Poverty
Coffee Break: Sarah Duncan on How Chicago Is Solving the Dropout Problem
In a recent speech to the Council of Great City Schools, Bill Gates singled out Chicago’s Network for College Success (NCS) as an example of a network of schools using data and research to solve...
Teaching
For This Chicago Public Schools Graduate, It's the Teachers Who Made the Difference
This morning, academics and civic leaders gathered in Chicago to dig in on research that shows Chicago’s public schools have done a remarkable job of increasing student achievement over time. We know...
public schools
Just Because You Don't Have Papers Doesn't Mean Your Dreams Stop at High School
Way back in 2004, long before the Obama administration implemented Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), I studied Spanish with Yesica, a woman from my church who was an aspiring elementary...
Charter Schools
This Chicago Program Is Making Sure Families Know Their School Options
When we policy wonks talk about school choice, mostly we talk about big-picture ways to make choice more available, like creating charter schools or offering vouchers or tax-credit scholarships to...
Special Education
No, They're Not Vouchers. Here's What Illinois’ New Tax-Credit Scholarships Actually Are.
The final compromise that allowed Illinois to implement a new, more equitable education funding formula included a surprise—a 5-year pilot of tax-credit scholarships, which allow individuals and...
Latinx
Will They Cancel Everything?' A DREAMer Copes With the End of DACA
My neighbor, Oscar Carrillo, has lived almost all of his 18 years in legal limbo. His parents brought him to the United States as a baby on their quest for a better life. But that left Oscar...
