Illinois

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Illinois
People linger after a vigil for the victims of Wednesday's mass shootings, on Oct. 29, 2023, outside the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston, Maine.
People linger after a vigil for the victims of the Oct. 25 mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine. The vigil took place on Oct. 29, 2023, outside the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston.
Matt Rourke/AP
School Climate & Safety 'We Really Didn’t Know What to Do': How a District Regrouped After a Mass Shooting
The superintendent of a community rocked by a 2022 mass shooting discusses what the district did after the violence.
Caitlynn Peetz, October 30, 2023
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9 min read
Illustration of happy school children running on a bridge handshake.
iStock/Getty
Families & the Community New Research Finds a Crucial Factor in Reducing Chronic Absenteeism
Just as strong connections with parents can boost students' academic achievement, new research shows the same is true in fighting absences.
Caitlynn Peetz, October 23, 2023
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5 min read
Danny Perez, a 7th grader at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael, Calif., faces a court of his peers for getting involved in a fight. Kristy Treewater, the school’s assistant principal, sits by his side to monitor the student-run session.
Danny Perez, a 7th grader at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael, Calif., faces a court of his peers in 2012 for getting involved in a fight. Kristy Treewater, the school’s assistant principal, sits next to him. Interventions like these, called "restorative justice," have gained popularity as an alternative to suspensions.
Sarah Rice for Education Week
School Climate & Safety What the Research Says Restrictions on Suspending Students From School Show Evidence of Being Effective
New research suggests restrictions on exclusionary discipline can work with support.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 28, 2023
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5 min read
Photo illustration of cell phone with red circle and slash.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Families & the Community District Leaders Are Walking a Fine Line on Cellphone Policies. What That Looks Like
Administrators point to strategic ways to design student cellphone policies that parents won't oppose.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 25, 2023
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5 min read
Adult female teacher spends one-on-one time helping a Black female teenage student with her classwork.
E+
Student Achievement How These Districts Are Using $10,000 to Boost Student Learning
The pilot projects, begun with grants from the National Education Association, aim to curb absenteeism, supply food, and offer tutoring.
Madeline Will, September 25, 2023
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7 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Opinion Foundations Have Given Money to Schools for a Long Time. What's Actually Working?
Investments in one key area seem to be making a difference when it comes to improving schools.
Larry Ferlazzo, August 4, 2023
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14 min read
Illustration of papers and magnifying glass
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Assessment Q&A Picking an Interim Assessment? Do This First, Say School Leaders
Two district leaders explain how they evaluate interim assessments—and why having access to external reviews would be "huge."
Sarah Schwartz, July 31, 2023
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5 min read
3D illustration of a crumpled paper person's speech bubble being burned by a match in front of a multi-colored collaged printed background. Silencing opinion.
DigitalVision Vectors + iStock/Getty + Vanessa Solis/Education Week
Teaching Opinion I Put an LGBTQ+ Book on My Classroom Reading List. Then Someone Filed a Police Report
A teacher shares three important lessons from the backlash that drove her out of her classroom.
Sarah Bonner, July 31, 2023
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5 min read
SKATE stills 04 2 BS
Mathematics Video Skating Into STEM: Teaching Middle School Girls Math Through Movement
This Illinois program is fostering an interest in STEM for middle school girls through figure skating.
Sam Mallon, July 21, 2023
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3:59
York City School District police officer Britney Brooks walks one of her rounds on March 8, 2018, at William Penn Senior High School in York. Brooks began working as a school police officer in 2015. The York City School District is the only one in York County with its own police department. Officers, who have the power of arrest, operate on a community policing ideology to prevent incidents rather than react to them.
York City School District police officer Britney Brooks walks one of her rounds on March 8, 2018, at William Penn Senior High School in York. Brooks began working as a school police officer in 2015. Teachers who work in districts that have removed SROs told EdWeek they don't want to go back to having school police, but teachers in districts that still have them feel safer due to their presence.
Chris Dunn/York Daily Record via AP
School Climate & Safety What 3 Teachers Think About Eliminating School Resource Officers
Teachers have mixed feelings about school resource officers and whether their presence makes schools feel safer.
Eesha Pendharkar, July 7, 2023
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6 min read
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson delivers his inaugural address after taking the oath of office as Chicago's 57th mayor on May 15, 2023, in Chicago.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson delivers his inaugural address after taking the oath of office on May 15, 2023. Johnson will have to oversee the city school district's transition from mayoral control to a fully elected school board.
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
School & District Management A Fading School Reform? Mayoral Control Is Ending in Another City
Chicago will phase out mayoral control of its schools by 2027, becoming the latest city to drop the model.
Libby Stanford, June 27, 2023
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7 min read
Latinx high school teacher helps students with robotics project.
SDI Productions/E+/Getty
School & District Management How to Support Male School Leaders of Color. 6 Tips From a District-University Partnership
Chicago schools and National Louis University are working to increase school leaders who are Black and Latino men.
Denisa R. Superville, June 23, 2023
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8 min read
Kelly Ashline, the faciliator of Roy DeShane Elementary School’s Environmental Club, talks to students during their weekly nature walk on May 12, 2023, in Carol Stream, Ill.
Kelly Ashline, the Roy DeShane Elementary School’s Environmental Club facilitator, leads students on a weekly nature walk on May 12, 2023, in Carol Stream, Ill. Encouraging students' interest in the natural environment is one element of the climate change training teachers in the district receive.
Jamie Kelter Davis for Education Week
Professional Development A Year of PD: One District's Strategy for Training Teachers on Climate Change
Teachers in the Bloomingdale, Ill., district get a salary premium for attending a yearlong PD program on climate change.
Madeline Will, May 16, 2023
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9 min read
Tenth-grader Emma Preston listens intently during civics class at Chatham Central High School in Bear Creek, N.C., on Nov. 5, 2019. The class is debating whether President Trump should be impeached. The House impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine has become a teachable moment in classrooms around the country as educators incorporate the events in Washington into their lesson plans.
Tenth-grader Emma Preston listens intently during civics class at Chatham Central High School in Bear Creek, N.C., on Nov. 5, 2019.
Allen G. Breed/AP
Social Studies Florida Pays Teachers $3K For Completing Civics Training. How It Compares to Other States
As interest in civics education grows across the country, debates remain over what it should entail.
Ileana Najarro, May 2, 2023
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13 min read
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