious about how schools are approaching mental health in classrooms.

Chalkbeat Indiana wants to make it easier to hold district officials accountable for doing right by their students. We intend to provide information about the district and education in general that’s important to students, parents, teachers, and the community. Our goal is to inform the community, spur debate, and inspire you to take action.

Stay tuned and sign up for our monthly texts below. Let us know if you have any questions about what IPS is doing. Our ears are open.

IPS typically livestreams its board meeting at 6 p.m. on the last Thursday of every month. You can tune into the board meetings here.

To sign up to receive monthly text message updates on IPS board meetings, text SCHOOLS to 317-932-3900 or type your phone number into the box below.

‘This is something I can do now’: What Kamala Harris’ ascension means for girls of color

2021-01-19T23:26:42+00:00

As Kamala Harris becomes the first woman, the first African American, and the first person of South Asian descent to become U.S. vice president, many girls of color will be celebrating the multiple historic barriers coming down with a single oath.

In the days leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden and Harris, Chalkbeat spoke with Black, brown, and Asian teenagers about the significance of this moment. They discussed the importance of having elected officials who look like them, wondered why it took so long to get here, and told us how they plan to hold the new administration accountable. These young women also shared their wide-ranging policy priorities, including COVID relief, combatting climate change, increasing the minimum wage, and defunding the police.

Their stories are interspersed with poetry by younger girls, and a performance of “Represent” by 16-year-old spoken-word artist Ife Martin of Detroit. “Do you feel that?” she asks. “The roar of change rumbling under our feet, under our All Star Chucks and church shoes. It’s hard to find but long overdue.”

Kellen Zeng, 17, Staten Island, NY

Senior, Staten Island Technical High School

I saw something on Twitter about all the vice presidents throughout the years. It’s all white men and then, all of the sudden, you see Kamala. I find that really inspiring.

I want to follow in her footsteps in a way. I’ve always had an interest in policy and advocacy and activism but I told myself: “No, you have to play it safe. You have to reach financial security.” And then there’s the whole idea that as a woman of color, you have to work twice as hard. But now, having a female vice president and seeing BIPOC women in office, I want to be able to pursue that path, too. I’d love to see the day that having a woman in office isn’t something to celebrate. It’s not a success story; it’s just a norm.

Kellen Zeng is a member of the nonprofit civic engagement organization YVote.

For now, there’s a lot of pressure on Biden and Harris during their first 100 days. What are they going to do about the pandemic? How are they going to help Americans who are currently unemployed? The economy is not doing the best right now, and that should be one of the priorities. Both of my parents were unemployed at the beginning of the pandemic. My dad helps out in his friends’ restaurants, and my mom has a beauty salon that wasn’t open for a long time. They are immigrants from China, and I had to help them apply for unemployment.

The most pressing thing right now is rolling back some of the damage done during the Trump presidency. A lot of LGBTQ rights were violated. I know that the fight isn’t over. Just because Biden and Harris won the election, it doesn’t mean America is great again.

Ife Martin, 16, Detroit, Michigan

Junior, West Bloomfield High School in West Bloomfield, Michigan

Ife Martin performs an original poem titled “Represent,” reflecting on Harris’ historic role. Ife is a member of InsideOut Literary Arts and the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit. She is the winner of the 2021 National YoungArts Award in spoken word.

Ashton Mayo-Beavers, 18, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Freshman, Mercer University in Macon, Georgia

When I moved from Tennessee to Georgia to start college last fall, I was expecting, well, another version of Tennessee.

Growing up in Knoxville and Chattanooga, I saw policies that impact women’s health designed by men. I saw a lack of representation of Black women in government. I saw police brutality and inequitable justice systems.

Ashton Mayo-Beavers started college during the pandemic.

I still see many of those things in Georgia from my dorm room. But now, I also see Stacey Abrams. I see Kamala Harris. I see the importance of local elections, and that every single vote really does matter.

Fall of 2020 was a crazy time to start college. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that some of my classes were online and some were in person, and I had to navigate the tension of trying to focus on friends and classes while staying safe. As we were trying to prepare for our first final exams — and on top of the pandemic — there was this election. One of my professors called it the most important election of our time. For me, it was the first election I ever voted in.

On Election Day, which was more of an election month, we were told by older African American students that we shouldn’t go out. Even though Kamala Harris, a Black woman, was on the path to one of the most powerful positions in our nation, I, as a Black student, didn’t feel comfortable going to all-campus debate watch parties. I worried that the color of my skin would make me a target if tensions escalated.

Even now, I’m not sure I have processed how big it is that Kamala Harris is going to be so many firsts. For so long, I was waiting for the results to be official. I was waiting for the carpet to be dragged out from under us. It’s happened before.

No one is fully processing how big it is or how long it took. There already are so many great local leaders that are women of color, and that’s amazing. But the fact is, we will have a woman vice president who is a person of color that’s going to open the doors for so many people to envision themselves as our nation’s future.

Kimora Guy, Memphis, Tennessee

First grade, Power Center Academy Elementary School in Memphis

I can
I can do what she can do…
She went to a Black college.
I can too.

She wrote a book.
I can too.
Look! She’s running to be Vice President for the United States.
Can she do that?

Not only can she do it, but she has done it!!
So I can too!

Munaja Mehzabin, 17, Queens, New York

Senior, Academy of American Studies in Queens

Growing up South Asian, I saw brown actors and actresses while watching Bollywood movies with my parents. When it came to Hollywood films, Jasmine from “Aladdin” was the closest it came. Of course, when I was younger I didn’t think about representation, about not seeing people like me in TVs or movies. (The exceptions were side characters in stereotypical roles — a math whiz, or an owner of a gas station store.)

Munaja Mehzabin has critiqued Harris’ record as a prosecutor.

These days, there are more and varied roles for South Asians, and I’m extremely glad. But representation is about more than entertainment. Representation also matters when it comes to who is representing us in government.

Kamala Harris will be the first-ever South Asian vice president, even though that tends to go over people’s heads, and the first-ever African American vice president. She will also be the first-ever woman to be vice president. In this role, she is changing things for women of color. It is so important to see people who look like you make a change because it can push people to be “the next first.” Young girls can look to Kamala Harris and feel like it’s possible to have a seat in the White House. Sure, there will always be men who don’t think a woman is capable of an important job, but we must prove them wrong.

Even though Kamala Harris has accomplished something so extraordinary, she’s far from perfect when it comes to racial justice. She was previously a prosecutor, and has sometimes sided with the police. As California’s attorney general, her office fought to keep a man named George Gage behind bars even though there was evidence that he had been wrongly convicted. She also opposed a state bill that would have regulated the use of police body cameras.

