Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

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literacy

How I Teach

Colorado
August 15, 2017

This Colorado teacher doesn’t come to class with ironclad lessons. Instead, students help her plan along the way.

A teacher from Western Colorado talks about the woman who inspired her to teach, the importance of parent feedback and why she likes it when students laugh in class.

Stopping summer slide

Tennessee
July 13, 2017

On National Summer Learning Day, Memphis takes stock of programs for kids

Mayor Jim Strickland estimates that 10,000 children and teens are being reached this summer through various learning programs.

It takes a village

Tennessee
March 1, 2017

Nashville’s third-graders trail the state in reading proficiency. Here’s the city’s plan to change that.

As Tennessee grapples with its reading problem, Nashville kicks off its own literacy effort aimed at accelerating the reading skills of the city’s youngest students.

Read to be Ready

Tennessee
February 23, 2017

McQueen takes stock of Tennessee’s literacy campaign after first year

The state is making progress with its youngest readers, but still has a long way to go, says its education commissioner.

Leaving

Tennessee
February 21, 2017

Ramirez resigns as academics chief for Shelby County Schools

In a letter emailed to her colleagues, Heidi Ramirez says she is leaving her job “to be closer to loved ones and take on new challenges.”

Budget blues

Colorado
February 7, 2017

Is Jeffco Public Schools about to cut programs that haven’t gotten a chance to succeed?

In its bid to cut $20 million from next year's budget, Jeffco Public Schools is looking to eliminate two programs that have posted promising results so far.

Read to be Ready

Tennessee
January 24, 2017

$30 million grant will grow Tennessee’s summer reading program tenfold

A major investment by the State Department of Human Services will expand the reach of summer reading programs to 10,000 children.

Read to be Ready

Tennessee
September 26, 2016

In latest effort to combat lagging literacy rates, Tennessee launches reading coach network

The next step in Tennessee’s ambitious literacy plan is a three-year reading coach program that could reach up to 3,000 teachers.

First Person

National
September 20, 2016

First Person: What 100 ninth graders told me about why they don’t read

My students' answers — cell phone addiction, responsibilities at home, a lack of interest — were honest and illuminating. They're also helping me figure out how to help.

First Person

National
August 9, 2016

First Person: Black boys in ‘book deserts’ don’t get inspiring literary experiences. Let’s do better.

I’m suggesting we take the pressure off of individual teachers and parents and focus on advocating for more literate communities.

Summer camp

Tennessee
July 18, 2016

Can raising reading levels be fun? It was for these kids in Nashville

Summer camps funded through Tennessee's Ready to be Ready initiative give children a chance to become better readers.

equity and excellence

New York
May 27, 2016

City will hire 100 reading coaches to kick off of universal literacy initiative

New York City’s push to have every third-grade student reading on grade level will begin with a hundred educators dispatched to coach reading teachers in key districts.

Stopping summer slide

Tennessee
May 17, 2016

Twelve summer reading programs share Tennessee’s inaugural literacy grant

As part of a larger effort to lift lagging literacy rates, the Tennessee Department of Education names recipients of a $1 million grant for summer reading programs.

Dealing with dyslexia

Tennessee
March 14, 2016

Parents push for more screening, support for students with dyslexia

Parents across the state push for a bill that would require early screening for dyslexia, which affects up to one in five children.

Combating illiteracy

Tennessee
February 17, 2016

Why can’t Tennessee students read? State officials have a hunch, and a plan

Frustrated by stagnant reading scores, Gov. Bill Haslam and his education commissioner launch a major initiative to help Tennessee students read better.

Five questions

Tennessee
January 18, 2016

‘Keeper of the Dream’ recipient on why teen students should volunteer

A senior at Kingsbury High School, Marlena Mireles is one of three Memphis-area students to receive the 2015 award recognizing youth who are making a difference.

Looking back

December 22, 2015

Top 10 stories defining Tennessee education in 2015

From Race to the Top to pre-kindergarten to teacher pay, education was a hot topic in Tennessee.

Budget Preview

Tennessee
December 1, 2015

With state revenues rebounding, will Tennessee see more education spending?

When Candice McQueen makes her first state budget pitch, she'll offer a glimpse into how the state is responding to growing calls for change in the way it funds schools.

