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Hello! Becky Vevea, Chicago bureau chief, here.
It’s been a minute! Well, actually about 205,000 minutes, if I did the back-of-the-envelope math correctly. In early January, my family welcomed a third baby boy and I took time away to focus full-time on the best job I’ll ever have: mom.
Now, the news beckons and last night, it was the school board that kept me up late. Chalkbeat’s Mila Koumpilova attended a lengthy meeting that ended with members voting to delay renewals for seven charters serving 8,300 students. The move is the latest example of the school board’s heightened scrutiny over Chicago’s charter sector, which has seen intense fiscal turbulence and multiple closures in recent years.
Finally, a question that’s been keeping our National Editor Erica Meltzer up at night: Is President Donald Trump really returning education to the states? Ideas Editor Matt Barnum will discuss this with Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green and Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner at our next Chalkbeat Ideas event on June 11. RSVP here to join us and submit a question for the panel.
Local News
Amid charter sector turmoil, Chicago school board delays charter school renewals
Members of the Chicago school board have been divided over how much oversight charters require and how long their renewal terms should be. On Thursday, they voted to table the renewals of seven schools or networks until June.
Around Chalkbeat
School budgets are under pressure nationwide. Here’s what’s driving the cuts.
From Florida to California, large school districts are poised to make painful budget cuts driven by inflation, enrollment declines, rising healthcare costs, and the end of pandemic aid.
In the era of AI, schools want students to think critically. Experts say they need knowledge to do so.
Teachers are being trained on how to do so, but cognitive scientists say generic skills can’t take the place of subject knowledge and factual fluency.
Randi Weingarten backs crackdown on classroom technology, AI restrictions, and a tax on Big Tech
Randi Weingarten proposed banning student-facing AI, limiting screens in elementary school classrooms, and creating AI safety standards across education.
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What We’re Reading
TCR’s guide to Chicago’s November school board elections, The Chicago Reporter
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Thumbnail image by Reema Amin / Chalkbeat
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