As citizens, we have to hold our leaders accountable. We have to make sure they hear us. Vice President Kamala Harris will inspire others and hold open doors. I am extremely grateful for that. At the same time, I will not glorify her.

Brooklyn Cauley, 16, Rockwall, Texas

Sophomore, Rockwall High School

I live in a predominantly white community and attend a predominantly white school, where I’m a National Honor Society student and participate in several clubs. I’m the only Black girl and the only Black person on my robotics team. I used to mentor a younger robotics team, and I felt like I was showing others that Black girls — and girls in general — can excel in STEM. That’s a big, progressive step.

Brooklyn Cauley has mentored younger students who are interested in robotics.

In a political office, where there is not that much diversity, Kamala Harris’ win is a big thing. It shows that people are moving forward. It’s making a change. Our voices are being heard.

Biden talks about raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. This increase would bring so many people out of poverty in the U.S. This could help make so many Black communities better.

I also hope they get more vaccines out, and they actually focus on the coronavirus. [President Trump] made a joke out of it. I know a lot of kids at school don’t believe that the virus is dangerous. I’m also in the agriculture program at school, and a lot of the students tend to be big Trump supporters, which is fine. I’m not judging anyone based on their political views. We are required to wear masks to school, but a lot of students don’t keep it up over their nose. Some won’t even wear them at all when school staff is not around.

Biden’s message at the inauguration should be something like: I know the country hasn’t been the greatest this past year. I know we have had a lot of racial issues, but we can persevere. A lot of people are struggling financially with job losses, and some are struggling mentally. We can’t just break away and say, we hate this person or that person. We have to come together to fix these issues. They are not going to be resolved by violence or fighting with our neighbor. I believe we need to pray more.

Sharona Nagamuthu, 17, Queens, New York

Junior, Scholars Academy in Queens

When the election was called for Biden and Harris, I was sleeping because [since Election Day] I was staying up until ridiculous hours of the night, glued to my TV. I checked my phone at about 11 a.m., and all of my friends were texting me: “Oh my God. They won.” It was an instant sense of relief. It had been this whole week; it was this whole long process. I’d be in my classes online, and I’d have another tab with the news open just so I could keep myself updated. After I heard, I actually went back to sleep — that’s how relieved I was, that I could finally sleep.

Sharona Nagamuthu said the new administration comes as “a relief.”

It was a relief because it showed me that this state that we’re in right now hopefully won’t always continue to exist, and we can ultimately improve on our lives and — especially, as a person of color — that new policies can be enacted that will help me and many others.

I’m an immigrant from Guyana. My family immigrated to the U.S. when I was 2. [Through YVote], I’ve done a lot of research on immigration policies, and we know the Trump administration has enacted a lot of policies that have impacted immigrants negatively — the travel ban from some Middle Eastern countries and countries in Africa and also the construction of the southern border wall. I know the border wall has done a lot of environmental damage. To add onto that, I’d also like to see policies that combat climate change. I think it’s kind of ridiculous that you have people who don’t recognize that climate change is real when scientists are literally proving it, and you can see the impacts in our life.

Megan Davis, Memphis, Tennessee

Fourth grade, Power Center Academy Elementary School in Memphis

A Little Girl's Dream
Roses are red and violets are blue
The next Vice President is Black and she's a woman, too!
2020 has been hard, but also great.

I can't believe a woman is part of the Head of State.
This changes everything, history too.
Madam Kamala Harris, I want to be just like you.
The path you've set out for me and others means we can do anything,
if we help one another.

I'm proud to be Black and a young girl, too, so I can grow up and be just like you.

Melanie Gonzalez Castillo, 19, Newark, New Jersey

Freshman, Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania

As a feminist, I am happy a woman is becoming vice president in the U.S. for the first time. This inspires me. Kamala Harris’ parents were immigrants to this country. I moved to New Jersey from Mexico when I was 14 years old. This gives me hope for me and for my future children.

Melanie Gonzalez Castillo says Kamala Harris’ rise gives her hope.

I have been watching old interviews with Kamala, and she said that DACA recipients — undocumented young people, brought to the U.S. as children — come here believing in the democracy of the United States, and it’s beautiful to see them trust in this democracy.

A lot of people don’t trust in this country right now.

With everything that happened in the Capitol this month, I’ve been thinking more about what it means to believe in democracy. Throughout history, a lot of negative things have happened in this country, but it is my second home and has given me much. Yet people from this nation are the ones tearing it apart.

It’s so disturbing to see what this has come to, but I do have a lot of hope for the future. I have hope because of my dad, who came to this country and works hard every day. He taught me how important the work ethic is when paired with honesty and positivity. I have hope when I think about my sister, who is about to graduate college with a psychology degree.

Even though there’s still a lot to be done, and many things we must change, I have hope when I think about the generations that will come after me. They won’t think of it as revolutionary to have a woman in the White House. I hope the new generation grows up in a world where they can see equality and opportunity as something normal — not something they have to tirelessly fight for. It is up to each of us to create that change.

Ama Russell, 17, Detroit

Senior, Cass Technical High School

When I heard Biden and Harris had won, I was with my 92-year-old grandma, so it was a really big deal. She didn’t think we’d have Barack Obama [in her lifetime], so it was special to share the moment with her.

Later that day, organizers in Detroit held a Count Every Vote action, celebrating that we got Trump out and gearing up to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable. We were very excited because Detroit, and most importantly its Black voters, carried Michigan [for Biden].

Ama Russell says representation is important, but it’s not enough.

Holding the Biden-Harris administration accountable means they are centering Black people in their policy, making sure that people don’t think that just because we got Trump out that injustices are solved. We will put pressure on them to do more for environmental issues and more for social justice, that we are pushing them to defund the police and to push the envelope to liberate Black people. Representation is important, but it’s not enough.

Before Biden chose Kamala Harris, there was talk that he was going to pick a Black woman as his running mate. When my father announced it was Kamala, I was like, “Oh, yay,” even though I really wanted it to be my girl Stacey Abrams. It was Stacey Abrams who ultimately made it possible for Democrats to win back the Senate. I think it’s important to honor her and all of the Black organizers who made space for Kamala.

For young girls, like myself, Kamala will make them see themselves in American politics. It will make them feel like they belong, in some sense, and see that they can do this. This isn’t a “when pigs fly” kind of thing. This is something achievable, it’s attainable, and it’s not something that has to happen in the next century. This is something I can do now.

‘Pencils down’ isn’t just for students. This Memphis special educator says self-care makes her a better teacher.

2021-01-08T19:06:08+00:00

Christine Shultz, in her seventh year of teaching, is used to being able to scan her Memphis classroom and quickly pick up on which of her students need some extra help or a pep talk.

“In the past, I have been able to prompt students by walking over to their desk and in the moment could make changes to the materials they received,” said Shultz, who teaches eighth grade special education at Freedom Preparatory Academy Charter School.

