Erica Meltzer

Wheeles regularly has elected officials, ambassadors, and others visit his classroom, and he hopes that his students might go on to occupy some of those positions. “I am confident that someday I’ll have a former student in an elected office,” he said. “We want people to step up and be engaged. ”Wheeles is the 2024 high school teacher recipient of the American Civic Education Teacher Award. In addition to teaching AP U.S. History and AP U.S. Government, Wheeles teaches the government class that serves as his district’s graduation requirement, and he is a student government advisor.

Students work together at DSST: Montview, part of the DSST Public Schools charter network that grew rapidly in Denver during the education reform era.

J.D. Vance said schools need stronger doors and more help from police, while Tim Walz called for more red flag laws and other gun-control measures. During Tuesday’s debate, the two vice presidential candidates also discussed how to improve child care.

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Chicago Public Schools needs to solve a complicated math problem, and leaders can't agree on how to do it.

Teens share their best tips with Chalkbeat and The New York Times for spotting misinformation and staying sharp during a turbulent election season.

Young people give advice for navigating false information online about the historically close election between Harris and Trump.

This story was published in collaboration with Headway, a new initiative at The New York Times. Chalkbeat and Headway have been posing questions about the presidential election to educators and high school students since February. We have heard from more than 1,000 students and 200 teachers across the nation. This presidential election year, young Americans […]

While we wait to learn who the next president will be, we’re also following school choice ballot measures, local school board elections, and a vote on the meaning of a high school diploma.

This story was produced by Chalkbeat and reprinted with permission. Former professional wrestling executive and billionaire Linda McMahon is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education, an agency Trump has pledged to dismantle. This story also appeared in Chalkbeat McMahon would come to the post with sparse education experience. She led […]