Digital Divide

Tennessee
November 23, 2015

Memphis Head Start leaders seek iPad investment for district’s littlest hands

The proposed purchase of 500 iPads for Head Start students would be a first-of-its-kind technology investment for pre-K students in Shelby County Schools.
New York
November 2, 2015

From ABCs to ‘Americanah,’ city hopes book lists will boost student reading

The city education department compiled lists of contemporary children’s and young-adult books as part of a new initiative called “NYC Reads 365."

Unified Vision

Tennessee
October 15, 2015

McQueen prioritizes literacy, early learning, teacher prep in five-year strategic plan

Tennessee's education chief announces a strategic plan to elevate Tennessee academically from one of the nation's lowest performing states to the top half in five years.

journalism in jeopardy

Tennessee
October 8, 2015

Memphis student newspaper’s future uncertain after funder pullout

For almost 18 years, The Teen Appeal has been bringing a form of literacy to students in Shelby County Schools. But its December issue could be its last.

Pre-K

Tennessee
September 24, 2015

Educators, researchers grapple with future of pre-kindergarten in Tennessee

A panel convened by Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education discusses what it would take to have high-quality pre-kindergarten programs across the state.

Literacy

Tennessee
September 3, 2015

As first concrete step of reading initiative, McQueen seeks educators for Early Literacy Council

The Department of Education seeks educators, community members to give input on sweeping literacy initiative

reading intervention

Tennessee
August 20, 2015

Tennessee rolls out sweeping literacy initiatives amid stagnant reading scores

Calling Tennessee's stagnant literacy rates a "true ethical and moral dilemma," Candice McQueen discusses her first major initiative as education commissioner.

Teachers' turn

Tennessee
July 16, 2015

Tennessee teachers school Haslam on testing, evaluations during first Teachers Cabinet meeting

Gov. Bill Haslam convenes the first meeting of his Teachers Cabinet by quizzing teachers on everything from professional development to evaluations to student testing.

it begins with books

New York
March 30, 2015

Making progress on a promise, Fariña brings books to homeless children

A year after vowing to put more books in the hands of homeless children, Chancellor Carmen Fariña has helped oversee the creation of small libraries at 20 shelters.
New York
February 6, 2015

‘Ready to read’? Why schools should reject the label and focus on solving the problem

Harlem Link's Steven Evangelista: What can educators and policymakers do about the word gap that lower-income children face even before kindergarten?

Bite size

Colorado
January 8, 2015

A new medium for early literacy tips: Texting

A new program from Bright by Three capitalizes on the growing momentum behind text messaging interventions by offering weekly text tips to parents of children 0-3.

beyond the marshmallow test

Colorado
November 12, 2014

New research on homegrown curriculum “Tools of the Mind” helps pave way for expansion

A curriculum called “Tools of the Mind,” which focuses on developing skills like self-control and attentiveness along with reading and math, aims to make learning more efficient and build valuable lifelong skills.
Tennessee
October 10, 2014

Rise & Shine: Shelby County Schools makes plans to close achievement gaps

expanded learning time

New York
August 6, 2014

Fariña: Books are the answer to everything

Students from seven middle schools and three community-based centers were at the event with Chancellor Carmen Fariña to celebrate the end of a reading pilot program called SummerSail, which aims to stem the "learning loss" that affects many students from low-income families when school is out. The implied goal: to make the students enjoy reading as much as Fariña does.
New York
July 22, 2014

Adult students with poor literacy getting short shrift, teachers say

A recent bulletin from the Office of Adult and Continuing Education urged principals to refer low-level students to free classes at the library. The department says referrals benefit students, but longtime adult educators are worried that the department is shortchanging the city's neediest adult learners.

Not Done Yet

New York
June 2, 2014

Years after Common Core's arrival, reading overhauls continue at top charter networks

The city's top charter school networks are continuing to overhaul their reading materials and methods to meet the Common Core standards years after they were adopted. The networks have moved with new urgency since pass rates plunged on the first-ever Common Core state tests.

Takeaways

New York
May 12, 2014

Some Common Core insights from a panel of experts: teachers

To give parents a glimpse into Common Core-aligned reading classrooms, Chalkbeat facilitated a conversation last week among three teachers that touched on close reading and textual evidence—and falcons and agriculture.
Colorado
May 9, 2014

Sheridan middle school shows off literacy push to parents

Ian Render, a Sheridan Middle School math teacher, shows parent Nora Munoz, right, how one of the school’s new math programs, ALEKS, tracks student proficiency.

