Essential education reporting across America

Curriculum and instruction

A passenger plane sits in a hangar awaiting inspection.
From Chalkbeat Newark Curriculum and instruction
Newark launches aviation program for Shabazz High School seniors
Students who have completed most of their senior coursework can enroll this spring to learn aircraft mechanics.
By Jessie Gomez
 
The Michigan State Capitol on a sunny day in Lansing.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Michigan Legislature
For Michigan lawmakers, lame duck looks like tame duck
Expect no flurry of education bills as the GOP majority’s time runs out
By Tracie Mauriello
 
A woman wearing a face mask, a man in a white button-down shirt and a teen in a yellow T-shirt stand in a classroom with a school-made robot.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
‘They won’t take the first steps’: How to get more girls, Latinos, and Black students into NYC’s computer science classes
Just 17% of New York City schools were meeting the education department’s Computer Science for All equity goals of reaching girls, Latinos, and Black students, according to a recent report from NYU’s Research Alliance.
By Amy Zimmer
 
Close-up of books on shelves in a library.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Tennessee textbook panel hones school library guidelines for ‘age appropriate’ materials
Commissioner Laurie Cardoza-Moore says some books should be pulled from shelves statewide
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
A young girl works at a tablet in a gymnasium on an online tutoring platform.
COVID Stimulus COVID Stimulus
Schools across the U.S. have turned to Paper’s online tutoring. Some worry it’s falling short.
Educators and officials in districts that contracted with Paper say its text-based tutoring service often frustrates the students who need the most help.
By Kalyn Belsha
 
A teacher stands at the front of a classroom pointing at a white board as three rows of students look on.
Assessment and testing Assessment and testing
Struggling students hit harder, rebounding slower from COVID, research finds
The latest findings solidify a developing picture of schools struggling to support students who have fallen off track.
By Julian Shen-Berro
 
A shadowed teacher stands at the back of the class in front of students.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado General Assembly
Colorado State Board adopts inclusive social studies standards
Colorado is moving in the opposite direction of states under Republican control that are limiting how teachers can talk about race, gender, and sexuality.
By Erica Meltzer
 
National_20221107_Voting_GettyImages_001.JPG
Campaigns and elections Campaigns and elections
In these 3 state races, education is central and partisan divides are stark
Education has featured prominently in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin, three battleground states with tight races for governor.
By Patrick Wall
 
Students in red shirts sit in an auditorium facing a stage.
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
Facing enrollment drop, one Bronx middle school tries its hand at marketing
Facing a budget shortfall because of enrollment declines, Soundview Academy’s principal made an unusual request to students, staff and families: Would they help market the school?
By Reema Amin
 
A person holds a pen in her right hand while seated at a desk and puts her head in her left hand.
From Chalkbeat Indiana Student & School Performance
What do Indiana students need to know? State plans sweeping reduction of standards
Teachers don’t have enough time to teach the long list of current standards, proponents have argued, meaning students miss critical knowledge.
By Aleksandra Appleton
 
A girl in a pink and black dress points her pencil towards the front of the classroom during a reading lesson.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Curriculum and instruction
A look at how Colorado schools are changing how they teach reading
Gone by the wayside are reading programs that encourage children to figure out what a jumble of letters says by looking at the picture or using other clues to guess the word.
By Ann Schimke
 
A young person speaks through a ham radio microphone on stage.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Teaching & Classroom
Detroit students talk with astronaut in space as part of aviation program
Students’ interview with astronaut Koichi Wakata represents a showcase event for Davis Aerospace program.
By Ethan Bakuli
 
A line of students wait outside a school, with some students along a wall and others along a chain link fence.
From Chalkbeat New York English language learners
New York City grapples with influx of new asylum-seeking students
Educators have reported myriad challenges at the schools, including a shortage of Spanish-speaking staff.
By Reema Amin
 
Masked students sit in rows in a classroom, all wearing blue shirts and sweaters.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Student & School Performance
Michigan students are recovering slowly from pandemic disruptions
Researchers say it will take years to catch up; individualized instruction accelerates gains
By Tracie Mauriello
 
A woman in a sports coat stands at a lectern with another woman giving the thumbs-up nearby.
From Chalkbeat Chicago Curriculum and instruction
Q & A: Chicago Public Schools’ academic chief on pandemic recovery and her goal to rethink the status quo
Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer, spoke about her plan to help students bounce back academically.
By Mila Koumpilova
 
