Miseducation

P.S. Weekly airs on Thursdays this spring. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts. Episodes republish Mondays in the Miseducation feed. Episode 1 dives into the state of ethnic studies in New York City schools and how the Trump administration could threaten the recent expansion of Black studies, LGBTQ history, and other diverse curriculums in schools across the five boroughs.  Producers Bernie Carmon...

We recorded this bonus episode live at the annual SXSW EDU conference, hosted earlier this month in Austin, Texas. P.S. Weekly’s student reporters spoke on a panel at the event, diving into the pressing inequities of New York City’s school system. Listen to what it’s really like to navigate the largest school system in the country, from the admission process to stark resource disparities within sc...

By Bernie Carmona, Katelyn Melville and Kelsi Bowen In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, students across the country have missed school far more regularly than before it. In New York City, the chronic absenteeism rate (percentage of students who miss at least 10% of total school days) hovered around 25% in the years leading up to the pandemic. When students returned to classrooms in the 2021-...

Miseducation interns Kelsi, Katelyn, and Bernie join parent advocates in a live panel marking 20 years of NYC's high school admissions process, sharing personal stories and bold ideas for a more equitable future. Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

Sabrina is joined by two student leaders to share a special announcement about a new citywide initiative called Journalism for All . The initiative will provide curriculum, training, funding, and other forms of support to 30 NYC public high schools that want to start journalism programs. The initiative is led by the NYC Youth Journalism Coalition, which is directed by The Bell. The application is...

While protests over the Israel-Hamas war have gripped New York City college campuses, we look at how high schoolers have reacted — and the student freedom of speech issues being raised. P.S. Weekly reporter Dorothy Ha speaks to Orlena Fella, whose high school was uniquely impacted by recent protests at City College. Then, Dorothy heads over to the New York Civil Liberties Union for an in-depth con...

What happens when a teen wants therapy but their parents are unsure? Is NYC’s bold initiative to offer free virtual therapy to teens working? Tune in to find out. News Bulletin — Chalkbeat's Amy Zimmer breaks down top education stories from the past week. (2 min) Segment A — Salma Baksh interviews a mother-daughter duo as they discuss conflicting views on therapy. (11 min) Segment B — Shoaa K...

In P.S. Weekly’s food episode, fourth graders visit NYC schools’ test kitchen, high schoolers rate grilled cheese sandwiches, and students dish on having microwave access. News Bulletin — Chalkbeat reporter Julian Shen-Berro breaks down top education stories from the past week. (2 min) Segment A — Student reporter Ava Stryker-Robbins and Chalkbeat reporter Alex Zimmerman visit the NYC Public Schoo...

In this special episode, student reporters Shoaa Khan and Jose Santana speak to Chancellor David Banks about a range of important issues that affect students. Hear what the leader of the NYC public school system had to say about a new "Hidden Voices" history curriculum, school start times, the persistence of school segregation, cell phone policies, and more. Want to get in touch? Email u...

In the first segment, student producer Christian Rojas Linares explores a new apprenticeship program through the eyes of Heidy Torres, a high school junior who works 16 hours a week for Bloomberg, the finance giant and media company. The second segment, produced by Marcellino Melika and Tanvir Kaur, focuses on a student who has devoted enormous energy to getting into a top college — submitting 23...

More than 200,000 New York City students have a disability classification that entitles them to specific learning accommodations — but do they always get them? Students share their experiences. RSVP for " Inside P.S. Weekly" Zoom event on April 17: https://ckbe.at/psweekly Want to get in touch? Email us at PSweekly@chalkbeat.org . To stay up to date on New York City schools coverage thro...

The national wave of book bans has been coming ashore in surprising ways in New York City. News Bulletin – Chalkbeat reporter Alex Zimmerman breaks down top education stories from the past week. (1 min) Segment A  – Student reporter Salma Baksh interviews her former librarian Lindsay Klemas, who received online backlash for promoting an LGBTQ+ book during Pride month. (8 min) Segment B – Shoaa Kha...