Remote learning has made that harder. “Now I need to coordinate with the general education teacher, set up a breakout room, and then make sure I am bringing students back at the exact right moment to continue with the lesson,” she explained.

Despite all of the challenges of distance learning during a pandemic, Shultz said she has been extremely impressed with her students, many of whom are balancing their own schoolwork while also helping with their younger siblings. Freedom Prep was one of several Memphis charter organizations that quickly moved to online learning in the spring and has stayed virtual since.

Chalkbeat spoke with Shultz, who was named one of this year’s New Memphis educators of excellence. She shared how an internship at a human rights nonprofit led her to the classroom, why she uses GIFs in math lessons, and why “pencils down” applies to teachers, too.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

Growing up, I never thought I would be a teacher. After my junior year of college, I worked at Amnesty International for a summer internship. I worked with the communication department, basically reviewing all of the terrible things that were happening in the world. It was a pretty disheartening process, and made me realize that I didn’t want to be sitting behind a desk reporting on these injustices, I wanted to be trying to fix them. I took an education class to fulfill an elective credit for college. I remember how we were talking about kids in terms of statistics. I remember thinking, “Wait a minute, these are actual kids with actual stories, not just a number on a page.” So between those two experiences, I was very interested to learn more when Teach for America called me.

What does a typical day look like for you now?

Since the pandemic started I have been teaching remotely, so teaching looks completely different than it did last year. Our school has decided to teach students via Zoom for half of the day, and then give students assignments to complete on their own during the other half of the day. I co-teach in English language arts and math classes in the morning and afternoon, as well as provide reading intervention and lead a homeroom meeting. During my planning periods, I work on paperwork, meet with my co-teachers, and plan lessons for the upcoming week.

What challenges do you face teaching special education this year?

Shultz is pictured here in her classroom at Freedom Prep before the pandemic began.

It has been challenging to make sure that all students are getting all the support that they need virtually. In the past, I have been able to prompt students by walking over to their desks and in the moment could make changes to the materials they received. I could also make decisions about whether or not to pull a small group or pull a student into the hallway for a quick pep talk, but now I need to coordinate with the general education teacher, set up a breakout room, and then make sure I am bringing students back at the exact right moment to continue with the lesson.

What has been your favorite lesson to teach remotely — and what about it works well?

One lesson I really loved teaching this year was a math lesson on transformations. I was able to use GIFs to show students real life examples of translations, rotations, and reflections, which helped them remember the definitions of each.

I realized the first day I taught [these concepts], my students didn’t understand that all three of these are examples of movement. I wanted my students to see what these movements would look like in real life off of a grid.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your class?

The main thing impacting the community right now is the pandemic. This has impacted our students in countless ways and has affected all aspects of our classroom. Aside from moving to virtual classrooms, many students are also taking care of younger siblings while they are in classes. I’ve been extremely impressed with my students' ability to juggle online learning and distractions in order to make sure they are still getting their education.

This has been a challenging year. What do you hope school will look like at this time next year?

I would love to be back in the classroom by this time next year. I am excited to take aspects of the virtual classroom and apply them to the traditional classroom; I foresee increased use of technology, which will lead to increased engagement, and more real-time feedback from teachers.

What’s the best advice you ever received — and how have you put it into action?

My first year of teaching I was told that I needed to set a firm time to stop working each night — and then actually stop working at that time. For me, this looked like putting down all my work by 7:30 p.m. at the latest. By giving myself a break, I was able to be more productive when I was working and more empathetic with students, which translated into a happier environment for everyone.

‘Brave spaces’ needed: How schools can foster meaningful conversations after the 2020 election

2020-12-15T17:20:38+00:00

While all 50 states require some form of instruction about civics and government, the nation’s public schools generally make little time for students to discuss issues at the heart of American democracy.

“It isn’t talked about enough at our school,” said Ommay Farah, a high school senior in Nashville, on the topic of citizenship and its rights and responsibilities.

Ommay joined educators and other students Monday to brainstorm how schools can foster meaningful classroom conversations in the wake of the most divisive presidential election in modern U.S. history. The online event was hosted by Chalkbeat and The Education Trust in Tennessee.

The panelists agreed that understanding the political and practical issues that divided America in 2020 is too critical to a functioning democracy to limit to a single high school civics course. Civics instruction, media literacy, and discussions about history and current events should be embedded across K-12 curriculum and instruction, they said.

But how exactly to do that can be almost as controversial as the political issues being debated across America.

Kat McRitchie, who teaches humanities at Crosstown High School in Memphis, said the goal should be to create a “brave space” to help students turn honest talk into constructive action. She cited numerous national resources to help.

“It’s happening in other states and places. There’s a movement for action civics,” McRitchie said.

Watch the discussion for ideas and resources on how to help students respectfully learn and grow together — and help educators feel equipped and empowered to lead those conversations. (Having trouble viewing the video on mobile? Go here).

The 2020 Election is a pivotal moment. How can educators and students foster meaningful conversation?
For many of Tennessee’s students, the 2020 election was the first memorable election that they voted in, volunteered for, or talked about with their peers and teachers. In the midst of such chaotic times – the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the tumultuous election, and the contention over the results – we want to hear directly from students and educators. There’s no set curriculum for how to talk about current events, especially in such a divisive political season – and some Tennessee students have had robust discussions in their classrooms while others have had little space for such conversations. How can educators and students foster meaningful dialogue right now? Join Chalkbeat and the Education Trust in Tennessee to hear directly from students and educators.
Posted by Chalkbeat Tennessee on Monday, December 14, 2020

Panel members are:

Trey Cunningham, senior at Haywood High School, Brownsville, Tenn.
Ommay Farah, senior at Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School, Nashville
Khadesha Gordon, student at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (co-moderator with Chalkbeat reporter Laura Faith Kebede)
Diarese George, founder and executive director of the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance
Joey Hassell, superintendent of Haywood County Schools
Kat McRitchie, humanities teacher, Crosstown High School, Memphis

Tennessee parents, students, teachers: What are your thoughts and questions about COVID-19 vaccinations? Take our survey.

2020-12-10T17:50:38+00:00

COVID-19 vaccinations are on the way to Tennessee — and how educators, parents, and lawmakers respond could have profound implications for schools.

Gov. Bill Lee has said “vaccines are a choice” and that COVID-19 vaccines will be optional for people in K-12 public schools. Several lawmakers have filed bills that would allow Tennessee parents to opt out of school-required vaccinations during the coronavirus pandemic.

But health experts say Americans will be safer if they get the shots. The U.S. can crush the outbreak before the end of 2021 if three-fourths of Americans are vaccinated next year, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

We want to hear from parents, students, and teachers about their vaccination questions and plans.