A student answers a question on a test using a pencil.
From Chalkbeat New York Assessment and testing
NYC test scores drop in math, increase in reading
The scores are the first measure of how students across the five boroughs have fared in reading and math since the coronavirus pandemic.
By Reema Amin
 
A man in a red shirt gestures toward a table with two students on either side of him.
From Chalkbeat New York Teaching & Classroom
New York’s Teacher of the Year says he’s a ‘rebel with a cause’
Training students to work together, especially under pressure, is at the core of how Billy Green teaches.
By Reema Amin
 
A woman sits on a leather couch, hands clasped and looking over her shoulder.
Curriculum and instruction Curriculum and instruction
When Texas students campaigned for a more diverse history course, they got a lesson in politics
Texas classrooms’ lack of any deeper discussion about Islam spurred an eighth grader to action.
By Brian Lopez, Texas Tribune
 
A female teacher wearing a red shirt sits on a carpet and helps a male student in third grade with a math assignment.
From Chalkbeat Colorado COVID Stimulus
COVID relief money helps Colorado schools pay for math and reading curriculum
Jeffco, Adams 12, Colorado Springs 11, and Greeley-Evans are some of the districts receiving grants.
By Ann Schimke
 
A woman speaks into a microphone on a stage in front of women at a meeting.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Curriculum and instruction
Anti-mosque activist reappointed to Tennessee textbook panel
Laurie Cardoza-Moore’s term extension comes as the commission’s work expands.
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
The book “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson sits in a windowsill, the cover showing a Black man posing with a bouquet of flowers on his head.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Politics & Policy
Armed with prayers and sexually explicit passages, activists bring book wars to Michigan school board
Other parents say they trust librarians and teachers to determine what is appropriate for students
By Tracie Mauriello
 
Three students sit with work in front of a chalkboard.
From Chalkbeat New York Curriculum and instruction
NYC shelves $202 million plan to create a universal curriculum
By Alex Zimmerman
 
A student holds a book in front of them while they sit at their classroom desk.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Student & School Performance
Few Detroit third graders are held back under reading law, as district favors exemptions
By Ethan Bakuli
 
A teacher wearing a mask stands at the front of a classroom in front of a whiteboard that shows mathematical principles. In the foreground, a student in a red shirt has his hand raised.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Curriculum and instruction
Detroit district struggles to solve its problem with math learning loss
Longstanding achievement gaps and a lack of local resources stymie progress
By Grace Tucker
 
NYC_20220908_AdamsBackToSchool_MayorPhotoOffice_001.JPG
From Chalkbeat New York Curriculum and instruction
Eric Adams touts NYC’s literacy efforts in school year kickoff
Mayor Eric Adams and his schools chief David Banks made no secret of their top priority for the new school year: improving how schools teach children how to read.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
Two large buildings are set at an angle against an almost clear sky.
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
NYC schools to move 1,000 central, borough staffers to district offices
Staffers will be moved “to more effectively support schools in coordination with district superintendents,” the department says.
By Reema Amin
 
A young boy in a black Champion hoodie and mask reads a children’s book.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Student & School Performance
Reading skills gap grows in Michigan
Students who are Black or from low-income families scored much lower than peers on third-grade test
By Tracie Mauriello
 
A blue cart of books organized alphabetically.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Teaching & Classroom
Tennessee school library law’s expanded scope puts new burden on teachers
Some balk over state guidance suggesting that they catalog their classroom collections
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
Students wait in line on school campus.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Michigan Legislature
Michigan to infuse curriculum with Native American history
Students will learn the history of federally run Indian boarding schools that once tried to erase Indigenous culture
By Tracie Mauriello
 
A teacher stands behind five children in a classroom against the backdrop of a whiteboard.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Teaching & Classroom
Memphis educator named Tennessee’s 2022-23 Teacher of the Year
‘I’m ready to share our stories,’ says Melissa Collins, the state’s new chief education ambassador
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
More Stories
Icon-heart-donate
Help Chalkbeat raise $80k by Dec 31
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit newsroom filling a vital community need. We could not do this without you, and we need your support to keep going in 2023.
icon-events

Connect with your community

Find upcoming events

Events