Tawana Pope and Nicholas Crayton had their own unexpected journeys and challenges, but continue to push for a better life. Pope is the founder of the nonprofit Diamonds In The Making Outreach and previously had been in and out of jail, struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Crayton was released from prison just last year from the Life Skills Re-Entry Center.

An analysis by The Associated Press, Stanford University’s Big Local News project and Stanford education professor Thomas Dee found an estimated 240,000 students in 21 states whose absences could not be accounted for. These students didn’t move out of state, and they didn’t sign up for private school or home-school, according to publicly available data.

The UIC United Faculty on Tuesday announced its members had voted in favor of the new deal, which applies to all 1,500 members of the tenure and non-tenure bargaining units.

The College Board this week released its updated curriculum for an Advanced Placement African American studies course after receiving criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

There’s more to Chicago’s architectural legacy than its gleaming downtown skyline. All throughout the city, there are buildings that inspire — you just have to know where to look.

The Goodman Theatre's “Toni Stone” tells the story of the first woman to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues.

“Dr. Tony Sanders is an extraordinary choice for State Superintendent of Education,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement.

Carmen Ayala is retiring after a career in education spanning nearly 40 years. She's both the first woman and person of color to hold the position as the state's top education official.

At least 168 teachers received the email from Megan Crane, whose LinkedIn page identifies her as the deputy campaign manager for Lightfoot, starting at 8:33 a.m. on Jan. 11 and continuing for several hours, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Deputy Inspector General Amber Nesbitt said her office has seen a rise in the number of district schools, charter schools and vendors that have launched investigations into sexual misconduct allegations without contacting the inspector general or CPS.

The Chicago Board of Ethics voted unanimously to ask both the Chicago inspector general and the Chicago Public Schools inspector general to probe emails sent by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign to CPS teachers and City Colleges instructors.

Classes and labs will resume Monday as employees represented by the UIC United Faculty return to work after a four-year deal was struck during a nine-hour bargaining session Sunday.

The YWCA Metropolitan Chicago is now accepting applications for a free 11-week program that pays its trainees a stipend to learn the basics of construction and utilities trades.

University officials said the sides had agreed to resume bargaining Friday and could continue talks into the weekend to secure a new contract agreement.

Some school districts have banned the chatbot, which can answer questions, generate essays and even write scientific papers from a short prompt.

CPS on Wednesday published its proposed calendar for the 2023-24 school year, which would see classes resume Aug. 21, 2023, and run until June 6, 2024. Parents and families now have a week to tell the district what they think before the Board of Education approves the new calendar next month.