Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

In the Classroom

Snapshots of the teaching and learning that take place inside schools

the best

Indiana
February 4, 2019

Indy counselors share secrets to get middle schoolers on track for college scholarships

For students to qualify for 21st Century Scholarships, they must apply by the end of eighth grade.

How I Teach

Colorado
January 30, 2019

This Air Force veteran switched to teaching, but his military mindset still comes in handy

An Air Force-veteran-turned-Colorado-high-school-teacher incorporates lessons from the military into the classroom.

required reading

Chicago
January 28, 2019

How Harper High School figured out how to keep ninth-graders on track — and how Chicago followed

An excerpt from "The Make-or-Break Year: Solving the Dropout Crisis One Ninth Grader at a Time"

buy-in

National
January 23, 2019

How to get teachers to believe in a new school program? Ask them to help design it.

Teachers are more enthusiastic about a new program if their school gets control over how a new program is designed and introduced.

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.

How I Teach

Colorado
January 2, 2019

This Colorado history teacher sees the effects of immigration policy every day — in her worried students

Here, in a feature we call How I Teach, we ask educators who’ve been recognized for their work how they approach their jobs. You can…

talk to us

Chicago
January 2, 2019

Educators: What do you resolve to change in your classroom or school in 2019?

What do you resolve to do better or change in your classroom in 2019? Tell us.
National
December 20, 2018

How I Teach: A career path forged from second grade misery

Welcome to December’s How I Teach newsletter! We often hear from teachers about a beloved educator whose compassion clinched their decision…

Activist Art

New York
December 18, 2018

This Brooklyn middle school student hopes her winning T-shirt design will inspire racial justice

Eighth grader Emma Pichardo, a student at M.S. 50 in Brooklyn, didn’t know what the Black Lives Matter movement really was until a…

Student Voice

Chicago
December 17, 2018

Want to improve schools? Chicago students have messages for the city’s next mayor

Chalkbeat Chicago asked students to tell us ways that City Hall could work to improve conditions on the ground at the district’s 600-plus schools. Here's what they said.

Literacy

Chicago
December 11, 2018

How it feels to be Javion: 16 and struggling to read in Chicago Public Schools

Javion Grayer’s aunt had given him the book thinking he might connect with the main character: a black teenager in crisis, struggling to…

explainer

National
December 10, 2018

What it will mean if Betsy DeVos rolls back the Obama school discipline rules

It would be a victory for the conservative campaign to link school discipline reforms with unsafe schools.

In the classroom

Tennessee
December 5, 2018

This Memphis teacher wanted to make learning physics more engaging, so he created a website. Now it’s used in 40 countries.

Three girls explode into laughter and cheers as they roll a small cart across the table, successfully getting a rubber band to launch the cart…

peer pressure

National
November 28, 2018

Students show up to school more often when they see ‘familiar faces,’ new study finds

When kids know their peers, “Students don’t have to adjust as much to making new friends or relationships,” said Jacob Kirksey.

How I Lead

Indiana
November 26, 2018

Why this Indianapolis principal worries about the children who don’t go to preschool

Wayne Township Preschool Principal Kathryn Raasch was recently named a 2018 National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
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