Anatomy of a lesson

Colorado
April 21, 2014

At Pueblo charter school, teaching literacy hasn’t changed much with new standards

Reading lessons may seem strikingly similar to lessons of yesteryear, even though this is the first year schools are supposed to be teaching to a new set of standards. For some Colorado districts, the new standards have meant a complete instructional overhaul. But at this Pueblo school, teachers began exploring the standards in 2010 and found that in most subjects, they only had to make slight shifts, said Natalie Allen, head of school.
Tennessee
January 22, 2014

With lawsuit settlement, Shelby County School officials shift focus toward academic improvements

With the municipality split and a subsequent lawsuit mostly settled, members of the Shelby County School Board and Superintendent Dorsey Hopson are…
New York
January 14, 2014

How sticky notes help my students read novels independently

In a First Person piece, teacher Ariel Sacks shares a strategy she uses to help her diverse group of students read and understand whole novels on their own — an unusual goal for a middle school class.
New York
November 19, 2013

Middle school students trade TV for tutoring to boost reading

Tutor Aaron Whidbee with sixth-graders Elijah Parrilla (left) and Manuelle Lamboy, who attend a new extended-day tutoring program at the Highbridge Green School. It was nearly 5 p.m. on a recent chilly November afternoon — in other words, a time of television, text messages, and snacks for most middle-school students. And yet four sixth-graders at the Highbridge Green School in the Bronx were scouring a young-adult novel, “The Skin I’m In,” for clues about the way writers develop their characters. “I would like to add on to what Manuelle said,” said Elijah Parrilla, waiting for a nod from his after-school literacy tutor. “It says, ‘Good writers get close to their characters.’” The tutor, Aaron Whidbee, a former teacher from Yonkers, then asked another question about the chapter, and another student found the right answer. “You guys know what you’re doing here,” Whidbee said. Highbridge is one of 20 district middle schools in a pilot program run by the city and private partners that extends the schools' days by two-and-a-half hours — including an hour of small-group literacy tutoring for some students — in the hopes of raising students’ often alarmingly low reading skills. At Highbridge, for instance, 83 percent of sixth-graders read below grade level when they started the year.
New York
August 16, 2013

Identifying a weakness, Explore Schools shifts focus to literacy

A group of Explore teachers listen to a teaching training session on cognitive engagement in literacy at Brooklyn College on Wednesday. When second-year teacher Alyssa Reyes saw her fourth-graders’ state exam scores, she was surprised. Math was a lot higher than she thought it would be and literacy was lower than she expected, she said. The Explore Excel Charter School teacher attributed the disparity to the fact that last year her school didn't have a literacy coordinator, while it had a full-time math coordinator who was "exceptional." "She really challenged me as a first-year teacher to not only get good at planning but also be much more reflective about execution and coming back to help students with different learning styles," Reyes said. Explore Schools picked up on this network-wide weakness in literacy and has responded by adding full-time literacy coordinators to join the ones in math and increasing the time that teachers have to work together. It is also strengthening its shared literacy curriculum and pushing teachers to tackle bigger-picture goals like "cognitive engagement" in their classrooms. New York schools have known about the new Common Core standards for nearly three years now and were supposed to tie their instruction to the new standards for the first time last year. But the results of the state tests released earlier this month have made the changes a reality, and educators across the city are spending the waning weeks of summer considering how to adjust their teaching in light of the scores.
New York
July 15, 2013

Reading Closely For Connection In The Common Core

The Common Core’s reverence for the text as “the master class,” as chief creator David Coleman said in a 2011 speech, means that students’ personal interpretations are deemphasized — and even denounced. That particular pendulum swing has me concerned because, in my experience, students must also bring their own perspectives and experiences to the text if they are to read critically.
New York
March 4, 2013

