Author: Maureen Kelleher

Chicago Unheard blog manager Maureen Kelleher also serves as a senior writer and editor at brightbeam, a nonprofit network of education activists demanding a better education and brighter future for every child. Before joining the brightbeam team, she spent a decade as a reporter, blogger and policy analyst. Her work has been published across the education world, from Education Week to the Center for American Progress. Between 1998 and 2006 she was an associate editor at Catalyst Chicago, the go-to magazine covering Chicago’s public schools. There, her reporting won awards from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the International Reading Association and the Society for Professional Journalists. A former high school English teacher, she is also the proud mom of an elementary student in the Chicago Public Schools. Find her on Twitter at @KelleherMaureen.
Velma Thomas Teacher Appreciation

Teacher Appreciation, Chicago Style!

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This week, my colleague Tanesha Peeples and I want to take a moment to shout-out a handful of the many Chicago teachers we know who are working their hearts out for students every day. Take Jessica Fong, preK teacher at Velma Thomas Early Childhood Center. When schools closed due to COVID-19, half of her preK students and families began taking…

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Velma Thomas preschooler

Preschoolers Have the Least Access to Remote Learning

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For years, most discussion of tech and young children’s learning has focused on whether screens are appropriate at all for preschoolers. But the pandemic and remote learning are forcing us to think differently about how electronic devices can help the youngest learners. I’m fortunate to know a local leader in creative use of technology with preschoolers. My friend Jessica Fong,…

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