Miseducation

Latest Episodes:

P.S. Weekly Live: Student Reporters Reflect on Covering NYC Schools Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

It’s a wrap on P.S. Weekly’s third season, and to cap it off, we have a special live-recorded episode from Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Branch.

This season, P.S. Weekly student reporters investigated some of the biggest issues shaping New York City schools, from school mergers to sports access, teacher diversity to equity in admissions, and more. In this episode, the students behind those stories take the mic to reflect on what they learned, what surprised them, and how their reporting affected their own schools and communities.

Hosted by assistant producers Zana Halili and Katelyn Melville, the conversation features P.S. Weekly reporters Jeremiah Dickerson, Rayleen Laloi, Jasper Mallorca, Zoe George, Ermione Aleah Raymond, Mateo Tang-O’Reilly, and Noa Salas Adam, with reflections from Roberto Bailey.

Together, they discuss what it means to report on schools they know personally, how young journalists can push adults to listen more closely, and why student voices belong at the center of conversations about education.

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

P.S. Weekly: Inside the Diversity Program at One Selective NYC High School Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

A decade after NYC launched its Diversity in Admissions program, demographics have shifted at competitive campuses such as Bard High School Early College Manhattan.

Bard now sets aside half of its seats for students from low-income households. But changing admissions is only the first step toward true integration. The larger question: What is being done to support these students once they’re enrolled?

P.S. Weekly producers Zoe George, a senior at Bard, and Rayleen Laloi, a junior at the Brooklyn Institute for Liberal Arts, explore how the school’s rigorous, accelerated program can be jarring for some. They look at how the state-funded Smart Scholars program provides crucial support for students from underrepresented backgrounds in early college programs.

Bard’s Smart Scholars Program is overseen by Jasmine Coombs, herself a graduate of the sought-after school. She’s now Bard’s director of equity and inclusion programs.

During her senior year in 2014-15, students of color made up 55% of the population. Now, it's 66%.

Coombs discusses her firsthand experience of needing a space where students are not just seen but also heard. That’s what Coombs has built in Room 204 for her students.

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

Live: NYC’s Segregated Schools with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Others Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

More than 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education, New York City schools remain deeply segregated. What has changed since then, and what has not?

In this special episode, we share a live recording from “Separate: NYC Public Schools 72 Years After Brown v. Board, An Intergenerational Discussion,” an event co-hosted by The Bell and the Center for Brooklyn History on May 18, 2026. The event brought together students, educators, journalists, policymakers and advocates to examine segregation, equity and the future of New York City public schools.

Hear remarks from New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels on his administration’s goals for integration, as well as a conversation between Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and Aponi Kafele, a student reporter for The Bell. Their discussion marks the 10th anniversary of Hannah-Jones’ celebrated New York Times Magazine article, “Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City.”

The program also explores integration through the lens of sports in a panel moderated by The Bell’s Sabrina DuQuesnay and featuring former Park Slope Collegiate High School principal Jill Bloomberg, Small Schools Athletic League founder David Garcia-Rosen and New York City public school graduate and former Miseducation student reporter Renika Jack.

Together, these conversations challenge listeners to consider how far New York City schools have come, how much remains unchanged and what it will take to build a truly integrated future.

This episode features a live recorded event. You can watch it now on YouTube.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

P.S. Weekly: When the School Bus Doesn’t Come — One Family’s Saga Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

Constant delays. No-shows. Missed class.

Roughly 145,000 New York City students, 43% of whom have disabilities, rely on yellow bus service to get to school each day. It’s a sprawling system with 9,000 routes operated by more than 50 different companies at a cost of more than $2 billion a year.

But sometimes, the buses don’t arrive at all. Parents are often unable to track buses or contact busing companies, forcing many families to pay out of pocket for cabs or keep their kids home from school.

P.S. Weekly producers Noa Salas Adam, a junior at Stuyvesant High School, and Katelyn Melville, a rising sophomore at City College, explore the challenges faced by students with disabilities who rely on busing, including academic setbacks, missed time with friends, and lack of access to OMNY cards to commute to jobs or after-school programs.

Lucas Healy, a senior with autism at Brooklyn’s High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology, opens up about missing class because of unreliable busing and the emotional toll it’s taken, which still affects him today. His mother, Paullette Ha-Healy, shares her experiences navigating limited options when the bus didn’t arrive, and her frustrations with the Office of Pupil Transportation overseeing the Education Department’s massive transportation system.

“I didn't like it when I was left out,” Lucas said of missing class because of busing. “And because of that, I felt lonely because I wasn't there, and it's definitely not fair.”

The Education Department has said some fixes are on the horizon: The city is promising upgraded software by September that will create shorter and more efficient routes. Officials pledged to release bus vendor “scorecards” in June, rating bus companies on various metrics, including driver safety and bus breakdowns.

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

P.S. Weekly: Inside One Push to Diversify NYC's Teacher Workforce Jun 01, 2026

Show notes

New York City’s teachers don’t reflect the students they serve, but one recent public school grad is trying to do his part to shrink that gap.

Students of color make up the vast majority of the nation’s largest school system, yet white educators are more than half of the teaching workforce. Better representation at the front of the classroom can affect student outcomes. Studies have shown students who have teachers of color tend to have better test scores, attendance, and graduation rates.

P.S. Weekly producers Ermione Aleah Raymond, from the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, and Mateo Tang O’Reilly, from Central Park East High School, compare teaching diversity within their own schools and examine how the lack of it affects their experiences as students of color.

