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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · 8d

The rare feel-good gov't shutdown story: I talked to some Bronx 8th-graders on a field trip to DC whose tour of the Capitol was canceled bc of the shutdown - and who ended up getting a personal tour from @aoc.bsky.social instead: www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

The shutdown canceled their U.S. Capitol tour. These Bronx students got one from AOC instead.

Students from Zeta Charter School got a tour of the Capitol they’ll never forget when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez escorted them through the building.

www.chalkbeat.org

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · 12d

Eric Adams’ first schools Chancellor David Banks shares his thoughts on the last year of Adams’ tenure as news comes he won’t seek a second term. Via @alexzimmerman.bsky.social:

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · 18d

“It’s truly more socializing than I’ve seen in my 10 years working in a high school.”

Seyma Bayram w/ a great story on the early challenges + triumphs of school without phones in NYC.

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

NYC educators are pushing the joys of ‘distraction-free’ schools over fears of ‘cellphone ban’

NYC educators and mental health professionals are trying to help students adjust to school without cellphones. Just don’t call it a ban, they advise.

www.chalkbeat.org

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · 22d

More from @amyzimmer.bsky.social and @alexzimmerman.bsky.social on why Adams does not have legal authority to roll back the DOE's bathroom access policies for trans students in NYC despite these comments: www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · 23d

Families of gender-nonconforming students in NYC have been worried about something like this for months given Mayor Adams’ stance towards Trump + his wide authority over schools (www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...). Now Adams is openly promising to review school bathroom policy.

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · 29d

Really excited for this talk next week at Lofty Pigeon about two important books. NYC education folks - would love to see you there!

Alex Freidus @alexfreidus.bsky.social · Sep 10

This is the right time to talk about politics and policies in NYC schools! I'm really looking forward to this @bkbookfest.bsky.social conversation with @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social and Ryane Straus. Please join us!

www.eventbrite.com/e/diversity-...

Flier for a panel discussion on diversity, democracy, and NYC schools at the Lofty Pigeon bookstore at 6:30pm on Thursday, Sept. 18. Features book covers for Divided by Choice by Ryane Straus and Unequal Lessons by Alexandra Freidus.

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 26

Always a pretty wild reminder of the scale of NYC’s school system to see the class of new teachers assembled in the same place

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Reposted by Mike Elsen-Rooney

Carly Sitrin @carlysitrin.bsky.social · Aug 25

The stellar @rebeccaredelmeier.bsky.social got up at the crack of dawn to ride SEPTA to school with two Philly students. The whole trip took over an hour and they missed a bus and had to walk the last mile to Palumbo. These cuts are already having a real impact on Philly's young people:

Follow 2 students as SEPTA cuts complicate their commute on the first day of school

Students across Philadelphia are waking up earlier and waiting longer for SEPTA to get them to school. But many say they’re bound to be late anyway, with less reliable service and more crowded routes....

www.chalkbeat.org

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Reposted by Mike Elsen-Rooney

Anna Clark @annaleighclark.bsky.social · Aug 22

"Normally, in the final month of school, students were worried about moving to the next grade or graduating. This year, he said they wondered: 'Is a masked person going to grab me off the street?'"

via @chalkbeat.org / @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social

'The goal is to survive': NYC school for immigrants faces an uncertain future under Trump

Normally, in the final month of school, students at ELLIS Prep worried about moving to the next grade or graduating. This year, they wondered: “Is a masked person going to grab me off the street?”

www.chalkbeat.org

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Reposted by Mike Elsen-Rooney

DAVID C. BLOOMFIELD @dcbloomfield.bsky.social · Aug 22

@michaelelsenroo.bsky.social’s eye for detail is impressive

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · Aug 22

Chalkbeat’s deep dive on a Bronx school; CBS News somehow misidentifies the sandwich-tosser; and the Memphis press follows along with Marsha Blackburn’s rules.

This week’s Laurels and Darts ⤵️

www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...

Schoolkids in the Crosshairs

Keeping up with ICE. Plus: Crime in DC? Preschool in Oregon? And who tossed that sandwich?

www.cjr.org

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 22

Thank you @bgrueskin.bsky.social for highlighting my reporting on a Bronx HS and undocumented teen navigating the Trump administration.

Here’s Part 1: www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

And Part 2: www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 15

"Her unexpected removal...will likely have a deep emotional impact on her classmates and our entire school community. She belongs with her family and her classmates."

Message from principal of P.S. 89 in Queens, whose 7 y/o student was detained by ICE + sent to Texas, via @gwynnefitz.bsky.social

Gwynne Hogan @gwynnefitz.bsky.social · Aug 15

ICE detained a 7-year-old, her mother and 19-year-old brother at a check in at 26 Federal Plaza this week. The Queens mother and daughter have already been shipped to Texas while the 19-year-old is on is how at a detention center in NJ.

www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/15/f...

