Hi! I’m Kalyn Belsha and I’m an education reporter based in Chicago. I specialize in writing about public education, youth, race and poverty. Over the last six years, I’ve been an education beat reporter for The Chicago Reporter, Catalyst Chicago and the suburban Chicago Tribune.
In July 2019, I started a new job as a national education reporter for Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news outlet that covers schools across the country. Over the next year, I’ll be focusing on what’s working and what’s not for students from low-income families, the impact of education philanthropy and the 2020 presidential race.
I recently completed a Spencer Fellowship in Education Reporting at Columbia University’s School of Journalism. I’m working on a series of stories about the thousands of black students who’ve left Chicago, where they’ve moved and the impact that’s had on their lives.
I’m a proud alumna of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and for many years I taught journalism and digital media at Loyola University Chicago.
[Photo of my first attempt at making a radio story by the talented Bill Healy]