Ermione interviews Isaiah Nicholson, a college freshman who was once in her shoes and now wants to make a dent in the data. Isaiah is a fellow in NYC Men Teach, a 10-year-old program based out of the City University of New York that aims to bring more men of color into the city’s teacher pipeline. Over the past decade, the program contributed roughly 3,200 new male teachers of color to the city’s public schools, a recent report said.

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

P.S. Weekly: Away Game — Students Who Play Sports for Other Schools May 22, 2026

Show notes

What if your high school doesn’t offer your favorite sport?

Today’s disparities in access to sports teams stem from a policy pushed by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg to replace large high schools with smaller ones. These new schools, largely serving Black and Latino students, didn't have the enrollment to field an array of teams — creating a systemic deficit that still disproportionately affects students of color.

As part of a 2022 settlement of a class action lawsuit arguing that the Public Schools Athletic League, or PSAL, and the Education Department were discriminating against Black and Latino students, the city created the PSAL All-Access Program. Through “Individual Access,” students who want to play a sport their school doesn’t offer can join a nearby school’s team. Roughly 1,500 students participated on teams through the program in the 2023-24 school year, Education Department officials previously said.

Still, just 38% of Black and Latino students went to a school with 20 or more teams, compared to 61% of students who are white, Asian American, multiracial, or belong to other groups, one sports equity advocate found.

P.S. Weekly producers Jasper Mallorca and Roberto Bailey discuss the landscape of high school sports access in New York City schools. Jasper interviews Noah Moore about what it’s like to be on another school’s team. Noah, a senior at Manhattan’s High School of Art and Design, played football for Stuyvesant High School. Jasper, also an Art and Design senior, ran cross country for a team based at Lab Collaborative and the Museum School.

Their experiences offer a window into the city's patchwork sports-access fix — and its limitations

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

P.S. Weekly: What's the Price of Success (Academy)? Former Students Open Up May 15, 2026

Show notes

Success Academy reshaped what free education for low-income students could look like. The network boasts above average scores on state tests and impressive college admissions statistics. Some alumni, however, wonder if the academic pressure and strict behavioral standards are worth it. Its famously test-focused approach has raised a question: How much pressure on students is too much?

P.S. Weekly producers Jeremiah Dickerson, a senior at Williamsburg Charter High School, and Noa Salas Adam, a junior at Stuyvesant High School, dive into the complex world of Success Academy.

Dickerson, himself a former Success Academy student, interviews another former student about what it was like to attend the school. They touch on everything from uniforms, “mouth bubbles,” and clip charts to extremely rigorous academics and the lingering emotional price tag of attending Success Academy.

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

P.S. Weekly: When Two Schools Become One May 08, 2026

Show notes

The nation’s largest school system is shrinking, and one way city officials are tackling the drop: ramping up school mergers.

New York City schools enrolled 793,000 K-12 students this school year, down about 15% from the 2019-20 school year, according to Education Department data. The number of students who have left the system during this time is bigger than Philadelphia’s entire public school population. That has left the city’s school system with an increasing number of small schools that may be unable to provide their students with a full array of courses and resources.

Solving the enrollment puzzle is top of mind for New York City officials, especially as the city confronts its own budget problems. But merging schools is not always easy.

P.S. Weekly producers Rayleen Laloi, a junior at The Brooklyn Institute for Liberal Arts, also known as BILA, and Ermione Aleah Raymond, a senior at the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, both experienced school mergers firsthand. They explore what happens to students when two schools become one.

Rayleen talks with Osei Alfred, who attended the School for Human Rights before it became part of BILA last year. The merger changed Osei’s high school experience, for better and worse. He shares insights for schools who might be facing the same situation.

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

Live from SXSW EDU: How Our Reporting is Making a Difference Apr 28, 2026

Show notes

The Bell’s student reporters recorded a special live episode of Miseducation at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas on March 9, 2026. Moderated by Salma Baksh, the conversation explored how student journalists can ask hard questions, hold institutions accountable and drive change in their schools and communities.

Listen as Fredlove Deshommes, Jeremiah Dickerson and Aponi Kafele discuss their reporting on the student journalism gap in New York City schools, credit recovery and school composting, respectively, Together, they reflect on what empowers them as reporters, what adults can learn from listening to students and why expanding access to journalism education is essential.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

P.S. Weekly: Is AP Calculus Pointless? A Teacher Defends His Subject Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

To many New York City students, Advanced Placement Calculus feels impractical, full of information they won’t use in their day-to-day lives — though it’s become a status symbol for some high achievers.

But reaching that status symbol has some significant consequences: AP Calculus has garnered a reputation for being a barrier to higher education. The class has become a gatekeeper, with many selective colleges requiring students to take the subject. Those who took it in high school are at an advantage, and schools with majority Black and Latino students tend to miss out. The number of such schools offering calculus has hovered under 40% over the past decade, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

P.S. Weekly producers Mateo Tang O’Reilly, a junior at Central Park East High School, and Jasper Mallorca, a senior at High School of Art and Design, ask: Does AP Calculus serve a purpose other than proving academic rigor to colleges? They explore the unseen value of calculus beyond the classroom.

Mateo sits down with Dash Anderson, a Brooklyn high school math teacher who shares his experience teaching calculus in a way that brings the subject to life with real-world examples, from video games to “Moana.”

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

P.S. Weekly episodes will also be featured in the Miseducation feed.

Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.

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