Chalkbeat

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In the Classroom

Snapshots of the teaching and learning that take place inside schools

readers helping readers

National
2 days ago

‘There will be questions you can’t answer’: Readers’ advice about tackling Charlottesville in the classroom

We asked educators for their best advice about handling students’ questions — and starting conversations of their own. Heres what you told us.

How I Teach

Colorado
2 days ago

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.

First Person

Tennessee
2 days ago

I grew up near Charlottesville and got a misleading education about Civil War history. Students deserve better.

In a disturbing irony, these white supremacists understand an aspect of history that I wish my peers understood from their time spent in school.

lesson planets

National
2 days ago

Syzygies and sun funnels: How 5 teachers along the path of totality are taking on the Great American Eclipse

From escape rooms to sun funnels, here’s how some of the nation’s science teachers are handling the plunge into darkness.

Talking about race

Detroit
3 days ago

Tough conversations after Charlottesville: Week in Review special edition

As teachers head to their classrooms, they must decide how to talk about Charlottesville with their students.

moving forward

National
3 days ago

5 key anti-racism resources for teachers, courtesy of #CharlottesvilleCurriculum

Looking for help addressing Charlottesville in class? Dozens of other educators have your back.

classroom consequences

National
3 days ago

How community trauma can harm student learning — and what that might mean for Charlottesville

Among the many consequences of this weekend's events in Charlottesville: teachers are wondering how the violent displays of racism will affect their students.

First Person

Colorado
August 8, 2017

Cut from the same cloth: Why it matters that black male teachers like me aren’t alone in our schools

Being the only person of color at the school meant that I received a great deal of attention while still feeling alone — and under a great deal of pressure.

How I Teach

Colorado
August 3, 2017

Why this Colorado kindergarten teacher embraces student questions she can’t answer

A Colorado teacher talks about her switch from accounting to teaching, what she does when kids are off task and how parents can talk to their kids about school.

How I Teach

Colorado
July 31, 2017

For this Denver civics teacher, American history — warts and all — provides inspiration for changing the world

A Denver civics teacher talks about how her students change the world through civic projects, why she loves meeting parents and what celebrity coined her favorite advice.
Indiana
July 31, 2017

High fives and storytime welcome students back at two Indianapolis Public Schools

The crowd shouted encouragement to the students – “4.0! 4.0 this year!” one man chanted.

How I Teach

Colorado
July 26, 2017

As a first-year teacher, he wanted to quit. Watching ‘the greats’ helped him stick it out.

An elementary art teacher talks about his habit of “stealing” ideas from other teachers, the challenge of getting to know students and his love of fidgeting.

try try again

New York
July 20, 2017

Why this Bronx middle school believes in second — and third — chances

Students are regularly tested on learning targets. But they’re also given three chances to prove they’ve mastered the skills.

draining the pool

New York
July 20, 2017

New York City principals balk at plan to place teachers in their schools; some vow to get around it

Some principals say they’ll avoid any attempt to place teachers at their schools, even if that means obscuring open jobs from the city’s hiring systems.

Good reads

Tennessee
July 19, 2017

How one Nashville school uses classic novels to get young students ahead in reading

Beginning in the earliest grades, reading goes far beyond sounding out words at Nashville Classical Charter School.

First Person

Colorado
July 18, 2017

When my students got aggressive, my school agreed to help. Here’s how we changed a class reputation

No one had taken the time to teach them concrete strategies for coping with the stressful situations they faced in and outside of school. So we did.

How I Teach

Tennessee
July 14, 2017

Why this Memphis Spanish teacher loves to teach about the evolution of the piñata

Kylie Cucalon is known as Señorita Cucalon to her students at Caldwell-Guthrie Elementary, a charter school operated by Memphis Scholars.

diverse charters

New York
July 7, 2017

In launching new charter schools, former Success Academy lawyer aims for integration

Given her close ties to Success, Emily Kim’s schools are likely to be closely watched.

How I Teach

New York
July 6, 2017

This Harlem 10th-grade teacher uses ‘Facebook Live’ to coax his students to participate

Kelly Downing, a teacher at Harlem’s A. Philip Randolph Campus High School, offers his tips for getting shy students to share their work.

'Each One Teach One'

Colorado
June 28, 2017

This Denver program is tackling the literacy gap. Trump’s budget proposal puts it at risk.

Each One Teach One targets the 30-million-word gap with intensive literacy training, art and outdoors activities such as biking and gardening.

Art start

Detroit
June 27, 2017

Nearly half of Detroit schools offered no music or art last year. Next year could be different.

Nearly half of Detroit district schools offer no music or art but new funds mean 30-45 schools could get new programs next year.

How I Teach

Colorado
June 26, 2017

After teen’s suicide attempt, this Colorado teacher wrote letters to each student. Now, she’ll share her story on a bigger stage.

A Colorado Springs teacher talks about the personalized letters she wrote to every student after a teen's suicide attempt.

A new responsibility

Colorado
June 23, 2017

In first for Aurora, charter school to run center for special education students

Rocky Mountain Prep, the charter taking over Fletcher Community School, will operate the school's program for students with autism when the transition is complete.

How I Teach

Colorado
June 22, 2017

Interested in classroom technology? This first grade teacher has a wealth of ideas.

How do teachers captivate their students? Here, in a feature we call How I Teach, we ask great educators how they approach their jobs.

Music and power

Detroit
June 22, 2017

This Detroit teacher uses music to expose students to history, politics and power. ‘They walk in here and they don’t even know who they are.’

