Job Description:
The education editor is responsible for staying on top of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) beat as it relates to students, families, teachers, and community members and organizations on the South and West Sides of Chicago. The editor will be responsible for keeping track of education policy and politics in the form of district-wide policy changes, education advocacy efforts, and grassroots activism. The editor will also be responsible for significant levels of outreach to foster a network of relationships with teachers, families, and students by attending local events, being active on Twitter, and actively reaching out to these individuals and encouraging their contribution to the Weekly. Through this work, the education editor will be responsible for maintaining a wide network of resources for writers and consistently pitching new stories for the Weeklyâs network of contributors.
CPS is a complicated beat. The education editor must be familiar with the long history of CPS as it relates to segregation, race, and class in Chicago, and be committed to situating every piece in this context and making this information accessible and digestible for wider audiences. For example, contributors have been digging deep into the history of schools on the South Side and exploring how they serve as community anchors for generations of families and students. The education editor should also be deeply cognizant of the ethical questions that come into play when reporting on minors, students, and schools.
Editorially, the education editor will be responsible for keeping track of all the stories in the works in their section, and reaching out to editors and writers to offer support, resources, and another editorial eye in partnership with the primary editors. The education editor will be working with writers at all experience levels, so we expect editors to be responsive and respectful regarding meeting writers where they are. The education editor should also work closely with other section editors to share resources, insight, and collaborate on longer-term projects.
Time commitment:
This position will range from 5-15 hours weekly, depending on whether itâs a lighter week with basic pitching and editing tasks or a week where youâre also working on creating longer term plans for the section and working on bigger projects.
Availability to edit stories at our Woodlawn office or remotely on Monday evenings production is a big plus, though we may be able to work it out if you canât do Mondays.
Qualifications: Writing experience and familiarity with Chicago education issues required; editing experience strongly recommended.
The application asks you to write a sample pitch for this section. Here are some examples of previous pitches:
Back of the Yards Library Campaign
The public libraryâs Back of the Yards Branch is located inside of Back of the Yards College Prep, which some activists say make it hard for both students and community members to have full library access. These activists were out with signs at a recent 15th ward aldermanic forum, trying to get the message across. The issue was covered by Medill in 2017 but could use an update, especially given that this campaign is ongoing. What library setup do the activists want instead and why? What are their upcoming plans for making it happen? Have either of the candidates in the 15th Ward pledged support? Reporter must speak Spanish and be open to the possibility of running this in Spanish and English.
New Englewood STEM HSâs New Community Health Center
The New Englewood STEM HS is said to include âa school-based medical center for use by both students as well as community residents.â According to a list on this CPS website, there are 14 other schools in CPS with school-based health centers open to community residents (on the South Side: Orozco, Juarez, Spry, Beethoven, Reavis, Marquette, Perspectives Charter). What will the New Englewood STEM school-based medical center look like and what sorts of impacts to these centers have in communities on the South Side where theyâve been created before. (The Healthy Schools Campaign could have info on this or perhaps there are some university researchers that have looked into impact of these centers.) This piece could focus specifically on the health centers, or talk about the other âwraparound servicesâ (buzzword!) the new school should have in order to actually help support the difficult lives the students and their parents (and others in the community) have. This piece would be included in an issue about Robeson High School and itâs closing.