As some Chicago Public Schools students return to the classroom for in-person learning, many families continue remote learning
By Diamond Palmer Medill Reports Parents like Cortney Ritsema, a mother of three, have become used to frequent interruptions throughout the day from their kids. For Ritsema, this means frequently shushing her pre-K twins when she’s on the phone. Currently she is a stay-at-home mother, but she was planning to return to the job as […]
CPS Middle Schoolers Running to Success With Running Mates
By Kathleen McAuliffe Just after the final bell on a Wednesday afternoon, 50 middle students at Gage Park’s Sawyer Elementary School embark on a three-mile run in preparation for their next race: the Lakefront 5K on Saturday, March 18. They are just one of 12 teams involved in Running Mates, a year-round running program established […]
Parents, teachers call CPS special education budget an ‘atrocity’
By Meredith Francis and Emily Olsen After several public hearings, two budget drafts and a threatened teachers strike, some parents and teachers say the Chicago Public Schools budget still fails to protect the safety and well-being of special education students. “Students who need one-on-one assistance for feeding and changing, and extreme behavior problems have no […]
Long-awaited elected school board bill down — but not out
By Meredith Francis and Emily Olsen Lawmakers are no strangers to the waiting game, but the public is getting antsy. In a packed education committee room in the Springfield state house, parents, students and Chicago community organizers mobilized Nov. 16 to make a fundamental change to the way the nation’s third-largest school district is led — […]
Unlike Trump, Sanders’ Chicago rally gave peace a chance
By Caroline Kenny Despite four-hour lines and thousands of supporters being turned away, the Bernie Sanders rally on Monday night was a much more peaceful event than a Donald Trump rally that shook Chicago on Friday night. Speaking at the Roosevelt University’s Auditorium Theatre in the Loop just eight hours before polls opened, Sanders invoked […]
City Colleges, Chicago Public Schools teachers push for elected boards
By Branden Hampton Faculty at City Colleges of Chicago are banding together with their counterparts in Chicago Public Schools to push for legislation that would bring elected boards to both districts. Both groups want to curb Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s power by ending his ability to hand-pick board members, as well as the chief executive officer […]