Please take our brief survey and let us know if we can follow up with you. (If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here).

Civics and history teachers: How are you bringing the 2020 election into your classroom?

2020-10-23T14:18:28+00:00

Guiding students through an election cycle is a big task in normal times.

Social studies, history, government, civics teachers — we know you’re busy helping students understand the mechanics of the Electoral College, find ways to feel civically involved, and eventually process the results of the presidential race and local ones, too.

These aren’t normal times. Some of you are trying to reach students through a screen, and also connect this moment to the ongoing national reckoning about racism.

We’re looking for teachers willing to give us a peek behind the curtain, before, on, and after Election Day. How are you planning for the weeks ahead? Are there lessons you’re excited about or conversations you’re dreading? Do you have ideas you’d like to share with other educators? How has the pandemic changed your work? What are your students struggling to understand?

If you’re open to sharing, fill out the form below. (Elementary school teachers, we want to hear from you too!)

If you are having trouble viewing this form on mobile, go here.

‘Help me, so I can help you.’ Tennessee college students call for greater empathy during the pandemic

2020-09-18T21:45:30+00:00

William Collins remembers exactly where he was last semester when his college, Fisk University, announced it was stopping in-person classes due to the coronavirus.

“I was in the middle of a U.S. History lecture,” Collins said, now a junior at the historically Black university in Nashville. “To get that notification really shook me. We had to find a way to put everything online, and that didn’t always go well.”

The coronavirus has heightened inequities within higher education, disrupted campus life, and put a financial strain on many families. Chalkbeat and The Education Trust in Tennessee held a series of student roundtables this month to hear from students directly, and Collins was one of eight college students to participate.

Collins and his fellow student panelists are back on campus this fall, but many are still taking classes virtually. While he said this semester is off to a much better start, Collins implored professors to think about all the stressors that students face.

“A lot of professors are getting upset because they think we’re slacking,” Collins said. “Honestly, I’m just tired of looking at a screen all day every day. I need you to help me, so I can help you … You have to be patient with me in the same way I have to be patient with you.”

Several of the student panelists spoke of increased workloads compared with last semester, while freshmen talked about the struggles of starting this life stage during a global pandemic.

College students can have major responsibilities outside of school like work and kids that professors aren’t adjusting for during this time, said Khadesha Gordon, a student at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.

“I’m a single parent,” Gordon said. “A lot of times, administration forgets about students like me who have children they support or don’t live on campus. My 2-year-old daughter’s school is shut down, too. It’s very hectic right now.”

Delece Smith-Barrow of The Hechinger Report (bottom left) moderated the conversation alongside Tennessee high schooler Trey Cunningham (center middle).

Professors shouldn’t be assigning huge workloads and should be inviting students to virtual office hours where they can talk about stress and mental health freely, said Brandon Goggins, a freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

While some of the students talked about the difficulty of staying focused online, others detailed the fear of going to class in person every day.

Ashton Mayo-Beavers, a Chattanooga native who is starting her first year at Mercer University in Georgia, only had the option of in-person classes. But she wishes her campus had offered a choice.

“Every day you have to trace who you are hanging out with and think about if you stayed 6 feet or if you took your mask off once,” Mayo-Beavers said. “It’s like I’m torn between my health and keeping everyone else safe versus trying to get my education and get an A on that calculus test.”

Freshmen also face the challenge of starting college without the usual access to professors and counselors, said Mateo Francisco Andres, in his first year at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville.

“It’s difficult not knowing where to find your resources or how to find the right time to reach out to your professors,” he said.

On top of the pandemic stress, students also talked about the climate on their campuses around race and inequity. Some students had participated in protests this year advocating for racial justice, while others mentioned racist incidents that they have already experienced this semester on campus.

“I would want my college leaders to know that adaptability for students looks different depending on where we are,” said Gordon after talking about the microaggressions she’s experienced as a Black student. “The entire world has been impacted by the pandemic, but some students have other things they’re struggling with.”

Back in school, Tennessee students wish for more counseling and hope to move toward normalcy

2020-09-14T18:28:37+00:00

When Benjamin Concha’s rural East Tennessee school shut down last spring, it felt like the world suddenly stopped.

“My mom didn’t let me go to what ended up being the last day of school,” said Concha, now a ninth-grader in Hamblen County. “Everything just stopped and communication also stopped and I didn’t know what to do… Now, we’re back in person and things are going again.”

Concha was one of five high school students from across the state to join Chalkbeat and The Education Trust in Tennessee this month for a virtual conversation about students’ hopes, fears, and lessons learned as school resumes this fall (go here to read about the Education Trust’s work with these students). This continued a dialogue started in May, when schools across the nation were shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This group of students and their peers are embarking on yet another uncertain time of schooling – as their state is one of the first in the nation to begin reopening campuses. While some students in rural counties are back in a school building, others in Memphis and Nashville — Tennessee’s largest school districts — are settling into another season of online learning.

Students talked about their optimism for this semester — especially for remote learning — their concerns about student mental health, and the desire for more support for students preparing for life after high school.

“Students have a crucial role to play in helping educators and policymakers understand the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on their learning and development,” said Gini Pupo-Walker, state director for The Education Trust in Tennessee. “These panels are an important opportunity to hear firsthand how well teachers and schools are supporting students during this critical time.”

Ommay Farah, a senior at Hume Fogg Academic Magnet High School in Nashville, said she watched more than 50 hours of College Board videos on YouTube last semester trying to prepare for her Advanced Placement classes.

“A lot of it was me working harder and not smarter if that makes sense,” Ommay said. “I now have a schedule and know what I’m supposed to do when, and I really like that.”

Concha was one of two students in the group going back in-person, and while his school was just in its first week of classes, he said it’s going really well so far. Everyone is required to wear masks and the school is trying to keep students spread out.

“It mostly felt happy… it was really hard finding my classes,” said Concha, who is new to his high school building. “But every teacher is saying, ‘If we go to virtual, we’ll do this and that.’ They’re preparing us in case we have to switch.”

Kaleb Sy, a sophomore at T-STEM Academy at East High School in Memphis, said regardless of whether or not students are back in person or fully online, they need emotional support and empathy from their teachers.

His district started this semester fully remote with a massive plan in place to give every student a device and internet. Instruction is off to a better start, Sy said, but educators can’t forget about what students have faced this year emotionally.

“We’ve had a pandemic and racial trauma,” Sy said, referencing the protests this summer following the police shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “It’s about having to think about the other side and have empathy for others.”

Kez Echols II, a freshman at Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High School in Nashville, said students who need emotional support don’t always get noticed or nudged to get help from counselors, especially in a remote world.

“If guidance counselors step up and out more,” students will be more likely to seek help, said Echols. He said that teachers hold hourlong office hours each week allowing students to pop in and talk.

