Miseducation

At a time when 1 in 10 public school students are experiencing homelessness, why isn't the city doing more to support them?

There's an effort to level access to Advanced Placement courses in NYC schools. Is it working?

At my middle school, I took an art class that had no art teacher. At my new school, the basement has ten music studios.

Students eat in the cafeteria every day, and yet conversations about education often leave out this crucial element of our daily lives as students.

When her school implements a new policy requiring students to lock their phones in pouches during the school day, Zainab and her peers have some concerns.

When a teacher makes an offensive comment about Black people in class, Black students are unsatisfied with the school’s response.

New York is one of just eight states that requires high school exit exams. Seems like time for a new approach.

The FAFSA seems simple enough: fill out the form, get financial aid, go to college. Well… not quite.

We get it. The "birds and the bees” talk is awkward. But if we want young people to be informed and safe, NYC schools’ sex education policies need to change.

Who's really calling the shots when it comes to school start times? Is student health and well-being even on the agenda?

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.

How students and educators respond when the national book banning wave arrives in New York City

A new weekly podcast from The Bell and Chalkbeat New York.

When a Queens principal threatened to suspend students for following provocative Instagram accounts, did he go too far?

New Yorkers are voting to decide how to spend $5 million of the city's money.

Adults seem to have a lot to say about youth mental health. We have some thoughts of our own.

As we kick off our first ever spring fundraising drive, one of our student reporters shares what working with The Bell has meant to him.

A special preview of our upcoming Miseducation season: Questioning the Status Quo

The incredible true story of Black ingenuity in a small Mississippi Delta town founded by formerly enslaved men.

Live from SXSW EDU, student data privacy experts discuss how efforts aimed at keeping students safe can do them harm.

A high school senior reflects on his educational journey.

Coco and Bissiri go to public high schools a few miles away from each other in Manhattan, but their experiences are worlds apart.

A look at what’s changed — and what hasn’t — in the decades long fight for school integration in New York City.

A Brooklyn minister who led the 1964 NYC school boycott argues for school desegregation in wake of the protest.

Miseducation student reporter Bree Campbell digs into the chatGPT debates with NPR reporter Emma Bowman, who’s been covering the impact of the new AI technology on schools.

After a scary incident at school, a daughter tries to get her mother to open up about mental health.

A conversation about MLK's playbook for the Civil Rights Movement.

Inside the effort to support the large number of NYC students experiencing homelessness.

In Year 2, did the Jaguars make progress toward integration and equity on the court? Did they reach their goal of a city championship?

A student journalist’s story catches the attention of her principal.

Some students have severe behavioral or mental health challenges requiring accommodations that the average school isn’t equipped to provide. So what then? Where do those students go?

An excerpt of the Revisionist History podcast followed by a conversation with two of its producers.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we want to show teachers our gratitude.

The new policy means a smaller pool of students will get the chance to attend top public high schools.

NYC schools chancellor David Banks sat down with a roundtable of student journalists, including a few Miseducation reporters, to answer questions on topics ranging from school funding to censorship of student newspapers.

The series ends with a final test for the Jaguars at the city championship.

What does it mean to lead a team in an anti-racist way?

How did the schools in the John Jay building become divided in the first place?

Two sports programs – rivals under a single roof – are set to merge. Students ask what it will take for the building to live up to its new motto: “We Are One.”

The topic of mental illnesses and disabilities has always hit close to home for me.

The issue of freedom of religion within public schools can be a complicated one, so what does practicing one's religion look like in the nation’s largest public school system?

I wanted to take you on a day of my life in school during Omicron, from the morning to dismissal, to show everyone what school really was like. This is January 14th.

Every student in NYC public schools goes through the high school admissions process. About 80,000 eighth graders every year researching, and ranking, and waiting, and ultimately landing in one of more than 400 high schools. My process surprised lots of people. Not because of the school — Edison — that I got into. But because of the school I turned down.

