Erica Meltzer

More Minnesota Somali Muslims embrace dog ownership Somali Muslim traditions consider dogs unclean. But some Minnesota immigrants — especially those with children pleading for pets — are reconsidering that.

Came across this sweet story from a couple months ago while reading about the targeting of Minnesota's Somali community. A very different kind of immigration story, just a guy who loves his dogs and some parents whose kids really want dogs, trying to figure it out. sahanjournal.com/immigration/...

What are the mitzves of Thanks Giving, a festive meal, to eat the turkey bird, to hear the story of thepilgrim, to watch the football game. And some say to argue with an uncle.

In Colorado’s school board races, progressives did the most winning this year Progressive school board candidates prevailed in many school board races this year, including Douglas County, Woodland Park, and Mesa County Valley District 51.

Progressive and moderate candidates also picked up seats in nonpartisan school board races in Colorado. Do we really think voters somehow didn't realize they were voting for conservatives before, or for progressives now?

www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

In culture war backlash, Democrats sweep school boards The party recruited and invested in school board races to oust Republicans. It worked.

Politico tracked races in which the parties endorsed candidates and spent money, and Democrats did very well this year.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Conservatives and Republicans seem much more in favor of partisan ID in school board races, but I wonder how consistently it would work out in favor of the candidate with R by their name. Especially in an election cycle like the one we just had.

Fresno Unified restructures Black student achievement department to protect federal funding Following Trump administration threats and a discrimination lawsuit, the district renamed and restructured the department.

Fresno Unified was at risk of losing up to $250 million in federal funding if it kept its Black student achievement program in its present state.

As Mamdani vows to end mayoral control of NYC schools, it has already weakened under Adams Zohran Mamdani campaigned on ending mayoral control of NYC schools. Eric Adams has already ceded some of it.

Very interesting read from @alexzimmerman.bsky.social on how mayoral control already has eroded to some degree in NYC, which vested more power in the mayor than most other "mayoral control" districts. www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Mayoral control is dead. Long live mayoral control? Teachers unions and left-wing coalitions have long resisted mayoral control of urban school districts. But Chicago and Boston are testing that position, as cities like New York and Indianapolis also e...

I tried to make some sense out of the swings and retrenchments we're seeing in who gets to run large urban school districts — mayors or elected school boards.

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/11/23/p...

Just got summoned to explain the government shutdown to my kid's friend over a Facetime call.

That charter schools are actually private is not just the argument of charter opponents. It's the argument of those who want to see religious charter schools or think they should be able to require girls to wear skirts.

These teachers survived school shootings. Now they’re offering help to their peers. “They don't have to be alone with those thoughts or those fears in the aftermath,” said Kiki Leyba, who was teaching at Columbine High School during the 1999 mass shooting.

It's a club no one wants to be part of, but these teachers didn't have a choice. Now they want to provide support to other educators who have been through school shootings. www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Gonna try to be better about posting on here, at least to share the good work being done at Chalkbeat and other outlets. As I slowly backed away from Twitter and Facebook, I lost the habit of posting at all.

Is college enrollment really plummeting? Reports of the death of the bachelor’s degree have been greatly exaggerated.

Reports of the death of the bachelor’s degree have been greatly exaggerated. Enrollment is near pre-pandemic levels, real tuition is flat or down, and the college wage premium remains high.

I explore how the narrative became disconnected from the data.

cbnewsletters.chalkbeat.org/p/is-college...

Christian law firm sought Colorado test case for religious public schools, emails suggest Alliance Defending Freedom approached a Colorado lawyer about starting a school in Colorado to spark a legal test of publicly funded religious education, according to an email authored by the lawyer.

This is big news: Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group, has helped to seed a test case in Colorado over whether public schools can provide Christian education

www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

House passes bill to end historic government shutdown, sending measure to Trump The House has passed a bill to end the nation’s longest government shutdown. The vote Wednesday sends the measure to President Donald Trump for his signature after a historic 43-day funding lapse.

BREAKING: House passes a bill to end the nation's longest government shutdown on Day 43, sending the measure to Trump for his signature.

As advocates seed new cases testing the boundaries of the First Amendment in public schools, I'm going to bring back this thread I wrote when SCOTUS let the lower court ruling stand in the St. Isidore case. bsky.app/profile/zaha...

Jewish charter school could reignite Oklahoma legal fight • Oklahoma Voice A Florida-based charter school network could attempt to found a publicly funded Jewish school in Oklahoma.

And there's another attempt in Oklahoma to open a religious charter school, this one Jewish. People who want public funding of religious schools hope they can get a win if Amy Coney Barrett doesn't recuse herself. oklahomavoice.com/2025/11/10/j...

Christian law firm sought Colorado test case for religious public schools, emails suggest Alliance Defending Freedom approached a Colorado lawyer about starting a school in Colorado to spark a legal test of publicly funded religious education, according to an email authored by the lawyer.

After the Supreme Court tied on religious charters, Alliance Defending Freedom asked a Colorado school district lawyer to initiate a "parallel case," according to emails obtained by Chalkbeat. A self-described Christian public school opened a few months later. www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

Had my 15-year-old vote with us last night so that she could watch two adults work through what to do when you don't love any of your choices.

‘Food over pencils’: SNAP uncertainty increases demands on Indianapolis food pantries With families still waiting for SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown, Indianapolis-area schools like in Perry Township have geared up to provide food assistance. About 260,000 children in India...

“Ultimately a parent has to make a decision — and you should choose food over pencils.” www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2025...

Happy Election Eve to all the journalists watching the readership metrics on their voter guides.

BOSTON (AP) — Judges order the federal government to use contingency funds for SNAP food aid payments during the shutdown.

School crossing guards face life-threatening dangers on the job An investigation by The Associated Press and Cox Media Group Television Stations found that school crossing guards face dangerous conditions, with many injured or killed on the job.

A grim accounting of the underappreciated dangers faced by school crossing guards. apnews.com/article/scho...

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I have overseen editorial for two beloved indie publications that folded: Bitch Media and YES! Media. I learned a lot from those experiences, including the fact that passion is not enough to sustain a media operation. Indie publications need consistent revenue to survive.

This might be my most capital-P Patriotic Opinion.

These teams consistently did some of the best reporting at the network. 💔

Marilyn Hagerty, Whose Column on Olive Garden Went Viral in 2012, Dies at 99 It was a simpler time online, her son recalls—and his no-nonsense mother broke through the noise for all the right reasons

A loving tribute to a life well lived and to a bygone era in journalism.

www.wsj.com/us-news/mari...

I once listened to a man object to a playground being built across the street from him because he didn't want to listen to the shouts and cries of happy children.