Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

Amanda Rahn

Head Start restart

Detroit
November 15, 2018

Children left in limbo as Detroit Head Start providers stand to lose federal grants

Four major providers of Head Start programs in Detroit must re-apply for funding after losing their federal grants this year, throwing the future of dozens of classrooms in doubt for the fall.

How I Teach

Detroit
May 29, 2018

This Detroit teacher helped her students make a movie about trash. It’s part of how they learn.

A student's question about a local incinerated led to a teaching unit and a short film made with help from a local artist.

Parent Academy

Detroit
May 7, 2018

Detroit parents can take classes in clipping coupons and writing resumes. Will they sign up?

All classes are free and open to parents, caregivers and community members but the Parent Academy program seems to be off to a slow start. A Chalkbeat reporter stopped by three classes last week, selected at random, and found no students attending any of them.

Home front

Detroit
May 2, 2018

‘It opened everything up.’ How school home visits are changing relationships in Detroit

Home visits by teachers and principals are popular across the country. But in Detroit, the stakes are higher.

New tools

Detroit
April 25, 2018

Eight things to know about Detroit’s big math and reading curriculum shift

Here’s what we know about the new materials and what we’ll be watching for in the months ahead.

Summer school

Detroit
April 24, 2018

Detroit district adding grades K-2 to summer school to help youngest students boost reading scores

For the first time in years, the Detroit district summer school program will start in kindergarten. District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti recommended…

more money fewer problems

Detroit
April 20, 2018

Detroit teachers will finally get paid for their years of experience if agreement holds up with district

Good news for Detroit district teachers stuck at a low pay level: The finance committee of the school board Friday recommended an agreement…

Early Childhood

Detroit
April 19, 2018

Despite top scores in quality standards, Michigan’s early education programs neglect English language learners

Michigan’s 4-year-olds receive some of the highest quality education and care available in the country — that is, if your child can speak…

What's in a name?

Detroit
April 18, 2018

Detroit has schools named for a slaveholder, a convicted former politician, and a Trump cabinet member. Here’s how that might change.

Despite the passion fueling the debate over renaming schools like the Ben Carson High School of Science and Medicine, members of the Detroit…

Homework

Detroit
April 17, 2018

The Detroit district’s first homework policy is in the works. See how much homework it recommends your child do every night.

Detroit students who are drowning in homework — or unable to complete it because of challenges at home — could soon find relief in a…

a temporary home

Detroit
April 12, 2018

These students lost their school to a mold problem. Here’s how they’re doing in their new temporary digs

Five school buses line up outside the closed Palmer Park Preparatory Academy on Thursday morning. Hundreds of elementary students, in a flurry of…

a new standard

Detroit
April 11, 2018

Facing dead-last national test scores, Detroit district approves new teaching materials

The Detroit school board Tuesday adopted a new, $7.1 million curriculum that Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says is a key part of his plan…

Battle to buy a school

Detroit
April 5, 2018

After legal fight with the Detroit district, local charter Detroit Prep is ‘back full force’ working on the building

The leader of a charter school that has been battling the Detroit district over a property says she expects her school to move…

Scores of scores

Detroit
April 4, 2018

The new state school scoring index is here. See how Detroit schools stacked up.

A new 0-100 state scoring system appears to be a fairer measure of how schools are doing, but…

enrollment wars

Detroit
April 2, 2018

It’s official: Detroit’s enrollment grew for the first time in over a decade, even after adding the state-run district

What Detroit district leaders have been saying for months is true: After many years of losing students, enrollment in the Detroit district grew this year…
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