ICE Ships 7-Year-Old Queens Student and Mom to Texas Detention, Prompting School Principal’s Plea for Their Release

An older brother is detained in Newark while two other siblings remain in New York, “unprotected and traumatized” after arrests at immigration check-in.

www.thecity.nyc

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 14

Thank you so much!

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 14

So lucky to work with amazing photographers like Jose Alvarado and Wendy Correa whose stirring images bring this story to life.

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 14

Part 2 is out today. It’s about what happens after the deportation campaign arrives at ELLIS’ doorstep and the difficult choices facing Bridget and the school as they try to make it through the Trump administration.

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

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Reposted by Mike Elsen-Rooney

Carrie Melago @carriemelago.bsky.social · Aug 13

“It’s not going to be my fault that her dream dies." @MichaelElsenRoo spent months with an undocumented NYC student and the school fighting to keep her education hopes alive www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

‘They’ve given her a lot of hope’: A NYC school fights to educate an undocumented teen under Trump

For Bridget and Marta, ELLIS Prep often felt like the only public institution with its arms open in a city and country that seemed not to want them.

www.chalkbeat.org

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

Thanks so much, @alexfreidus.bsky.social. And now that I'm coming up for air, really looking forward to diving into your book and the event next month!

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

Uh oh what have we waded into...That history is fascinating though. What's the right label for the neighborhood?

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Reposted by Mike Elsen-Rooney

Alex Zimmerman @alexzimmerman.bsky.social · Aug 13

If you read one thing today, read this 👇

Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

For 6 months, I’ve followed ELLIS, a Bronx HS for newcomers, to understand what it means to educate immigrant students in Trump’s second term.

Proud to share the 1st of 2 stories about ELLIS, Bridget, an undocumented teen, & the fight to keep her education alive.

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

‘They’ve given her a lot of hope’: A NYC school fights to educate an undocumented teen under Trump

For Bridget and Marta, ELLIS Prep often felt like the only public institution with its arms open in a city and country that seemed not to want them.

www.chalkbeat.org

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Reposted by Mike Elsen-Rooney

Tim “Positive Subway” Smith @positivesubway.bsky.social · Aug 13

Here is your must edu-read of the day; terrific embedded reporting on the fear and stress our immigrant neighbors and their children are experiencing and the heroes trying to steer them through it

Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

For 6 months, I’ve followed ELLIS, a Bronx HS for newcomers, to understand what it means to educate immigrant students in Trump’s second term.

Proud to share the 1st of 2 stories about ELLIS, Bridget, an undocumented teen, & the fight to keep her education alive.

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

‘They’ve given her a lot of hope’: A NYC school fights to educate an undocumented teen under Trump

For Bridget and Marta, ELLIS Prep often felt like the only public institution with its arms open in a city and country that seemed not to want them.

www.chalkbeat.org

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

And Part 2 will be out tomorrow!

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

I’m deeply grateful to the courageous Bridget, Marta and ELLIS staff who let me into their school and lives. And to my wonderful Chalkbeat editors + colleagues for giving me the space + support to do this work.

For all the fear + hardship in these stories, there’s also hope, love + perseverance.

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

Several months into my time at ELLIS, one of their students - a friend of Bridget’s - was detained by ICE (www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...)

Part 2 looks at how ELLIS + Bridget picked up the pieces - + how they’re adapting to survive the Trump administration.

A Bronx high schooler showed up for a routine immigration court date. ICE was waiting.

A NYC public school student’s arrest was part of a nationwide blitz of immigration authorities detaining migrants in courthouses in an effort to speed up deportations.

www.chalkbeat.org

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Mike Elsen-Rooney @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social · Aug 13

For 6 months, I’ve followed ELLIS, a Bronx HS for newcomers, to understand what it means to educate immigrant students in Trump’s second term.

Proud to share the 1st of 2 stories about ELLIS, Bridget, an undocumented teen, & the fight to keep her education alive.

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

‘They’ve given her a lot of hope’: A NYC school fights to educate an undocumented teen under Trump

For Bridget and Marta, ELLIS Prep often felt like the only public institution with its arms open in a city and country that seemed not to want them.

www.chalkbeat.org

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Reposted by Mike Elsen-Rooney

Tim “Positive Subway” Smith @positivesubway.bsky.social · Aug 6

@alexzimmerman.bsky.social flexes a deep knowledge of the complicated dynamics of the SHSAT, but in particular his answer at the very end of the show is probably the clearest thing I’ve ever seen in the media about the limits of test prep on a 100% norm referenced test 1/

The Brian Lehrer Show @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social · Aug 5

Catch @alexzimmerman.bsky.social on demographics at NYC's specialized high schools.

www.wnyc.org/story/segreg...

Segregation at NYC's Specialized High Schools | The Brian Lehrer Show | WNYC

Alex Zimmerman, reporter at Chalkbeat New York, reports on the ongoing issue of segregation at specialized high schools, and how the mayoral candidates say they'd like to tackle it.

www.wnyc.org

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