- Ligonier Valley School Board member resigns, citing concerns with district’s budget process
- PA election 2026: Where Shapiro, Garrity stand on school funding, vouchers, and other education issues
Pennsylvania’s candidates for governor have laid out different approaches to funding public schools, expanding school choice, and making college more affordable.
- Why a puzzling wait for state test scores is especially hard on Philadelphia middle schoolers
Philadelphia uses state test scores to determine whether students are eligible for the city’s top magnet schools, like Julia R. Masterman High School. But an unexplained delay in the release of those results has kept...
- Philadelphia expands program that flags students who witness violence outside school for more support
School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington speaks at Edward Gideon School in North Philadelphia on Sept. 28, 2026 about the expansion of the Handle With Care program.
- Philadelphia school board delays sharing details about charter school evaluation overhaul
Philadelphia charter school leaders say they’re frustrated with the Board of Education's delays sharing information about a new evaluation framework.
- Meet the Philadelphia high school student who won Chalkbeat’s rap contest
Precious Eshiet, a senior at Germantown Friends High School, is the winner of Chalkbeat Philadelphia's first-ever back-to-school rap contest.
- Could Newark’s universal enrollment system teach Philadelphia some lessons?
Newark adopted a universal enrollment system in 2014, but political tensions between district officials and charter schools split the system several years later.
- Philadelphia’s school enrollment system is infamously complicated. Could a universal application help?
Parents and students say Philly's selective admissions application process is very complicated and stressful to navigate. Experts think universal enrollment could address that problem, but it's not a cure-all.
- Skyrocketing freshman enrollment at Philly’s Girls High creates new problem: overcrowded classrooms
Girls High’s freshman class this year is triple the size of the one three years ago. But at the start of the year, the district didn’t let the Philadelphia school hire enough staff to keep up.
- Many Philadelphia high schools offer students few class options. Will closing schools change that?
Motivation High School in Southwest Philadelphia enrolled about 150 students last school year. Under the district's school closure plan, next year it will absorb more students, which could give it more resources to...
- Fewer Philly students are getting shot, but risks are higher for those at cyber charters, alternative schools
Saleem Gilliard, a Safe Path supervisor and monitor at Tanner Duckrey School in North Philadelphia, stands at the light with a student and a crossing guard as they help kids cross during dismissal on Nov. 20, 2025. It's...
- ‘Bucks County, USA’ Sees School Board Fights As Reflection of a Nation Divided
Over the past few years, a suburban Philadelphia school district has become a flashpoint for nearly every fault line in America’s school culture wars, with a lawsuit and federal civil rights investigation alleging...
- Fights and weapons confiscations are down in Philly schools. The safety chief aims to continue the trend.
School District of Philadelphia Chief of Safety Craig Johnson shares updates with press at Abraham Lincoln High School on Aug. 20, 2026.
- Exclusive: Hybrid Schools Open New Legal Front for Choice
Most homeschoolers now piece together a variety of classes and outings for their kids. In the north Pittsburgh area, that often includes enrolling in Roots Learning Academy. Known as a hybrid program, Roots serves...
- For America’s 250th birthday, Philadelphia students get a civics lesson in a time capsule
Students and Pennsylvania officials open a time capsule from 1976 on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, at the Independence Hall Visitor Center in Philadelphia.
- School vaccine data can expose hidden outbreak risks. But access depends on where you live.
Amanda Clear said Pennsylvania’s online school vaccination data is helping inform how she can protect her son Dylan, who has an immune disorder.
- Credit recovery enrollment rose 13% since 2017, raising questions about graduation rigor
Students participate in a summer credit recovery class at Philadelphia’s High School of the Future on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
- What to know from Philadelphia’s review of its English language arts curriculum
A new research report from the School District of Philadelphia found that there were problems with the district's implementation of its new reading curriculum.
- To change football culture, Philly’s high school coaches tackle emotions
Vaux Big Picture High School football players at practice at Athletic Square Park in Philadelphia's Brewerytown neighborhood on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026.
- Philadelphia’s school selection process postponed to October
Philly Superintendent Tony Watlington told families in his back-to-school letter last week that the selective admissions process would open on Sept. 8. But due to delays in releasing state test scores, the application...
