Adeshina Emmanuel
Author
Chicago has lost a quarter of its black teaching force in six years — when its student body is increasingly non-white. How can the district retain more teachers of color?
The hearing focused on practices that educators are using to support students affected by gun violence and other traumatic experiences.
What’s your hope for the school year? We asked parents, teachers, and students across several neighborhoods to weigh in. Common themes included better grades, more experiences like music classes and field trips, and safe schools.
“I’m not satisfied,” Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson said of the district’s performance. “I like the incremental growth, but we need to see exponential growth, particularly among our African-American male and Latino male students, if we’re going to meet the goals we’ve outlined in our vision.”
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A disabilities rights group is pushing the city to do more to allow students with disabilities to attend classes and events on any floor of any city school building.
Rivera said that the Chicago district internally compiled proposed projects, prioritizing schools with the most at-risk students.
Sybil Madison, who co-chaired Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s education transition team, will oversee education and youth-related policies as deputy mayor of education and human services.
Chicago Public Schools held the event at the city’s Symphony Center for school leaders to rally and plan ahead of the new school year around the vision of an equitable school district.
Chicago Public Schools just released a $7.7 billion budget — its largest to date — and one that includes money for teacher raises, building upgrades, new technology, Pre-K expansion and additional counselors.
To help pave the way to college, a new state law will require Illinois high school seniors to complete an application for federal student aid in order to graduate.
Principal Beulah McLoyd is stepping down at Dyett High School for the Arts, a campus she came to lead after hunger-striking community members pressed the district to reopen the South Side neighborhood school. McLoyd will join the national non-profit New Leaders to train aspiring principals.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised to reconsider how Chicago funds schools and explore ways to spend more on students with the most need. But that raises plenty of questions about how Chicago Public Schools will prioritize spending to be more equitable at the nation’s third-largest school district.
More mentoring, more coaching: Chicago schools intensifies support for beginning teachers to keep them in the profession.
Chicago Public Schools seeks critical additions to its senior leadership team — one to oversee the district’s $135 million curriculum overhaul — and the other to lead its troubled special education program.
On Wednesday, the board of education voted to pay a Washington State-based organization $235,000 to help six targeted schools close gaps in access to AP and International Baccalaureate classes.
Lightfoot’s team told Chalkbeat in a statement this week that the mayor is “firmly committed” to equitable funding and to ensuring that “schools and educators have the resources needed to support and address the needs of schools and families.”
The Chicago Board of Education plans to vote Wednesday on new rules making good on its promise to operate with more transparency and engage the public before making important decisions.
Charging that there is a lack of clear policy direction from City Hall and Chicago Public Schools on the topic, a pair of parent advocacy groups set up a two-day workshop on the West Side to help educate community members on their options.
The idea behind the “3-8 On-Track” indicator is to hold elementary schools responsible for preparing students for the next level, just like the ratings policy attempts with high schools.
A challenging school climate and high turnover in leadership have been two of the biggest threats to the integration project, which just wrapped up Year 1.
Board members complained that they hadn’t known about the need for approving a new formula and felt pressed toward a decision.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s newly appointed school board promised to change how the board does its business. They announced seven new rules at their first meeting.
The updated rating formula introduces a new metric known as “3-8 On-Track” that factors in elementary students’ attendance and grades in core subjects for students in grades 3 through 8.
Students on Chicago’s Near North Side lived through an unusual and high-stakes initiative this year: a community-driven effort to meld two schools — racially, economically, and culturally distinct — into one.
Top Chicago principals receive fellowships to hone leadership skills, boost school improvement plans
Three dozen top Chicago principals have been accepted into leadership fellowships aimed at helping them drive sustainable improvements at their schools.
City Council education chair promises more public meetings, increased involvement in Chicago schools
The West Side alderman that Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed to steward the City Council education committee, Ald. Michael Scott Jr., told Chalkbeat in a conversation this week that he intends for the committee to take a stronger role in school district oversight.
New school board President Miguel del Valle delivered the commencement speech for more than 900 graduates from Chicago’s parent mentor program.
The former Tilden High School principal said that his office plans to begin showing its work sometime in the next few months, beginning with the equity framework, a tool for district leaders and educators to guide “how we need to think, behave, organize and do this work to get to equitable outcomes.”
“The majority of the work that the school board does is going to have to be in the public,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “The days where everything was done in executive session, and then they come out and take a vote, that’s over.”