Trigger Warning: Suicide, homophobia, bullying The first time I contemplated and attempted suicide, I was a high school freshman. An email circulated around my friend group that said I was gay, and was posted up by the lockers. The school administration worked with the IT department to track down the source of the email. To use the computers, you had…
Fellow Teens, Let’s Put Down Our Phones and Head Back to School
Adults, you may wonder why we teens spend hours on top of hours on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, just scrolling. The truth is, we don’t keep scrolling because its interesting, we keep scrolling because we’re addicted. We know it; you know it. We all say so in surveys. Neither teens not adults want to admit it, but it is much…
This Week in CPS, All Eyes Are on Oak Park
Last night, Starz premiered its new series, “America to Me,” a documentary focusing on the experiences of students at Oak Park River Forest High School. The series is already generating buzz. This conversation between director Steve James and former Oak Park middle school principal LeeAndra Khan previously appeared on Education Post. Two summers ago, I wrote an essay called “The…
Vic Mensa Is Looking Out for Our Kids Better Than the Police
Vic Mensa for the m’fn win! This weekend, he hosted the Anti-Bait Truck event in West Englewood in response to the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Norfolk Southern’s attempt to bait people in that community into stealing gym shoes. This Sunday my foundation @savemoneysavelife is giving away THOUSANDS of shoes on a Anti-Bait Truck in Englewood on 2050 W 59th…
A Savvy Principal and a Strategic Partnership Take Jahn to New Heights
Today, Jahn Elementary in West Lakeview is a school on the upswing. Many classrooms have both a teacher and a co-teacher working with students. As needed, classroom aides also assist. The school’s fine arts focus includes visual arts, music and dance. In the last two school years, Jahn students have made remarkable gains in math and literacy as measured by…
While the Media Play Blind Men with the Elephant, GoCPS Marks a Win for Families
The ancient Indian parable of the blind men and the elephant comes to mind reading the coverage of the new report from the Chicago Consortium on School Research about Chicago’s universal enrollment system, GoCPS, which rolled out last year. Everyone found a different bit of the truth based on their own areas of interest. The key finding is that GoCPS…
I’m Still in High School and I’ve Found My Passion. Let’s Help More Kids Do That, Too.
From a very young age, I’ve always been asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Some lucky students are really good at math and have their hearts set on being an engineer, and others have known that they’ve wanted to be a veterinarian since the age of five. But many more students, even in high school,…
This Week In CPS: Talking Local Education Reporting
If you’re reading this post, please join City Bureau and Chalkbeat Chicago this Thursday night at Public Newsroom 75 to talk about local education reporting. The event will be held at the Mikva Challenge offices, 200 S. Michigan, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Here are the key questions for conversation: How can journalists cover schools in a way that is…