Education
Comprehensive education coverage for Chicago, including public schools, higher education, the Chicago Teachers Union and everything parents and students need to know.
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CPS students getting more A’s — but also more F’s as remote learning continues
District officials say they worry they’ll "lose a generation of students" if they can’t return to in-person learning soon.
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GI Bill snafus still keeping veterans from tapping benefits to pay for their kids’ college
The problems with the Post-9/11 GI Bill persist. Even a retired Navy commander who served as an adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff was nearly cheated out of benefits.
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GI Bill college help came for one vet’s family but others still dealing with military’s broken promises
A Marine veteran’s daughter, faced with a sudden and crushing debt, chose not to go to law school — after being accepted and putting down a deposit — rather than face more debt. A proposal in Congress promises a fix.
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CPS to bring back elementary students Feb. 1
The decision comes amid increasing public health uncertainty as the city’s spread of COVID-19 infections reaches an all-time high.
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CPD officer dragged special ed student, 4, down hallway at Uptown school, parents say
Earlier this month, Chicago Public Schools sent Shanece Williams a letter saying it "substantiated" physical abuse in the incident last spring. Williams says her efforts to get more information on what happened have been stonewalled by the district.
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What ‘pandemic fatigue’ could mean for Illinois’ teaching force
One out of three educators across Illinois is burned out because of the stress and safety concerns about COVID-19.
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UIC, DePaul halt in-person classes, but other Illinois colleges take different tack as coronavirus cases spike
The University of Illinois at Chicago and DePaul University suspend in-person activities, but other schools maintain on-campus activities.
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How college students coming home at Thanksgiving can quarantine, keep families safe
Many are moving home this month and staying till January. Dr. Emily Landon of the University of Chicago says they should quarantine when they get home no matter where they’ve been.
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María Cerda, first Latina on Chicago Board of Education, dead of coronavirus at 86
She later was a founder of the Latino Institute, Her daughter and 93-year-old husband David Cerda also have COVID-19, complicating her burial plans.
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COVID-19 to cost University of Illinois campuses $270M this year, budget projects
The costs come from added COVID-19 precautions and testing, as well as lost revenue from lost housing and other fees.
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Appeals court clears Harvard of racial bias in admissions
The decision delivers a blow to the group, Students for Fair Admissions, and moves the case a step closer to a possible review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Some legal scholars believe the court will take up the case, and both sides have been preparing for that outcome.
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Parents, teachers resist more school closures in North Lawndale
The proposed North Lawndale STEAM Partnership Academy would merge three schools into a newly renovated building.
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Chicago residents oppose return to in-person learning until pandemic is under control, CTU says
The Chicago Teachers Union, which paid for the survey, is calling for an independent mediator to be brought in to help resolve differences with Chicago Public Schools.
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Suburban school board member spoke up about racial injustice, then board tried to silence her
"I’m not fitting into their box, I guess, because their box leaves out so many people," said Jill Manrique, school board vice president at Niles Township District 219.
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Moody Bible Institute rocked by allegations it mishandled sex misconduct claims; one leader resigns, another on leave
Tim Arens and Rachel Puente had been the two people at the center of claims that school administrators mishandled sexual assault allegations.
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Some veteran teachers skip wave of coronavirus pandemic-era retirements
Some veteran teachers are sticking it out during the pandemic while others confronted with the headaches of distance learning and the health risks have retired early or taken leave.
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New Trier to resume some in-person classes after month-long pause
The 3,000-student school in the northern suburbs told families this week that small groups of students would be welcomed back to classrooms next Tuesday.
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Concept Schools charter chain to pay $4.5 million to end federal investigation
The settlement comes more than six years after federal agents raided the northwest suburban headquarters of the charter school operator, which has 4 schools in Chicago.
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Lightfoot confident CPS can safely move forward with in-person learning despite huge spike in COVID-19 cases
The mayor and city health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady would not set a return date but said planning for in-person schooling would continue.
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91% of classrooms have adequate ventilation, CPS says as debate continues on return during the pandemic
The district is spending $8.5 million on 20,000 air purifiers that are expected to go into every classroom.
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Cops used pepper spray to subdue activists who allegedly hurled bricks while pushing to abolish Northwestern’s police force
"The police were very much the one who came and attacked us and sprayed us," one Northwestern student told the Sun-Times.
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Spurred by election enthusiasm, students push peers to vote — even if they can’t vote themselves
Using class presentations, social media and video games, students in high school and college are educating their peers about voting ahead of Tuesday’s election.
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Illinois high schools see huge spike in number of AP exams taken since 2018, new data shows
The Illinois State Board of Education made its annual Report Card public Friday — though data was severely affected by the spring’s unprecedented school closures.
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College musicians use masks for wind instruments, take other precautions to keep playing
In Wheeling, McCormick’s Group moved from making bell covers to display school colors to making musicians safer with two-ply covers made of polyester/spandex fabric.
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Loyola, Northwestern to allow more students on campus in January despite COVID spike
On the day Illinois announced its second-highest daily tally of coronavirus cases, Loyola and Northwestern announced plans to bring thousands of students back next term.
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CPS board president says reopening has to happen eventually to help vulnerable students, acknowledges it will be before ‘100% ... are satisfied that it is safe’
About two dozen special education and preschool parents and teachers spoke in opposition to CPS’ back-to-school plan at Wednesday’s virtual monthly school board meeting.
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Early childhood programs in communities hardest hit by COVID-19 to get $1.3 million boost
The funds are earmarked to be used for a variety of expenses, including mental health consultation and personal protective equipment for children and staff.
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‘Horrendously vandalized’ CPS school — shuttered in 2013 — transforming into housing, health center
"This isn’t only a matter of restoring a building, but it’s also a process of reclaiming the dignity of these communities," one community leader involved in redeveloping the former Woods academy said.
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Looking back at the Chicago teachers strike a year (and a pandemic) later: Was it worth it?
The contract changes won by the Chicago Teachers Union were hailed as major victories for public education, but bitterness between the two sides has only intensified.
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Selling on Etsy, former art teacher’s homemade crayons venture makes its mark
Nicole Lews’ startup Art2theextreme calls itself ‘The Original Rainbow Crayon.’ She started the business after seeing how much her students enjoyed making crayons.
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Northwestern president faces calls for resignation as students push to abolish campus police
Students have held protests since Oct.12 demanding the school disband its police. In response, Northwestern president Morton Schapiro accused students of anti-Semitism.
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Catholic elementary schools will switch to virtual learning for two weeks after Christmas break
Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools Supt. Jim Rigg said the switch allows families who travel or have large gatherings during Thanksgiving and Christmas to quarantine for 14 days to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 in its schools.
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Jewish students at UIUC have faced ‘unrelenting campaign of anti-Semitic harassment,’ complaint says
‘I’ve been called a genocide supporter, a white supremacist and harassed; all for being publicly Jewish,’ student says.
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CPS refusing to allow teachers union to inspect schools, bargain over reopening, complaint says
The Chicago Teachers Union’s claim is its third unfair labor practice complaint this academic year.