Chicago students get swimming lessons and a chance to learn life-saving skills

By Mauricio Peña for Chalkbeat

“About half a dozen second grade students perched on a pool ledge, feet dangling in clear water at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boys and Girls Club on Chicago’s West Side. They giggled as they waited in swimsuits, goggles, and multi-colored swim caps for the next swimming test: flutter kicks. With the green light from their instructor, the 7- and 8-year-olds unleashed a flurry of kicks. Squeals of joy and sloshing of water echoed inside the spacious natatorium on a mid-February morning. Over the last year, LEARN Excel Charter in Garfield Park has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club for free, eight-week-long swim lessons for its students. The partnership helps provide enrichment opportunities and teach life-saving skills, Principal Sekou Robertson said.”

 

High stakes for Chicago schools in the mayoral election

By Valerie Strauss for The Washington Post

“On April 4, Chicago voters will choose a new mayor — and the decision could have a profound effect on the future of the country’s third-largest public school district, which is under mayoral control. The two candidates in the runoff election are Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, Democrats who offer vastly different views of public education.”