Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

Future of Schools

Following the ongoing efforts to improve struggling schools.

School choice

Chicago
18 hours ago

Secret CPS report spotlights big vacancies, lopsided options for students

An unreleased report by a school choice group backed by the business community paints in stark detail what many Chicagoans have known…

Q and A

New York
21 hours ago

In a wide-ranging interview, Carranza takes issue with admissions to New York City’s gifted programs

Ever since the city launched a push to scrap the entrance exam for its vaunted specialized high schools, Chancellor Richard Carranza has made…
Indiana
23 hours ago

Inside a struggling Indianapolis school during its pivotal first year of ‘innovation’

Last summer, School 42 became an innovation school, a new model that allows outside operators to run district campuses.

Keeping students safe

Chicago
Updated 24 hours ago

Leadership instability atop Chicago schools contributed to mishandling of student sex cases: report

Instability in leadership at Chicago schools — from a revolving door of chief executives to changes in network chiefs — contributed to a…

test scores

Tennessee
2 days ago

How did your school perform on TNReady tests? Search here for results

Nearly 700 schools – more than 40 percent of schools in Tennessee – improved in student performance across most grades and subjects, according…

colorado accountability

Colorado
2 days ago

Test results can spell relief or gloom for state’s lowest performing schools and districts

Adams 14, Westminster and Aguilar school districts, along with some schools, must see test improvements soon.

charter news

Tennessee
2 days ago

Memphis Catholic schools and three other applicants one step closer to becoming charters

Memphis could be home to nine more charter schools next fall, which would bring the district to 63 schools in total.

Getting ready for school

Detroit
2 days ago

Kindergarten ‘boot camp’ aims to ready young Detroit children — and their parents — for school

These young children are getting the extra boost they need before they start their first day of kindergarten through the Detroit school district's new program.

an hour a day keeps state accountability away

National
2 days ago

Florida told its low-scoring schools to make their days longer. It helped, new research finds

Last year, Camille Watkins’s day as a fourth grade teacher got a little longer. The elementary school where she taught…

College Readiness

Colorado
2 days ago

Find your Colorado 2018 SAT and PSAT results

Use Chalkbeat’s tool to compare school results and statewide averages for PSAT and SAT test results.

state testing

Colorado
2 days ago

Find your Colorado PARCC 2018 results – and compare schools

Colorado released the results of state tests that students took in the spring of 2018.

Find your school

Chicago
3 days ago

How many students apply to Chicago’s most competitive high school programs? Search by school.

How many students ranked each public high school program among their top three choices for the 2018-2019 school year? Below, search the first-of-its-kind…

School choice

Chicago
3 days ago

New data pulls back curtain on Chicago’s high school admissions derby

Before the online portal GoCPS system streamlined the high school choice process, Chicago schools lacked a common deadline or single place portal to…

School funding

Detroit
August 15, 2018

Poll: Most residents want Michigan to change the way it funds schools

The majority of the state's voters say the way schools are funded needs to change.

Listening Tour 2018

Chicago
August 15, 2018

5 bold ideas for how Chicago can send more kids through college

It takes resilience and a lot of support to launch students on the path to college, let alone get through Year One.

Timely Decision

Detroit
August 14, 2018

Detroit school board approves 2018-19 academic calendar after union agrees to changes

Teachers aren't happy about the approved academic calendar, but they want to do what's best for students.

calendar quandary

Detroit
August 14, 2018

Detroit district and union hammer out last-second agreement on school calendar before vote at tonight’s board meeting

Detroit’s main school district and its largest teachers union settled a contract disagreement Tuesday afternoon after tensions arose over the seemingly routine approval…

deja vu

New York
August 14, 2018

New data show how few black and Hispanic students benefit from New York City’s specialized high school diversity program

The Discovery program aims to promote diversity by offering admission to students from low-income families who score just below the entrance exam cutoff.

the great divide

Newark
August 14, 2018

These five charts illustrate the huge divide between Newark’s magnet and traditional high schools

The city's traditional high schools serve needier students and achieve worse outcomes than its selective magnet schools.

outside the box

Chicago
August 14, 2018

How one Chicago principal is leaning on data to help black boys

Test scores were rising at Fuller Elementary School when Marilyn McCottrell took over in 2016. Yet troubling trends loomed behind the numbers.

Mended Fences

Colorado
August 13, 2018

Despite earlier attack ads, Colorado teachers union endorses Jared Polis for governor

The endorsement is not a surprise given that teachers unions have traditionally been associated with the Democratic Party.

big data

Chicago
August 13, 2018

Three out of four Illinois kids aren’t ready for kindergarten. Why that’s a problem.

Only 16 percent of low-income students demonstrated kindergarten readiness in Illinois. The three core benchmarks are social emotional learning, literacy, and math.

money matters

New York
August 10, 2018

Few New York City students benefit from free college tuition, report finds

New York City students largely aren’t benefiting from the state’s program promising free college tuition, according to numbers released Friday by a nonpartisan…

report card

Detroit
August 10, 2018

Coming soon to Detroit (and only Detroit): Letter grades for schools that could lead to closures

Every school in Detroit will soon receive a letter grade that could result in some persistently low-scoring schools being shuttered by the state.

Rethinking Leadership

Tennessee
August 10, 2018

How do you improve schools? Start by coaching principals, says new study

To develop teachers, principals needing coaching too, says a new study by Vanderbilt University and Mathematica Policy Research.