Officials estimate that more than 36,000 migrant students have enrolled in New York City public schools over the past two years. What challenges are these new students facing? And what are schools doing to support them? This student-reported episode explores these questions through conversations with students, educators, and a journalist who's been covering the issue. Segment A Chalkbeat Repo...

Welcome to the the sound of the New York City school system. P.S. Weekly explores pressing issues facing students and teachers in the Big Apple. The Bell's team of high school student producers work alongside Chalkbeat's seasoned education reporters to bring you stories, perspectives, and commentary you won't get anywhere else. Episodes air Wednesday mornings. Miseducation is a podc...

The threat came in an e-mailed letter from the principal to the entire student body: Stop following the anonymous Instagram accounts, or face suspension. When Principal David Marmor of Francis Lewis High School in Queens discovered two accounts — one which posted fight videos and the other which included vulgar content that in some cases targeted specific students — he didn’t hesitate to act. In a...

It’s clear that disproportionate access to high school journalism is a consequence of broader education inequities. But, what about the news industry itself? In this episode, professional journalists shed light on the lack of diversity in the news industry, which is about 80% white, and less representative of the general population than other fields according to Pew Research. The lack of journalis...

In the summer of 2022, Press Pass NYC launched a fellowship for aspiring high school student journalists. A cohort of students from around NYC began their journeys in a summer bootcamp, where they learned the basics of journalistic writing and reporting. “It brings like a huge responsibility, knowing that you're going to take all this information and bring it back to the school,” said Ashley...

Seemingly every New York City high school used to have a student newspaper. That’s what we learned on our trip earlier this year to the Center for Brooklyn History’s archived high school newspaper collection. Today, few NYC high schools have student publications of any kind. What happened? Where did all the school newspapers go? To find some answers, we sat down with Keith Hefner, founder of Youth...

New York City is the media capital of the world, but not for its youth. Just one in four public high schools has a student newspaper these days. And there are big disparities in access by race and class. In this system of haves and have nots Townsend Harris High School in Queens is definitely among the haves. Its student newspaper, The Classic , has received national recognition for hard-hitting r...

When you think about New York City, what do you think of? Wall Street? Fancy business ventures? The place where dreams come true? That’s certainly how I thought of it when I moved here from the Philippines at age seven. But there’s another side to the city. In 2021, about 1 in 10 public school students experienced some type of homelessness. That’s around 100,000 children. Quite surprising for the...

In many schools across the country, high schoolers have the opportunity to take AP, or Advanced Placement, classes. These high-level courses are designed to introduce students to the rigor and expectations of higher education, and to help them get a leg up in the college application process. Some students look forward to the challenge, while others dread the stress and anxiety they bring. In this...

The transition from middle school to high school can be socially bewildering for many young people, but for New York City public school students like me it can also mean adjusting to drastically different economic and racial demographics. I went from my neighborhood school in the Bronx to a predominantly white school in Midtown, Manhattan. At my middle school, I took an art class that had no art t...

In 1946, President Harry Truman signed the National School Lunch Act. It aimed to “provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day.” More than 60 years later, Michelle Obama championed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which required schools to provide students with healthier lunches. Since 2017, New York City has provided free breakfast and lunch to all publi...

When I was in seventh grade, something changed in my school. The administration at the Bronx Academy of Letters was implementing a strange new policy called “Yondr.” Haven’t heard of it? Neither had I. Yondr is a company that makes lockable pouches for smartphones to create “phone-free spaces for artists, educators, organizations, and individuals.” The idea is that it helps with student learning b...

At my high school, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens, almost two thirds of the student body identify as people of color. When students witnessed a teacher make a racially insensitive comment during class, they knew something had to be done. The administration stepped in and facilitated a restorative circle, but the impacted students left feeling unsatisfied. This incident offers a lens in...