Chinaya Mason, a senior at Austin East Magnet High School in Knoxville, also said that students need time with counselors more than ever to prepare for college and life after high school.

“Just figuring out when and where to take the ACT is difficult right now,” Mason said. “We need to be more flexible with students who are trying to apply to places… We’re back in school and that’s going better, and that’s great, but life is still really complicated.”

Reporter Laura Faith Kebede contributed to this report.

Memphis parents and students, tell us about online learning

2020-09-09T20:52:18+00:00

Shelby County Schools, the largest district in Tennessee, started the school year online nearly two weeks ago.

Some Memphis charter schools are offering in-person instruction, but many have followed suit in going all virtual. Superintendent Joris Ray said in-person classes will not resume until the daily count of new coronavirus cases is consistently in the single digits.

District leaders have told parents to expect issues as teachers, parents, and students adjust to the new class formats. Parents, while acknowledging that educators are doing the best they can, are already asking for changes. Nearly 20,000 people have signed an online petition asking for fewer hours of daily live instruction via video conferencing.

So, parents and students, we want to know: How is online learning going for you? Respond below and we may use your experiences in an upcoming story.

Having trouble viewing this on your mobile phone? Go here.

Newark families and educators: Are you ready for remote learning?

2020-09-03T16:59:02+00:00

Newark students and educators are gearing up for a school year like no other.

When school starts next Tuesday, students will log onto their computers from home rather than step into classrooms. While principals, teachers, school employees, and district officials have worked tirelessly to prepare for the virtual start of school, not everyone is ready for remote teaching or learning.

Due to a nationwide laptop shortage, some schools have run out of devices to loan to students. And some parents have reported problems with the available free or discounted internet services, which can be slow or offer spotty coverage.

Some teachers and parents say they’ve received limited information about what remote learning will actually look like. What is the daily schedule? Will teachers give live virtual lessons every day or less frequently?

On top of that, many parents — and educators who are parents — are still trying to figure out who will supervise their children’s remote learning while they work. The city has floated the idea of opening free child care centers, but plans have yet to materialize.

Chalkbeat wants to hear from parents, students, and school staff. Tell us your feedback, concerns, and lingering questions below.

Having trouble viewing this on your mobile phone? Go here.

College during COVID-19: Here’s what Newark students want you to know

2020-08-07T15:36:26+00:00

For first-year students headed to college this fall, their first semester of higher education is fraught with uncertainty. The usual in-person rituals and rites of passage won’t exist as the threat of COVID-19 upends on-campus learning and activities across the nation.

This could be especially hard for first-generation college students or teens from disinvested communities where the first year of higher education can lay a foundation for future success or become a stumbling block. Now, the coronavirus pandemic has added to those first-year challenges by putting a financial strain on many families and disrupting campus life and classes.

“You had to find a new learning environment because you’re no longer going to a library, you’re no longer studying with friends, and now you’re transitioning to typing on a phone,” said Kamil Vickers, a Newark student who was in the middle of his freshman year when the pandemic shut down his campus. “So trying to get used to that experience was a very humbling experience.”

Chalkbeat Newark brought together college students and a longtime education advocate on Wednesday to share their thoughts at this uncertain moment. The group of five students – in different stages of their college careers – gave advice for how colleges can ease their transitions, shared tips for success, and discussed how their colleges have handled support of Black students in particular as conversations about race in America are at the forefront.

This virtual panel hosted by Chalkbeat Newark acted as a capstone to Chalkbeat’s Ready or Not series, which chronicled the success and struggles of first-year college students in Newark.

Here’s who joined the conversation:

Wilhelmina Holder, Newark parent advocate; co-director, High School Academic Support Program
Rasheed Adewole, a rising senior at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania; graduate of Marion P. Thomas Charter School
Melanie Gonzalez Castillo, an incoming freshman at Villanova University; graduate of Barringer High School
Devon Christopher Corry, an incoming freshman at Rutgers University-Newark; graduate of University High School
Zaniyyah Jacobs-Wright, an incoming sophomore at Rutgers University-Newark; graduate of Arts High School
Kamil Vickers, a rising sophomore at Villanova University; graduate of KIPP Newark Collegiate Academy

For more from these panelists, watch our conversation in full below.

Thank you to our event sponsor, Prudential Financial.

Illinois educators: Is your district adequately preparing you for fall?

2020-08-05T19:19:59+00:00

For the more than two million students in the state, returning to school this fall will be far from normal, with desks six feet apart and live video instruction. Districts have had months to prepare educators for this historic fall — but are they doing enough?

Some districts will offer in-person classes with restrictions, while others — including Chicago Public Schools, as of Wednesday — will provide entirely remote instruction to start. Already, district leaders across the state have promised families that remote classes will not be a continuation of the spring.

The state has recommended that all districts use professional development days to train educators on instructional methods and materials, health and safety protocols, and the mental health needs of students. As districts gear up for the fall and release reopening plans, Chalkbeat wants to hear from teachers about how their school districts are training them for these unprecedented times and whether the training has been beneficial.

Tell us about the state of professional development in your school or district. What kind of training has your district given you, if any? What kind of support would you like to see in order to feel better equipped for the fall?

It’s almost August. How do you feel about schools reopening?

2020-07-29T14:42:07+00:00

Many Michigan schools are busy planning for a return to the classroom this fall. But with coronavirus cases on the rise across the state, it remains to be seen whether — and under what conditions — parents will allow their children to return.

While the state’s health systems are in better shape today than during the first months of the pandemic, polls show that many parents are leery of a return to in-person instruction.

Some districts have already decided against a return to in-person learning. School leaders in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Hamtramck have said they would resume exclusively online instruction in the fall.

In Detroit, a small in-person summer school program sparked controversy, as protesters, many of them teachers convinced that it’s still unsafe to meet in person, have sought to prevent classrooms from reopening.

At the same time, top Republicans are pushing to require all Michigan elementary schools to offer in-person instruction to students in grades K-5. But it’s far from clear that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, will sign off on that proposal.

There’s also the question of whether Whitmer will allow school buildings to reopen at all. After expressing optimism early in the summer about a fall reopening, Whitmer has warned more recently that it won’t be possible if new cases continue to rise.

This is where you — teachers, students, and school staff — come in. Do you want your school buildings to reopen? Under what conditions would you feel comfortable returning to work at a school or sending your children back to the classroom?

Chalkbeat wants to hear from parents, students, and school staff. Tell us your feedback, concerns, and lingering questions below.

(If you are having trouble viewing this survey, go here).

Tell us: What do you think about Chicago’s fall reopening plan?

2020-07-17T16:57:22+00:00

Chicago leaders just released a plan that includes in-person learning for most students in the fall, with an exception of an all-remote schedule for high school juniors and seniors.

