Parents and activists are calling on Chicago Public Schools to answer critical safety questions about in-person learning before some of the district’s most vulnerable students return to their classrooms.

“We all want to return to our students. We don’t want to die doing our jobs, and we don’t want to be vectors for spreading illness or death to our students and their families,” CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said.

With local school council elections coming next month, Chicago Public Schools has announced it will let families choose between voting in person at their school, submitting their ballot by mail or dropping off their mail-in ballot at their school.

After policy changes were made to improve equitable enrollment, students of color and those from low-income households were three times more likely to enroll in full-day pre-K, according to a new report from the University of Chicago.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson talks about the school district’s recently announced plan for some students to return to the classroom. 

When her music education program was cut from a charter school in East Garfield Park, a local teacher refused to quit on the kids in this underserved community. We check out the nonprofit BandWith to learn more.

Chicago Public School parents are having mixed reactions to the district’s new plan to bring some students back into the classroom before the end of the calendar year, just as COVID-19 cases in the city begin to increase again.

The school district announced Friday morning that its citywide enrollment had fallen from 355,156 in the 2019-20 school year to 340,658 this year.

Under the district’s plan, pre-K and cluster program students would return for full-day learning, five days a week beginning next quarter.

Chicago Public Schools says it wants to triple the number of district graduates it hires annually as teachers, and through a new partnership, it’s planning to make the majority of those hires people of color.

After a summer of social unrest and calls to remove some monuments, activists are still pushing for the city to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. How some groups envision reteaching the history of Christopher Columbus.

“As a city, we must ensure every child, regardless of their ZIP code, receives a high-quality early education, providing them the tools and opportunities they need to thrive,” said Mayor Lightfoot in a statement.  

“For many of us, financial ruin is simply one bad day away,” said the head of the union representing 1,000-plus City Colleges adjunct faculty members who are seeking a new contract guaranteeing pay equity.

The possibility for high school students to play all fall sports is again at a standstill. We discuss the situation with a student, a lawyer and a doctor.

The head of the board handling the Chicago Teachers Union’s pension fund disclosed a toxic culture among trustees and claimed some union members had been pushing to hire former staffers of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

“While we’re very, very conscious that people want to get their kids back in schools, we want to be back in school too,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said Monday. “It’s also critical that people be safe. You can’t learn if you’re dead.”