At a time when districts are cutting arts instruction in favor of math and reading, Stewart’s approach to teaching music demonstrates that it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

An education U-turn

New York
June 22, 2017

Carmen Fariña wants to help New York City teachers get better at teaching. But some of her own reforms are getting in the way.

The chancellor’s emphasis on teaching the teachers marks a radical shift from the preceding administration.

Detroit Journalism Cooperative

Detroit
June 21, 2017

Restrictions on teacher pay in Detroit schools can scare away applicants — and make it hard to fill 260 classroom positions

In Detroit, as many as 260 classroom teacher positions are unfilled in the state’s largest district, prompting a shortage so severe that substitutes last year were the full-time solution in more than 100 classrooms.

How I Teach

National
June 20, 2017

The 2017 National Teacher of the Year on the mom who changed how she talks to her toughest students

The first charter teacher to be named national teacher of the year talked to Chalkbeat about how she teaches Columbus and the Puerto Rican debt crisis.

How I Teach

Colorado
June 15, 2017

This Cherry Creek High School history teacher makes students think twice about how Nazis rose to power

A Cherry Creek High School history teacher talks about how she became a teacher, what students want to know about her and how she explains Hitler's rise to power.

First Person

New York
June 13, 2017

How I went from a restorative justice skeptic to a restorative justice believer

Restorative justice practices are not a means for excusing student misbehavior, a New York City high school teacher writes.

integration conversation

New York
June 8, 2017

Grilled by reporters, de Blasio says he wants to ‘level with the people’ about school integration

Two days after New York City released its much-anticipated school diversity plan, Mayor Bill de Blasio was forced to defend its rollout, scope and purpose.

How I Teach

New York
June 1, 2017

How one Brooklyn teacher found the perfect job — by checking the wrong box on an application

Levy is passionate about her students at P.S. 369K in downtown Brooklyn. This year, she’s teaching fourth- and fifth-graders on the autism spectrum.

How I Teach

Colorado
June 1, 2017

How this high school history teacher used the Black Eyed Peas to help her students focus

An award-winning high school civics teacher shares her thoughts on student-made podcasts, making class fun and the power of a calm mind.
Indiana
May 30, 2017

The story of Black Santa: How creative discipline tactics got this student from disruptive to most improved

Anita Saunders works with programs for young children at Indianapolis Public Schools.

around the world

Tennessee
May 26, 2017

VIDEO: Second-graders take their Memphis school on a global tour

Dressed in garments representing 30 countries, students at one Memphis school threw a world-class celebration to mark the last week of the school year…

First Person

New York
May 9, 2017

I’m a black man raised on the mistaken idea that education could keep me safe. Here’s what I teach my students in the age of Jordan Edwards

"It’s a near impossible task to educate black children in a society that constantly interrupts that work with such violence."

How I Teach

Colorado
May 2, 2017

He wasn’t much of a cook, but this French teacher has a winning recipe for teaching his native tongue

A Loveland High School French teacher talks about the props, costumes and puzzles he uses to engage students.

Teens Take Charge

New York
April 27, 2017

New York City students and podcasters team up to share stories of inequity in schools

Teens Take Charge wants to give students a voice when it comes to issues they know well: what goes on in their own schools.

First Person

National
April 26, 2017

How I stopped wishing for ‘seventh-period flu’ and came to love my first year teaching

For Autumn Jones, last period was her “dead fish” class. A student conversation helped turn it around — and a new group helped her realize her limits.

First Person

National
April 25, 2017

How I learned not to be ‘that mom’ — while keeping up the good fight for my son with a learning disability

Amy Valentine explains how she cut through "the fog of inaction" at her son's school, using the experience to teach (and learn) about perseverance.

at the helm

New York
April 25, 2017

How a principal who ‘never wanted to be a leader’ is transforming a Queens high school

At Queens High School for Information, Research and Technology in Far Rockaway, keeping students in school is Principal Carl Manalo's biggest challenge.

Story booth

Detroit
April 24, 2017

A teacher got this Detroit woman’s troublemaking brother involved in her classroom — and transformed both siblings’ lives

The boy had been the smart kid who was doing other students' work. That changed when the teacher asked him to stay after school to grade other students’ papers.

First Person

National
April 21, 2017

A national teacher of the year on her most radical teaching practice: trusting kids to handle their bathroom business

Maybe what looks like “laziness” is really a trained helplessness and passivity borne of so many rules and restrictions against movement of any kind.
Indiana
April 17, 2017

How this teacher lost it in homeroom and still managed to win her student’s trust

Katie Johnson is a teacher at KIPP Indianapolis.

How I Teach

Tennessee
April 7, 2017

Why this Memphis teacher asks her students to create a mixtape every year

Natasha Wilkins integrates music into her classroom at GRAD Academy Memphis, a charter high school within Tennessee's Achievement School District.

How I Teach

Colorado
March 29, 2017

Harsh realities of growing up poor pushed this Colorado teacher to connect with her students

A charter school math teacher in the Harrison school district explains how the adversity she faced growing up plays into her approach to teaching.

How I Teach

Colorado
March 16, 2017

An earth science teacher talks about the lesson that’s a point of pride — and pain

A Jefferson County earth science teacher talks about her favorite lesson, her way of building relationships with students and the person she can't live without at school.

Black girls and trauma

Tennessee
March 2, 2017

Here’s how one Memphis school is changing the way it disciplines girls of color

Aspire Coleman responds to research pointing to trauma as a root of disciplinary problems that lead to higher rates of suspension among black girls.

#immigrantsrock

Colorado
March 1, 2017

Dear Mr. President: Immigrant students in Denver tweet to Trump about why their families make America great

School leaders will deliver the collected tweets to Colorado's congressional delegation during a trip to Washington.

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.
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