Essential education reporting across America

Reopening

Students at P.S. 89 in Brooklyn await their families at the end of the school day during the last week of New York City’s 2020-2021 school year.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID Stimulus
As NYC enrollment has dropped, per-student spending has grown past $37K: report
The education department’s spending per pupil has increased by 46%, in large part due to the billions in federal COVID aid the district received as enrollment has dipped.
By Reema Amin
 
A woman stands with her two daughters and another woman at a city bus stop.
From Chalkbeat New York Chronic Absenteeism
As family homelessness climbs, calls grow louder for solving school attendance woes
For New York City’s nearly 30,000 students in shelters, getting to school is often a problem. Advocates are calling for an inter-agency task force focused on reducing chronic absenteeism among homeless kids.
By Reema Amin
 
NYC_20221004_HochulZeldin_GettyImages.jpg
From Chalkbeat New York Charters & Choice
Where do Hochul and Zeldin stand on education?
There are still many open questions about how both would approach policy for schools.
By Reema Amin
 
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
 
An empty school hallway with beige walls and blue doors
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
Nearly 10% of NYC students were homeless last year, according to report
The share of students who were homeless has largely not budged even as public school enrollment has dipped by 9.5% since the pandemic.
By Reema Amin
 
Students are giving temperature checks by the school nurse before being allowed into the building at Wesley Elementary School in Middletown, CT, October 5, 2020.
Politics & Policy Politics & Policy
More than politics: New studies help explain why some schools reopened while others stayed virtual
Local conditions, not just national politics, drove reopening decisions
By Patrick Wall
 
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
 
School administrators speak with a family on the first day of school as other parents walk by them outside a brick school building.
From Chalkbeat New York Reopening
Parent-teacher conferences in NYC schools remain virtual this year
The move has prompted mixed reactions from educators and parents.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
Three students stand on the side of a piano, singing while holding music sheets as their teacher plays the piano.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Reopening
With a joyful song, these Detroit students are re-engaging with school
Return to the choir room ‘is like seeing your best friend.’
By Koby Levin
 
A teacher watches as students make their way into the brick facade of their school.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Reopening
Where Michigan school districts stand on 2022-23 COVID protocols
Masking, routine testing and other precautions will be relaxed this school year
By Grace Tucker
 
A man working for Detroit Public Schools Community District stands at a table distributing papers to a mother and her two daughters.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Community & Wraparound Programs
Detroit’s back-to-school enrollment efforts take on new urgency
District taps COVID relief funds to support family-friendly Summer on the Block events, summer programming and door-to-door outreach
By Grace Tucker
 
A man in a mask and a blue jacket looks at school work in a classroom with two children, also in masks.
From Chalkbeat New York Politics & Policy
NYC school budget cuts can move forward for now, appeals court says
The court’s order brings whiplash to back-to-school planning. Four days prior, a lower court ruled the city needed to redo the education department budget.
By Amy Zimmer and Alex Zimmerman
 
Some students are standing, while others are sitting in a classroom.
From Chalkbeat New York The Comeback
What is going on with NYC’s public school enrollment? We explain.
Student enrollment has big implications for public schools, and declines can lead to less funding and school closures or mergers.
By Reema Amin
 
The blue Democratic Party donkey and the red Republican Party elephant sit over the top of students and a teacher making their way through a hallway.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Campaigns and elections
Tennessee’s shift to partisan school board elections faces its first big test
Some candidates worry that national culture wars will overshadow local education issues
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
A student works at a laptop in her room.
From Chalkbeat New York Teaching & Classroom
New York to increase weekly instruction for medically fragile students
By Reema Amin
 
High school students wearing masks sit several feet apart at desks in a classroom,
From Chalkbeat New York Assessment and testing
Proposal would make it easier for NY students to pass Regents exams
By Reema Amin
 
A classroom with blue chairs sits empty.
From Chalkbeat New York Diversity & Equity
What the education panel’s rejection of NYC’s funding formula means for schools
The vote is unlikely to have an immediate impact on school budgets, but delays in approving a formula could hamper principals’ ability to plan and hire staff.
By Reema Amin and Alex Zimmerman
 
Students play on the playground at Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Reopening
Michigan coalition: Don’t neglect recess
Group finds 20% of elementary school children don’t get enough play time
By Tracie Mauriello
 
