To create safe classrooms spaces for all students, teachers must analyze their practice. We must challenge our biases and honor all our students’ identities.
Friends of the Children Chicago Builds a Vital Bridge Between Families and Schools
Friends of the Children-Chicago cuts through the endless debate over whether to address poverty or education first by simply mentoring kids and families for the long haul.
The New Conversation about Controlled Enrollment Shows How White Privilege Works in CPS
For 20 years, controlled enrollment meant hardship for Southwest Side families. Why is the district suddenly coming up with a kinder, gentler model for affluent North Siders? Thanks, white privilege.
Open Books and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Bring Books to Englewood and Beyond
Last Saturday, Open Books and Imagination Library partnered with Teamwork Englewood for a celebratory kick-off of their efforts to inspire a love of reading in young Chicagoans. Already Open Books has enrolled over 2,000 children in the Austin, Garfield Park, Little Village, North Lawndale and Pilsen communities in the Imagination Library program. Recently, executive director Eric Johnson’s plans to reach every…
Here’s How My Family Escaped the Selective Enrollment Rat Race
In the 1980s my parents spent the night in their Toyota Tercel, waiting in a line to get a lottery number to get me tested and into a spot for kindergarten at a magnet school for gifted kids. In 2012, our family waded through an online lottery process to get our oldest into a kindergarten spot at one of Chicago…
I’m a Chicago Teacher and I Want You to Challenge Me, Not Honk for Me
I am a teacher. I care about my students and work really hard. I have spent my entire 14-year career working in urban schools, and wouldn’t change it for anything. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, allow me to share some of my unpopular opinions. Here’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, in light of…
Here’s a Better Way to Make up Those Strike Days
Teachers say moving professional development days to June could give them time to learn more about how to teach reading.
What’s in the CTU Deal for the Kids?
This article has been updated to add more information on staffing to support English learners. Late yesterday, the Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates approved a tentative agreement in a tight vote. The CTU deal includes good pay and holds the line on health insurance premiums, but what’s in it for the kids? What will the new provisions on class…