Essential education reporting across America
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Kae Petrin

Data & Graphics Reporter

Kae is a Data & Graphics Reporter on Chalkbeat’s data visuals team. They come to the role after working briefly as a data analyst in the healthcare industry. Previously, as a digital reporter at St. Louis Public Radio, they created graphics, built newsroom-wide tools, and covered data-driven stories across beats. Before that, Kae was an editorial assistant at St. Louis Magazine. They also produced freelance investigations, breaking news, web redesigns, and entertainment criticism. In 2020, Kae co-founded the Trans Journalists Association with a collective of transgender and nonbinary media-makers; they also serve as a secretary for the St. Louis Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

A teacher holds a small white board that says “marry” in front of a class of roughly a dozen students sitting on a carpet.
From Chalkbeat Indiana Charters & Choice
Using charters to fix ailing IPS schools yields instability and inconsistent academic results
Since IPS created ‘restart’ schools in 2015, the district has replaced two charter operators and a third school has closed.
By Amelia Pak-Harvey and Kae Petrin
 
Students sitting at a table at school working on computers.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
A gender divide: Why NYC students are unusually likely to go to a high school where boys or girls predominate
About 17% of New York City public high schoolers go to a school where boys outnumber girls by at least 2 to 1, or vice versa, a Chalkbeat analysis found.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney and Kae Petrin
 
Students wearing blue button down shirts and orange ties sit
From Chalkbeat New York Charters & Choice
NYC public schools are shrinking — including some of the city’s most popular charters
58% of NYC charter schools shrank during COVID, even as the sector grew overall. Two of the city’s major charter networks — Success Academy and Uncommon Schools — saw student enrollment shrink last year.
By Alex Zimmerman and Kae Petrin
 
A young girl in a darkened room works in the light of a desk lamp. She is writing in a notebook. A laptop computer is open on her left. Behind her a string of Christmas lights hang over a red curtain.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Charters & Choice
Online enrollment grows in Colorado but some say more accountability is needed
Far more Colorado students are enrolled in online schools than before the pandemic, but there isn’t much information about how these schools perform.
By Yesenia Robles and Kae Petrin
 
Aurora Central High School students walk past the attendance office.
How the COVID-19 pandemic is changing school data
COVID-19 forced schools to collect and share data differently. But experts and education departments are still determining what changes will stick.
By Kaitlyn Radde and Kae Petrin
 
Student holds a pencil to a notebook placed on a desk. Overlaid on top of the image are three open check boxes with the letters M, F, and X.
LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+
Nonbinary students aren’t reflected in federal civil rights data. That might change.
It remains unclear how useful the data would be in its early forms, but would be a significant step toward assembling data on nonbinary students.
By Kae Petrin
 
A person stands next to a table where two students are seated.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID safety
UPDATED: NYC parents, was your child exposed to COVID? Here’s what to do next
Chalkbeat created a flow chart to help families in NYC schools navigate the city’s new test-to-stay and quarantine policies when someone tests positive for COVID.
By Kae Petrin and Amy Zimmer
 
A medical professional in a face shield administers a COVID test to a woman wearing sunglasses.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID and Schools
NYC school COVID testing is falling short, some educators say
Some teachers and school leaders want the city to expand access to COVID testing in schools amid a record surge in cases.
By Christina Veiga and Kae Petrin