Students learning in a classroom at desks in Detroit with a literature textbook in the foreground of the photo.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Reopening
Returning homeschoolers, kindergarteners drive Michigan enrollment rebound
Any uptick in enrollment is welcome news to Michigan educators, who have been warning that students were missing out on critical education experiences.
By Koby Levin
 
A young girl, wearing a green shirt and pink skirt, looks out her bedroom window as her brother sits on the floor next to her bed.
The Comeback The Comeback
Seen in school: How COVID shaped two years of education
Our newsroom has worked with several dedicated photographers to document these times. These journalists have given us a bird’s eye view of what we otherwise couldn’t see — the lived experiences of school communities that we cover.
By Chalkbeat Staff
 
A young teacher holds up a paper as she speaks with a boy at her desk.
From Chalkbeat Indiana The Comeback
As COVID protocols end, young students and new teachers adjust
Indiana schools no longer have to mask, distance or quarantine, something the youngest students and new teachers have never experienced before.
By Aleksandra Appleton
 
A teacher works with a student at the front of her classroom as another student looks down at his desk in the foreground.
Teaching & Classroom Teaching & Classroom
As schools try to recover, COVID’s toll lingers: ‘We haven’t seen fine, ever’
Schools are teetering between optimism and exhaustion two years into the pandemic.
By Kalyn Belsha, Melanie Asmar, and 1 more
 
NYC middle schools reopened on Thursday, Feb. 25. Students at M.S. 51 in Park Slope, Brooklyn streamed into the building, socially distanced and masked.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID Stimulus
Here’s how NYC schools are spending $7 billion in COVID federal relief
The largest chunk — about $1.9 billion — will be for an expansion of the city’s pre-K program for 3-year-olds over the next several years.
By Reema Amin
 
Several students sit at desks in a classroom with large windows.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Coronavirus Detroit
Michigan enrollment ticks up, but pandemic losses continue for city districts
Statewide enrollment is still down 3% since before the pandemic — and 5% in city districts — raising questions about where those students went.
By Koby Levin
 
Parents pick up their young students from school on a sunny winter day.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Detroit Public Schools Community District
Detroit district reopens after a month of remote instruction
The last day of January marked the first day of in person learning for thousands of Detroit students since Dec. 16.
By Ethan Bakuli
 
Detroit_20220119_COVIDTesting_GettyImages_001.JPG
From Chalkbeat Detroit The Comeback
Six things to know as Detroit schools’ COVID testing deadline looms
As Detroit students return to school Monday, the deadline looms for parents in DPSCD to consent to COVID testing for their children.
By Lori Higgins and Ethan Bakuli
 
A student works at a laptop in her room.
From Chalkbeat Detroit The Comeback
Why low COVID vax rates in Detroit led to more online learning
Across the nation, many schools have returned to in-person learning after the winter break. But not Detroit.
By Lori Higgins, Ethan Bakuli, and 1 more
 
A student at Ombudsman Chicago South works on a Chromebook during the first day of school in August 2021.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia COVID safety
Are Philly schools heading back to normal? Teachers union says not so fast.
For the first time in a month, all schools in Philadelphia are in-person after weeks of uncertainty in which some schools shifted to virtual due to staffing shortages caused by the omicron variant.
By Johann Calhoun
 
School guard take students’ temperature at the entrance to Camden Street Elementary School.
From Chalkbeat Newark Reopening
Newark COVID cases decline as students settle back into in-person learning
There were fewer than 100 staff cases during the week the district returned to in-person learning, a steep drop from more than 500 cases in one week after Christmas.
By Catherine Carrera
 
A young girl in a mask and pink headscarf sits cross-legged on a classroom floor. She has her hand raised. To her left, a young woman in a mask and sweatshirt helps another child adjust her mask.
From Chalkbeat Colorado The Comeback
Colorado schools bend but don’t break under omicron surge
Even with record-high COVID cases, most schools have avoided prolonged remote learning. But it hasn’t been easy.
By Melanie Asmar and Erica Meltzer
 
More Stories
Icon-heart-donate
If you value Chalkbeat, consider making a donation
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to providing the information families and educators need, but this kind of work isn’t possible without your help.
icon-events

Connect with your community

Find upcoming events

Events