Asked and answered

Chicago
August 9, 2018

Longtime advocate (and current First Lady) Diana Rauner sizes up the challenges ahead for early education in Illinois

Fluent in the languages of developmental psychology (her Ph.D., from the University of Chicago) and finance (her MBA, from Stanford University), Illinois First…

not so fast

Colorado
August 8, 2018

Worried about enrollment, some Colorado school districts are suing to prevent cross-district busing

The lawsuit filed this week in Denver District Court doesn’t deal with the merits of the policy but with the way it was enacted.

growing enrollment

Colorado
August 8, 2018

Answering a call: Here’s who raised their hands to open a new middle school in Stapleton

Enrollment in the neighborhood is growing, and the Denver district needs a new middle school there.

Round Two

Detroit
August 8, 2018

With primaries over, Detroit school board candidates look to November

As yard signs from Tuesday’s primary elections come down, Detroiters are preparing for another election that could have a significant impact on students…

ethnic studies

Indiana
August 8, 2018

How Indiana’s new approach to ethnic studies goes beyond slavery and stereotypes

Effective this year, Indiana high schools must offer an ethnic studies elective at least once a year. The course is aimed at providing Hoosier students a chance to broaden their scope of cultural patterns and lifestyles within the United States.

new schools

Chicago
August 8, 2018

New high school plan still has some South Side residents feeling neglected

New proposed boundaries for Near South High School has garnered praise from some community members. But not everybody looks at the map and…

district calendar

Detroit
August 7, 2018

Wednesday will be a full day for students on the Detroit district’s proposed calendar

Parents and teachers in Detroit’s main district were united in their dislike of shortened Wednesdays. For years, K-8 schools in…

leadership change

New York
August 6, 2018

After sparing Harlem’s storied Wadleigh middle school from closure, Richard Carranza shakes up its leadership

“We didn’t think expectations were set high enough, and without expectations being set, it was mediocrity.”

new schools

Chicago
August 6, 2018

Neighbors at odds heading into Near South High School hearing

On Tuesday, Near South Side residents divided over the opening of a high school on the site of a popular elementary school have…

new start

Tennessee
August 6, 2018

Here are three things to know as Tennessee starts a new school year

Between state testing revamps, new school leaders, and political shake-ups — it’s sure to be a fascinating year in Tennessee education.

New Hire

New York
August 6, 2018

Carranza taps Hydra Mendoza, a colleague from San Francisco, as deputy chancellor

Hydra Mendoza is the first official Carranza has hired from one of the school districts he previously ran.

meet the new boss

Colorado
August 3, 2018

New Colorado teachers union chief: Spring walkouts raised public awareness of school needs

Amie Baca-Oehlert, a school counselor from the Adams 12 district north of Denver, recently took the helm of the 35,000-member Colorado Education Association.

Emerging differences

Tennessee
August 3, 2018

Here’s how Lee, Dean compare on education in the race to be Tennessee’s next governor

The state's next leader will set the course for school funding and shape education policy on everything from student testing to teacher evaluations.

new recruits

Newark
August 3, 2018

Forget sit-ins and walkouts. Newark student activists try new tack under local control

The Newark Students Union, which attracted national attention with a four-day sit-in, is shifting its focus from protest to problem-solving.

secret study

New York
August 3, 2018

New York City released its study of the SHSAT. Here’s why it won’t end the admissions debate.

“This is going to be used as a Rorschach test where people will see what they want to see in it.”

on the issues

Detroit
August 3, 2018

What’s at stake for Detroit students in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary

The future of Detroit schools is on the line this election cycle, and it starts not with the school board election in November…

funding snafu

New York
Updated August 3, 2018

New York State sent 275 charter schools too much federal Title II funding and district schools too little, officials say

State Education Commissioner MarryEllen Elia is scheduled to brief reporters Friday morning.
Chicago
August 3, 2018

How Chicago teachers really feel about safety, discipline, and school choice

More than four in 10 Chicago teachers feel unsafe at school, a markedly greater percentage than teachers nationally — but at the same…

Policing Schools

Chicago
August 3, 2018

Police reform could have a big impact on Chicago schools

Alex King remembers feeling unsettled whenever he saw uniformed police officers patrolling North Lawndale College Prep, guns on their hips.

new leaders

Tennessee
August 2, 2018

Votes are in: Harris is mayor, majority of funding body for Shelby County schools is new

The winners are important to public education because they will approve the final budgets for Shelby County Schools, which is Tennessee’s largest district, along with six suburban districts.

Tennessee Votes 2018

Tennessee
August 2, 2018

Tennessee governor’s race is set. Here’s what both candidates say on public education.

Chalkbeat asked the candidates about their own educational experiences, the future of TNReady testing, whether to offer private school vouchers, and more.

Parent Engagement

Detroit
August 2, 2018

After initial stumbles, Detroit schools’ Parent Academy retools with new schedules and workshops

School officials are hoping to attract more parents by making adjustments to Parent Academy

survey says

New York
August 2, 2018

New York City just released survey results for every school. See how yours stacks up.

More than 1 million people completed the 2018 survey — the third year in a row the city notched a seven-figure response.
Indiana
August 2, 2018

IPS voters have a lot on their ballot this November. Here’s why the school board race matters

Three of the seven seats on the board are up for election.

universal pre-k

Chicago
August 2, 2018

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is on a high-speed timeline for his universal pre-K rollout

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has clearly articulated his vision for a free, universal prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds in Chicago, staging events throughout the…
‹