Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

literacy

First Person

Chicago
January 4, 2019

I’m a Chicago teacher who has watched many Javions fall through the cracks. Here’s what would help.

In Chicago, a district that prides itself on its variety of choices for families, Javion’s story is an illustration of how little schools can have in common.

Reading revisited

Tennessee
December 17, 2018

McQueen ends her Tennessee tenure the same way she started — focused on reading

In her swan song tour of the state, the outgoing education commissioner offers both encouragement and strong talk about Tennessee's illiteracy problem.

Literacy

Chicago
December 14, 2018

Chicago schools don’t have a plan for teenagers who struggle to read

What it will take to get students like Javion Grayer to read on grade level, is multipronged, literacy experts say. Javion, 16, reads at a second grade level.

Literacy

Chicago
December 11, 2018

How it feels to be Javion: 16 and struggling to read in Chicago Public Schools

Javion Grayer’s aunt had given him the book thinking he might connect with the main character: a black teenager in crisis, struggling to…

take note

Colorado
September 19, 2018

Aurora is rolling out new curriculum to catch up with how teachers teach writing

Aurora discovered that about 40 percent of its third-through-eighth-graders earned zero points on certain writing sections of the state test.

Lifting literacy

Tennessee
September 11, 2018

Summer camps lift reading skills for third straight year in Tennessee

Tennessee's campaign to help its children read better is seeing encouraging results from investments in school-based summer camps.

state test results

Colorado
August 16, 2018

With accelerated growth in literacy and math, Denver students close in on state averages

Still, fewer than half of Denver students in grades three through eight met state expectations in literacy, and only about a third met them in math.

exclusive

Tennessee
July 25, 2018

In his final months as Tennessee governor, Haslam reflects on his education legacy

In a wide-ranging interview, the outgoing Republican governor talks about achievement gains, TNReady disappointments, pre-K challenges, and what's next.

Silver Lining Playbook

Tennessee
July 19, 2018

Memphis’ youngest students show reading gains on 2018 state tests — and that’s a big deal

Those working to improve early literacy rates in Shelby County Schools got a small morale boost from newly released TNReady scores.

case closed

Detroit
July 2, 2018

Attorneys in literacy lawsuit plan to appeal federal judge’s ‘disappointing’ dismissal

A judge has dismissed Detroit students' federal lawsuit. Attorneys plan to appeal.

bolstering literacy

Tennessee
January 2, 2018

Four Memphis charter organizations pilot new reading curriculum

The literacy grants from Memphis Education Fund come at a time when local and state officials are doubling down on solutions to Tennessee’s reading challenges.

UPPING LITERACY

Tennessee
October 13, 2017

In their second year, Tennessee’s summer reading camps show improved skills for some

While testing data is available for only half of participating students, those who were assessed grew in their reading accuracy by an average of 4 percentage points.

collaboration station

Tennessee
October 11, 2017

KIPP launches collaborative with Memphis charters to improve literacy results

Eleven elementary and middle schools from four different charter organizations in Memphis have adopted the KIPP Wheatley curriculum.

new chapter

Tennessee
October 2, 2017

Memphis early education giant merges with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library affiliate

In an effort to bolster early literacy, the city's leading provider of early childhood education for poor children adds home book delivery to its services.

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.
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