A year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down U.S. schools. A year into the pandemic, 12 million students still lack adequate broadband access at home. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) already has millions of dollars for broadband in schools and libraries in a program called E-Rate. But right now those institutions can’t use the money to get their families connected.…
Evanston Becomes First City in America to Offer Reparations to Black Residents
America, pay attention, because for one Chicago suburb, reparations are here. Evanston, Illinois’ Black residents are now, officially, pioneers in trying to right the nation’s historical wrongs. Their hometown set a policy this week that aims to build the economically unequal city’s Black wealth. The Washington Post has details: The Evanston City Council approved the first phase of reparations to acknowledge…
CPS’ New Mental Health Initiative Offers Huge Opportunities to Help Students of Color
You know who’s about to get a mental health team to help them live healthier lives? Chicago’s students, at 500 schools around the city over the next few years, paid by the funds directed to the city from the American Rescue Plan stimulus package. Chalkbeat Chicago has more on the new mental health pilot program at North-Grand High School in…
This School Called DCFS on a Mom and Teacher Because Her Son Was Picked Up 7 Minutes Late
JaNay Dodson, a Chicago Public Schools teacher and mom, was unable to pick up her 10-year-old son Braylin from Inter-American Magnet School in Lakeview earlier this month because she was teaching a class of her own. She called her brother, who left work and got Braylin for her. No harm, no foul—families help each other out of jams, right? Wrong.…
Teaching Editorial Writing to High School Students
This virtual workshop helps high-school teachers understand how to help their students write and read sophisticated editorials in the 21st century. You may attend on either Saturday, March 20 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., or on Wednesday March 24, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. To register, click here. With no more than 24 other teachers, participants will learn guiding…
With Today’s Sick-Out, Parents Demand CPS Show Some ‘TLC’ to Students
The CPS reopening plan offers families two poor choices: two in-person days with hybrid, or stay remote with less live teacher time. It’s time to address the learning needs of students.
Keys to Reopening: Consistency, Creativity and Compassion
For CPS elementary schools, the shift into partial hybrid and partial remote creates major disruptions. Here’s how LaSalle Language Academy is working to make the best of it.
Parents Call for More Attention to Remote Learning and Reducing Digital Inequity
Raise Your Hand parents have developed a plan called Trust Learning Care (TLC), with concrete demands like $12.5 million more for students to access devices and Internet, a full commitment to meeting every student in special education’s IEP or 504 plan, at-home learning kits for young remote learners and outdoor options as the weather warms up.