What is the impact of metal detectors on the students in predominantly Black high schools across New York City and what we can do to change it?

In my selective high school it’s easy for students of color – including me – to feel disregarded. But every now and then you find a supportive adult who goes out of their way to make you feel seen.

I didn’t expect for it to be this hard to navigate my high school years, but then halfway through my sophomore year, Covid hit.

Have you ever had that one person in your life that just kinda opened your eyes and changed your perspective?

How did students manage applying to college at the height of a global pandemic?

Nearly four years after we first reported on the fight for sports equity in NYC, we have an update.

School sports have never just been about the sports themselves — and when they got cancelled, people finally realized how important they actually are.

School officials have said a lot about the importance of supporting students’ mental health throughout the pandemic, but do their actions match their words?

The story of how nine teenagers came together virtually during a pandemic to create something special.

Fearing my grandmother’s sudden departure from this world was the worst thing I could think of, but a few years ago when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I knew my greatest fear would be being forgotten.

When the pandemic forced schools to close in March, 75,000 New York City teachers had to shift quickly to remote teaching. This is a story about one of those teachers.

I had to navigate language barriers, confusing websites, financial aid forms, and decision deadlines with only the help of my college counselor, who became harder to reach when the pandemic struck because she was understandably juggling work and home life.

Titilayo is one of thousands of New York City students who struggled accessing remote classes this spring.

We kick off a brand new season, “Students in a Pandemic,” with a story about a New York City student with learning disabilities, told by her sister.

In the season finale from The James Baldwin School, we take a trip to the principal’s office.

A student transfers from a strict charter school to James Baldwin, where she runs into her former teacher, who just so happens to produce a podcast.

Adriana used to compete with friends to see who could make substitute teachers cry first. What happened when she transferred to a school that embraces restorative justice?

When Javier Mata’s habit of not doing homework caught up with him, he transferred from his competitive, college prep school to a small transfer high school called The James Baldwin School.

How does New York City support students in need of a second chance?

A preview of Season 3, coming in early 2020

High school senior Amya Shaw is one of approximately 115,000 New York City students living in temporary housing. This is her story.

Coco and Bissiri go to public high schools a few miles away from each other in Manhattan, but their experiences are worlds apart.

While the Miseducation team gears up for the second half of Season 2, Sabrina and Taylor check in with a few updates and some listening recommendations to get you through summer. 

David Garcia-Rosen and the Fair Play Coalition are fighting for black and Hispanic students to have equal access to sports teams.

The primary purpose of high school is to prepare students for college and careers, but some schools do way better than others. 

Black and Hispanic students make up a tiny fraction of the students at New York City’s most selective schools. Students on the inside dive deep into the issue and what we can do about it.

64 years after Brown v. Board of Education, New York City high schools are still segregated. Zoe and Sabrina explain why.

Hear a preview of what's to come from the students behind the mic this season.

Members of Teens Take Charge testified at the City Council's hearing on school integration earlier this month. Two of them – Whitney and Nelson – help recap what happened.

Brian passed all the math courses his high school had to offer in 10th grade. But he isn't letting the lack of educational opportunities deter him from reaching his career goals.

The season finale features testimony from a dozen members of the student-led group Teens Take Charge, which advocates for educational equity at events across New York City.

On this Extra Credit, we spend 10 more minutes in Noah's world. He talks about role models, gangs, and old friendships. 

In the 1954 Brown v. Board ruling that outlawed school segregation, did the Court miss an opportunity? One of the researchers essential to the case thought so. Sixty-three years later, you can hear the consequences of that missed chance in the stories of three Harlem teens talking about encounters with white peers.

With Noah as a guide, we delve into New York City's "open choice" high school admissions process, which leads to hundreds of low-performing schools at the expense of a few stellar ones. Along the way, hear what Noah has to say about the neighborhood of East New York, his high school teachers & peers, segregation, and why he wants to learn to build a house.