- ‘We’re going to listen’: Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington sets sights on rebuilding trust
Tony B. Watlington Sr., superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, speaks with a student at George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science on the first day of school in Philadelphia on Aug....
- The problem with an AI tutor: Students don’t want to use it
Asiyah Jones, 6, works on her laptop at her home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 19, 2024.
- Philadelphia kicks off a new school year as students, educators brace for looming school closures
Staff welcome students to Philadelphia's Overbrook Elementary School on the first day of school Monday.
- 5 things to watch for Philadelphia’s 2026-27 school year
Students walkout from Philadelphia's Parkway Northwest High School on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. It's one of nine district schools slated for closure at the end of this school year.
- Philadelphia to make digital hall pass and student tracking system available at all schools
School safety officers receive training at Philadelphia's Abraham Lincoln High School. The School District of Philadelphia is rolling out several new safety initiatives, including a digital hall pass available to all...
- Philly schools ask communities to help shape transition plan as controversial closures move ahead
School district officials announced they are opening applications for school-specific transition committees starting on Aug. 31.
- Pennsylvania still hasn’t passed a school cellphone ban. Some Philly principals aren’t waiting.
Some Philadelphia schools ban cellphones for the entire day. Others allow teens to scroll TikTok at lunch.
- Philadelphia’s state test scores are delayed this year
Philly educators and school leaders are still waiting on their state test scores with less than a week until students return to classrooms.
- Philadelphia’s school asbestos problem is already derailing back-to-school
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Arthur Steinberg, center, calls on the Philadelphia school district to improve its oversight of renovations in buildings with asbestos during a press conference Monday, Aug....
- Why a Philly district report on the success of its summer programs includes ‘imperfect data points’
Philly students’ favorite parts of the summer programs provided by the city and school district include spending time with friends, meeting new people, and going on trips. But the academic impact of the programs is less...
- Know a young musican? Chalkbeat’s back-to-school rap contest is here.
Cassidy Brown, known musically as c12, mixes one of his songs at Philadelphia's MilkBoy the Studio, where he is an intern.
- Philadelphia parents describe ‘devastating’ toll of preschool exclusion and suspensions
Philadelphia parents are asking the city to help prevent preschool suspensions and exclusion.
- Unequal algebra access in Philly is ‘discriminatory’ says key city official as district plans changes
Brenda Elliott, the Philadelphia school district’s deputy superintendent of academics, said Thursday the district intends to offer algebra at all 126 district schools that enroll eighth graders by the 2027-28 school...
- Free school supplies, backpacks, and activities: 2026 back-to-school events in Philadelphia
The School District of Philadelphia's back-to-school bus tour is happening again this summer. It'll stop at three locations this year offering free backpacks, snacks, activities, school registration help, and more.
- ‘Nobody feels good, nobody’s learning’: How high temperatures disrupt Philadelphia’s school days
Dozens of Philadelphia schools don't have adequate air conditioning ahead of the first day of the 2026-27 school year.
- ‘You’re not wanted’: Philly teens who feel unwelcome downtown call for more ‘third spaces’ during summer
Philadelphia youth say third spaces such as the Field Teen Center at Parkway Central Library provide helpful places to go over the summer.
- Philadelphia City Council members say they will ‘use every tool in our arsenal’ to stop school closures
Philadelphia Education Committee Chair Isaiah Thomas, center, asks the school board to come back to the negotiating table over planned school closures during a Tuesday press conference at City Hall.
- As Philadelphia plans to close schools, board members call for more scrutiny of charter enrollment
Philadelphia's Universal Audenried Charter High School is supposed to serve students from the surrounding Grays Ferry neighborhood. But only 20% of its students come from within its catchment.
- Ohio schools are among the most segregated in the nation, per report
A recent report from the Segregation Tracking Project and education advocacy group Brown’s Promise finds Ohio’s public schools are the fifth most racially segregated in the U.S.—behind New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania...
- Pennsylvania’s largest cyber charter school expands real estate footprint in Philadelphia
Commonwealth Charter Academy has acquired a 32,000 square-foot building in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard.
