Chalkbeat
Chalkbeat is one of the largest nonprofit news organizations in America. Read about how we’re transforming local news here on Medium. Follow our coverage at www.chalkbeat.org.
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Engaged journalism amid COVID-19: How Chalkbeat adapted its approach
Engaged journalism amid COVID-19: How Chalkbeat adapted its approach
Here’s what we’ve done to deepen our relationship with readers as this health crisis upends education across the country.
The pandemic is killing local newspapers. It can also inspire us to rebuild local news.
The pandemic is killing local newspapers. It can also inspire us to rebuild local news.
We outline a vision for local news built around mission and community, not profits and shareholders.
‘Media is having this reckoning.’
‘Media is having this reckoning.’
The Idea, an Atlantic Media newsletter on media trends, caught up with Chalkbeat engagement editor Caty Green to chat about membership, the…
How product thinking transforms our newsroom
How product thinking transforms our newsroom
At Chalkbeat, we’ve fully embraced the value of bridge roles and product thinking. To build a news organization that can flex and bend with…
The death of local news has been greatly exaggerated. Welcome the American Journalism Project
The death of local news has been greatly exaggerated. Welcome the American Journalism Project
Chalkbeat’s founder/CEO/editor has a new side project (and it’s quite the side project) — the American Journalism Project. It’s part of a…
Why are Detroit students switching schools so often? How Chalkbeat used SMS to find out
Why are Detroit students switching schools so often? How Chalkbeat used SMS to find out
In October 2018, Chalkbeat Detroit and Bridge Magazine published a series of blockbuster stories about the consequences of frequent school…
Tour notes: What we heard when we listened to our communities in a new way
Tour notes: What we heard when we listened to our communities in a new way
As with many initiatives at Chalkbeat, the idea started in one location. Our seventh bureau had just launched in Chicago, and our first…
What I want to give teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week
What I want to give teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week
By Elizabeth Green
Free school lunch for all, meant to reduce stigma, may also keep students healthier
Free school lunch for all, meant to reduce stigma, may also keep students healthier
A substantial number of eligible schools still don’t participate in the initiative, raising questions about whether lots of students are…
I’m an Oklahoma educator who had become complacent about funding cuts.
I’m an Oklahoma educator who had become complacent about funding cuts.
Through this conflict, our students are learning the importance, and the mechanics, of political participation.
Louisiana vouchers have led to big drops in test scores, but they also might boost college…
Louisiana vouchers have led to big drops in test scores, but they also might boost college…
Vouchers are a favored policy of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, albeit one she’s so far had little success at pushing from…
One big upside of career and tech programs? They push more kids to graduate
One big upside of career and tech programs? They push more kids to graduate
Career and technical programs can come with downsides, too — in particular, offering training in skills that may eventually become obsolete…
Memo recommends charter school advocates do more to persuade Democrats and appease unions
Memo recommends charter school advocates do more to persuade Democrats and appease unions
The report recommends mobilizing teachers who support charter schools
Internal memo offers candid postmortem of charter fight in Massachusetts
Internal memo offers candid postmortem of charter fight in Massachusetts
Using in-depth interviews with key players, focus groups of voters, and pre- and post-election surveys, it makes clear that charter…
Why the school spending graph Betsy DeVos is sharing doesn’t mean what she says it does
Why the school spending graph Betsy DeVos is sharing doesn’t mean what she says it does
The graph is misleading, and several recent studies have in fact shown that students gain — in higher test scores, graduation rates, and…
Don’t just talk about tech: How ‘personalized learning’ advocates are honing their messaging
Don’t just talk about tech: How ‘personalized learning’ advocates are honing their messaging
Personalized learning has encountered opposition from some parents and teachers frustrated with specific digital programs, and from…
A decade of stagnation: Little progress on closely watched federal test, as big disparities persist
A decade of stagnation: Little progress on closely watched federal test, as big disparities persist
In an era when standardized testing is commonplace, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is the rare exam with low stakes for…
The national test of students’ progress has gone digital.
The national test of students’ progress has gone digital.
The scores put a spotlight on the academic performance of all 50 states and many big school districts, and inevitably lead to jockeying…
This state’s teachers are the most underpaid in the nation
This state’s teachers are the most underpaid in the nation
The typical 25-year-old teacher at the beginning of her career in Colorado makes just 69 percent of what her peers with similar education…
Food for thought: Students’ test scores rise a few weeks after families get food stamps
Food for thought: Students’ test scores rise a few weeks after families get food stamps
The pattern, revealed by a new study of thousands of North Carolina families, suggests that the additional access to healthy food helps…
How a Colorado school district turned things around at 10,000 feet above sea level
How a Colorado school district turned things around at 10,000 feet above sea level
A new curriculum coupled with intense training for teachers is showing progress. And the district has had plenty of help from outside…