Top Education Stories You Don’t Want to Miss: April 15 – April 21, 2023
The Impact of Antiracist Leadership | S2 Ep 4 | Changing the Course
By The Noble Schools
“What does antiracist leadership look like in schools? This is the main question episode 4 of Changing the Course: Building An Antiracist Education Season 2 seeks to answer as our host, Nick, is joined by guests from Gary Comer Middle School, Noble’s only middle school. From school programming to what the hallways of the school look like, Principal JuDonne Hemingway and Assistant Principal Ashley Norris of Gary Comer Middle School (GCMS) talk about the steps they have taken to create a more welcoming, inclusive, and antiracist environment for their students. They also discuss what it looks like for White school leaders and educators to show up and lead antiracist work.”
A Letter to the Black Men at Rauner College Prep
By The Noble Schools
“To our Black men on staff at Rauner, We believe that our Black boys at Rauner College Prep are brilliant. We believe they are talented and have big, beautiful dreams for their futures. Society and media often portrays a different narrative for our Black boys – one that represents them as aggressive and apathetic regarding their future and purpose. We know this isn’t a true story.”
Noble Academy Students & Staff Shout Out the Women in Their Lives
By The Noble Schools
“This is part of a series of blogs from Noble campus representatives to give a deeper look at campus life. Even though Women’s History Month is over, The Noble Academy students and staff are still shouting out all the Women who have impacted, inspired, and helped form the TNA community. Check out these shoutouts.”
Unstoppable: Bulls Prep Basketball Coach Celebrates His 100th Win
By The Noble Schools
“This is part of a series of blogs from Noble campus representatives to give a deeper look at campus life. A crowded gymnasium awaits in anticipation as the clock counts down. Five…Four…Three…Two…One! The buzzer sounds and the crowd erupts into a joyous uproar! Chicago Bulls College Prep cheerleaders bounce up and down. Parents and staff, there to watch the big game, yell out words of praise to the team still on the game floor. The players celebrate their win, patting each other on the back, smiling, and hugging. Their coach, Jacob Goldstein, joins them as they walk down the line to shake their opponents’ hands. This might seem like your typical basketball game win, but for Coach Goldstein, it was so much more.”
By Sarah Macaraeg for The Chicago Tribune
“Chicago Public Schools will launch the district’s monthslong budgeting process Wednesday, doubling down on last year’s $240 million increase in funding provided to schools while absorbing the ballooning cost of teacher pensions and debt.”
With Brandon Johnson at the helm, big shifts are ahead for Chicago Public Schools
By Sarah Macaraeg for The Chicago Tribune
“After beating eight other candidates to become Chicago’s next mayor, buoyed by more than $2 million in support from the Chicago Teachers Union, Brandon Johnson will take the helm of Chicago Public Schools with his inauguration May 15 — embarking on a four-year term that will see Illinois’ largest school district profoundly changed. With the district’s impending transition to an elected school board and financial disentanglement with the city, certain shifts to come have long been in motion. Others may stem from a schools plan like no other candidate’s, in which Johnson — a CPS parent and recent CTU organizer — advocated for a break from business as usual in CPS’ testing of students, funding of schools and social services to be provided to students.”
Chicago preschool applications are open. Here’s what you need to know.
By Becky Vevea for Chalkbeat
“Chicago families can now apply for preschool for the 2023-24 school year — marking the culmination of a yearslong effort to offer free universal access to the city’s 4-year-olds. The initial application period runs through May 2 and offers will be made on May 19. After that, people can apply and will be admitted on a rolling first-come, first-served basis.”