Parents will have the option to opt for full-time remote learning.

In announcing its plan, Chicago joins New York in breaking ranks with some other large cities that have said they will hold school virtually in the fall. To see what Illinois districts are planning, find our tracker here.

Chicago Public Schools will host five virtual meetings starting Monday to solicit community feedback on the plan, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said that what school will ultimately look like in the fall will hinge on the spread of the coronavirus and the advice of experts.

As Chicago starts to release details – and as districts across Illinois begin to publish their own plans – Chalkbeat wants to hear from you. If you’re a parent or student, what does this plan mean for your family and your academic experience? If you’re a teacher, how are you feeling about returning to in-person learning and how will you juggle the schedule with your own family?

Chalkbeat wants to gain perspective from parents, students, and school staff. Tell us your feedback, concerns, and lingering questions below.

Tell us, how do you feel about New York City’s plan to reopen schools?

2020-07-09T22:07:26+00:00

This is part of an ongoing collaborative series between Chalkbeat and WNYC/Gothamist reporting the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on how New York students learn and on how educators teach.

New York City released plans this week detailing what school schedules could look like for students and teachers this fall.

Most students will only attend school one to three days a week, with school leaders choosing among staggered schedules to significantly reduce the number of children and staff in buildings. Students will learn remotely on days they are not in school buildings, in an effort to reduce spread of the coronavirus.

The education department is also allowing families to opt for full-time remote learning, which could help schools that are grappling with how they will staff their in-person classes.

Either way, the options could be a high burden on working families — including teachers.

Teachers, who have health risks, can begin applying on July 15 for accommodations to work from home. Those who return to the classroom will likely teach five days a week, which could be complicated for staffers who have their own young children attending school part time.

The education department is planning a series of information sessions, which will kick off on July 16. Principals are expected to inform families of their individual school’s plan sometime in August.

There are still many logistical questions and concerns to be answered, including what the process of entering buildings will look like, what will happen with students requiring busing, and more.

Chalkbeat wants to hear from parents, students, and school staff. Tell us your feedback, concerns, and lingering questions below.

NYC students want to return to in-person learning this fall, but with caveats

2020-06-25T20:49:17+00:00

This is part of an ongoing collaborative series between Chalkbeat and WNYC/Gothamist reporting the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on how New York students learn and on how educators teach.

Many students across New York City want to return to some version of in-person learning this fall but with significant changes to the ways schools operate, according to the results of a Chalkbeat survey.

Earlier this spring, Chalkbeat and WNYC/Gothamist asked New York students how they believe school leaders should work toward reopening buildings and reigniting in-person learning in the fall. Much still remains uncertain, with officials saying they are tracking what direction the coronavirus takes over the summer. In the meantime, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have each convened task forces to advise them on school reopenings. We wanted to hear directly from students.

Of the more than 560 responses, the vast majority of students said they want to go back to in-person learning this fall, according to an analysis by NYU’s Metro Center of the survey results.

But students — who have spent nearly a third of the 2019-20 school year learning remotely — also described a very different type of in-person learning. Some envisioned a hybrid of remote and in-school classes, while others described flexible hours and staggered schedules.

“One of the major themes that came through in the survey responses is that students want to go back to in-person school. While some mentioned various restrictions they want in place, others just mentioned getting back into the classroom environment,” said Sneha Bolisetty, an NYU graduate research intern who helped with the analysis. “Some students called for long-term changes in schooling, including the removal of high-stakes testing, revising of school timings, and higher standards of cleanliness. These comments served as a powerful reminder that students have strong ideas about what they want to see from their schools, administrators, and teachers beyond the fall semester.”

The results

When students say they want in-person learning, they want it with significant changes.

New York City school officials have yet to release an official plan for the fall, but Mayor Bill de Blasio has hinted at staggered schedules, face coverings, and social distancing within classrooms.

The majority of students who wrote into Chalkbeat called for daily in-person learning to resume, and students preferred staggered class times throughout the day as opposed to a rotational schedule throughout the week.

Christian Velez, a rising high school senior in the Bronx, said he hoped to resume in-person learning but would feel safer if students and educators had temperature checks before the start of school, and if class times were staggered.

“In my school, lots of teachers just assign work and don’t elaborate on what to do or bother to explain concepts and ideas,” Christian, 17, said. “Imagine trying to teach yourself the nitrogen and phosphorous cycle for an AP exam without any clarification. … Things like Google Classroom are super helpful tools to have when you are in classrooms but can easily be exploited out of it.”

Kashif Scott, who is a rising seventh-grader, suggested students could attend class in person for the instruction part but complete assignments and certain tasks online.

Hope Gotfryd, a rising eighth-grader in Prospect Heights, said she hopes schools keep condensed schedules when they return to in-school learning, and not just as a way to stagger the number of students.

“My online classes end at 12:30 every day but I normally finish all of my assignments before that,” Hope said. “This makes me think that school could be so much shorter than it is when we are in the classroom, which would give students a lot more free time, and I believe that would significantly benefit students’ mental health.”

Other students said that a hybrid of remote and in-person learning is the best route, at least until the pandemic is over.

Students could attend class in person for the instruction part but complete assignments and certain tasks online, suggested Kashif Scott, who is a rising seventh-grader at P.S. 364 in Brooklyn.

“There could [be] staggered schedules for kids in higher grades, tutoring services via online, and some activities that would be ok for us to do,” Kashif added. “Because right now everything has come to a complete stop.”

Remote learning has been exceptionally difficult, but it could be improved in the fall.

Students described vastly different experiences with remote learning. Most agreed that there needed to be more personal contact and communication with teachers — and more live instruction or one-on-one contact with teachers.

Marlena Vega with her dog, Betty.

“The lack of communication is driving our grades down because if we have a question or problem, we message our teachers about the issue, and they never seem to reply,” said Emily Contarino, a rising ninth-grader in Staten Island. “I think if we had two days to complete an assignment and had a Zoom call the day after assigning the work, it would be so much better as we could address our questions and concerns directly on the call.”

Ryan Fong, 19, a graduating senior from Brooklyn, suggested that if remote learning was to continue, all teachers should move their deadlines for assignments to midnight “because some students are working in the food and drink industry, and need time to complete assignments.”

Meanwhile, Marlena Vega, 14, a rising 10th-grader at LaGuardia High School, said students working remotely need to be challenged. “I would suggest that the teachers push us a little more because most of the work I’ve gotten was for review, and if we continue this next fall there will be nothing to review,” she said. “They need to figure out how to actually teach us new information.”

If schools do resume in-person learning, staff must be better prepared and equipped to keep everyone safe.

Several students reflected on what it felt like to go to classes before in-person learning was canceled — and how they hope school buildings are better equipped now.

