Resettled refugees face challenges in U.S. education system
By Marisa Endicott With the Syrian refugee crisis intensifying in Europe and debate stateside over the deportations of Central American asylum seekers, it is easy to get wrapped up in the ideological and political rhetoric instead of getting to know the day-to-day experiences and obstacles resettled refugees face. Access to education is a main hurdle. […]
Third graders get real about race and guns in school program
By Jasmine Cen With so much on the news about violence and crime in Chicago, it’s difficult to shield young people from hearing about it. But psychologists say parents and teachers should not ignore the issues, and children need to talk about what’s happening in their communities, even at a young age. That’s the spirit […]
A tale of two cities: how education trumps war in Chicago and Reyhanli
By Aryn Braun “There are lots of Syrians in Chicago like me, second-generation Syrians,” says Samia Akhras, 24, of Chicago’s growing Syrian Community. But Chicago isn’t home. Chicago isn’t Syria. Syrian-Americans, like Akhras and her family, are constantly reminded of the violence and upheaval that is everyday life in the Syrian Arab Republic. Akhras’ voice, […]
H-1B Lottery: Foreign Workers’ Strategic Path to Immigration
By Yunfei Zhao International college students fully expect to go back home when they graduate — that’s the deal — except when it’s not. That’s when things get interesting for federal immigration officials running the H-1B visa program that allows international workers to take jobs at U.S. companies. Then, the deal is those jobs can […]
Rebel Rouser: High school activist speaks up for better education
By Morgan Gilbard Nidalis Burgos stood her ground when police threatened to arrest her during a school closings protest in 2013. A teacher told Burgos, who was only 15 at the time, that the incident would cost her a future. “My eighth-grade teacher came into the classroom and said, ‘Hey, just so you know, if […]
Anti-testing movement plans 2016 strategy as education cuts take center stage
By Morgan Gilbard Anti-testing advocates worry that the opt-out movement will take a backseat this year as Chicago Public Schools and the state drown in a sea of other problems. Concern over budget cuts and teacher union negotiations threaten to overshadow a movement that led to 20,000 Chicago students opting out of standardized tests last […]
Illinois college students hold rally for grants funding (video)
By Xiao Lyu Students from about 15 colleges and universities throughout Illinois rallied at the Thompson Center on Tuesday, asking Gov. Bruce Rauner to fund the Monetary Award Program, or MAP, that thousands of students rely on to help pay college tuition.
Liberation Library empowers youth in prison with books of their own (video)
By Xiao Lyu In a temporary place on the Near West Side, a small group of volunteers made bookmarks and wrote notes for a pack of books ready to be shipped to three juvenile detention centers in Illinois. Having struggled for a while about what to write, first-time volunteer Paul Dailing chose some simple personal […]
New Malcolm X campus offers state-of-the-art healthcare training
By Branden Hampton The state-of-the-art healthcare simulation labs at the new $251 million Malcolm X College campus will help better prepare students for careers in high-demand health science fields. The simulation emergency room, ambulatory and trauma labs will allow faculty to replicate the vital signs and other physical responses of a critically ill patient, using […]
