(WTTW News)
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A combination of economic factors, health access and misinformation pushed childhood vaccination figures down to dangerous levels in recent years for many illnesses, including measles, experts said.

Dr. Juan Mendoza (left) is a professor, protein engineer and computational biologist at the University of Chicago. (WTTW News)

This year, Juan Mendoza was named a Freeman Hrabowski Scholar by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which funds efforts to bring more scientists from diverse backgrounds into scientific institutions. Mendoza said he got right to work on recruiting.

File photo of a child in a classroom. (WTTW News)

A report from the Century Foundation shows that without pandemic-era federal funding, thousands of providers would no longer be able to hire and pay staff, meaning rapid shutdowns in families with small children fending for themselves.

After his son (right) died, photographer Jose Refugio “Fugie” Almanza created a scholarship fund. (Provided)

After photographer Jose Refugio “Fugie” Almanza tragically lost his 12-year-old son, Almanza sought to turn his pain into purpose. He founded the Joseph Jr. Scholarship Foundation, which aims to help Latinos fund their college educations.

(WTTW News)
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In a letter sent this week, Reinberg Elementary principal Edwin Loch informed parents and families that a staffer has been pulled from the school following an allegation that they “engaged inappropriately with a student.”

(WTTW News)

The tentative agreement, announced late Wednesday, came just as educators at the city’s only privately managed, public arts high school were set to go on strike.

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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“Pandemic relief fraud by CPS employees causes significant reputational harm to CPS and diminishes trust in the school district,” The Office of Inspector General wrote in the report.

Three people sit with a sign at a Campbell County, Wyo., Library Board meeting, July 23, 2023, in Gillette, Wyo. (Ed Glazar / Gillette News Record via AP)
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This summer, the state libraries in Montana, Missouri and Texas and the local library in Midland, Texas, announced they’re leaving the ALA, with possibly more to come. Right-wing lawmakers in at least nine other states demand similar action.

FILE - Books are displayed on a free library shelf inside the classroom of Richard Evans, a teacher at Hyde Park Elementary School, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex / AP Photo, File)

Nationally, students suffered deep learning setbacks in reading and math during the pandemic. Last year’s third-graders, the kids who were in kindergarten when the pandemic started, lost more ground in reading than kids in older grades and were slower to catch up.

Students walking at Chicago State University. (WTTW News)

The picture for student loan debt has been pretty tumultuous over the last couple of years. Borrowers will soon begin repaying their federal student loans after a forbearance period ends this month.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Aug. 31, 2023. (WTTW News)

As Chicago Public Schools has seen an influx of migrant students, CEO Pedro Martinez said the district has been able to rely on its longstanding infrastructure to make sure these new students get the education and care they need.

(WTTW News)

College students juggling multiple responsibilities might find a shortcut through artificial intelligence apps like ChatGPT — but there’s concern that that shortcut cheats students out of a learning opportunity.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Aug. 22, 2023. (WTTW News)

Chicago Public Schools’ first day of school saw a wave of new Spanish-speaking students who arrived in Chicago after seeking asylum in the United States. Those migrant students are dealing with both trauma and language barriers.

(Courtesy of Tutoring Chicago)

Chicago students are still struggling to make up for COVID-era learning losses, and a local tutoring organization is trying to help students close that gap.

Shequita Burch, a Safe Passage worker, is pictured on Aug. 21, 2023. (WTTW News)
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As students return, so to do the Safe Passage workers who are tasked with making sure students make it and from school safely.

(WTTW News)

Mayor Brandon Johnson joined CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates at Beidler Elementary School on the city’s West Side early Monday as kids began the 2023-24 school year.