“The classrooms were still dirty for the most part, there was still no soap in the bathroom dispensers, and hand sanitizer more than ever became nonexistent because we were already halfway through the school year and the school no longer had those supplies,” said Christian, the Bronx high schooler. “So the teachers were the ones who had to buy disinfectants and provide sanitary amenities to their students.”

Jennifer Belo is graduating from the High School for Health Professions and Human Services.

Other students talked about mental health preparation, considering the toll of these past few months have had on students.

“I do worry about my other peers who may have experienced strong reactions to quarantine and online learning affecting them emotionally and mentally,” said Jennifer Belo, 18, who is graduating from the High School for Health Professions and Human Services.

“Students must receive attention, support, and, especially, time. School leaders must provide emotional and mental health, as well as guidelines for teachers to follow in order to help and support these students — giving them time to adjust.”

Questions on navigating education and life during COVID-19 in Memphis – asked and answered

2020-06-25T15:35:30+00:00

It’s been more than three months since the city and county mayors declared a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus, and we’re still figuring out how to live through this global pandemic.

While the spread of the virus slowed enough in May for local officials to begin reopening businesses, a recent spike in cases and hospitalizations delayed moving into the next reopening phase. On Saturday, the Shelby County Health Department reported the highest one-day increase in COVID-19 cases.

Over the last several weeks, the Memphis Media Collaborative (Chalkbeat Tennessee, High Ground News, the Memphis Flyer and MLK50: Justice Through Journalism) sent a COVID-19 information needs survey by text message to residents across Memphis.

Dozens of you responded, with questions about everything from summer school to bill payment assistance to coworkers who won’t practice social distancing.

Below are answers to your education questions and links to resources. Go here for questions and answers on protections for employers and employees, healthcare, reopening, and more.

Let us know more questions we should be answering at community@chalkbeat.org

What will happen over the summer? Will there be summer school and in-person camps?

Memphis summer learning will be online and smaller than usual this year.

Memphis students who did not earn passing grades before buildings closed in March because of the coronavirus pandemic will have the opportunity to advance to the next grade, through online summer school that also will provide them laptops and hotspots for internet access. Online classes are scheduled for June 8 through July 16.

This year, the district plans to limit its summer learning academy to reading lessons for kindergarten and first grade students. The district had hoped to expand the academy to all elementary school students and eighth-grade students transitioning to high school, but the county commission declined the district’s request to fund it.

Summer camps’ plans are a bit of a mish-mash. Many camps are open and operating under COVID-19 protocols, with daily temperature checks for campers, no parents past the doors, and in some cases, campers wearing masks. Other camps made the decision not to open this summer. In some cases, camps’ application windows have closed. Memphis Parent offers a Camp Guide here, but calling camps individually may be the best way to learn how they are responding and if they are still accepting new campers.

Where can I find free meals for my child this summer?

To ramp up food distribution for children who need it this summer, Shelby County Schools is resuming meal preparation with help from the YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South.

Shelby County Schools will resume food preparation starting July 1 and YMCA will help the district add new distribution sites and recruit volunteers to meet the heightened demand. You can go here to find the current food distribution site closest to you.

Families can also apply by June 29 for about $5.70 per child per day through the state’s Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program.

How is Shelby County Schools preparing for the fall and the new school year? What will school look like?

There are still a lot of unknowns, but Shelby County Schools is planning to give every student a laptop or tablet by November, with distribution starting in August.

District officials have said that instruction in the fall could be in person, online, or a combination of both. More details are expected in early July after a community task force submits recommendations to Superintendent Joris Ray. Classes are scheduled to start Aug. 10, though even that start date is tentative.

How could social distancing occur in crowded classrooms? Will masks be provided for students and staff?

The short answer is: No one knows yet. The coronavirus has forced school districts across the nation to address a host of pandemic-related needs to ensure the safety of students and teachers when classes resume in the fall while also trying to address the loss of instructional time due to school closures this year.

Shelby County Schools officials gave a first look into some of the options being discussed during a budget presentation in May before county commissioners.

“For safety, we’re thinking about digital thermometers, PPEs or personal protective equipment, handwashing, sanitizing supplies, training,” said Toni Williams, finance director.

She noted that the needs change every day “as we’re learning more and more and becoming educated about how everyone is addressing this pandemic.”

Reporter Laura Faith Kebede contributed to this report.

Ideas to power next school year in NYC: How to confront trauma and foster healing

2020-06-12T20:10:24+00:00

Trauma: the word will hang over school communities when teachers and students return next school year, whether to campus, to remote classrooms, or to some hybrid of the two.

The coronavirus pandemic has torn apart the very fabric of the city, closing school buildings, ravaging neighborhoods — disproportionately low-income ones — and forcing some 1.1 million New York City students to spend most of their days indoors, attempting to learn from home. With New York state’s coronavirus death toll at about 25,000, some students will return to school having experienced the illness or death of someone close to them. Recent weeks have added another layer of trauma, following the police killing of George Floyd, and the resulting protests, where law enforcement have sometimes used violence to disrupt demonstrators.

“We understand that September is going to be a challenge in terms of mental health for our kids that’s absolutely unprecedented,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in April, “and we’re going to have to do a lot in every school to support kids who have honestly been traumatized.”

Since then, de Blasio convened a 45-member task force to consider next steps. Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to “reimagine education” alongside a 19-member task force that doesn’t include any current New York City education department officials. (The Gates Foundation is a funder of Chalkbeat.)

Trauma-informed approaches will be a major focus of restart plans, according to a letter Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza sent to principals this week.

Chalkbeat spoke with educators, students, and other experts about how schools can help their communities begin to process what they’ve lost and begin to heal. Recurring themes include the need to help teachers understand trauma and the importance of prioritizing student well-being over academic benchmarks.

This is part of an ongoing series featuring the voices of educators, parents, students, and other experts to help understand what ideas should power the 2020-21 school year.

The responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Develop trauma-informed curriculum and care

Lesley Koplow — Founding Director, Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice, Bank Street College

Whenever schools open, it will be crucial for staff to acknowledge the traumatic context that we have been living through, and the losses that children have suffered. There has been a continuum of loss in the lives of New York City’s schoolchildren. That includes loss of daily routine, peer group, participation in sports, dance and music, classroom life, parental job loss, food sources, feeling of well-being, contact with neighbors and friends, contact with their own family members in quarantine, as well as loss of neighbors and family members who succumbed to COVID-19. In addition, the death of George Floyd and its aftermath will weigh heavily, especially on Black and brown children when they come back to school.

Thousands of our children will re-enter school carrying loss and trauma “in their backpacks” and will not be able to fully participate unless these very real experiences are addressed. Trauma-informed routines, interactions, and curriculum will be an essential practice in support of educational equity as well as protecting children’s emotional health.

