Chalkbeat Chicago
Chicago Will Overhaul Standardized Testing Amid Questions About How To Measure COVID Academic Gaps
In place of the Measure of Academic Progress, or MAP, math and reading tests it has administered since 2013, the district will instead allow schools to opt into two new assessments.
Citing Student Trauma From Violence And Pandemic, Chicago Educators Call For School Budget Redo
Educators argued the district should spend more on student support personnel, such as counselors.
Chicago Public Schools Will Require Masks When Classes Resume — But 3 Feet Of Distancing Not Guaranteed
The state school board has said masks can be optional for vaccinated students and teachers. But local district can set stricter rules.
As Delta Variant Cases Mount, Chicago Parents Worry CPS Will Reverse In-Person Reopening Plans
Interim CEO Jose Torres announced in June he’s set on a full-time in-person fall reopening, and the state has said districts should offer remote learning only in limited exceptions.
One Counselor, 665 Students: Counselors Stretched At Chicago’s Majority Latino Schools
The district plans to spend $5 million on 64 additional counselors by 2023.
Chicago Will Limit When Schools Call Police. Do Changes Go Far Enough?
Under the student code of conduct approved Wednesday, school administrators should only dial 911 when there is an immediate threat of danger or harm to those on school grounds.
‘The Single Most Important Task We Have’: Chicago Previews Plan To Reconnect With Missing Students
About 84,500 students have been flagged for targeted support, including stepped-up efforts to reach their families over the phone this summer.
Chicago Offers More Details About Its Full-Time Remote Option — Including Who’s Eligible
According to school board documents, “It is the intent of the board to have remote learning be an essential part of how we educate students in future school years.”
Gov. Pritzker Says He Will Sign Bill To Establish Elected School Board In Chicago
The bill would phase in a fully elected Chicago school board by 2027, taking that authority out of the mayor's hands for the first time.
Can A Compromise Be Reached On Chicago’s Elected School Board? Senate President ‘Confident’
Legislators are weighing a bill that would create a 21-person elected school board in Chicago by 2023, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot backs a bill to create a 7-member board with a majority of it appointed.
Chicago Kids Are Required To Learn About Police Torture. So How’s It Being Taught?
Chalkbeat Chicago and Curious City caught up with one of the educators to pilot the curriculum in its first year, and who has trained other educators, to talk about his experience teaching about reparations in Chicago.
The Struggle To Close Reading Gaps In A Pandemic Year Is Real. Just Ask Chicago Parents
The already difficult process of learning to read was made even more complicated this year by disparities in remote learning experiences coupled with wide-ranging inconsistency in how Chicago schools teach reading.
1 in 5 Chicago High School Students Absent In First Week Of Reopening
About 19 percent of students were absent, 70 percent of students learned remotely, and 11 percent of the district’s 72,600 high school students were present in school buildings the week of April 19.
‘Adam Should Be Alive Today’: How Chicago Teachers Are Talking About A 13-Year-Old’s Killing
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.
CPS CEO Janice Jackson Says Goal Is To Reopen Chicago Schools Full Time — But When?
As Chicago opened its high school buildings Monday for the first time in a year, the schools chief made clear that her goal is to open all schools to all students five days a week.
Final High School Vote Caps Long And Disruptive Reopening Journey In Chicago
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union voted for the agreement with 83 percent in favor.
Under Pressure From Pandemic, Chicago Lays Out Changes To Competitive High School Admissions Process
CPS will replace a spring test and its selective-enrollment exam with one high school assessment for choice programs that all students will take during the school day.
Teachers Union And CPS Reach Tentative Agreement To Reopen Chicago High Schools After Weeks Of Tense Negotiations
Teachers upped the pressure on the district to reach an agreement by refusing to report to classrooms Wednesday and Thursday.
Hybrid Or Elected School Board? Lightfoot Proposal Stirs Debate In Springfield
Sen. Kimberly Lightford said she will sponsor the mayor’s bill for a partly elected and partly appointed “hybrid” board. But Wednesday, Lightford criticized a bill to create a fully elected board, then voted for it.
In Chicago, Parent Fundraising Eases Reopening At Some Schools — And Leaves Others Out
The dynamic in a city deeply segregated by race and wealth has long contributed to the inequalities among schools.
