Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

First Person

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.

First Person

Chicago
August 30, 2018

We’ve come a long way in addressing student stress and trauma. I could use help, too.

There’s an old adage, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” But as a paraprofessional in Chicago, my cup is almost drained.

First Person

Newark
June 20, 2018

From ‘abandoned’ to ‘blessed,’ Newark teacher sees herself in her students

Jennifer Palumbo is a second-grade bilingual teacher at Hawkins Street School.

First Person

Tennessee
June 8, 2018

If teachers aren’t equipped to help trauma victims, students suffer. Learn from my story.

I thought that if I could find a different way to ask him to get back on task, maybe he would not become so aggressive.

First Person

Tennessee
May 4, 2018

I moved 18 times as a child. ‘Why did you move?’ is now a question I don’t ask my students.

Like any other child, I just wanted to be normal, and talking about why we moved did not feel normal. I try to remember that now as a teacher.

First Person

New York
May 1, 2018

I taught at a nonselective New York City school. Your assumptions about low-scoring students are wrong.

What is it that children of wealthy parents have earned that kids who score a level 2 on the state exam with no extra help have not?

call out

Tennessee
January 10, 2018

Our readers had a lot to say in 2017. Make your voice heard in 2018.

Chalkbeat invites readers to tell your stories in a series we call First Person. Here are a few examples that stood out in 2017.

First Person

National
December 19, 2017

A former superintendent wonders: What’s missing from the discussion about the portfolio model?

I know from experience that we need to focus on the substance of what goes on in schools, not just the formal structures in which those schools operate.
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