Consider the example of teacher absence, an occasional occurrence in the best of times, but considerably more likely in the fall. Children who have suffered recent traumatic losses may be hyper-alert to the absence of a trusted adult. The absence may evoke overwhelming fear, sadness, and anger connected to the prior loss. Schools committed to responding to children with trauma-informed knowledge and empathy can help provide reassurance and clarity around teacher absences, and help children differentiate between past and present. Trauma-informed schools resist re-traumatizing children by shaming them or having “zero tolerance” for moments of regressed behavior.

Protective changes in the school environment can be presented within the context of teachers and school leaders working hard to keep children and staff safe from the virus. Booklets and videos can be made to help children understand the changes. However, it will be crucial to make sure that the recommended shifts are realistic for all of the age groups for which they are intended. Young children will still need contact with their teachers and crave contact with their peers. Children readily pick up on anxiety levels in the adults around them, and will know if those adults are feeling afraid to be present with them in the classroom.

Redefine what it means to ‘fall behind’

Christopher Emdin — Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Teachers College, and Founder, #HipHopEd

In any situation where a sense of normalcy has been disrupted, it is the responsibility of the school and the educators to adjust the curricular expectations to reflect for young people’s needs. Pursuing knowledge at the expense of teaching about dealing with loss, self-care, creating a sense of balance, and finding joy in the midst of challenge is, at best, irresponsible.

Traditionally, schools have defined “falling behind” only in terms of academics. But students can also fall behind emotionally. Schools and educators must work even harder to ensure young people and their families have the resources to overcome their challenges. They must use mail, phone and social media, and pre-recorded video content. They must use any means necessary.

In the midst of disaster, if children and teens find themselves flailing, stories of hope are healing for those telling them and also for those hearing them. Have students create video blogs about their moments of joy and success and share them with each other. Celebrate teachers, and share stories of their efforts that have paid off. For every story about dysfunction, ensure that you tell two about victories and progress.

And as the nation engages in protest about the value of Black lives, educators must work to elevate Black voices, stories, and experiences across subject areas. The chief form of protest for educators is their teaching. Through it, they can create space for students to share their feelings and their voices, and offer a path towards healing and transformation.

School needs to feel like a safe place. That means no police.

Eliza Seki — eighth-grader, M.S. 839, Kensington, Brooklyn

I really hope that school starts in-person in the fall. For students like myself who will be entering a new school next year — I will be starting high school — the transition back to school will be even harder if we are still learning remotely.

Because of what we’ve been through — with COVID-19 and the aftermath of recent killings of Black Americans, including George Floyd, I feel like school administrators and teachers will need to make a lot of room for students to process it all. Schools will need to ease the academic pressure on students and provide emotional support for those who need it. They will also need to be very clear about what is expected of students because this past semester has been very confusing for a lot of us.

Coming back to school after such a long time, it will be especially important that school feels like a safe place. That’s why we need two basic things this fall: 1) smaller class sizes so we are able to socially distance and 2) getting the police presence out of our schools.

It is unacceptable for students to feel criminalized by metal detectors and police in their schools, especially when police presence will disproportionately impact Black and Latinx students. Getting the NYPD out of schools has needed to happen for years, and after Floyd’s killing, it has become all the more urgent for the emotional and physical well-being of students.

Reduce class size and alleviate academic pressures

Dorothy Siegel — Co-founder of the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Nest program, a collaboration between NYU Steinhardt and the NYC education department

When school buildings finally reopen, our students’ academic skills and knowledge will be very uneven. Their social-emotional needs will be sky high. Many have experienced trauma. All have had their lives upended. Students who needed help learning English will still need help, and students with disabilities will still struggle — even more so.

We must not try to go back to “normal.” Normal no longer exists and won’t work for many students anyway. NYC must make school a place where the individual needs of all students are understood and met.

In the youngest grades, I would limit classes to 18 students, each with a general education teacher and a special education teacher who would have the time and space to identify the academic needs of every student. A social worker or guidance counselor would be assigned to three classes, conducting small-group discussions about the traumatic things our kids have experienced, and working 1:1 with the many children who need it.

If children go into school only two or three days a week to allow for smaller classes and less crowding, the homework that’s assigned should not cover new material, but should reinforce what they learned at school. Parents should not be asked to teach anything.

In the beginning, forget about meeting academic benchmarks and remove as much academic stress as possible from the classroom. Teachers should incorporate as many fun activities as possible — lots of hands-on science, art, music, and movement — along with core academic work. The primary task of the first couple of months is to help our children feel more secure, confident, resilient, and happy. Only then can they begin catching up.

Don’t forget the plight of the city’s undocumented students

Vanessa Luna — Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer, ImmSchools

During this critical moment, schools must prioritize the social-emotional needs of students, given that many of them are grappling with severe uncertainty, anxiety, and grief. The pandemic has exacerbated all of the systemic inequities’ students were experiencing across New York City and the movement for Black Lives has highlighted the deep systemic racism that impacts New York City students and families in and beyond our schools.

Before any academic push happens, the trauma of this moment must be acknowledged, and educators’ relationships with students and families must be prioritized.

When deciding how to reopen, schools must have a concrete plan with key goals for supporting students’ emotional health. Plans may include ensuring social workers are present at schools and providing parents with mental health resources. Educators need continuous trauma-informed training, not only on pedagogy and research but also on how to implement specific practices. And we need to create spaces for both students and families to dialogue and process what has occurred. Schools should host virtual and in-person events so we can ask our school communities what they need and be responsive to those needs; student-led gatherings are also key.

And we should not forget our undocumented students and families, and the challenges they have safely accessing the supports they need. Many of them are juggling multiple responsibilities in a time of uncertainty, as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs DACA, and facing continued threats of being deported or having their family members deported. In addition, as educators we must uplift and understand the unique experiences and challenges that Black undocumented students and families face amid the double bind of systemic racism and xenophobia.

Give students space to process the previous school year

Jennifer Spalding and Lauren Scott — Principal and Assistant Principal, Sunset Park Prep middle school, Brooklyn

Sunset Park Prep begins each school year with Community Days, a series of activities and celebrations to welcome students and reconnect us all to the school community. The goals of these activities: alleviate first-day worries, foster connections to classmates, and create shared community norms to guide our year.

As we look ahead to the fall, the goals are the same, but the annual Community Day event will look a little different. In response to our interrupted year, our returning students will have the chance to spend time with their previous year’s teachers and classmates and reflect on their experiences, and all students will close out the year that was left abruptly.

For the past four years, we have self-funded an additional counselor position. We intend to keep this position in the new academic year, given the extensive loss our school community has experienced due to COVID-19, which disproportionately affected Black and brown communities, and the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. And as we continue to bear witness to gross inequity and injustice, we will recommit ourselves to be anti-racist educators.