Drawing on life experiences as a reporter
The story actually goes back a few years, when I went to a high school meeting in the Chicago region for one of my own kids. At least one parent...
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Ivy League proves elusive for Illinois students
Stevenson High School senior Devon Naftzger landed a coveted spot in the Ivy League when she was accepted to Princeton University last spring. But the Lincolnshire student was shocked to...
School achievement scores little changed from last year
Scores on state achievement tests barely budged in 2012, with results still troubling for Illinois high school students. About half of all 11th-graders flunked the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which...
Despite rough economy, school spending climbs in Illinois
The cost of educating public school students in Illinois continues to go up in the face of a struggling economy that has forced teacher layoffs and led to cuts in...
School achievement scores little changed from last year
Scores on state achievement tests barely budged in 2012, with results still troubling for Illinois high school students. About half of all 11th-graders flunked the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which...
School report cards to change
In an advanced algebra class for seventh- and eighth-graders, teacher Breann Cooper reviews a dizzying array of linear equations while students jot down a jumble of x and y formulas....
School report cards to change
In an advanced algebra class for seventh- and eighth-graders, teacher Breann Cooper reviews a dizzying array of linear equations while students jot down a jumble of x and y formulas....
Cleveland’s charter school growth a cautionary tale for Chicago
As school let out one recent afternoon at Citizens Academy in the east side Glenville neighborhood, Vertran Poole arrived to pick up his son and explained why he transferred the...
Novel idea? Emphasis on nonfiction over fiction shaking up Illinois classrooms
The second-graders sat cross-legged on the floor, fanning out from their teacher in a classic scene that has played out for decades in America's schools. But these kids weren't getting...
Minorities unequally disciplined in high school
On a spring morning last semester, a teenage girl wound up in the nurse's office at Hinsdale South High School, throwing up after smoking marijuana before school. Three other students...