Parents work to provide support they didn't receive as students

Dreysser Cano reads a letter he wrote to his daughter aloud to participants in a literacy workshop. (Photo by Scholastic) For many parents who graduated from Scholastic’s “Rise and Read” program this month, the experience was bittersweet: They had learned new ways to support their children’s education, but they had also been reminded about how their own education had fallen short. “I want to prepare my children so they don’t have to go through what we went through,” said Rafael Encarnacion, who participated in the program with his wife Nikiesha. “So they have a basic foundation. We want to show them the basics of doing well in school, keeping up and staying focused.” Scholastic’s six-session Rise and Read workshop series aims to give parents tools to practice reading with their children — by handing out new books, but also by talking about everyday ways to introduce reading, whether through sounding out signs or reading along to lyrics of a favorite song.
New York
October 24, 2012

Even with no model middle school, city expands literacy push

Greg Linton, an 8th grade humanities teacher at M.S. 266, takes notes on his school's literacy data. Nearly a year after beginning their search for an exceptional middle school to lead a push to boost literacy in struggling schools, city officials have concluded that no school is good enough. After the city launched its Middle School Quality Initiative last year, it selected two dozen underperforming schools to receive special training and thousands of dollars in program funding. Then it picked more successful schools to be "anchors" that would teach them. Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School became a model for teacher collaboration, and schools were sent to M.S. 244 to learn about using data to detect signs that students are at-risk. The city also wanted to push the 23 schools on literacy, where their students especially lagged. But officials said they could find no middle school strong enough to use as the emblem of the literacy initiative. "There isn't an anchor we could turn to to say, 'Show us the magic of how it's all done together,'" said Nancy Gannon, the department official overseeing MSQI. Nonetheless, as MSQI expanded from 24 schools at first (six with only partial funding) to 49 this year, the department also expanded the initiative’s literacy program. The schools are getting extra funds and monthly trainings focused exclusively on literacy, in a program that officials consider it the most significant part of the citywide initiative.
New York
July 18, 2012

Seven takeaways from a closer look at the state test scores

The state released the results of this year's third through eighth grade tests yesterday, and officials from City Hall to the charter sector lept to celebrate students' gains. Some changes were the focal point of the Department of Education's Tuesday afternoon press conference—like the drop among English Language Learners and the boosts charter schools saw. But they avoided nuances in the results for the city's new schools, which have been at the center of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's education reform policies. Beyond first impressions, here are seven interesting takeaways we parsed from the trove of data: Like last year, English Language Learners took a step back. Students who are identified as English Language Learners improved slightly in math, but took another step back from the statistical gains they made on the literacy test (ELA) earlier in the decade, before the state made the exams tougher in 2010. While just under half of the city’s non-ELL students met the state’s ELA standards, just 11.6 percent of ELL students did so. But in math, the percentage of ELL students scoring proficient rose by 2.5 points, to 37 percent. But students in other categories that typically struggle showed improvements. The percentage of students with disabilities who are proficient in math and literacy went up again this year, to 30.2 percent in math and 15.8 percent in English. And although Black and Hispanic students are still lagging behind their white peers by close to thirty percentage points in literacy and math, they also saw small bumps in both subjects. Officials said that new initiatives targeting struggling students, particularly students of color, contributed to the gains.
Colorado
May 25, 2012

"Find a Book, Colorado" offers up books to all ages

"Find a Book, Colorado" is a new online tool that allows children and parents to look up high-quality, age-appropriate books to read over the summer. Check it out.
Colorado
May 16, 2012

Ask an Expert: Reading and creativity over the summer

Already worried about how much knowledge your child could lose this summer? The long break doesn't have to be all fun and games. There are lots of ways to keep their young brains fired up. Get some tips from the experts.
Colorado
March 23, 2012

This week's teaching & learning tidbits

Measure would encourage some kids to be held back a grade - TED offers free video lessons for high school and college students - U.S. graduation rate rises slightly, report finds - Exploring the link between reading level and dropout rates - DPS might have to pay to create jobs for pink-slipped teachers - Boulder Valley homeschool program moving forward.
Colorado
March 14, 2012

Getting teens to read

How much or often does your teen read for pleasure? Reading develops important skills. Get some tips on how to spark a love of reading from this teen fantasy book author.
Colorado
January 27, 2012

This week's teaching & learning tidbits

Time running out on Denver's SchoolChoice - Calculating cost of high school dropouts - Winners, losers in DPS private giving - Lafayette's Sanchez Elementary looks to become a turnaround story - Bill would make CPR a grad requirement in Colo. - Education apps at your fingertips - Students, teachers and social networking.
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