Cassie Walker Burke, Chalkbeat Chicago

Teachers voted unanimously to strike in late May and want pay increases that would put their salaries closer to those of teachers at CPS schools.

CPS CEO Janice Jackson is leaving the district as it recovers from a pandemic and tries to reengage thousands of students who fell off the grid last year.

Jackson — who worked for Chicago Public Schools as a teacher and principal, and led the district for 3 ½ years — will step down when her contact expires in June. It falls to Mayor Lori Lightfoot to appoint Jackson's replacement.

Under Chicago’s system, it will now be up to Mayor Lori Lightfoot to appoint a new schools chief to take Jackson’s place.

The district’s selective-enrollment schools offered more seats to Black and special education students, while the number of Latino offers was flat.

Classroom teachers often are the emotional first responders to students who may share names, zip codes or life stories with the young people affected by police violence.

A key state House committee passed the bill this week, but opponents want to reduce the size of the board or seek a hybrid model with some members appointed and others elected.

LaTanya McDade, the second-in-command at Chicago Public Schools, will be the next chief of Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia.

Chalkbeat Chicago caught up with four fourth graders who, like millions of students, have seen their school system roiled by change.

The majority of Chicago Public Schools students are continuing to learn remotely so far this quarter as the district reopens classrooms for Pre-K, special education and grade-school students who chose in-school learning.

Chalkbeat Chicago received more than 350 responses from families and students citywide.

Child care workers technically qualified for vaccines beginning in the state’s second phase, on Jan. 25, along with adults age 65 and older and essential workers like public transit drivers.

Regardless of their reopening stance, many are trying desperately to find their bearings in a month that is bringing schedule changes, classroom reassignments, confusing messaging and upset children.

In Chicago, only 1 in 10 teachers who asked for a child-care accommodation that would allow them to continue working remotely received such permission, according to Dec. 29 data provided by Chicago Public Schools.

So far, Chicago’s school-related emergency expenditures have totaled $75 million this year, including $42 million in technology purchases, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said.

The scores could lead to disproportionate and incorrect identification of Black teachers for remediation and dismissal — an outcome that would be counterproductive to efforts to diversify the teacher workforce.

“The way I look at it, we’re crafting a plan for 100 percent of wishes,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson told Chalkbeat in a wide-ranging interview about the city’s reopening plans.

Kindergarten through eighth grade students will begin in-person classes Feb. 1, according to CPS.

A quarter of low-income children who attend Chicago’s publicly funded child care sites are behind on critical immunizations for such serious illnesses as measles or polio.

The mayor, who oversees public schools in Chicago and appoints the schools chief and board, is expected to make the final call about reopening campuses along with city health officials.