Essential education reporting across America

Curriculum and instruction

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
 
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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
 
Young students work on their classwork in groups while the teacher stands behind them, clapping their hands in support. The wall in the background has colorful letters that read “Unity, Unidad”
LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+
‘There for students’: Readers share how teachers can uplift LGBTQ students
By Elena Johnson
 
A young boy wearing a blue face mask and a gray shirt looks at a book. Next to him a young girl with a yellow face mask and a pink shirt looks at another book. Both are at a lime green desk or table.
From Chalkbeat Indiana Curriculum and instruction
Indiana announces $111 million for phonics-focused reading instruction
Up to $60 million is for the state Department of Education to increase the number of instructional coaches who specialize in phonics-based literacy in elementary schools.
By Aleksandra Appleton
 
Teacher wearing a face mask seated behind a desk shield.
Teaching & Classroom Teaching & Classroom
Teachers head back to school with optimism and some worry
“I’m feeling more confident that this year will be a little bit more normal.” Quarantines are gone, and a new year is beginning.
By Jessica Blake
 
A woman teacher leads her classroom during a lesson, a student in the foreground raising their hand amongst other students in the class
From Chalkbeat Detroit Teacher turnover
Michigan programs provide route for second-career teachers. Are they rigorous enough?
Programs fast-track training, but some worry that they risk shortchanging students
By Tracie Mauriello
 
Students raise their hands in the classroom, with the text “Plains Indians” projected on the white board at the front of the class.
From Chalkbeat New York Curriculum and instruction
NYC wants to change the way students learn to read. Here’s how.
Eric Adams is making literacy a priority. Chalkbeat convened a panel, including educators and other experts, to find out what it will take to change the system.
By Amy Zimmer  and Elena Johnson
 
Students work on constructing a shed outside on a farm.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia Curriculum and instruction
How building a ‘bunny mansion’ boosts career-technical education in Philly
Teacher Evin Jarrett says a summer program in which students get hands-on lessons about construction is their capstone.
By Dale Mezzacappa
 
A student raises their hand in a classroom, students all wearing purple and sitting at circular group desks.
How I Teach How I Teach
For this LA educator, teaching Asian American history and activism is personal
“Young learners are perfectly primed to think about issues of injustice,” Kimi Waite says.
By Jessica Blake
 
NYC Chancellor David Banks stands at a podium, with Mayor Eric Adams standing off to the left behind him.
From Chalkbeat New York Curriculum and instruction
Lawsuit filed to halt hundreds of millions in NYC school budget cuts
Two parents and two teachers seek to invalidate the city budget, claiming that city officials failed to follow proper protocols before voting.
By Reema Amin
 
A group of women stand outside an elementary school. They hold signs that say “Don’t Close Our School,” “Colfax is Our Family,” and “DPS, Please Listen” in Spanish.
From Chalkbeat Colorado English-language learners
Denver bilingual programs face a threat: not enough students
High housing costs and falling birth rates are driving down school enrollment in Denver’s historically Latino neighborhoods, making it harder to fill some bilingual classrooms.
By Melanie Asmar
 
A little girl wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and a hair bow holds a cardboard sign. In black marker, it says “Ser Bilingüe Es Mi Superpoder,” which means “Being Bilingual is my Superpower.”
From Chalkbeat Colorado En Español
Programas bilingües de Denver enfrentan problemas por muy pocos estudiantes y amenaza de cierres
Los altos costos de vivienda y la reducción en tasas de natalidad están reduciendo la matrícula escolar en las comunidades históricamente latinas de Denver, y esto hace más difícil llenar algunos salones bilingües.
By Melanie Asmar
 
National_20220629_LGBTQLegislation_GettyImages_001.JPG
LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+
‘I’m terrified’: As new laws take effect, LGBTQ students and allies fear the consequences
The full reach of the new laws won’t be known until fall. Already, many LGBTQ students feel under siege.
By Patrick Wall
 
A group off high school students work together in a classroom.
First Person First Person
How Latin American Film and other college classes changed my high school experience
Last year, I was lost. A different kind of curriculum helped me get back on track.
By Yuleisy Aguirre De Jesus
 
Students walk through the lobby of P.S. 89, with ornate murals on the walls and light blue doors.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID Stimulus
Most NYC schools are losing funding. See what’s happening at your school.
Chalkbeat created a lookup tool examining changes to Fair Student Funding, a major source of funding for schools.
By Reema Amin  and Thomas Wilburn
 
A student views the Google Classroom screen on a laptop.
From Chalkbeat New York Remote learning
Attention ninth graders: Applications now open for NYC’s virtual high school
The city’s new virtual high school program could serve 200 ninth graders this coming school year.
By Marcela Rodrigues-Sherley
 
Children’s books about LGBTQ+ issues sit on a shelf.
From Chalkbeat New York LGBTQ+
NYC expands support for transgender students as other states pull back
But like most things within the nation’s largest school district, what happens across New York City’s 1,600 schools often varies school to school and even classroom to classroom.
By Amy Zimmer
 
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