(ePhotographyAustralia / Pixabay)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed Smart Start program would allow an additional 5,000 kids to go to preschool next year, eventually adding a total of 20,000 slots. The plan would also add money to increase wages for early education providers.

(WTTW News)
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Millions applied for student loan forgiveness before President Joe Biden’s plan was put on hold amid legal challenges. The forgiveness plan’s fate is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which just heard arguments on the case.

Students select their meal during lunch break in the cafeteria at V. H. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition in Phoenix, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo / Alberto Mariani)
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Soaring food prices are adding strains on families who are seeing reductions in multiple kinds of financial assistance. One federal program that ends this month had given nearly 30 million Americans extra food stamps during the pandemic.

A file photo of Chicago State University. (WTTW News)

The CSU University Professionals of Illinois announced its membership is taking a strike authorization vote that will last from Wednesday until Friday.

Evena Joseph, left, sits with her son J. Ryan Mathurin, 9, as he does his homework, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, at their home, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

It’s widely known from test scores that the pandemic set back students across the country. But many parents don’t realize that includes their own child.

(WTTW News)

Attention high school seniors and college students: Applications are now open for the Miller-Perez Family Scholarship at the nonprofit Latinos Progresando. Five $2,000 scholarships are being awarded.

(WTTW News)

A new competition for STEAM educators (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) could net a Chicago school a $30,000 makerspace full of equipment to encourage problem-solving thinking. The deadline to apply is March 10.

(WTTW News)

The program honors the life and work of Timuel D. Black Jr., the late City Colleges professor, activist and historian. The goal is to help 20 City Colleges students develop into community leaders in the mold of Black, who died in 2021 at the age of 102.

(WTTW News)

Miquel A. Lewis, the acting director of Probation Services at the Cook County Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department, will be joining the board where he’ll replace former Vice President Sendhil Revuluri, who left his position late last year.

Students at Chicago Public Schools walk along a hallway in this file photo. (WTTW News)

Chicago Public Schools is planning to spend $76 million to expand and upgrade the number of security cameras both inside and outside of district-run schools across the city — a move it says will improve the safety of students and staff.

On Feb. 21, 2023, A group of Kelvyn Park High School seniors walk down Kostner Avenue to an early polling location at Kilbourn Park as part of a Chicago Votes “Parade to the Polls” initiative to register students to vote and cast their ballot. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Many students at Kelvyn Park High School became registered and first-time voters as they marched their way to the polls to vote in Chicago’s municipal election.

(WTTW News)

The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously approved the calendar for the 2023-24 school year after receiving more than 2,500 comments from the public and education stakeholders last month.

At HHP Lift’s Liftworks social enterprise program, participants are taught how to manufacture home goods while also learning basic workplace skills. (Courtesy of HPP Lift)
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Research shows formerly incarcerated people who maintained employment for one year after release had only a 16% recidivism rate, compared to a 52% rate for those who did not stay employed.

Local nonprofit Young, Black & Lit donates books featuring Black characters to kids across the U.S. (WTTW News)
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For young Black book lovers, it can be tough to find books that reflect the readers and their worlds. In 2018, the local nonprofit Young, Black & Lit took it upon itself to make sure that Black children have plenty of options for their bookshelves.

(WTTW News)
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According to a statement from the Evanston Police Department, three of the four people struck were hospitalized with “serious injuries,” while a fourth was treated at the scene. Northwestern confirmed all four people are university employees.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Loyola University men's basketball chaplain and school celebrity, sits for a portrait in The Joseph J. Gentile Arena, on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo / Jessie Wardarski)
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In “Wake Up with Purpose: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years,” Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt tells her life story, offers spiritual guidance and shares some of the lessons she’s learned.