Thousands of black students leave Chicago for other segregated districts — The Chicago Reporter
Many African-American families fleeing the poorest pockets of Chicago are ending up in cash-strapped, segregated school districts in Illinois suburbs and northwest Indiana.
When Chicago closed her kids’ school, she decided to fight back — Reveal and The Chicago Reporter
As Chicago Public Schools prepares to shut down more schools, it faces continued resistance from people like Irene Robinson, whose community was fractured by previous school closures.
Alternative schools bear the brunt of student deaths in Chicago — The Chicago Reporter
In recent years, one in four Chicago public school students who’ve died attended an alternative high school. Many were shot and killed. With few resources, educators are trying their best to help students traumatized by the loss of their classmates.
As school discipline disparities worsen, Illinois has yet to require reforms — The Chicago Reporter
A 2014 state law was supposed to give the public better access to school discipline data and hold schools accountable if they didn’t make enough progress. It’s done neither. Meanwhile, suspensions and expulsions are falling across the state, but the racial disparities are getting worse.
After mass school closings, impacted students lagged academically — The Chicago Reporter
A landmark study shows that Chicago’s mass school closures in 2013 led to academic and social disruptions for students like Lamont Morton Jr., who fell behind in math after his elementary school closed.
For one black family, a cycle of school closures — The Chicago Reporter
Terronda Harris’ kids went through a traumatic school closure five years ago. Now that she’s finally found them a good elementary school in a gentrifying neighborhood, the district wants to turn it into a high school.
English learners often go without required help in Chicago schools — The Chicago Reporter
Many bilingual programs in Chicago are violating state law by failing to provide adequate services to students whose native language is not English.
Jordan’s Jasper — The Texas Observer
The work of Jasper’s first professional black photographer shines a light on the past of an East Texas town known best for a hate crime that occurred there in 1998.
Behind sale of closed schools, a legacy of segregation — The Chicago Reporter
Four years after Chicago’s mass school closures, dozens of school buildings were still empty without plans for reuse — burdening the African-American communities where they’re located.
In Kansas City, a lesson in transforming closed schools — The Chicago Reporter
Both Chicago and Kansas City carried out mass school closures in low-income, black neighborhoods. But they had vastly different approaches to finding new uses for the empty buildings.
Inside Noble — Catalyst Chicago
The Noble Network of Charter Schools educates one in 10 public high school students in Chicago. But some question whether the charter network’s strict discipline code and focus on testing is working for all students.
Dual language programs to expand, but fears over money linger — Catalyst Chicago
As Chicago Public Schools adds programs aimed at helping English learners become fully bilingual, some fear chronic budget cuts are undermining the expansion.
Parents see state commission as ally in keeping charters open — Catalyst Chicago
Chicago Public Schools wants to close four low-performing charter schools. Parents hope a controversial state commission will keep their kids’ schools open.
Four charter schools contest proposed closure — Catalyst Chicago
After opting out of their neighborhood schools, parents at four mostly African-American charter schools are fighting back against Chicago Public Schools’ decision to close their schools.
Promise, and challenges, in Chicago’s dual language expansion — Hoy Chicago
Dual-language programs are expanding in Chicago. With that comes a number of financial and academic challenges. [This work originally appeared as a three-part Spanish-language series in Hoy Chicago.]
Parents and child centers rally as state funding runs out for day care subsidies — Aurora Beacon-News
The state’s budget impasse has had dire consequences for low-income parents who rely on state subsidies for day care.
East High student says bullying led to self-injury — Aurora Beacon-News
For years, students bullied Lago Delsol Guzman about her weight and appearance. She reached a breaking point and checked into a rehab facility after she started having suicidal thoughts.
As costs rise, East Aurora defends contract with alternative education provider — Aurora Beacon-News
East Aurora’s spending on alternative education has increased sevenfold in recent years. The school board says it’s worth it, but there are questions about how much the program is helping vulnerable students.
Alternative ed students caught in limbo as East Aurora ends contract — Aurora Beacon-News
East Aurora is ending a controversial contract with a provider that provides alternative education offsite. It’s prompted concerns among students who say they’d rather drop out than return to a traditional school setting.
Former alternative education teachers seek lost pay — Aurora Beacon-News
After East Aurora ended an alternative education contract, the nonprofit provider started having money troubles — and stopped paying its teachers and staff.
Vietnamese-American teens struggle to learn language — The Beaumont Enterprise
On weekends, Vietnamese-American teens gather at local temples and churches as they struggle to learn their family’s native language and connect with the country their families left behind during the Vietnam War.
Teen shot dead in Aurora ‘split’ between gang ties and family life — Aurora Beacon-News
Gianni Aguierre was 17 when he was shot and killed on his front porch. For years, his family, teachers and mentors had pleaded with him to sever his gang ties, fearing for his safety.