Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

New York

First Person

First Person

New York
October 2, 2019

I never talked about race in my seven years in the classroom. Now I work to make sure future teachers do.

As someone who trains future teachers, I do what I do because I never want another educator to come to recognize race and racism in the way that I did.

First Person

Chicago
September 16, 2019

Competitive high school admissions policies send students strong messages about their worth. Students are listening.

Parents, educators, and mentors need to talk thoughtfully with young people about competitive admissions.

First Person

New York
August 29, 2019

I was hesitant to change my approach to teaching physics. Here’s why I’m making a switch.

I had to let my students experience physics. They would gain a deeper understanding because of it.

First Person

New York
August 26, 2019

I’m a teacher in a District 79 school. I see every day how lengthy suspensions hurt students.

“I was suspended for a whole year, so I stopped going to school,” one of my students told me.

First Person

Colorado
August 19, 2019

Complicated language excludes parents from the IEP process. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Special education documents should be more readable so families can truly advocate for their children

First Person

National
August 12, 2019

I started talking about disability in my classroom. It changed both me and my students.

I realized that my students, like myself, had a choice. They could share who they were with others and accept disability as part of their identities.

First Person

Chicago
August 8, 2019

I was the nurse for five Chicago schools last year. The district desperately needs more of us.

As a CPS nurse, I know firsthand that Chicago needs a nurse in every school, every day.

First Person

New York
February 20, 2019

I was too anxious to speak in class. Then the adults at my school teamed up to help me.

My teacher smiled and held eye contact, as if to assure me that whatever I’d written, she and I were going to find a solution together. Eventually, we did.

First Person

Colorado
January 16, 2019

Why I won’t strike: Denver teachers in high-poverty schools, like me, deserve real bonuses

What else will bring teachers into the places where we need them the most? A sense of vocation and moral purpose, for sure, but that ignores reality.

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.

dispatches

Colorado
December 4, 2018

Dear Governor: Here’s what Colorado educators want Jared Polis to know about their schools

More than 100 teachers responded to our request to tell the governor-elect about their schools, with many urging him to visit in person.

First Person

Colorado
November 29, 2018

I’m a Denver high school principal. Here’s what we need in our next superintendent.

It's time for a new perspective at the head of Denver Public Schools.

First Person

Chicago
November 6, 2018

It’s hard to leave the school you love. But sometimes, it’s necessary.

I’m a parent and a person who watches schools for a living. This guarantees I’m a fussy school-shopper.  In kindergarten, we tried three…

First Person

Colorado
November 1, 2018

A Chalkbeat roundtable: What would a better system for funding Colorado schools look like?

We asked a group of teachers, school leaders, advocates, and academics to tell us what they think is missing in the school funding conversation.

First Person

Tennessee
October 16, 2018

How football prepared me for my first year of teaching (but maybe not the second)

A former football player writes about how his gridiron experience helped him be a classroom teacher in Memphis.
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