Our Stories

I recently crossed off an item on my to-do list, and I hope you’ll join me by making sure your voice is heard as CPS gathers community feedback on how they measure school quality. This helps the district know what’s working, find and fix things that aren’t, and be transparent with our Chicago community. Add your voice […]

Exactly 66 years ago today, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her act of courage has inspired countless others to make the world a better and fairer place, including those of us at Stand for […]

“How can I help?” Four magical words that I need to remember to say more often to friends, family, and colleagues. Here’s how six volunteers are helping Stand Illinois fight for educational equity and justice. Perhaps they may spark in you an idea for helping others; these folks definitely inspire me. Melissa Hostetter is a first-grade […]

Growing up in Northern Virginia, we often took our out-of-town visitors to Mount Vernon and Monticello. What I remember most about being ushered past the red velvet ropes through the crowded, 18th century-styled rooms is how the guides refused to answer my questions. In response to the guide’s prideful exclamation that “The General” always wore […]

Download the full News Stand edition as a PDF. See the crossword answers here.

As a student in the 1980s, I never imagined that the history lessons I received at my well-regarded high school omitted important portions of our country’s past. But that is indeed what happened. Filling in these missing pieces decades later as an adult left me feeling disappointed in my history education and with the realization […]