Sarah Karp

Reporter, Education

Sarah Karp is a reporter at WBEZ. A former reporter for Catalyst-Chicago, the Chicago Reporter and the Daily Southtown, Karp has covered education, and children and family issues for more than 15 years. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She has won five Education Writers Association awards, three Society of Professional Journalism awards and the 2005 Sidney Hillman Award. She is a native of Chicago.

Stories by Sarah Karp

- Education
Tumultuous First Week Of In-Person Classes For CPS Raises Questions About What Lies Ahead

While some families were relieved to be back, opposition continues as the first COVID-19 cases crop up in reopened schools.
Jan. 15 read more
- Education
CPS Is Cutting Off Pay And Teaching Access From Absent Staff. The CTU Says That’s ‘Cruel And Illegal’

Some 18% of CPS staff failed to show up for the first day of in-person learning on Monday, triggering discipline against 145 of them.
Jan. 12 read more
- Education
Half Of Chicago Public Schools Teachers Expected Back In Classrooms Didn’t Show

Of the 5,800 CPS staffers due back on Monday to prepare for in-person learning to begin next week, teachers were the least likely to return.
Updated Jan. 5 read more
- Education
The Standoff Between CPS And The CTU Is Expected To Escalate As Staff Return To Schools

The first wave of CPS staff is due back Monday to prepare for the return of students. The teachers union is strongly opposed to reopening.
Updated Jan. 4 read more
- Education
Reopened CPS Classrooms Will Range From Empty To Nearly Full, Often Based On Income And Race

Data obtained by WBEZ show a stark socioeconomic divide. Only 32% of low-income students eligible to return to the classroom are expected back.
Dec. 30, 2020 read more
- Education
83% Of Expected CPS Staff To Return On Monday After Many Requests To Stay Home Denied

The first wave of CPS staff are due back on Monday. About 29% of these preschool and special education staff asked for accommodations.
Dec. 29, 2020 read more
- Politics
Chicago’s Black Leaders Urge People To Take The COVID-19 Vaccine

With polls showing more people are willing to get the vaccine, but not as much in the Black community, Chicago’s Black leaders urge people to trust the science.
Dec. 27, 2020 read more
- Education
Labor Board Rejects Union Effort To Stop Chicago Public Schools From Reopening

A state labor board rejected a bid by the Chicago Teachers Union to require CPS to negotiate before reopening schools starting next month.
Dec. 17, 2020 read more
- Education
Only 37% Of CPS Students Say They’ll Go Back To School In Person, And White Students Are Overrepresented

The district is pushing hard to start in-person learning on Jan. 11 — but a majority of parents in a survey said they’d rather keep their kids at home.
Dec. 16, 2020 read more
Un Salón De Clases En Chicago Intenta Recuperar Lo Que La Pandemia Se Ha Robado

En la primaria Saucedo en La Villita, Olga Contreras lucha contra la pérdida palpable de aprendizaje— un estudiante y un día a la vez.
Dec. 16, 2020